SAP Mobility Challenge, Part 5

I have heard much discussion lately on the subject of mobile micro applications in the SAP ecosystem. These are described as light weight mobile applications that do simple things like:
  • Expense reports
  • Alerts
  • Approvals
  • BI reports
  • Etc.
There are literally hundreds of these micro-apps possible. The challenge is how does a SAP customer manage them? Does the mobile user really want 17 different little SAP micro-apps on their smartphone?

I see these mobile micro-apps as short term innovations that will quickly consolidate into a mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP). The SAP user ultimately wants one icon on their mobile dashboard not 17. This icon launches a menu system that can include 17 menu options with mobilized business processes. More options can be added through an opt-in function.

The MEAP vendors will rapidly create micro-apps and then quickly consolidate them on to their platforms. The big challenge for MEAP vendors is how to quickly create good MEAPs and get enough market exposure and success to be sustainable in the long run. MEAPs should include:
  • Rapid application development environments with excellent visual design tools for customizing and creating new mobile enterprise applications.
  • Powerful integration tools for connecting and synchronizing with a variety of backend database applications and environments.
  • Mobile user and mobile device management dashboards and tools for the IT help desk.
  • Support for all the major operating systems and popular mobile devices.
  • Integrated workflow engines that enable business processes and workflows to be extended out to mobile environments.

Let's think about the IT decision making process. Mobile workers may be using mobile micro-applications from 9 different mobile software vendors. There will be much overlap in features and functionality. The IT department will eventually start standardizing, consolidating and simplifying. It won't be long before the IT department starts requiring all mobile micro-applications to come from one or two MEAPs that have good frameworks and offer solid enterprise quality features.

MEAP vendors face a number of challenges:

  1. Developing solid MEAPs quickly.
  2. Getting SAP approval and partnerships in place.
  3. Developing many mobile micro-applications to cover the simple and niche requirements and preventing other companies from gaining a mobility foothold within the SAP ecosystem.
  4. Gaining thought leadership, mindshare, influence and brand recognition quickly within the SAP customer base.
  5. Educating the market on the requirements for a true enterprise quality MEAP.
  6. Pricing their solutions to gain market share quickly - this is a viral marketing event.
  7. Defending against a strategy of mobile chaos within the enterprise.
  8. Providing a roadmap and strategy for an orderly and quickly expanding enterprise mobility strategy.
  9. Arguing that any developer can develop a mobile micro-application, but only the experts can develop an enterprise quality MEAP.

The current strategy for most MEAPs seems to be to mobilize a vertical SAP business process quickly and then expanding in all directions. That means the current SAP MEAP partners are and will be colliding. Let the sparks and fun begin!

The companies that I view as SAP oriented MEAP vendors that are currently listed as SAP partners are:

There are a number of additional companies like Pyxis Mobile and Vivido that are moving into this space and many systems integrators with their own emerging mobile micro-apps and MEAP strategies. It will come down to enterprise quality MEAPs, thought leadership and mindshare.

If you are interested in discussing these topics in more detail or scheduling one of my in-depth two day workshops on these subjects please contact me.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Mobility Consultant, Mobile Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert

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 and as such I work with, and have worked with, many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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SAP Mobility Challenge, Part 4

I have been involved in managing enterprise mobility projects for many years and have noticed some trends. The largest number of mobility projects within a company are not large enterprise wide projects but smaller departmental and business process specific projects. These often involve only 25-100 users. I have also been involved in projects with 500-3,000 mobile users as well, but there are far less of these. The small size and specific requirements of these smaller mobility projects cause many SAP mobility partners serious challenges.

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:

  • Scaffold inspections
  • Disaster recovery missions
  • Bridge construction inspection project for a large engineering firm
  • Food processing inspection for a large CPG company
  • Hospital equipment sterilization and maintenance inspections
  • Hazardous waste inspection for a large engineering firm
  • Tire inspections on thousands of trucks and trailers for a large transportation firm
  • Weld inspection applications for a giant iron works company
  • Dairy farm and calf inspection
  • New car inspections after shipping

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.

Sky Technologies is one of the Certified SAP mobility partners that provides a MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) that can address the customized and often smaller business processes and mobility requirements easier than others. ClickSoftware is also vying for this role.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Mobility Consultant, Mobile Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert

**Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility expert and Web 2.0 market expert and as such I work with, and have worked with, many of the companies mentioned in my articles.




