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Showing posts from November, 2010

Execution in Enterprise Mobility

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This weekend I read an article written by Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, called Africa Needs Aid Not Flawed Theories in the November 27-28 edition of the Wall Street Journal.  In it he criticizes author Matt Ridley’s ideas (found in the book The Rational Optimist) by saying, “He seems to think that innovation involves simply coming up with a new idea, when in fact the execution of the idea is critical.” This got me thinking.  If the execution of the idea is what is critical, how does this relate to enterprise mobility vendors?  I receive calls and emails from mobile start-ups weekly.  Many are convinced they have a better mobile application, a better strategy and a better team.  However, they have no money, only three people in the company, no brand recognition, and no global sales, delivery or support infrastructure.  I usually ask a few additional questions to learn if there is anything at all that might hint at their ability to execute.  Too often there is not.

The Evolutionary Phases of Enterprise Mobility

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I have had several opportunities to visit with large enterprises about their mobility strategies lately.  It is interesting watching and learning how large companies go about mobilizing business processes.  As a result of these discussions and experiences, I propose that there are at least six phases of this evolutionary process.  Let me know your thoughts as well! I believe that phase one of an enterprise mobility strategy is to recognize the need to mobilize enterprise solutions.  Enterprise mobility is not a fad.  It is strategic and mission critical.  Mobile browsing is predicted to surpass all other forms of internet connectivity within the next year or two.  I have seen reports that over 40 percent of the workforce is mobile.  Giving them access to the right information, at the right time and at the right place to do their job is critical.  Everyone has a smartphone these days.  They are indepensable tools for the mobile workforce. Phase two of your mobile strategy is to st

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - November 30, 2010

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile retailing applications and mobile marketing applications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information. ******** As location-based services report impressive user growth and big brand partnerships, and major players like Facebook and Google enter the space, marketers are ramping up their location-based efforts for the holiday season. http://mashable.com/2010/11/17/location-based-services-holidays/ ******** Bargain hunters can print out paper coupons or can go paperless. You can download mobile coupon apps to your smartphone and you'll be sent limited time offers at stores right near you. Just click on the coupon, show it to the cashier and ring up the savings.

The True Value in Enterprise Mobility

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Have you ever really thought about where the true value is in enterprise mobility?  Is it replacing paper documents with electronic forms and data?  Is it replacing manual processes with automated?  Is it receiving more accurate data from the field?  Is it all about speed and efficiencies?  What is it?  I think the answer is YES.  It is all of the above, but there is much more. Mobile and real-time communications - Just think about how you text friends and family today.  In seconds you can learn where your friends and family members are and what they are doing.  This is a relatively new development for humanity.  We are compressing time by receiving more information at a faster pace that allows us to act on the information quicker.  I read recently that people no longer are asking for detailed location information when meeting people.  They simply say, "I will call or text you when I am close.  We can figure out where to meet at that time."  This is the result of instant

What Happens When the Novelty of Enterprise Mobility Wears Off?

What happens when wireless connectivity and mobile applications are no longer a novelty?  What will enterprise mobility companies talk about?  Already SAP's acquisition of Sybase has made the discussion of MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms) p assé.   Enterprise mobility vendors will announce their support for leading MEAPs, much like announcing their support for various OSs, and the discussion will move on to more interesting topics. What is the value that enterprise mobility vendors will bring to the market in 2011?  I propose that the value will come in the following areas:

Enterprise Mobility, Embedded Wireless Devices and Robotics

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I believe it is useful to not only study current enterprise mobility trends, but also to look at future trends when planning an enterprise mobility strategy.  One of the places to keep an eye on for future trends is the US military.  Why?  The US military must plan years ahead for each new generation of fighter jet or weapons platform, as the technology takes many years to develop and perfect.  Recently US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Department of Defense will begin planning for the next generation (6th generation) of fighter jets.  One of the most interesting requirements is that it will be capable of being flown pilotless. 

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - November 24, 2010 ** Special Edition

This is a special edition of Kevin's Mobility News Weekly.  In this edition I have collected the best market and trend numbers from the past few months and aggregated them into one edition.  You can save this edition and use these numbers in your own business plans and presentations. ******** Nokia released its results for second quarter, 2010. They reveal a 40 percent slump in profits to €227 million, compared to €380 million a year ago. On a slightly brighter note, the company increased its share of the smartphone market by one percent to 41 percent in the quarter, having sold 24 million smartphones. http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/nokia-profits-slump-while-smartphone-share-rises ******** Of the four key Motorola business segments, only the company's enterprise mobility segment experienced growth, with sales of $1.9 billion, up ten percent compared to a year ago.

