Sensors - Sensing and Sharing the Physical World

Global Sensor Data

We spend a lot of time talking and writing about the IoT (Internet of Things) in the macro, as a giant worldwide network of objects and things, communicating with themselves and others.  That is indeed interesting, but the most interesting components of the IoT, in my opinion, are the sensors.  Sensors are defined as, "Devices that detect or measure a physical property and record, indicate, or otherwise responds to it."  In the context of IoT, sensors detect or measure a physical property and then communicate the findings wirelessly to a server for analysis. Sensors are our digital fingers that touch and feel the earth and environment!

Just last week I read this about a new iPhone patent, "The patent is titled “Digital camera with light splitter.” The camera described in the patent has three sensors for splitting color. The camera would split colors into three different rays. These would be red, green and blue. The splitting of colors is designed to allow the camera to maximize pixel array resolution." This patent potentially could help Apple improve the image quality of its mobile cameras, especially in video.  In other words, it will help iPhones better capture, display and share the scenes on our planet for viewing.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year I saw demonstrated an iPhone add-on from the company, Flir.   It was a Personal Thermal Imagery Camera.  You connect it to your iPhone and then you can find leaky pipes in your wall, overloaded electrical breakers, or even spot live rodents hiding in your walls. You can use it in your boat to spot floating debris in the water in the dark or use while hiking in the dark to spot hidden predators preparing to devour you.  I WANT ONE NOW!

Sensors measure and collect data and can be connected to just about any piece of equipment. Satellite cameras are sensors.  There are audio and visual sensors.  There are pressure and heat sensors.  There are all kinds of sensors.  One of the most interesting sensor technologies I have been researching of late is hyper spectral remote sensors.

Hyper spectral sensors combined with GIS (geospatial information systems) information and Big Data analytics are a powerful mix. These sensors can be integrated into very powerful cameras. Hyper spectral remote sensing is an emerging technology that is being studied for its ability to detect and identify minerals, terrestrial vegetation, and man-made materials and backgrounds.  I want one!

Hyper spectral remote sensing combines imaging and spectroscopy (spectroscopy is a term used to refer to the measurement of radiation intensity as a function of wavelength) in a single system, which often includes large data sets that require Big Data analytics.  Hyper spectral imagery is typically collected (and represented) as a data cube with spatial information collected in the X-Y plane, and spectral information represented in the Z-direction.

hyper spectal imaging

What can be done with hyper spectral remote sensing?  Using powerful hyper spectral cameras one can detect unique noble gases (each unique gas emits a unique color on the spectrum), different inks, dyes and paints (each have different characteristics that can be uniquely identified).  You can detect, identify and quantify chemicals.  You can detect chemical composition and physical properties including their temperature and velocity all with a camera!

Taking a hyper spectral image of an object, connected to real-time Big Data analytics, can tell you an amazing amount of information about it.  Theoretically, a hyper spectral image of a person combined with facial recognition can identify a person, their shampoo, make-up, hand lotion, deodorant, perfume, the food they ate, chemicals they have been in contact with and the materials and chemicals used in their clothes.  OK, the implications of this technology for personal privacy are really creepy, but the technology itself is fascinating.

Theoretically hyper spectral remote sensing systems can be used for healthcare, food monitoring, security at airports, for public safety, in intelligence systems and integrated with drone and satellite surveillance systems.

Today, luckily, these cameras are far too expensive for me.

Related Articles: http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2015/04/iot-sensors-tactile-feedback-iphones.html

Related Video: http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2015/03/iot-and-sensors-from-ams-at-mwc15.html
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Kevin Benedict

Writer, Speaker, Senior Analyst

Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant

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***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Jeff Kleban

I was able to track down Jeff Kleban EVP and co-founder of Syclo for a good talk this morning. He was kind enough to share his perspective on the world of enterprise mobility and the SAP ecosystem.

To start, Jeff carries a BlackBerry 9700 series, and his favorite mobile application on it is Google Maps. He has been with Syclo from the beginning when there were only four people. Today, Syclo has over 135 employees.

