So in the line of business application space,  I often need to acquire external inputs from real world devices,  such as weigh scales,   pressure and moisture sensors.

I've often use WebService calls directly from the mobile device to call services on P.C's hooked up to measuring equipment usually via a serial port.

However increasingly I use insert triggers on SQL tables to fire off requests to physical devices (using managed code) stored procedures.   So, the action of syncing SQL Compact causes results from devices to be captured.    This technique works really well and ensures that SQL Compact syncrhonisation is the only data exchange from the mobile device.   This keeps things simple (always good).     The only downside is that when standing next to a weigh scale etc. with a mobile device you have to be in range of the wireless network.   

So upshot of all of this,  is that our end user can wander around taking weight's and measurements almost 'magically' with no physical connection from the mobile device they are using...

I prepared a short screencast video, showing Anglia's Datamaker technology generating lots and lots of managed code automatically.

In the video, we select a Dynamics Nav table tell it we are writing a SQL Compact application and DataMaker does the rest.

The video concludes of the auto generated code being pasted into a Visual Studio solution and being complied successfully.

It sure save a lot of typing....

Video at -

http://private.angliabs.com/webextension/video/datamaker.avi

DataMaker details at -

http://www.angliabs.com

I find myself increasingly in commercial situations where we are bidding for business selling solutions based around Dynamics Nav.   This is all great, but what makes one Microsoft partner any different to another when put in from of a company selecting an ERP solution.   The answer we've found is value add.

Having Windows Mobile LOB applications in the tool box is a great commercial differentiator.  Being able to say that we can take ERP screens out of the box and deliver them to mobile devices can mean the difference between winning the gig or not.

Of course there are lots of factors when changing a key line of business system like an ERP;  however showing something real on a mobile device is normally a good way to ensure that your proposal sticks in the panel making the shortlists mind.

We also find that Windows Mobile and SQL Compact providing store-and-forward offline access is key.     The last thing in this price competitive world (certainly in the UK) a company can stand is to install a vast wireless infrastructure to support permanently connected mobility.   SQL compact lets you build solutions where you can work anywhere pretty much over any network.  When you have wireless access of some kind (wifi, GSM, 3G, satellite) the devices sync back to our central ERP system (in our case Dynamics Nav).   

We also challenge other vendors to look how they would support staffs that routinely climb in the back of delivery trucks or the hold of ship.   Normally most other offerings rely on two way permanent connections continually between ERP and handheld device.    This is not the case with SQL Compact.

So life with Windows Mobile for LOB is good.   Having a core set of key technologies that do the heavy lifting like SQL Compact and .Net Compact Framework means I can focus on building the desired functionality rather than worry about the plumbing underneath.   Furthermore having a SQL based ERP system such as Dynamics doing the really complex stuff, means that we can achieve amazing results in a timeframes and costs appropriate to 50-150 user systems.

I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this, because you'll go out and do the same    But it certainly is working for us...

http://www.angliabs.com