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - November 23, 2010 ** Special Edition

This is a special edition of Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly. In this edition I have collected the best market and trend numbers from the past few months and aggregated them into one edition. You can save this edition and use these numbers in your own business plans and presentations. ******** According to Forrester, 47 percent of consumers expect to wait no more than two seconds for a Web page to load; 58 percent of mobile phone users expect websites to load as quickly on their mobile phone as on their PC according to Gomez research. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/compuware-gomez-presents-webinar-on-the-top-e-commerce-strategies-for-turning-web-traffic-into-sales-2010-09-08?reflink=MW_news_stmp ******** In a development with importance to e-commerce merchants and other marketers moving to mobile commerce, phones using Android accounted for one quarter of all North American mobile page views in August, up from 6.4 percent in August 2009, according to the latest nu

Ben Lee on the Mobile Wallet

Mobile retailing guru Ben Lee has written a very interesting blog article on Google's new mobile payment platform.  Some of the most interesting points are as follows: Google’s next version of its Android Smartphone software will support a technology that lets people use their handsets, instead of credit cards. Google CEO Eric Schmitt said that support for Near Field Communications will be integrated into the next version of its Android software. Three of the four largest mobile phone carriers in the U.S. have formed a joint venture to turn phones into digital wallets. Many mobile application developers will incorporate this new functionality into mobile retailing applications.

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 4

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Bill Moylan, Syclo's EVP of Sales This is part four of the an interview with Syclo's Bill Moylan. Kevin:   What other trends are you seeing in the enterprise mobility market? Bill:   We are actually still quite focused on the traditional market of field services.  We have a narrower view of enterprise mobility than perhaps you.  There are more devices, more operating systems and more choices for mobile devices, but the value propositions are much the same as we have been selling for sometime. Kevin:   What do you predict will be different in 2011 in the enterprise mobility market? Bill:   There will be a massive amount of options available for new mobile devices and operating systems.  This will allow Syclo to recommend exactly the right kind of mobile devices for each kind of job.  We will be announcing Android support soon. Kevin:   What industry markets are you focusing on today?

Mobile Coupons and Enterprise Mobility

In an article written by Helen Leggatt for BizReport, she writes that 54 percent of retailers will put m-coupon (mobile coupon) systems in place in the next 12 months.  These systems will allow coupons to be dispatched to customers' mobile phones and scanned at the point-of-sale.  I can anticipate that the "dispatched" component could easily be scheduled, location-based, by subscription or on-demand. In a recent survey by mBlox it was found that over three quarters of all consumers surveyed use coupons when shopping, and 29 percent of UK and 15 percent of U.S. consumers have already used a mobile coupon.  In addition, 71 percent of UK and 42 percent of U.S. mobile users said they would be interested in receiving mobile coupons/vouchers while they are shopping in a store to alert them to a special offer or promotion. The mBlox survey also shows that there is a different level of adoption rate between UK and U.S. consumers when it comes to business communications use mo

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 3

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Bill Moylan, Syclo's EVP of Sales This is part three of this interview with Syclo's Bill Moylan. Kevin:   Do you talk about improvements to DSO (days sales outstanding) as a value that may be available through better field services processes? Bill:   Absolutely!  Make sure that all billing is done accurately.  Make sure you are providing the services in the SLA (service level agreement). Make sure you have all the warranty information.  Get the customer to sign off on the work.  SAP gives you a lot of strength in this area. Kevin:  What mobile device trends are you seeing in your markets? Bill:   Executives want BlackBerry applications.  Executives are trying to get IT to accept iPhones. Kevin:  How are you working with Sybase?