Syclo is one of three co-innovation partners of SAP in the world of enterprise mobility. The three are RIM, Sybase, and Syclo. SAP co-innovation partners share sales revenue, development efforts and product roadmaps with SAP. I wonder if the co-innovation partnership increases the prices of their solutions? I also wonder if having SAP define the roadmap will allow the co-innovation partners to innovate fast enough to keep up with the markets fast changing technologies?

Jeff shared that SAP has designated some mobility applications and business processes as strategic. The strategic ones he identified are:

1. CRM sales force automation [Sybase is the co-innovation partner for this category]
2. CRM field services/enterprise asset management [Syclo is the co-innovation partner for this category]

RIM is also a co-innovation partner, but I am not sure what it covers these days. I have always wondered how an ERP vendor could cozy up to a particular mobile device manufacturer? The next greatest mobile device is always just a press release away so how can you predict which vendor to bet on? Also, who wants to bet against Apple?

I asked Jeff who Syclo's biggest competitor is, and he said it varied since there are so many point solutions in the market but if a customer was looking for a MEAP that they tended to look at Syclo and Sybase who are the leaders. Interesting! OK, SAP's two co-innovation partners for mobility are each other's biggest competitors. That ought to make for some interesting business development and partner meetings. I can imagine the demarcation line between Sybase and Syclo's territories are being battled over daily in Waldorf.

Jeff reported that Sybase uses SAP's NetWeaver Mobile as their integration platform. Syclo, on the other hand, has its own integration technologies which pre-dated the co-innovation partnership. They are using these while they collaborate with SAP to leverage additional integration points.

A question that came to mind following my discussions with Jeff was how does SAP determine which vendor to recommend to a customer needing both mobile SFA and mobile FSA? In many cases CRMs encompass both categories. Does SAP really recommend that a customer select two separate mobility vendors to support one SAP CRM? I hope someone from SAP comments on this.

I asked, "Outside of the categories of mobile CRM SFA (sales force automation) and CRM FSA (field service automation), who should an SAP customer use for custom mobile applications?" "Syclo of course!" Jeff answered but then added, "There is still a lot of room for innovation and other SAP EcoHub partners in this mobility space." So outside of SFA and FSA the market is wide open for the rest of SAP's mobility partners. The challenge, of course, is getting mindshare. If Sybase and Syclo are being promoted in certain specific categories, then how does the best of breed from the rest of SAP's mobility partners capture a category and gain recognition and exposure?

I asked Jeff about Syclo's target markets and he answered, "Complex and strategic mobile applications for SAP users." He then explained that they like the big mobility projects with hundreds and thousands of users but will also entertain smaller mobility projects if there is a future potential for more mobile enterprise applications with the customer. "We like projects with hard ROIs (returns on investment)," he explained.

Jeff said that the enterprise mobile software market is still very fragmented, and no one really has a sizable market share. SAP reports around 90,000 customers, and Syclo has around 750 mobility customers but not all are SAP shops. The bottom line is there are a lot of opportunities available for mobility vendors in the SAP ecosystem.

Jeff added that in the mobile operating system market, there is increased fragmentation rather than decreased. It seems there is a lot of new innovation happening in the world of mobile operating systems.

I asked Jeff what he expects to see happen in the next few years in enterprise mobility. He said, "TCO (total cost of ownership) will drop dramatically as mobile application development tools become easier and MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms) more mature. He already believes Syclo has a low TCO but believes there is much more that can be done. He then added that it will be very interesting to watch how companies manage important data on their employees' smartphones. He said perhaps companies will have "sandbox" locations on their employees' personal smartphones. These sandbox locations would be reserved for confidential company data and controlled and managed by the company. Interesting indeed!

I asked Jeff about the term MEAP. He said, "It is Gartner's term, and they defined the meaning." He then pointed out that Syclo is in the Leaders section of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for MEAPs. He believes a MEAP should be able to support many different kinds of mobile enterprise applications, include an SDK and be able to integrate with many different back-end ERPs, business applications and databases.

