How many different mobile devices do you own? Are you loyal to just one brand or platform? Most organizations and households now have users with a number of different devices and platforms. As the average number of devices per organization and per household explodes exponentially, so too does the demand for programs and apps to span platforms in a seamless, integrated experience. This coming together of platforms is device interoperability.
Interoperability is defined by Oracle as “a way to enable disparate software application to work together.” When systems are interoperable, many different software programs can communicate with each other and share information that would previously have to be looked up one by one. It can also mean hardware flexibility, where you can access the same information from a variety of platforms and types of operating systems.
The advent of cloud computing and remote data centers along with this demand has created a wealth of this kind of software, but why exactly is this a desired trait? What is the use of cross-platform, interwoven software, and what are the advantages of using it?
Device interoperability = flexibility
The immediate positive feature of software that communicates between devices is the flexibility it creates. Jumping between a tablet, a phone, and a laptop on several different programs to work on an assignment due in an hour as you race through rush hour would not be possible without a cloud storage network to host the document free of the confines of a device’s hard drive.
When you can combine multiple software systems into one view, you can manipulate the data easily, without the time and effort of manually combining everything into one view.
It is not always hindered to the same kind of operating system, either – some apps, like this baby monitoring app highlighted on Mashable, work across iOS and Android devices, with no lag between the devices on a bad night in a young couple’s life. Flexibility and speed are key in this fast-paced world.
Device interoperability enables rapidity
The constant push in industrial society to make products better, faster, cheaper, drives most innovation, including computing. When you can hop between screens as you work on the same project, you can get it done faster than if you were tied down to one location. This applies not only to solo assignments but to group projects, as collaboration is easier when a multi-platform solution is available for use.
A good example of how device interoperability increases speed and efficiency is with cross-platform video conferencing. For example Bluejeans, a popular video conferencing solution, not only permits its users to call in from different devices, but also lets them log in and out of their hardware to switch screens in the middle of a call. In addition to physical changes, users can login from both the internal system and external chat software on Bluejeans to combine two kinds of interoperability into one.
With this kind of availability, there is no need to wait for your teammates to get accustomed to a foreign interface, or dancing around system requirements to get needs met. You can sign in from your preferred chat window and go.
Device interoperability boosts reliability
External, Internet-based sharing of information is not only beneficial for personal or business professional use. The healthcare industry is scrambling to cut down on the number of its many systems, and combine the rest in order to reduce the red tape that have unfortunately become synonymous with healthcare–at least in the US. As HITconsultant.net points out, device interoperability in a hospital or other health care provider’s systems is cheaper, safer, more convenient, and more trustworthy than typical solutions of unlinked, cobbled-together software made by too many hands for too many needs.
When all of the databases are communicating with each other and available on any device hooked up to the hospital’s network, doctors can diagnose and treat quicker, and patient information is never lost in the paper shuffle. When the same information is transferred through the platforms instead of making a new copy with each new software, clutter is reduced, and the chances of a fat-fingered error narrow to slim.
Making all of the ends meet
Interoperability in all of its variations is the product of leaning out the complicated network of systems that has sprung up as more parties dive into the technical solution fray. With so many choices for the average user to pick from, the best solution is one that lets you keep hold of your favorite software or hardware, while still being able to communicate with people with different tastes than you. Combination tools that are flexible, quick, and reliable will enable you to increase productivity and get your work done in record time, all while being comfortable in the operating system and program that you are most familiar with.
While there is no true ‘one size fits all’ solution as of yet, the number of choices you have to make to cover all of the bases is getting fewer, and soon the universal constant of software will emerge from this kicking fray of competition to take the lead – until the next technological innovation comes along to split up the game again.