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 2

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Bill Moylan, EVP of Sales Syclo This is the second part of this interview with Syclo's Bill Moylan. Kevin:   What advice do you give companies that are just looking to get into mobility? Bill:   Let me start out by giving some advice as to what companies should not do.  I have seen many companies that try to build a strategy around what smartphones they happen to have in their pocket. Some companies say to me, “We use BlackBerrys, so we need a mobile application for a BlackBerry.”  That is a wrong strategy, as mobile devices will change, but you want your enterprise mobility strategy to be long lasting.  That is not a good strategic view. Companies have key business objectives; they are usually around reducing costs and increasing revenue. Companies should look at their objectives and then hunt for areas in the various operational areas where mobility can help the company accomplish them.  We work with a lot of life science companies.  They may be looking for ways they can

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 1

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Bill Moylan, Syclo EVP of Sales Bill Moylan, EVP of Sales at Syclo was kind enough to spend some time with me recently answering questions.  Syclo is a co-innovation partner of SAP. Kevin:  What mobile device(s) do you personally carry? Bill:   I am a mobile junkie! I have a BlackBerry 9700, iPhone, iPad, iPAQ, and I will occasionally carry a Symbol MC55.  I want to get an ES400. I have been a mobile junkie for years! I use the iPad, iPhone and BlackBerry every day.  The iPhone and iPad are mostly for personal use.  However, the BlackBerry is chained to my hand for work.  Oh yes, I have a Netbook in the livingroom to surf the internet while watching TV.  I also have a laptop, but it stays in the office.  I carry the iPad nowadays. Kevin:   How do you carry them all, one in each pocket? Bill:   No, I carry the iPhone and BlackBerry in the same pocket. I carry the iPad in my briefcase. The iPad is very useful.  I used the iPad for navigation this week on a three hour drive. 

Mobile Expert Interview Series: SAP's Usman Sheikh, December 2010

SAP's EcoHub is SAP's online market for certified partners' solutions.  If you want to know what's new in the SAP ecosystem, EcoHub is the first place to visit.  I wanted to learn what was new in the category of enterprise mobility on EcoHub, so I called up my friend Usman Sheikh, vice president of SAP's EcoHub.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions and share his thoughts with us. Kevin :  Usman, you have a great vantage point as vice president of EcoHub.  You get to see what your certified partners are doing.  What is new at EcoHub? Usman:  Here are some interesting EcoHub facts.  15 percent of all EcoHub solutions are mobile.  When we headline with mobility our EcoHub web traffic doubles.  We get 30-40 percent more sales leads for mobile solutions than other solution categories.  Twenty-five percent of leads that come into EcoHub are the result of social media marketing campaigns. Kevin:   What does EcoHub do for mobile application vendors?

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - November 18, 2010

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market numbers and trends. ******** Smartphone applications will enable the mHealth industry to successfully reach out to 500 million of a total 1.4 billion smartphone users in 2015 the new "Global Mobile Health Market Report 2010-2015" by research2guidance says. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/500-million-people-will-be-using-mobile-health-applications-in-2015-107160173.html ******** The new release of Open Text Everywhere features native client applications for Apple iPhone and iPad. http://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-cms/open-texts-enterprise-cms-mobile-app-befriends-iphone-ipad-009154.php

Vivido Labs Releases New Mobile BI Application for SAP Customers

I have been checking in with SAP's mobility partners this week to learn what is new.  I contacted Vivido Labs and it turns out they were in the process of announcing a brand new Moible BI (business intelligence) application.  So let's talk about it!  It allows you to access BI data on your server and view the updated BI data from your smartphone.  Now for the fun part?  You can customize all the views of the data right from the smartphone. You can add columns, hide columns, and look at the data in hundreds of different ways.   In my experience looking at the same data from different perspectives can give you unique insights. I am a big fan of getting the right data to the right person at the right time. I see this as a good step in that direction.

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - November 17, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices that I read each week. I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article. I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market. ******** Worldwide revenue for embedded mobile modems for M2M applications is forecast to more than triple in 2010 over 2009, and to continue growing strongly through at least 2014, at a 66 percent compound annual growth rate. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Infonetics-Research-Embedded-mobile-M2M-modem-market-on-track-more-than-triple-2010-1330192.htm ******** Members of the M2M sector are posting third quarter financial results this week, and the news seems overwhelmingly positive across the board. http://www.telecomengine.com/techzones/wireless/article.asp?HH_I

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sky Technologies' Neil McHugh