I asked Jeff for his opinion on mobile micro-applications. He said, "There is a lot of room for innovation! They have their role. Especially with consumers and reaching out to mobile employees." He added, "Companies are seeking mobile applications for a variety of reasons including branding and establishing a closer relationship with their customer base." Again, there is much room for innovation here!

Where does Jeff see the hottest markets for Syclo?

• Field services
• Utilities
• Oil and gas companies
• Oil and gas supply chains
• Life science companies that have FDA compliance requirements
• Government

Jeff said government has a couple of things going for it now:

1. Government economic stimulus money
2. Government's support for, and desire to use, technology to make things more efficient.

What business processes are they targeting?

• Work order/service tickets
• Plant maintenance
• Enterprise asset management
• Social workers/Case managers (and similar roles in other areas)
• Police incident reporting
• Replacing any paper-based processes used in the field

I asked what were some of the most interesting developments in mobility in the past 24 months for him. He said, "Apple iPhones, Apple iTunes and the explosion of smartphones used by consumers." He added that these developments have totally changed the game and has had a major impact on the enterprise. "IT cannot ignore the pressures to mobilize now," he said. In addition, he pointed out that it is surprising there has not seen more consolidation. Rather, there are even more new players and mobile operating systems entering the market today."

I asked Jeff what he thought about SAP's mobile strategy. He said, "SAP must own the roadmap for the most critical mobile applications and business processes." He likes their strategy.

What differentiates Syclo from other SAP mobility partners? Jeff answered:

• Lower TCO (total cost of ownership)
• Pre-packaged mobile applications are relatively inexpensive
• Co-innovation with SAP
• Syclo shares revenue with SAP
• SAP sales teams are incented to promote Syclo
• Syclo has an model-driven development approach which enables mobile applications to be developed without programming.
• IBM resells Syclo solutions
• Syclo integrates with Oracle
• Accenture and CSC are systems integrator partners (there must be a lot of money on the table for these SI companies to be involved).

What are some of the most interesting mobile applications that Syclo has developed? "We partnered with Motorola and IBM to help the Red Cross manage their supplies and logistics after hurricane Katrina," Jeff answered. "Twenty of our staff worked together to develop the mobile application in 14 days."

Thank you Jeff for sharing your insights as a Mobile Expert!

For more articles in this series please see:

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Leapfactor's Lionel Carrasco
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sky Technologies' Neil McHugh
Mobile Expert Interview Series: ClickSoftware's Gil Bouhnick
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Vivido Labs' Greg Tomb
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sky Technologies' Troy O'Connor
Mobile Expert Interview Series: EntryPoint’s Pete Martin
Mobile Expert Interview Series: PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Ahmed El Adl, PhD
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Nokia's John Choate
Mobile Expert Interview Series: HotButtons' Jane and Keelin Glendon
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Kevin Benedict
SAP Mentor, Mobile Industry Analyst, Founder/CEO Netcentric Strategies LLC
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy Consultant and Web 2.0 Marketing Services
http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: http://twitter.com/krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. ***************************************************

Advice for Mobile Start-Ups: Working with SAP, Part 3

Mobile micro-apps seem to be the hot topic now days at SAP. These are small mobile applications for iPhones, Android, Blackberry and Windows mobile. These applications can be limited and provide access to one part of one SAP application and business process, or expose an entire business process. For example, travel requests and expense report approvals can be part of a business process that is exposed in a mobile micro-apps.

In the case of an Expense Report approval, a manager can be alerted to an expense report that needs approved before it can be paid. The manager can access the report through the micro-app on his/her iPhone, review it and approve or reject it. There is not much to these applications, but they are novel today and will continue to evolve into more powerful mobile applications.

