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Since 2007, iPhone applications have been utilized in increasing ways in consumer environments, including the workplace. This paper discusses current levels of iPhone and iPad application integration into organizations’ daily operations and sought to gather employee knowledge and perceptions of application usage. The potential for greater efficiencies by application integration are also discussed. The data used for this study was gathered using a questionnaire distributed to individuals in varying industries and organizations, from education to military, in order to gain insight into how applications are currently being used, how they could be used, and ways to improve supply chain efficiencies. INTRODUCTION In the past decade, technology has dramatically changed everyday routines for most of the industrialized world. Before 2000, most people could not play games or access email via cellular phones. Now, most consumers can perform functions from phones that previously required a computer with an Internet connection. A billion mobile devices will access the Internet in the year of 2010 [1]. This forecast in 2009 has probably been well surpassed. Technology has redesigned business in past decades. The Internet has made simple business processes, such as remote meetings, digital and cost effective. More recently, a new element has been added to this fast paced business environment: mobility. Throughout the past five years, iPhones and iPads and similar devices have dramatically changed numerous business functions. Smartphone platforms have redefined the business world. The Android/Google system offers consumers a more self-serving system while Blackberry and Apple offer more managed systems. While both types of platforms have been extremely innovative, the iPhone is often recognized for paving the way for this innovation [3]. While the hardware that makes up these devices is cutting edge, there is nothing extremely innovative about the components of iPads or iPhones. The driving factor affecting business and communications is the applications accessed by these devices. There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPad applications. Apple applications can be categorized in many ways, looking, for example, at the cost of an application or at the supplier of the application. This study found it useful to mix these viewpoints into five main categories: universal, free, paid, subscription, or custom. The applications, whether created by Apple or an outside entity, allow people from all backgrounds to access sometimes large amounts of information in seconds. Apple’s App Store has more than 300,000 applications in various categories [17]. With such a selection, one can often find a free or paid application that is applicable to a specific industry or expertise. For example, there are Six Sigma applications and best practices checklist applications. No idea is too broad or narrow when it comes to the App Store. Programmers have the option of designing and developing almost any idea into an application [16]. For the right price, programmers will also develop customized applications for a third party. Applications are also created for advertisements or publicity. For instance, authors can create an application for the sole purpose of book promotion. Issues in Information Systems Volume XII, No. 1, pp. 170-180, 2011 171 In the business world, one area of intense interest is supply chain and all aspects surrounding it. Supply chain innovations can help any company save money. Identifying a potential for more sustainable practices will lead to greater supply chain efficiencies [6]. While considerable research has been conducted in the areas of supply chain, supply chain management, and efficiencies, little research exists in the area of iPhone and iPad applications. This study deployed a questionnaire to individuals in varying industries and organizations, from education to military, in order to gain insight into how applications are currently being used, how they could be used, and ways to improve supply chain efficiencies. LITERATURE REVIEW Launched 30 years ago, mobile telecommunications have grown tremendously and consist of 4.6 billion users and over 1 billion mobile Internet users [7]. Reflecting consumer demands, the mobile phone is evolving into a mobile computing device, functioning like a PC. The average hand held device is designed for a lifecycle of 3.5 years. Rapid replacement is attributed to the tendency of consumers to want a device with more applications and functionality overall. Smartphones have dramatically changed the way business is conducted and “...have the capacity to increase the amount of information we can consume and distribute, and the times/places where we can do it, adding a valuable level of mobility to the way we work” [5]. Hopkins [5] concludes that smartphones are essential, time saving devices; he also concludes that the majority of business users mainly utilize the email and calendar features of their smartphones. To be beneficial, the mobile product and service should ensure relevance to the user [19]. Applications of smartphones have taken this concept one step further by adding even more customization options and business solutions. Over the past decade, business has become more mobile and borderless. Applications are particularly convenient to executives that spend more time in planes and cars than in offices. Enterprise applications are created to support business processes from servers in a data center; the applications (on iPhones and iPads and similar devices) empower employees from their device [4]. Empowering employees, historically, leads to higher efficiencies. This empowerment, combined with the speed of mobile workers and mobile applications, could certainly yield improved efficiencies for organizations. The ability to download applications of nearly any functionality allows iPhone and iPad users to make their device most relevant to their occupation and personal preferences. Flurryanalytics.com [18] illustrates the diversity of iPhone applications and the ability of users to interact with the applications most relevant to their life and providing the most benefit. However, a survey conducted by Flurry Analytics demonstrated that consumers spent the most time using applications for social networking and news. Utility or functional applications were not even considered in the survey; at the time (early 2010), utilizing the functionality of applications on a regular basis was a new concept to many people. Yet, according to Faulhaber and Farber [3], the application segment has proven extremely innovative. In the past decade the market has grown from a few dozen applications to several hundred thousand. While the race to be the most innovative was in progress before the introduction of the iPhone and iPad, the iPhone raised the bar for all other device makers. Competition in the wireless markets has led to great innovations. The carrier is no longer nearly as important to the consumer; functionality of the device, or its applications, is the innovation [3]. One of the premier industries to take advantage of iPhone applications is the medical field. Custom and universal applications have been used to aid doctors, nurses, and support staff in several areas of medicine. One example is the field of neurological sciences, where studies concluded that the iPhone Teleradiology system accurately detects acute cervicodorsal spinal trauma and allows secure and mobile visualization of medical images; however, no patient data is permanently stored on the phone [10]. Here, the applications, not the phone itself, are used as tools. Issues in Information Systems Volume XII, No. 1, pp. 170-180, 2011 172 While iPhone applications have made the jobs of medical staff easier, they have also assisted patients. Diabetics use many tools for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). Studies in this field have shown that sharing SMGB data and feedback from health care providers can help achieve glycemic goals. “Being able to record, analyze, seamlessly share, and obtain feedback on the SMBG data using an iPhone/iTouch application might potentially benefit patients. Trends in SMBG data management and the possibility of having interoperability of blood glucose monitors and smartphones may open up new avenues of diabetes management for the technologically savvy patient” [12]. Applications can improve efficiency while at the same time improve customer care and service. Electronic health records have proven to be innovative and life saving; adding the factor of mobility to this and similar innovations only further increases efficiencies, leading to more effective patient care. Having increasingly accurate and mobile health records and information greatly reduces error and improves, even saves, the lives of patients; this is a major innovation for the medical industry. Using an iPhone for diagnostics and imaging is highly innovative [14]. Mobile devices are also being utilized in Location-Based Logistic Services to assist employees. Mobile devices support the order execution process. They route the deliverers to their next destination and keep them informed about past and future orders. Mobile devices enable the tracking of the current order state, the actual position of the packages, and the employee’s position for extending the existing order disposition and routing processes [2]. Numerous studies have been conducted in regards to supply chain, supply chain management, and efficiencies. Traditionally, supply chains are decentralized and each segment is evaluated individually; this approach often leads to poor performance of the system [9]. Centralization, integration, and communication are crucial to maximizing efficiencies of the supply chain, regardless of the industry. Supply chain managers can reach success by collaborating closely with suppliers [15]. Case studies from the mobile phone industry on App

IPHONE AND IPAD APPLICATIONS: PERCEPTIONS OF USE IN AN ORGANIZATION'S SUPPLY CHAIN