A recent article, “New York City cops will replace their 36,000 Windows phones with iPhones”  highlighted an important point that must be considered any time an organization, public or private, government or commercial, decides to upgrade their mobile infrastructure – it’s no longer just about the hardware when it comes to planning for the future.

The NYPD has decided to use the end of life of Windows Phone 8.1 as their compelling event to transition their 36,000 phones to iPhones.  It requires a look back to understand why the NYPD is in the situation it is.

The NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for IT stated “Three years ago we made the decision to bring mobility to the NYPD. At that time, neither iOS nor Android phones allowed us to cost-effectively utilize prior investment in custom Windows applications.”

That quote itself highlights a major consideration for every organization looking to make a significant investment in their field force – how can you effectively plan for future application needs, independent of hardware? You can’t really, unless your application strategy itself is cross-platform from the outset.
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