SAP has some big ambitions about adding mobile users to their systems. They are encouraging these kind of mobile micro-applications to extend functionality to more users. They would even like to see ways that consumers (i.e. the masses) could access appropriate and relevant business processes within SAP systems -think tracking shipments, ordering products, checking University schedules, interacting with financial services companies, etc, on mobile devices.

Here are a few of the challenges with mobile micro-applications that should be considered:

• How do you manage mobile micro-apps in a large enterprise?
• Since mobile micro-apps can be developed for just about any part of any SAP business process there could quickly be dozens or even hundreds of mobile micro-apps springing up.
• Does the enterprise open the doors to supporting all popular mobile devices, or does the enterprise try to standardize so micro-apps can be easier for IT to manage?
• Many mobile micro-app vendors are considering SaaS business models. This means mobile micro-app users could be expensing these costs, rather than running them through a formal budget process. Is that a problem? Who approves it?
• What criteria is the IT department of a large enterprise going to use in order to select quality mobile micro-app vendors? By their nature mobile micro-apps can be developed by very small software development companies without a lot of experience or infrastructure.
• Some vendors of mobile micro-apps provide application development environments that enable non-programmers to develop mobile micro-apps. This is very cool, but now you have the potential of business users importing and exporting data from SAP database systems. Some DBAs would have a problem with that.
• I can see the scenario where an SAP user downloads and installs 5 different mobile micro-apps onto their device. If these micro-apps were from different vendors, there could be 5 different GUIs, different mobile middleware involved, different security systems, different integration methodologies, etc.

I love the idea of mobile micro-apps that provide the mobile workforce with access to appropriate SAP business processes for the purpose of working more efficiently. The point of this article is not to deter mobile micro-app vendors or enterprises from implementing them, but simply to suggest there are a few things that should be considered.

One strategy is to use a MEAP, mobile enterprise application platform. MEAPs provide a framework for managing many different mobile applications using a standardized methodology, using standardized development environments, standardized security, standardized synchronization methodologies, standardized integration processes and leveraging application code across multiple mobile devices. An example of a MEAP is Sky Technologies.

This article is part of a series entitled Advice for Mobile Start-Ups: Working with SAP. Part 1 and 2 of this series can be found at the links below:

Advice for Mobile Start-Ups: Working with SAP, Part 1

Advice for Mobile Start-Ups: Working with SAP, Part 2

Advice for Mobile Start-Ups: Working with SAP, Part 4
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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: http://twitter.com/krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Mobile Applications, Location Based Services and Lifestyle Preferences

I love hiking. I enjoy gardening. I love mobile gadgets. I crave Thai food. I love drinking coffee in a comfortable chair and reading the New York Times. I would appreciate and use a mobile application that would connect my lifestyle preferences to a map and suggest locations conducive to my lifestyle.

I would like to arrive in a new city and open my mobile application and have it suggest great walking tours and hiking trails that were close to highly rated coffee shops, Thai restaurants, bookstores and public gardens. I would want to see these locations on a map with a suggested route. I would love to be shown several options all based on my preferences.

The application could also show me user comments and ratings of these locations, and overlay crime statistics of these geographic areas so I can weigh the risk of going there. Is the Thai food worth getting mugged?

I can see it now - you should be able to set different safety ratings. You can configure the mobile application to show just the safest locations based upon accident, crime and health inspection data, or you can live on the wild side.

I am looking for suggestions and recommendations if this mobile application already exists. If not, all you entrepreneurs should start working.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
twitter: @krbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Microsoft's Ray Ozzie on Mobile Applications and the iPhone

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's Chief Software Architect recently commented in an interview with CNET, "Yes, iPhone has a lot of momentum, unquestionably. But I think the phenomenon we're in right now is the app phone. And if you look at the depth of apps that are on these phones, they're not very deep. It's not like Office or AutoCAD, where there are just thousands of man years that have gone into developing these apps. They're relatively thin apps that are companions to some service."

