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| Greg Donaldson |
Kevin: What do companies fail to plan for when implementing mobility?
Greg: First, let me explain that we provide both a desktop and a mobile version of our software. It seems that companies still use the desktop the most. Consider the entire work week. If a manager is traveling for two days out of five, they may need a mobile application for two days, but they would rather use their laptop or desktop during the three days in the office. A company needs to think of the entire work week. Many of our applications are simplified versions of an ERP. Managers would rather access SAP through our simplified interfaces. They don’t need to see the entire SAP ERP, just the parts they need to see in order to do their jobs.
Kevin: What advice do you have for companies just starting down an enterprise mobility path?
Greg: 1) Understand how you will connect to devices and how you will secure them, 2) Start with a simple mobile application and get an easy win (a good success), 3) Focus on a great user experience, and 4) Look for a packaged app (or off the shelf) to start. Building a complete enterprise quality mobile application yourself requires a huge amount of effort, and much of it has no business value for a one time development project. Find a packaged application for a quick and easy implementation.
Kevin: How important is mobile device management and security?
Greg: Very important. Have the right infrastructure in place to protect your data before you implement mobility. There are thousands of ways to connect to a back end system, so the company first needs to decide how they want to connect.
Kevin: What should people know about 10seconds Software?
Greg: 10seconds Software specializes in building off-the-shelf mobile solutions for the SAP community, which are focused on instantly solving customers' key pain points. We currently have five products in the marketplace covering approving purchase orders, purchase requisitions, blocked invoices, service entry sheets and SRM shopping carts. More are in the pipeline.
Kevin: What are your thoughts about SAP’s acquisition of Sybase last year?
Greg: I like it. When SAP implements mobility using Sybase it will be a six figure number. That is only possible for 10-20 percent of the SAP user market. The 80-90 percent will be looking for a less costly alternative like us.
Kevin: What makes your company different from your competitors?
Greg: 10seconds Software has three key advantages:
1) Our solutions are perfect for companies that have a vanilla implementation of SAP as our products have no dependency on SAP workflow.
2) We provide consultancy free software. Each solution leverages standard SAP functionality which means we are a low risk and easy implementation that can be installed in minutes.
3) Every solution supports both the web and the mobile channel. This gives a familiar experience when approving, and shields many users from ever having to navigate around the complexities of the SAP GUI.
Kevin: Where do you see mobility going in 2011?
Greg: I want to see which mobile SDK or framework is going to win in 2011. I wonder if it will be an HTML5 editor? It would be useful for me to know which SDK will emerge with the winning strategy in 2011.
I want to thank Greg for sharing his knowledge and insights with all of us.
Click here to read more in the Mobile Expert Interview Series.
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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility group on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro
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.
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