Unwired Business: Wireless Applications in the Firm’s Value Chain Stuart J. Barnes School of Information Management, Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand stuart.barnes@vuw.ac.nz Abstract The convergence of wireless telecommunications and the Internet provides many exciting new possibilities for mobile networks. On their individual merits, the penetration of each technology in the developed world has already evoked changes in our daily lives – how we work, live and learn. Combined, the potential impact of the wireless Internet and related applications is immense. Until now, the literature on applications of the wireless Internet has predominantly focused on business-to-consumer markets, following the patterns in the media and e-commerce research. Notwithstanding this, it is now becoming clear that mobile networking will provide a tremendous impetus to the development of other strategic applications for businesses. This paper aims to explore how wireless network computing will create value in the business sector. The paper draws on a number of very recent and forthcoming wireless applications for organisational use. It examines the benefits and potential impact of wireless applications on the business. The paper concludes with some reflections on the future of mobile business applications in the firm. Keywords: Wireless; applications; organization; value chain; benefits 1. Introduction The diffusion of the Internet is changing many aspects of human activity. Some of the most significant changes promise to be in the way business activities are conducted. From being primarily a resource for communications in the academic and military communities, the Internet and associated technologies are rapidly becoming the communications systems of choice for a variety of business activities in a diverse range of industries (Nua 2001). Indeed, electronic commerce is expected to generate revenues of $6.9 trillion by 2004 (Forrester Research 2000). A further trend is the increasing diffusion of wireless telephony. In the UK, over two-thirds the population owned one of these devices in January 2001 (Wearden 2001). In parts of Scandinavia, penetration has reached well over 80 percent (Fernández 2000). Furthermore, the diffusion of mobile technology is likely to continue well into this decade. By 2003, the global number of cellular phone users is forecast to exceed one billion (IDC Research 2001). The above technologies once followed very separate paths, but evidence now suggests that they are entering an era of partnership. Key technologies include service platforms for the wireless Internet, high-speed networks, short-range wireless devices and location-aware networks (see Bergeron 2001). The convergence of the Internet and wireless technologies is fuelling expectations of growth in wireless data services and a proliferation of business 932 932