Integrating GPS With Application Technology and Web Services
Introduction:
GPS systems are currently commissioned in mobile devices. Consider an application such as a customer relationship management or a web service whose decision support system can be based on location aware services. Some techniques of integrating GPS with application technology and web services are discussed in the foregoing sections.
Applications based on location aware services:
some factors which would vary from location to location are:
1. Local rent
2. Local legal sales laws
3. Local corporate laws
4. Local currency exchange rate
5. Local market information
Customer relation ship management:
CRM applications based on location aware services can integrate local tax laws or legal rules for sales. In this case customer quotes can be conditionally provided depending upon the location of the requesting user. The quotes can be directly converted to local currency using GPS to identify the location of the requesting user and providing for currency exchange rates instantaneously. Currently when a local exchange rate is to be used in an application, it has to go through the process of keeping the address of the user and also the process of retrieving the local exchange rate directly instead of requesting for the address.
Enterprise resource planning:
ERP applications can utilize location aware services for determining, inventory holding costs based on local real estate prices. Also, ERP applications can directly perform the order fulfillment module by directing the shipment to a specific warehouse location without spending data entry effort on creating a complex routing algorithm the costing module can provide mean rental rates etc in a particular local which can be used for performing what if analysis, etc.
Database localization issues:
Data base localization issues can be resolved easily by real time integration of GPS with the configuration system of the databases. This way there need not be any manual configuration related to localization of the databases with respect to the location.
Application UI language issues:
Applications which require to be displayed in unicode characters sets such as Kanji or Mandarin etc can be easily redirected using GPS integration. For example an online Indian magazine can automatically serve the web pages in multiple languages based on the location of the requesting user.
Web services:
Web services have become critical portion of today’s application services today. Web services are used for providing b2b integration to applications. They also provide for information such as eoq for stocks, remaining balance for credit cards. A web service if integrated with GPS can provide for specific market information which requires real estate rates, local currency exchange rates, etc.
Business / health care analytics:
Business applications such as analytics which provide data analysis value such as customer profiling if integrated with location aware services can provide for cutting edge value addition such as location specific market segmentation, product preferences, etc.
Health care analytics can when integrated with location aware services can provide causal analysis for health trends which occur due to geographic imbalances or cultural imbalances. For example a place with a prevalence of marriages within relatives can raise a pointer towards a specific genetic disorder or a place with a history of drought can provide analysis of diseases related to malnutrition.