Mobile Applications - Guide to Cloud Computing for Business and Technology Managers - page 495

Of particular interest to field services are location-based services, noti-
fication services, and service disambiguation as these mechanisms enable
developers to build more sophisticated cloud service applications by pro-
viding accessible interfaces to advanced features and intelligent mobile
features:
1. Location-based services provide information specific to a location
using the latest positioning technologies and are a key part of the
mobile Web Services suite. Dispatchers can use GPS or network-
based positioning information to determine the location of field
workers and optimally assign tasks (push model) based on geo-
graphic proximity. Location-based services and applications enable
enterprises to improve operational efficiencies by locating, track-
ing, and communicating with their field workforce in real time.
For example, location-based services can be used to keep track of
vehicles and employees, whether they are conducting service calls or
delivering products. Trucks could be pulling in or out of a terminal,
visiting a customer site, or picking up supplies from a manufactur-
ing or distribution facility. With location-based services, applications
can get such things such as real-time status alerts, for example, esti-
mated time of approach, arrival, departure, duration of stop, current
information on traffic, weather, and road conditions for both home-
office and en route employees.
2. Notification services allow critical business to proceed uninterrupted
when employees are away from their desks, by delivering notifica-
tions to their preferred mobile device. Employees can thus receive
real-time notification when critical events occur, such as when inci-
dent reports are completed. The combination of location-based and
notification services provides added value by enabling such ser-
vices as proximity-based notification and proximity-based actua-
tion. Proximity-based notification is a push or pull interaction model
that includes targeted advertising, automatic airport check-in, and
sightseeing information. Proximity-based actuation is a push-pull
interaction model, whose most typical example is payment based on
proximity, for example, toll watch.
3. Service instance disambiguation helps distinguish between many
similar candidate service instances, which may be available inside
close perimeters. For instance, there may be many on-device pay-
ment services in proximity of a single point of sale. Convenient and
natural ways for identifying appropriate service instances are then
required, for example, relying on closeness or pointing rather than
identification by cumbersome unique names.