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I was having a discussion with some folks at SAP this week and they shared their impressions that Sky Technologies , an SAP mobility and EcoHub partner, has been winning a significant number of enterprise mobility deals around the world over the past few months.  I thought what better time to check up on Sky Technologies than now.  I called Neil McHugh, Sky Technologies VP of Sales and Marketing in Texas for an update, and he was kind enough to grant me an interview.  Kevin:   Neil, tell me what is new at Sky Technologies since we last met at Sapphire. Neil:   In the first half of 2010 sales were slow as the economy was still an issue with large companies.  After Sapphire and SAP announced the acquisition of Sybase, we decided to rethink our strategic plans to really understand what is best for us as a company.  The results of our strategic realignment have been the following:  • The 2nd half of 2010 has been significantly stronger than the first half. • Year to date, w

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - November 16, 2010

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile retailing applications, mobile payments and mobile marketing applications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information. ******** At its second annual developer conference, PayPal announced the release of Mobile Express Checkout, a platform that will allow customers to pay for retail products in stores using only their mobile phones. http://blogs.forbes.com/moneybuilder/2010/10/26/paypal-wants-you-to-ditch-your-wallet/ ********** Retailers are wising up to the trend in mobile coupons, according to a recent report by IHL Group and RetailConnections. Many are set to implement systems that will allow them to deliver coupons directly to a consumer's mobile phone. http://www.bizreport.com/2010/11/54-of-retailers-to-put-m-coupon-systems-in-place-in-next-12.html

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sybase's Willie Jow, Part 3

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This is Part 3 of my interview with Willie Jow, vice president of mobility product marketing with Sybase. Kevin:  I have had SIs (systems integrators) calling me this week asking if I know where they can find experienced SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform) developers that they can add to their practice.  It appears there is a big and growing demand.  What are you going to do to help train, support and certify developers on SUP? Willie:   We have a phased approach.  Within Sybase we have been training systems integrators for many years. We have already trained a number of SAP systems integrators on how to customize mobile CRM by using SUP.  Our immediate focus is on training internal SAP folks on our solutions.  We have been very busy for the past 90 days and have had great reception and results.  This same training will soon be available to our systems integrators. We have a lot of plans underway for training. Kevin:   A few weeks ago I asked Vishal (SAP Board Member) what his advice w

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sybase's Willie Jow, Part 1

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Willie Jow, vice president of mobility product marketing with Sybase, was gracious enough to let me interview him about the latest developments in enterprise mobility at Sybase, an SAP company. Note:   The words in this interview are not always Willie Jow's exact words.  I have condensed many of my questions and his responses to make them more concise for the reader. Kevin:   Willie, how does Sybase, which is known for its databases and mobile middleware solutions, become a mobile applications company? Willie:  It is true we are best known for our mobile middleware, and that our history has been focused on supporting channels like ISV, OEM and other kinds of partnerships that delivered the mobile applications.  However, a couple of years ago SAP approached us about working on the mobile CRM application.  We accepted this opportunit,y and when we completed the mobile application it was very well received by SAP and customers.  We now have a great deal of experience developing

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sybase's Willie Jow, Part 2

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This is Part 2 of my interview with Sybase's Willie Jow, vice president of mobility product marketing with Sybase. Kevin:   Tell me about the announced mobile SDK.  Where will the SAP/Sybase SDK stop and the native development environments start? Willie:  That is still being finalized even as we speak. The target date for release is Sapphire 2011. It is important to note that there are two different kinds of applications, 1) native applications like the CRM and field service apps, and 2) the container approach. The container is on the device, and we populate it with data. Our workflow app is a container application.  However, our mobile CRM is a native app. Both will exist and be supported in the SDK. Kevin: What do you mean by “container?” Willie: Think of it like an application sitting on your mobile device using native features and code.  However, it has no business logic, or data elements.  We push data to the container.  It is for simple queries and data collection

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - November 11, 2010

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market numbers and trends. ******** Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief executive, said 200 million people now access Facebook through its mobile application, a threefold increase since last year. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/facebook-opens-up-about-mobile-strategy-unveils-new-deals-program.html ******** Kicking a boot into RIM's side, Dell announced all 25,000 employees will be given Dell Venue Pros running WP7 in exchange for their BlackBerrys, but they're also offering a new service to their clients for help switching from BlackBerry. http://m.gizmodo.com/5682309/dell-were-kicking-[blackberry]-out

