Although Ahmed agrees with SAP's current strategy and likes what he sees from many of SAP's mobility partners, it doesn't mean he is satisfied. He believes Sybase, an SAP mobility partner, is good but complex, heavy and has too many different components and technology layers. He listed the numbers of technology layers that are involved in a Sybase/SAP integration and it was daunting.
He shared his thoughts on Sky Technologies, another SAP mobility partner. He thought their approach was interesting, but he was concerned that their "mobile SAP innerware" strategy would introduce challenges. He wondered how IT departments would accept a third party mobility solution being so closely embedded with SAP code? Would the benefits out weigh the risks for IT departments? Would they accept it, or avoid it?
He said he likes much of what he sees from SAP's mobility partners, however he is still cautious. In fact, he has recommended to some clients that they should go through a complete RFI process to determine for themselves which vendor has the best fit for them.
Ahmed believes that ultimately SAP customers will want a strong MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) that they can standardize on, but for today mobile micro-apps can provide real value quickly. I was particularly interested in this statement as it aligns with many of the comments that other industry experts shared on the SAP Enterprise Mobility group on Linkedin.
Ahmed identified several areas of mobility that he finds particularly interesting:
I asked Ahmed what mobile device or smartphone does he carry. He said all of them. He carries a PWC issued Blackberry in his pocket, but he literally travels with a suitcase full of different mobile devices that he can show off and demonstrate to clients. What a nightmare for the TSA agents! Don't get in line behind him.
I want to again thank Dr. Ahmed El Adl for his time and willingness to share his insights.
This article was the third in the series called Mobile Expert Interviews. See related articles:
Small mobility projects are often very important to a specific department. The success of the department can be dependent upon the implementation of a mobile application that helps them do more with less. The department manager will be very keen to find a mobile application that meets their specific requirements. They often have completely unique requirements that are hard for a mobile software vendor to develop and then leverage with other clients. They also have smaller budgets. As a result mobility projects for 25 users are often custom development projects and can cost the same amount to develop as a mobile application development project for 3,000 users. Examples of these types of mobility projects are:
If the mobile application development project costs $500,000 USD to develop and deliver, then it only takes $167 per mobile user in savings and cost efficiencies to achieve a positive ROI if you have 3,000 mobile users, but $20,000 per mobile application user in cost savings and efficiencies if you have only 25 mobile application users. This makes it difficult for many MEAP and mobile application vendors to deliver a good ROI for small customized projects. Most mobile application or MEAP vendors focus on the $500,000 and higher projects. That leaves most enterprise mobility projects with limited options in the SAP ecosystem.
This is a challenge for mobile application vendors and the companies that require smaller customized mobility projects, but it is a big opportunity for mobile application and MEAP vendors that can figure out how to deliver these smaller customized projects cost effectively.
Some of SAP's mobility partners have solutions primarily designed to mobilize their own business applications, not custom SAP user requirements. It is the hundreds of smaller business processes that often fall between the cracks and cause the biggest challenges.