Ozzie may be right in that the novelty of cute mobile applications may wear off as powerful mobile clients that work with SaaS (software as a service) back-office and ERP applications catch up. Rather than have all these thin client applications that are OS (operating system) specific, simple mobile applications may retreat to the mobile web browser so they can more easily port from one OS to another, and thick clients will run on powerful and full functional operating systems that are used on laptops and PCs today.

It will be interesting to watch.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobile Strategist, Sales, Marketing and Business Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Mobile Applications for Tracking Diseases and Saving Newspapers

I came across a very interesting new iPhone application from HealthMap.org today called Outbreaks Near Me. It was developed by John Brownstein, as assistant professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School along with colleagues at MIT's Media Lab.

This application combines GPS coordinates with LBS (location base services) that report on disease outbreaks near your location. You are able to set up the application to alert you whenever a disease outbreak occurs near you.

HealthMap brings together many different sources of data to provide you with a unified view of outbreaks of infectious diseases. The iPhone application even lets you submit your own reports including digital photographs of disease outbreaks. Don't ask me what digital images you would submit. This is very interesting to me as I am currently writing a report on telemedicine and mobile health monitoring. In fact, the research firm Gartner reports that by 2012 mobile health monitoring will be a Top 10 mobile application.

I find this application and concept very intriguing. It is a way of having people quickly share information and news, from the street or hospital bed, about specific health related events that are quickly displayed on a map for all to see.

This concept may also relate to newspapers. I have been pondering the fate of newspapers for some time. I am a big fan of the Sunday Edition of the New York Times with my hot drink on a Sunday morning. I suffer the thought of newspapers struggling to survive. I wonder if people reporting events from their neighborhoods and locations around the world on iPhones to a central web server which produces a form of Wiki-Newspaper is the next evolutionary step in news.

I can see it now. Your iPhone's GPS coordinates automatically configures your local edition of the Wiki-Newspaper and the news is collected and aggregated from people and news sources from all around your location.

What are your thoughts?


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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobile Strategist, Sales, Marketing and Business Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com/
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Mobile Convergent Devices and Applications

I can't let this experience go undocumented. I am sitting in Starbucks drinking a Mocha, writing a blog article, chatting with an international client on skype, checking and responding to emails, taking phone calls, recording voice memos, accessing spreadsheets on Google Docs, scheduling meetings and listening to music all on my iPhone.

Yes, sometimes I must ask everyone in Starbucks to stop talking while I am on important calls, but other than that I have complete mobile office. My iPhone has effectively converged most applications and required office equipment into one small mobile device that is now an essential tool for mobile workers.

As I noted last week iPhones can also photograph and identify bar codes, use its integrated GPS to show your current location and nearby business and much more. Convergence is real.

- Kevin Benedict,
Mobile Technology Writer and Consultant

Questions about the SAP and Sybase Partnership for Mobile Software Applications

SAP and Sybase this week announced a non-exclusive partnership to deliver mobile software applications for SAP on a wide variety of mobile handhelds, iPhones, Windows Mobile devices and Smartphones.

Bill McDermott, president of global field operations for SAP explained that the collaboration “will lay the foundation to further mobilize SAP’s great content and functionality -- and move that content and functionality into the hands of the mobile workforce."

What do they mean, "laying the foundation." Nobody can use a foundation on an iPhone, someone must build the application. I wonder how this will work?

"The mobile enterprise worker is now the most important worker, because that’s the worker that’s touching the customer, the partner, and the supplier,” McDermott said. “This worker relies on smart devices and uses the power of calendar and email -- in addition to, now, the enterprise application functionality of SAP...there will be 300 million smart devices in the hands of mobile workers by 2013 – that’s nearly 100 percent growth from where we are today – and there will be 1 billion mobile users in the nest few years.” He added that “seventy percent of companies are planning to mobilize [business] applications [and get thim] into the hands of their knowledge workers.”