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Extracting More Value from SAP Solutions via Mobility

I was speaking to one of my friends at SAP this week who mentioned that only 5% of a typical SAP customers' workforce is "white collar." What is the significance? That same 5% also happens to be the SAP users in a company. SAP is looking for mobility partners to address the mobility needs of the 5%, but also to reach beyond to the 95% that are not currently SAP users.

I also spoke with the former CEO of SAP North America, Greg Tomb last week about his new mobility focus. His new venture, Vivido Labs has a mobility offering called the Mowego Suite that will target both the 5% and the 95%. Initially they will focus on the 5%, because although these users are benefiting from their SAP investment, they are just scraping the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the additional value they could be extracting from SAP. Tomb views providing additional value to SAP customers through mobility as a key goal for Vivido Labs. "They [SAP customers] all have smartphones and they have made significant investments in SAP," says Tomb. Mobile business applications can extend SAP solutions outside of the cubicles (where the 5% sit) into the warehouses, manufacturing floors, plant maintenance environments, field operations, job sites and customer locations where the additional 95% work.

Vivido Labs has ambitious plans to develop over 30 different mobile applications that will work in real time and be integrated with SAP environments. These mobile applications will be light weight applications that are focused on real-time connectivity and direct integration with SAP via webservices or other SAP centric approaches. This is different from some SAP partners that focus on mobilizing their own third-party business applications first and then integrating with SAP on the backend through a traditional integration scenario.

Vivido Labs has close relationships with many SAP systems integrators and they believe the Mowego suite will be a popular choice in this channel as an enterprise mobile business application platform.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Mobility Consultant, Mobile Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert

***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert and as such I work with, and have worked with, many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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SAP Mobility Challenge, Part 3

Systems Integrators represent a significant sales channel for SAP. Systems Integrators often have resources assigned to various SAP upgrades, integrations, customization and development projects onsite at a SAP customer's location. Often it is the systems integrators who first hear of upcoming sales opportunities and business requirements. SIs are very interested in SAP enterprise mobility (there is even a new Linkedin Group called SAP Enterprise Mobility) as it is seen as a major growth area. Here in lies the challenge.

Since as was discussed in Part 2 of this series, different groups within SAP are providing different mobile solution recommendations, the SI is going to be frustrated. They want to know specifically what mobile solution is recommended and where they can offer value by implementing it. The SI is not going to train on all possible SAP mobility solutions. They want to get trained on a mobile solution that has the maximum reusability across as many different SAP customers and business processes as possible to keep their costs as low as possible. They will not want to learn one mobile solution for EAM (enterprise asset management), another for workforce optimization and another for mobile CRM, etc.

Systems Integrators will want a MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) that they can use broadly to design, develop, deploy and support mobile extensions to existing SAP business processes. In addition, once you start supporting field operations outside the four walls of the enterprise it is common that companies have unique business processes in place. Often these processes, methodologies and techniques provide competitive advantages. If the SAP customer wants to continue these practices then a customized mobile software application for field operations will be necessary. This necessitates a MEAP that can be used by the SI to develop powerful customized mobile applications.

Another challenge is that some of the mobile solutions recommended by various groups in SAP are focused on mobilizing the vendor's specific business applications and supported business processes, not necessarily SAP. You may have an architecture like the following, SAP=>Vertical Application=>Mobile Solution. This may be effective for the vertical application vendor, but does not help the system integrator that wants a MEAP that can be used widely across the entire SAP environment where there are a multitude of business processes and customization requirements.

Related Articles:

***************************************************

Author Kevin Benedict

Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert

http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/

www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict

http://twitter.com/krbenedict

***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert and as such I work with, and have worked with, many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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New SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin







For those of you active on Linkedin, there is a new group available called SAP Enterprise Mobility for professionals involved in SAP and SAP mobility projects. Here is the description:

This group is dedicated to the discussion of enterprise mobile applications in SAP environments and networking with other professionals engaged in SAP mobility strategy.

***************************************************
Author Kevin Benedict
Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert

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 and as such I work with, and have worked with, many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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SAP Mobility Challenge, Part 2

This article continues the discussion started in SAP Mobility Challenge, Part 1.

In the following excerpts from press releases issued by SAP's partners you can see that SAP understands and appreciates the significance of mobile applications in field service management. How does that appreciation translate into recommendations for SAP customers?

