A mobile business information system for the control of local and remote workforce through reactive and behavior-based monitoring

This study analyzes the viability of using employees’ smartphones following the BYOD paradigm as a valid tool to enable firms to control effective presence (primarily of remote labor force). We propose a model for a Mobile Presence Control Information System with which to demonstrate experimentally the viability of unifying three elements that have only been examined individually in previous studies: the consumerization of ITs, the real geolocation capabilities of personal mobile devices that employees can use in the workplace, and the exclusive use of Mobile Web technology to obtain universal location information without the need to install native apps. We also propose a new and specific methodology to analyze the precision and accuracy of the location data obtained by smartphone geolocation services. We developed a prototype of the Information System proposed and demonstrated its validity under different real-use conditions, obtaining valuable information on the accuracy and precision of the location data from real devices (based on iOS and Android) under the conditions of heterogeneous connectivity representative of workplaces. This research enables us to establish a new framework for the requirements needed, on both quantitative and qualitative levels, for the accuracy of the mobile location systems that can be used in Presence Control Information Systems, particularly those related to control of remote labor force.