I do believe this could be a smart move for Sybase, as SAP has millions of enterprise users, but I wonder why it is a non-exclusive relationship. Does SAP really think multiple companies can afford a broad based mobile SAP development effort in this economy? I wonder if this relationship is really only about the mobile synchronization and mobile database technology that Sybase has. I wonder if Sybase will simply integrate their syncing and database technology with SAP Netweaver and leave other software developers to build the actual mobile applications. Is this what they mean by "foundation?" This seems the most likely scenario to me.

At the same time, “we are in a new reality in this economy, and companies are looking to extend the value of their existing core IT investments,” McDermott said. As such, many companies are looking for highly integrated “out of the box” solutions that will save them on integration costs and ongoing maintenance of complex systems.

Who is paying who for the "out-of-the-box" solutions? Is Sybase investing in the development of mobile SAP applications, or is SAP paying the bill? The task they have announced is enormous. Of course the details are vague, so maybe it is just hype. I have worked on many mobile applications and the suite of products that SAP has is large. This would be a monumental task, and then how do you create user interfaces for so many mobile devices with different configurations.

I am very interested in understanding how they will deliver the actual mobile software applications. Supporting all of the mobile devices with device specific features is too hard for Sybase or SAP to do on their own. Even Google said there are too many mobile devices and Smartphones with different configurations and features to support them all. There is a limit to what can be done by any 2 companies. I would guess that Sybase would begin selling a "mobile software tool kit" so that other systems integrators and partners could help build out SAP applications with device specific features that run on the Sybase mobile database and synchronization platform.

Here is another interesting observation. I did not see Sybase's mobile division, iAnywhere mentioned in any of the associated press releases or articles I read on this announcement. They did not role out their iAnywhere Management or the iAnywhere products. Hummm...what does this mean...?

Follow this link for the latest update on the SAP and Sybase partnership.

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http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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The Power of Digital Cameras on PDAs, Handhelds and Smartphones

In this morning's newspaper there was an article called, "With New Smartphones, Doctors Reinvent the House call." The article relates how a Doctor can use a smartphone, PDA or other handheld computers to quickly view x-rays and give advice remotely. Other applications mentioned were for perusing pharmaceutical libraries and for showing educating patients with anatomical drawings. Although each of these applications are useful, I believe the real power comes from the ability to remotely collaborate with other team members that can all look at the sames information, in high definition and exchange real time data and thoughts. It is amazing what can be accomplished with these new mobile devices.

Digital Cameras in handhelds, PDAs and smartphones are becoming very powerful tools. Today, Sony Ericcsson announced they have included a 12 mega pixel camera in one of their new smartphones called the Idou. In the context of the healthcare field you can image how useful 12 mega pixel photos can be to healthcare professionals where clarity of x-rays, ultra-sounds and other images are critical.

There are many other uses for powerful cameras, crystal clear images and high speed data connections. In the context of the military or field engineers, they ability to see clear satellite images of objects on the ground is very important.

Several years ago I worked on a mobile project for the state of Washington in the USA. They were doing erosion surveys around rivers and creeks. They could do in-depth studies on river erosion from satellite images, but in designated areas they wanted to look at particular events on the ground. Rugged handheld computers with excellent screens and clear photos allowed them to quickly identify objects and geological events on the ground that required a closer look. The GPS coordinates led them to the exact location and then clear photos helped them survey specific areas.

The ability to move data, in real time, from office computers and database applications to mobile devices is a complex task. The ability to quickly develop custom mobile applications that provide you with both data collection capabilities and the synchronization of data from the office takes special technology developed by companies such as MobileDataforce and others.

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http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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SAP Business Suite 7.0, iPhones, Blackberrys and Mobile Handheld Applications

Today SAP announced the release of Business Suite 7. Reuters reports the following mobile application news concerning SAP's Business Suite 7.0:

Unlike previous SAP products, all programs in the suite will have a common interface, making them easier to use and less cumbersome for IT staff to implement, the sources said.
It is designed to easily work on mobile devices such as the BlackBerry and iPhone, they said.
SAP already offers mobile features in a few packages, such as programs that companies use to manage sales, but has yet to offer those functions across its full line of applications.