First let's look at an excerpt from a press release issued by SAP/ClickSoftware and a quote from the SAP Solution Management group. "There is growing demand in the market for more comprehensive field service management that incorporates decision support and optimization," said Tobias Dosch, senior vice president, Suite Solution Management, SAP AG. "Our relationship with ClickSoftware is a prime example of how SAP meets specific customer needs by leveraging our partner ecosystem to complement and extend SAP solution offerings."

SAP will resell ClickSoftware's ServiceOptimization Suite as the SAP® Workforce Scheduling and Optimization application by ClickSoftware, helping customers meet the challenge of optimizing the mobile service workforce. SAP Workforce Scheduling and Optimization helps customers to automate real-time proactive and reactive decision-making. Having the ability to act in real time on data from the field and produce optimal decisions for resource allocation and job scheduling can help SAP and ClickSoftware customers obtain the benefits of implementing a comprehensive service optimization solution.

Second, let's look at an excerpt from a press release issued by Syclo. "Syclo…announced an agreement centered around co-innovation with SAP AG to deliver mobile applications that enable maintenance and service technicians access to SAP® Business Suite software from a broad range of devices regardless of connectivity. They are designed for work order execution, operator rounds, time/attendance tracking and materials management.

"The cooperation with Syclo enables our customers to increase the productivity of maintenance and field service technicians by connecting them to SAP Business Suite for work order or service order execution, operator rounds and materials management," said Dieter Hässlein, vice president, Solution Management for EAM, Sustainability and Mobile.

Thirdly, let's consider the SAP/Sybase announcements.

In March 2009, Sybase and SAP announced a strategic Co-Innovation Partnership to extend SAP to mobile workers on a wide array of mobile devices… "Our customers demand mobile access to proven business applications to stay connected to their customers, suppliers, partners and employees to drive innovation and productivity," said Bill McDermott, president, Global Field Operations, and member of the SAP executive board SAP AG. "SAP is committed to helping customers adapt to business change and optimize the value derived from our leading solutions and extensive partner ecosystem. Working together with Sybase, we will provide the modern mobile workforce with the tools they need on the device of their choice, which will enable faster time to value, through access to business functionality anytime, anywhere."

The three press release excerpts above show that three different SAP groups (SAP Suite Solution Management, Global Field Operation and SAP Solution Management for EAM, Sustainability and Mobile) are recommending three different mobile solutions for the mobile workforce. I can tell you from experience that many mobile business processes such as field services management are very similar across industries. The challenge here is which application does the SAP field sales team recommend to SAP customers? Should SAP customers buy different mobile solutions and different mobile clients for Asset Management, CRM and field services operations?

Last week I received a SAP EcoHub announcement of a webinar called, Defining Your Mobile Strategy. In it, SAP's Certified Partner Sky Technologies discussed the value of using one MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) to organize and manage all mobile business processes from within an SAP environment. Here is yet a fourth mobility alternative promoted from within SAP's partner website.

I am still pondering the question I asked in Part 1 of this series - from a mobile technology and IT management perspective, does it make more sense for SAP to have one MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) that best integrates and supports SAP's underlying architecture and product roadmap, rather than recommending the mobile applications from multiple partners? Can you image the challenges you would face if you were the IT manager of an SAP customer responsible for dozens of different mobile applications, using different mobile middleware, different security methodologies, different application development environments, etc., for each business process? Yikes!!

I would like to hear your thoughts and comments.

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SAP’s Mobility Challenge, Part 1

I am very interested in watching SAP's emerging mobility strategy as it matures, evolves and morphs yet again. I am not critical; this is how all of mobility is these days. Four years ago we were all using the term Palm, Pocket PC and PDA. Now we are speaking of iPhone, Android, RIM and iPads. Within these different technologies are literally hundreds of different mobile applications and mobile extensions that can add value to SAP's ecosystem. I have been seeing a lot of activity in this space. I have seen SAP partnership announcements with RIM (Blackberry folks), Sybase, Sky Technologies, Syclo and ClickSoftware. I have seen SAP comments from many different industry and solution groups within SAP related to mobility.

What I believe is particularly challenging to SAP is trying to determine if mobility is an extension of an industry business process, or an integrated technology platform. Let me provide three examples of the challenge – work order management is both a back office solution and a mobile client (work orders are dispatched to mobile handheld computers in the field that are carried by the service technicians). Likewise, asset management involves both back office solutions and a mobile client (inspectors, facilities managers, plant maintenance teams and service technicians use mobile clients). Route/Sales management also involves back office solutions and mobile clients (route sales people track sales, inventory, delivery and promotions on mobile devices). So are the mobile applications/clients part of the work order management, asset management or route management categories or do they justify an integrated SAP mobility platform? What do you think?

