What I Learned about Mobility at the SAP Influencer Summit 2010

I have compiled my tweets (join me on Twitter @krbenedict) that I published over the past few days here at the SAP Influencer Summit in Santa Clara, CA. I focus on enterprise mobility so this is the topic of most of these tweets.

1. Prashant Chatterjee said 100% of customers add customized features to their mobile apps today.

2. We got solid mobile roadmap answers at the SAP Influencer summit.

3. The 365, Mobiliser Service Platform and SUP will start to converge around the tools in the mobile SDK.

4. Sybase Mobiliser Service Platform consists of communications, apps and commerce functions (365).

5. Mobile developers may have a revenue opportunity developing add-ons to the mobile SDK and selling on SAP EcoHub.

6. Number one goal of Sybase Mobile is to enable a containerized web style approach to mobile app dev.

7. Sybase will invest in Mobile SDKs and mobile development tools for a focused mobile business app purpose.

8. Sybase will save various Mobile App templates in HTML5 and make them available. It will evolve over time.

9. Sybase Mobile SDK will begin to enable GUI design via HTML5. It will provide a good headstart for GUIs, but not all features.

10. Sybase wants to help web developers become mobile developers with the Mobile SDK.

11. NetWeaver Mobile/DOE will be integrated with SUP and in future, customers who have not deployed NWM can simply deploy SUP. All customers who have already deployed NWM will continue to be supported. So technically, SUP is not replacing NWM, rather we’re integrating NWM into SUP.

12. The NetWeaver Mobile team has moved into the SUP team. DOE will be integrated into SUP.

13. Sybase Afaria manages provisioning of mobile devices. It serves as a EAM for mobile devices. Very cool!

14. Specific business logic in mobile apps will need to be custom coded. Sybase provides 80% of app code, 20% you must code.
15. Sybase will continue to develop mobile APIs for all major ERPs, technologies and business apps.

16. SAP mobile Instant Value apps are now called "Productivity Apps."

17. Sybase mobile expense report app takes voice note attachments. That is cool! "PAID THE (@#%$#$$#* Taxi Driver $54.00."

18. Pondering what SAP users can do different with mobile SAP apps than they can do today...thoughts?

19. SAP announced they will have a mobile EAM app running on SUP by Sapphire 2011.

20. SAP announced they will have a generic field services app by Sapphire on SUP.

21. SAP says partners will have a hard time selling against the Sybase Unwired Platform, so they need to align their roadmaps.

22. Tellabs CIO thinks soon all apps will first be developed mobile, and then a subset converted to desktop.

23. Tellabs says mobile apps will have a short lifecycle. Don't plan for longterm mobile apps, they change too fast.

24. Tellabs has an ethics policy that mobile app users sign before they use personal devices for work.

25. There are cool SAP related apps for 99 cents on iTunes, some even work.

26. Tellabs IT was the biggest obstacle. They didn't want to give up command and control and give mobile access early on.

27. Tellabs promotes bring your own mobile device to work. Security is installed, a contract signed - personal devices are used.

28. SAP customer Tellabs has iPhone and iPad apps for supply chain management. Complex apps that offer drill downs into data.

29. SAP Hana will have a big impact on mobility. Reports that took hours, now take seconds. Now feasible for mobile devices.

30. Mobile apps were first just SAP on smaller screens, now SAP is looking at what can we do different with mobile devices?

31. When will there be Android Support in Sybase/SAP unwired platform ( confirmed date) and BlackBerry OS 5.0/6.0 Support in SUP?

32. SAP's Kevin Nix is going to focus on the area of on-demand and not on mobility going forward.

33. The last three months of sales for SAP mobility point to very good future results. ~ Dr. Raj Nathan.

34. Last 3 months of enterprise mobility sales for SAP have been very encouraging. ~ Dr. Raj Nathan.

35. SAP mobile apps - sales, services and BI. These are the three categories of mobile apps that SAP will focus on.

36. SDK is being designed to accommodate many different mobility models. Q2 is the release for the mobile SDK.

37. Business ByDesign is being mobilized.

38. Consumers will increasingly be touching SAP systems through mobile devices. ~ Dr. Raj Nathan

39. SAP goal to reach over 80% of mobile subscribers around the world, and reach 1 billion people by delivering instant value apps.

40. Four mobile developer needs - create, connect, control and consume. Sybase likes the letter "C".

41. Mobile servers, mobile apps and mobile services are the components of a mobility platform. ~ Dr. Raj Nathan.

42. Sybase is the mobility arm within SAP. SAP will direct mobility business to Sybase. ~ Dr. Raj Nathan

43. Mobility is the new desktop. All applications need to be mobile.

44. It is 19% cheaper to provide mobile banking than brick and mortar banking.

45. There are more mobile phones than toothbrushes. ~ Dr. Raj Nathan

46. Mobile targeted markets – information workers, consumers, excutives. Solutions for desktop task workers already done.

47. Dr. Raj Nathan EVP and CMO Sybase speaks on progress made in the SAP/Sybase integration and roadmap.

48. SAP Project "Gateway" due 1st half of 2011.

49. SAP Mobile SDK now scheduled 1st half of 2011.

50. Two surprising developments since 2002, importance of business intelligence and mobility. ~Vishal Sikka

51. Sybase manages over 2 billion SMS messages per day through their 365 platform. Many did not know this fact.

52. RIM is integrated within NetWeaver in the new 7.3 release. Must learn more..

53. Vishall Sikka in jeans...doing the Steve Jobs thing, nice!

54. Relational databases are a limitation and SAP will change this with in-memory. ~ Jim Snabe

55. Mobility is the new frontend to business applications. ~ Jim Snabe

56. Mobility will add value to the investments companies made in SAP. ~ Jim Snabe

57. Security, reliability, integration are the core values of SUP. ~ Jim Snabe

58. The preferred method to access business apps will be mobile devices.~ Jim Snabe Co-CEO SAP

59. Prashant Chatterjee – stressed the need for ISVs to develop industry specific mobile processes that require expertise.

60. Prashant Chatterjee promised good enterprise mobility content from the summit today. We will hold him to it.

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin:
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Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.