SAP's answer to supporting mobile applications is to develop a common interface, web based, and let mobile devices access it via the web. This may work for mobile workers with 100% access to the Internet, but what about mobile workers that travel to remote locations or anywhere with intermittent connections? I have not seen SAP address this issue with an online/offline version of their applications. They seem content to leave the offline/online enablement task to third party mobile application companies like MobileDataforce.

An iPhones is My Mobile Phone and Handheld PDA

I have and use an iPhone as my primary mobile computing device which means a PDA or Smartphone. It has some exceptional features including:

• GPS
• Easy application uploading and updating
• High speed Internet
• Great screen
• Many great operational features for ease of use

However, the iPhone has some problems or is missing some key features that are required by business users including:

• GPS fails to track fast enough to use while driving
• GPS fails to pinpoint the location of the user
• No TASK function - Apple has not included even a basic TASK function. Many of my colleagues use the standard Microsoft TASK function regularly, and Apple's exclusion of this simple but useful tool is strange
• No CUT and PASTE function - The exclusion of this feature is another strange choice by Apple - who wants to retype every note or phone number that needs to be moved around on the iPhone....what a pain. My only guess is that Apple wants to train us to email everything to a desktop or laptop for editing....very strange and inefficient
• The keyboard on the iPhone is clever, but Apple makes another very strange choice to limit the email keyboard to portrait view only. The Internet browser permits a landscaped keyboard which is very nice, but the keyboard in the email only allows portrait...this view of the keyboard is too small for fast and effective 2 fingered typing. Why would they limit the keyboard in the very application where fast typing is most required?
• The landscape view of an Internet browser is too small for viewing. It is nice that they try to show you a complete view of a full sized website, but it is too small for real use. You continue to find yourself enlarging the view and scrolling all around the website to view it. Not convenient or enjoyable.

I spent some time reviewing all of the applications available on iTunes for the iPhone in December 2008. There were many interesting applications, but there was an obvious lack of real business applications. I consider real business applications as running relational databases and synchronizing or communicating directly with recognized business software applications like SAP. Where are the applications that extend workflows from ERPs into the field?

The lack of real business applications again points to the challenging environment of mobile software. The market is so fragmented that mobile users will find it hard to find a mobile version of their exact ERP or Field Service application. This means companies will need to develop their own customized version, use an experienced mobile software development company or use a mobile software development tool kit from a company like MobileDataforce.

Why is it hard to find a mobile version of your office software? Software companies need to find markets where they can build one software application and then sell it many times to make a profit. In IT environments where customized database applications and customized workflows are the norm, mobile software companies are not able to pre-build mobile applications. They don't know how you want the application to function or what data you need in the field. This must be configured on a customized basis in most companies. Therefore, companies need to work with a mobile software company that can offer a cost effective, very flexible mobile software toolkit so you can take advantage of their tools, synchronizing technologies and application development environments to keep the development costs reasonable.

iPhone Enterprise Mobility Apps

Finally, it appears that iPhone has real enterprise business applications available to run on it. This article lists the top enterprise mobile software applications as:

1. Oracle for iPhone
2. Salesforce for iPhone
3. Sybase's Mobile Office for iPhone

These are small applications, but with great potential.

More on iPhone Challenges and Mobile Software

Larry Borsato of the Industry Standard wrote an insightful article recently on the Nine reasons the iPhone apps platform is lacking. Tiny companies, developing tiny applications, with tiny investments may be interested in developing tiny mobile software applications for tiny niche markets, but any significant mobile software company that develops industrial strength mobile applications would be unwilling to work under the present conditions set forth by Apple.

- Kevin Benedict

iPhone Business Applications

On Tuesday, August 5, 2008 the Wall Street Journal published an article called Ringing Up Business With iPhone Applications by Raymund Flandez. In this article, an example of a business applications is a set of medical flashcards that work on iPhones. They also suggest these business applications, at $39.00 are expensive. OK...let's talk.

