Vocera iPhone Client Hits AppStore… Wider Interoperability to Come?
May 19, 2010
Today Vocera Communications announced the availability of a iPhone client application. While there is no specific mention of interoperability with other mobile devices to come, this does begin to extend the Vocera engine beyond the badge in a direction that has yet to be fleshed out to date. The Motorola powered Vocera smartphone represented a shift beyond the badge world, as did the introduction of the Windows mobile client for Motorola MC55, MC70 and MC75; however, these are more industrial grade types of devices, and not necessarily consumer oriented like the iPhone.
There were some earlier explorations with Sprint and Blackberries, but nothing that has taken hold to date. While hospital customers are not necessarily doing widespread enterprise adoptions of iPhones, physicians and executives are either showing up with their own devices, or pushing their IT organizations to allow them, in essence forcing the issue. The Vocera iPhone app is a further disrupter, especially because it begins to tear down the walls communication wise between home, office, and hospital facility. This is an especially interesting development in light of the work that Voalte has done in bringing voice and alarm notification to the iPhone, iPad, and Blackberry. Whereas Voalte first took and alarm notification starting place, then added in voice, Vocera has come at this from the other way around. Alarm notification is likely not far behind.
We are in line for some messiness as enterprise IT tries to work through the management of these new multi-modal devices; however, given widespread consumer adoption of smartphones, this is precisely the competitive innovation the market is hungry for.