Update on Sybase Reorganization, Revised Edition

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I have been corrected by SAP on several points since I published this article earlier today.  This is the revised and corrected edition. This is my understanding of how the SAP/Sybase mobility business unit is now organized.  The Mobile Business unit will be under John Chen and it has three main groups: Mobile Platform – led by Billy Ho Mobile Apps – led by Bob Stutz Mobile Services – led by Marty Beard Terry Stepien, will also report to John Chen and lead the Mobile Business unit's managed mobility efforts through the various MNOs (mobile network operators) and ODMs.  Willie Jow will be responsible for supporting sales. I understand that eventually Kevin Nix's team will also move to Bob Stutz's group. If I have any of this wrong, please correct me. Thanks, *************************************************** Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst Phone +1 208-991-4410 Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join SAP Enterp

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - November 10, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices that I read each week. I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article. I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market. ******** M2M represents both a new set of uses for mobile technology and a new source of revenue for mobile operators, and Sprint is aggressively investing in this area. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/208875/sprint_pursues_mobile_m2m_craze.html ******** The emergence of mobile health - or mHealth - presents a new opportunity to enhance disease prevention and management by allowing health related data collection beyond the traditional bounds of the clinic or hospital. http://www.cellular-news.com/story/46273.php

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - November 9, 2010

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile retailing applications, mobile payments and mobile marketing applications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information. ******** Amazon.com just made an interesting upgrade to its iPhone mobile shopping app. Users of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs running iOS 4 can now scan a barcode on a product and instantly get matching product and pricing information from Amazon's catalog. http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/10/amazon_adds_barcode_scanning_to_iphone_shopping_app.html ******** Savvy apparel retailers are having no trouble wrapping their heads (and dollars) around mobile friendly sites and apps as a way to boost revenue and connect with consumers. http://www.bnet.com/blog/publishing-style/how-fashion-brands-can-make-the-most-of-m-commerce/937

Report from Last Week's ClickConnect North America 2010 on Enterprise Mobility

I had the opportunity to attend ClickSoftware's user conference for a couple of days last week in Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was at the Royal Palm, a beautiful resort located in an orange grove.  I was able to meet with many large utility customers and large field services organizations and spend some quality time with Shawn McEwan from Sybase and interview many of the executives from ClickSoftware. Sybase an SAP company , was attending in support of their recently announced partnership with ClickSoftware who is utilizing the Sybase Mobility Platform in their solutions.  Terry Stepien, president, Sybase iAnywhere attended and spoke at the conference.  Here are some of his comments on the partnership, “By implementing ClickSoftware’s mobile applications on components of the Sybase mobility platform, the service industry benefits from an integrated offering from two industry leaders; proven mobility infrastructure from Sybase and proven mobile applications from ClickSoftware.  This

Salesforce.com's Chatter, Mobile Knowledge Management and Collaboration

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I spent time at the CIO Council last week with Kris Muller in product marketing with Salesforce.com.  He was at the CIO conference speaking about Salesforce.com's new solution called Chatter.  Here is the official description of Chatter from Salesforce.com: Chatter is a brand-new way to collaborate with people at work. Where the status of important projects and deals are automatically pushed to you — so you're always in the loop. Share securely and collaborate instantly Stay on top of what matters most Gain insight and make smarter decisions I am a big fan of mobile knowledge management and collaboration tools and this fits right in.  It is a secure way for all members of a sales team (account reps, pre-sales, product marketing, product management, sales management, etc.) to closely follow developments on a specific account.  The team can quickly and securely share information, deal documents, collateral and discussions.

JiWire, Mobile Check-In and Mobile Retailing Applications

I was a guest speaker at the CIO Council 2010 sponsored by Panorama Capital in Las Vegas last week.  I was able to spend a couple of days with a number of high tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and a leading edge group of industry CIOs.  The main focus of the conference this year was enterprise mobility. One of the most interesting discussion tracks at the conference was the increasing role that WiFi may have as MNOs (mobile network operators) increasingly have bandwidth problems.  There are more companies looking to add hotspots, expand coverage and other related services.  One of these companies is JiWire.

