Mobile technology adoption in the healthcare industry has dramatically increased over the years. In fact, approximately 45 percent of healthcare workers use mobile handsets to collect data, all at the side of a bed! In addition, 25 percent of healthcare workers said that all data captured by their mobile devices fully integrates with health records.

However, with BYOD also on the rise, a strict security policy is of the utmost importance. While information must be readily available and easily accessible, it also needs to remain secure. Doctors, nurses and technicians often bring their personal devices to work, and they’d like to be able to use them on their hospital’s network to access patient data. An on-call doctor needs to be access healthcare records from home just as easily and securely as he/she would in the hospital.

In addition to staff needing secure access, visitors often request access to the network, which needs to be taken into consideration when developing your BYOD policy. Ensuring the network is secure will reduce risk and improve user experience, creating a reliable security strategy that supports BYOD for healthcare professionals and visitors alike.

Learn more about enterprise mobility in healthcare.

An episode of Portlandia had a scene where a couple wants to know exactly where their meal is coming from—Is it local? Is it organic? USDA organic, Oregon organic, or Portland organic? Are the hazelnuts the chicken is fed organic? And just how big is the area where the birds roam free? The server is happy to answer their questions by providing a folder of information, complete with a photo of the chicken, named Colin. This still did not satisfy their needs, so they asked the server to hold their table while they took a trip to visit the farm where Colin came from.

While this is a parody of foodie culture, Black Restraunt Group saw it as an opportunity. They recently teamed up with Congressional Seafood, one of their main fish suppliers, to launch a traceability program that would allow diners and shoppers to get more information on their food. Customers will even be able to see photos and names of the fisherman, where the fish were harvested, what gear was used and a description on the taste.

In order to achieve this, QR codes will take customers to web pages with all of the fish facts. It took approximately five months to gather all of the information about their fish, farmers and fisherman, collecting photos and videos throughout the process.

Customers don’t want to be tricked into believing something is organic when its not, so information is power. In addition to providing the customer with information, The Safety and Fraud Enforcement (SAFE) for Seafood Act, proposed by congress earlier this year, would require vendors to specify the seafood’s scientific and market names, as well as whether it was previously frozen or treated with any substance. The bill calls for businesses to make clear how, when and where their fish was caught or if it was farm-raised.

If passed, the bill would greatly affect how businesses track their food traceability.

Watch the clip of Portlandia below, and learn more about food traceability.

The U.S. Defense Department recently approved the use of Samsung mobile devices and the BlackBarry 10 for military use.

The U.S. National Security Agency worked closely with Samsung to create a security enhanced Android. The security system, named Knox, allows employers to keep corporate and military applications and data securely on a smartphone or tablet. If an employee leaves the company or loses his/her device, data can be easily erased remotely, without having to worry about data being lost entirely.

Typically, the military has only trusted BlackBerrys, but now, they are looking to establish a multi-vendor environment that can support a variety of different devices and operating systems. Apple’s iOS 6 is expected to be cleared for military use shortly.

What could this mean for BlackBerry? They’ve already lost a fair amount of consumer-based market share to Apple and Android devices, but have remained strong in high-security businesses. Scott Totzke, senior vice president of security, BlackBerry, said that the new BlackBerry 10 “offers a rich, highly responsive mobile computing experience, along with BlackBerry’s proven and validated security model.” However, I suspect they’ll have to compete even harder to stay relevant in an Apple- and Android-driven world.

I recently came across a Fortune article entitled, “Why Mobile Wallets Alone Will Fail.” The article brings up some interesting points. We’ve discussed how mobile wallets are slow to grow due to the lack of NFC-enabled mobile devices, but the Fortune article suggests that there’s also something else missing—interaction.

Think of going to a small, local shop that you often frequent. There may only be a few store clerks, or just the owner, but if you’re a regular, they remember you. They might ask how your new headphones are working out for you, and may even suggest other items that they think you would like. Now, imagine going to a big-box store, such as Target. Chances are, your shopping experiences are very different. You might walk through the automated door, grab a cart, and head to the aisles with items that you need. You’re not greeted by anyone until you arrive at the point of sale (POS).

Essentially, shopping at large, chain stores has become dehumanized. But, rather than throwing a store greeter into the mix, investing in more technology could actually improve the shopping experience and expand the usage of mobile payment. While we’ve discussed customer experience in the retail industry before, tying it to the mobile payment experience could be a win-win for both.

Once customers are at the POS, its too late—they aren’t going to buy anything else aside from a pack of gum or magazine. By leveraging the smartphone, stores could create apps that greet customers as they enter a store, reward customers for being there, allow customers to create lists and point out the aisles the products are located in, suggest complimentary products and more.

After the customers have been interacting with their mobile device throughout their shopping experience, using it to pay for their goods will become second nature. Creating a new shopping experience, rather than just having a new way to pay for things, will be the ticket to successful mobile payment adoption. Or, as the Fortune article states, “Alone, mobile payment won’t take off with shoppers in a big way, but only as part of something that lifts up the shopping experience radically and fundamentally, then it will be awesome.”

Do you agree that mobile payments need to be part of a greater mobile shopping experience in order to succeed? Share your thoughts by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

So much of what we do is online, so it’s important to have a good connection. Thankfully, next generation 802.11ac increases Wi-Fi capacity to meet network bandwidth demands.

Motorola Solutions recently introduced a new suite of indoor- and outdoor-rated 802.11ac access points (APs) that deliver faster speeds, helping enterprise businesses and government access high-bandwidth applications over their Wi-Fi networks.

Motorola’s complete offering includes the AP 8232, AP 8222 and AP 8263, with flexible options on installment. In addition to increasing speed, the next generation 802.11ac APs enable integrated location and security sensing, ideal for mobile commerce applications where shoppers need to be connected. The APs also feature:

• Expandable design to support plug-in applications
• AP 8263 offers tri-radio for ruggedized and outdoor deployments
• Real-time content caching with WiNG 5

“The demands on network bandwidth are on the rise, and our end-to-end solution for the 802.11ac standard, including new APs and WiNG 5.5 upgrade, increase capacity in the Wi-Fi network for both enterprise and government. In addition, the application acceleration engine with content caching helps accelerate application performance without requiring significant increases in WAN bandwidth,” said Imran Akbar, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Networks & Communications, Motorola Solutions.

Learn more about the Motorola Solutions 802.11ac AP.