Real mobile business applications are extensions of key business applications that are run in the office. These mobile business applications enable you to integrate mobile devices with large, complex database applications that include workflow automation, database queries and business automation. The challenge that Apple has today is that their software SDK (software development kit) does not include synchronization technology that enables software developers to easily move data between a database applications in the office and the iPhone.

Another criticism I have for this article is suggesting that $39.00 for a business application is expensive. Expensive is of course relative, but significant business applications can often be worth $39,000-$390,000 to companies that can automate and mobilize their mobile users.

- Kevin Benedict

MobileDataforce Announces iPhone Software Development Services

MobileDataforce® Announces iPhone Software Development Services

New iPhone software development services enable businesses to deploy custom mobile business applications to the popular iPhone

Boise, Idaho— July 17, 2008 – MobileDataforce®, a leading provider of mobile software solutions for businesses, today announced a new professional services offering for users of the popular Apple iPhone.

MobileDataforce has for years been developing mobile software applications for use on handheld PDAs and helping our customers develop and deploy mobile enterprise software applications around the world on the Windows Mobile and Pocket PC operating systems. We are now adding the capabilities to develop enterprise mobile business applications for use on the iPhone.

About MobileDataforce®

MobileDataforce® is a leader in the development of enterprise class and business critical software solutions for use on mobile computers including Smart Phones, Handhelds, PDAs, Tablet PCs and laptops. MobileDataforce has sales offices in Europe, North America and in Australia to support their expanding customer base and sales channels. Privately held, MobileDataforce has been mobilizing business solutions since 2000. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.mobiledataforce.com/.

Apple Stores and Motorola MC50s

I had the opportunity to be in an Apple store in New York City last month. I was again very intrigued that Apple employees were still using Motorola handheld PDAs inside the Apple stores. I would think that Apple would want to replace these handheld PDAs that run Windows Mobile operating systems and are manufactured by their smartphone and PDA competitors. It will be interesting to watch this situation.

MobileDataforce is now developing custom mobile software applications for businesses wanting to extend the use of their iPhones or handheld PDAs into their business processes.

- Kevin Benedict

GPS Features on the iPhone

One of the coolest features of the Apple iPhone for businesses is the integrated GPS functionality. Companies can use these features for a large variety of purposes including:

• Adding time and date stamps PLUS GPS coordinates to work orders as a way of proving the time, data and location of work performed
• Enabling service technicians and delivery vans to be tracked in near real-time.
• Helping drivers reach their destination faster and with less fuel
• Associating job estimates to a GPS location
• Locating and identifying the location of various pieces of equipment and other assets
• Associating conditional assessments for asset management with a GPS location. This can be used to locate buildings, walls, sidewalks, sprinkler heads etc, that require repair

The list can go on forever because there is a HUGE amount of value in adding geospatial information to just about any field service activity. Including this feature on an iPhone is one more step toward making the iPhone a valueable business tool for the enterprise.

MobileDataforce is currently working on a number of mobile business applications for the iPhone.

Apple Stores, iPhones & Symbol MC50 Handhelds an Interesting Combination

I was shopping in Portland, Oregon yesterday and observed a very interesting combination of handheld computers, iPhones and PDAs at work. As I was shopping in the Apple store at Pioneer Place, I noticed that the Apple sales people were all carrying Symbol/Motorola MC50 handheld computers with wireless support, credit card swipers and bar code scanners all running on Windows Mobile 5.0 operating systems. Do you see the irony in this? The Apple sales people are selling smartphones (iPhones) and PDAs (iTouch) using the Apple operating system, but all of their sales people use Windows Mobile operating systems for their business applications. This is just not right.

The way the Apple sales people were using the MC50s handhelds was very cool. They could swipe debit and credit cards anywhere in the store, give you the product and email your receipt to you. That is very cool! No long lines at the cash register, the sales people can take care of all credit card and debit card purchases anywhere in the store. Now if only they could figure out a way to accomplish that using their own Apple PDAs.