SAP's Perfect Plant and Enterprise Mobility

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Enterprise mobility is a term often used in the context of remote and traveling workers, but it can also be used for situations inside the four walls of a manufacturing plant.  This article explores the use of enterprise mobility solutions within the four walls of a plant using SAP. First, let's review what SAP says about their "Perfect Plant" initiative.  SAP is enabling companies to create a framework for the “Perfect Plant” by integrating planning, asset management and execution with real-time visibility.  As a result, manufacturing networks are more agile, responsive and operationally efficient with SAP solutions.  Manufacturers embarking upon the journey towards a “Perfect Plant” gain visibility into all aspects of manufacturing operations, providing the ability to respond faster and minimize impact to the business and bottom line, driving increased yields, asset utilization and order fulfillment. The “Perfect Plant” is the ultimate goal for manufacturers looking t

Mobile Retailing and NFC - Near Field Communications

The host of our CIO Council, Chris Albinson of Panorama Capital, today predicted that within one year mobile money will be on everyone's radar.  I asked for more details from several experts over dinner this evening and they predicted that iPhone 5 will have embedded NFC (near field communication) chips.  Google will announce mobile payment strategies, and so will other big players in the mobile money space like PayPal.  NFC are chips that can communicate personal data when they touch POS (point of sale) sensors. What does this mean for enterprises in the retail space?  Who knows!  All I know is that everything from POS systems, to banking systems, EDI transactions and credit and debit card systems will be impacted.  Your smartphone will likely become your wallet.  The chip in the smartphone will uniquely identify you and provide you with the ability to pay for all kinds of things by just touching your smartphone to a counter top sensor.

Mobile Payments and the Mobile Money Ecosystem

More from last week's CIO Council.  Chris Albinson from Panorama Capital shared his predictions that mobile payments and location-based services are going to be the two hottest areas of enterprise mobility in 2011.  Others at the event shared that they expect smartphones will soon be available with a specific NFC  (near field communications) chip that will enable your phone to be used for mobile money.  The chip will be uniquely tied to you and your bank account in a secure way. I also heard rumors that Apple may soon launch a mobile money capability through iTunes.  Just rumors now, but I can easily image Steve Jobs transforming banking through iTunes and everything "i".

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - November 4, 2010

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market numbers and trends. ******** AT&T announced Thursday a new practice area and portfolio called AT&T ForHealth, which will develop wireless, networked, and cloud-based solutions for the healthcare industry. http://vator.tv/news/2010-11-04-at-t-announces-new-health-division ******** Gold-Mobile, a leading provider of Mobile Enterprise CRM Solutions, and Howard University unveiled a new mobile student, faculty and alumni engagement platform as a part of Howard’s 2010 Homecoming Celebration. http://www.prlog.org/11035234-howard-university-launches-advanced-mobile-solution-for-higher-education-with-gold-mobile.html  

Custom Mobile Applications for the Enterprise

When I was managing a mobile applications company a few years ago, our entire market was SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises).  In over half the mobile application development projects that we worked on there was NO existing backend database.  Companies would contact us and say they needed the following: A mobile application for a specific business process, inspection project, or unique business model. They needed a database to store the data they collected in the field. They needed mobile middleware to synchronize the data from the mobile devices to the database Web access to the database so people around the company could easily view the data. Reports on the data collected in the field. Sometimes it is easy to focus only on the largest companies that use ERPs, but it is important to recognize that the majority of companies in the world do not use big ERPs and these companies are often service companies doing work in the field.  These SMEs do not often have their own mobile

iPad Databases, Gartner and Enterprise Mobility

I was given a demo of ClickSoftware's  field services application using HTML 5 and running on an iPad earlier this week.  Very cool!  It runs in both offline and online mode and can store the data on the iPad in an offline mode. This is significant because iPad is not set up to store content on the device. I wonder what HTML 5 will mean to Sybase's mobile database business. Will HTML make developing mobile devices easier?  How will HTML change the opportunities for mobile application developers? I attended a briefing by Gartner's Michael King this week on enterprise mobility.  Here are some of his comments:

Security and Enterprise Mobility

A VC (venture capital) firm called me yesterday asking my opinion on the importance of security in enterprise mobile applications.  I told him every large enterprise asks about security, but they generally expect the mobile platform to address this issue.  For example, if a large enterprise purchased the Sybase Mobility Platform, they would expect that the platform would include a solid security component. Is that how you see it, or am I wrong? The VC was looking at potentially funding a number of mobile security start-ups.  They wanted to know if there was a market for third party mobile security solutions in large enterprises.  I would like your feedback and thoughts on this.  Is security simply a check box on a feature list of a mobile platform, or will large enterprises look for additional third party mobile security solutions? *************************************************** Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst Phone +1 208-99

Questions about Enterprise Mobility and Recent Industry Developments

I have been contemplating two enterprise mobility subjects today.  1)  Syclo is known in the industry for having a very good mobility platform .  This has served them well, but may now also be the source of a dilemma.  What are they to do with their mobile platform investment in light of SAP's acquisition of Sybase?  Syclo, as a co-innovation partner of SAP, will want to support SAP and their Sybase Mobility Platform, but they have a decade worth of investment into their own comprehensive mobility platform.  Here is how Syclo describes their platform, " Syclo's mobile solution framework (Agentry Platform) makes it easy to deploy and manage multiple mobile solutions in all areas of your business.  For over a decade, Syclo has built on its mobile expertise and experience at over 750 organizations worldwide to bring you a family of 80 percent preconfigured mobile products that automate work order management, inventory management, scheduling, rounds and readings, turnaro

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - November 3, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices that I read each week. I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article. I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market. ******** Remote sensing is helping a new radiotherapy treatment combat prostate cancer. The therapy works by using three tiny transmitters, the size of a rice grain, implanted in the tumor, which give off a constant stream of signals that are picked up by a receiver in X-ray equipment. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Remote-sensing-to-kill-prostate-cancer/articleshow/6814527.cms

Flexible Mobile Solutions - The Great Debate

When I was managing an enterprise mobility company a few years back, nearly all of my customers wanted the flexibility to customize their own mobile applications and develop new ones from scratch using our MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) and SDK (software development kit).  The reality, though, was different.  Our customers seldom wanted to take the time to learn how to develop enterprise quality mobile applications.  They just called us and used our professional services to customize or develop new applications. Here is the dilemma for mobility vendors:  Do they develop mobile solutions flexible enough, and with SDKs simple enough, for their customers to build their own solutions, or do they lock down templates and mobile applications with only limited configuration and customization capabilities? 

Mobile Applications and Their Real Value

Where is the true value in mobile applications?  This is a big question right now for mobility vendors, especially in the SAP ecosystem.  SAP acquired Sybase and their SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform), so the platform question is now answered.  So where is the real value now for mobility vendors?  What are they going to bring to the market that is of great value and provides them with a defensible market position? Is it the ability to collect data?  Is it the ability to query data from a backend databases?  Is it the ability to synchronize?  Is it the ability to store data on a mobile database in an offline mode? Is it a mobile apps or forms builder? Is it the integration with ERPs? Is it mobile web tools?

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - November 2, 2010

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile retailing applications, mobile payments and mobile marketing applications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information. ******** The number of financial institutions offering downloadable applications, customized websites and check depositing services for mobile devices is expected to skyrocket in the next year. http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/175_203/mobile-banking-payments-1027486-1.html

What Do Customers Want from a Mobile Retailing Application?

I came across a interesting report today about mobile retail applications.  This report came from the EDI/B2B company, Sterling Commerce.  You may not expect an EDI/B2B company to be conducting research on mobility, but they provide web portals and other solutions that are now accessed by mobile devices.  As a result, it makes sense to conduct research on why customers are accessing portals on mobile devices. The Sterling Commerce report indicates that product availability is becoming a necessity for impatient shoppers. Nearly two thirds (66 percent) of consumers surveyed considered it important to very important to be able to conveniently determine in-stock availability before visiting a store.  It was significantly more popular than store locators and even the ability to read product reviews while in the store.

Microsoft, Enterprise Mobility and Software Development Kits

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I read an interesting article on CNET written by Josh Lowensohn on the future of Microsoft's Silverlight.  He quotes Microsoft's president of server and tools, Bob Muglia, as saying "our strategy has shifted," and noted that major release cycles for the runtime had slowed.  This is an interesting subject for the developers of enterprise mobility applications designed for the Microsoft platforms. Here is another quote from Microsoft's Muglia, "When we started Silverlight, the number of unique/different Internet-connected devices in the world was relatively small, and our goal was to provide the most consistent, richest experience across those devices, but the world has changed. As a result, getting a single runtime implementation installed on every potential device is practically impossible. We think HTML will provide the broadest, cross-platform reach across all these devices." Recently I have been seeing and hearing that more and more of the enterp