I image this is a very complex and difficult discussion within SAP. SAP has selected specific partnerships within different industry verticals. These partners are often producing their own mobile applications to extend the capabilities of their solutions; however, these mobile solutions may in fact not align with SAP's overall mobile platform strategy.

From a purely technology perspective, it may make more sense for SAP to develop or select a MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) that best integrates and supports SAP's underlying architecture and product roadmap, however, their vertical industry partners would not like this strategy at all as they see mobility as a major growth area for them. Very interesting times indeed!

Read SAP's Mobility Challenge, Part 2 here.

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Advice for Mobile Start-ups: Working with SAP, Part 5

Part 4 of this series may have demoralized some mobile start-ups hoping to work closely with SAP, but Part 5 in this series provides solutions to many of the challenges identified in Part 4. Let's now take a closer look at some of the comments I made in Part 4.

The SAP customer is simplifying their IT infrastructure to reduce complexity and no non-SAP technology will be added unless it is approved by 17 business and IT committees. Who has the time to fight this battle?

  • Embed your solution in SAP so it becomes a part of SAP and avoids these issues (Sky Technologies, a Certified SAP Partner embeds their mobile solutions in SAP)
  • Simply provide a mobile application or iPhone view of SAP's current applications (Mobile micro-apps)

The IT Managers only want to learn mobile technology that will add to their resume and help them get their next assignment. The cool mobile technology that they just witnessed does not have its own category on the IT recruiters' websites. They want NAME power on their resume.

  • Show IT managers how to extend their current SAP infrastructure and code to mobile applications. This will accomplish their purposes.
  • Show IT managers that your solution is from a Certified SAP Partner

The SAP system integrator does not support the mobile technology, so recommends some other mobile solution that they support and have trained experts on.

  • Go directly to the end user with your message and evangelize and educate them. Build support internally for the "best" mobile technology. Close the deal first, then motivate the system integrator to be trained on your mobile technology and play a role in the implementation.

The SAP sales team does not get quota credit on it, but they do on another mobile solution. If the sales person does not make their numbers they are fired, so they do not care which mobile technology is better if it does not help keep their job.

  • Find a way for your mobile technology to sell more SAP licenses and products. Perhaps the mobile workforce that is not currently using SAP licenses will need them if they are connected via mobile devices. This would encourage the SAP sales force to work with you to sell more SAP licenses. Think in terms of the SAP AE's interests as well as the customers.

SAP's Industry Principals and Solutions Managers also must be very selective as to the mobile technology they recommend. They would not want to recommend a product that was not on the SAP price list or Certified Partner list, unless there was no other viable choice or this product helped sell other SAP licenses that benefited the SAP sales team.

  • SAP has only identified a few mobile categories for partnerships; field service automation, route/delivery and mobile CRM. I can tell you from personal experience that hundreds of mobile applications are needed in most large enterprises. Mobile applications that deal with security, asset management, inspections, compliance, job estimating, fleet management, engineering, construction, logistics, etc. There are massive opportunities to mobilize these business processes.
  • Show the SAP user and the SAP sales team how you can help them.

SAP customers are often on 5 year plans. These plans include upgrades, roll-outs, add-ons, customization, old product sun setting, mergers and acquisitions, etc. What does this mean to the mobile entrepreneur? It means your product needs a 5 year road map that aligns with SAP and the SAP customer's. If it does not, you are unlikely to survive the first round.

  • Be the thought leader and explain where mobility is going to be in 5 years. Tell them why your solution is better aligned with the direction of mobility than any.

The biggest project and highest priority in the company is around route delivery improvement, and your project is mobile SAP CRM. The route delivery mobility vendor agrees to extend their mobile solution into mobile CRM and since it is a higher priority, you lose.

  • Understand the decision making process, organizational chart and budget limits within IT and the department you are targeting. Can you keep the project cost below the threshold that requires additional management approvals? Can you break down your project so that yearly costs keep it below the approval thresholds so you can simply focus on this one department until it is firmly established?

The CIO will never get invited to speak in front of thousands at Sapphire if they choose your solution. Your user conferences could be held at Denny's.

  • Become a Certified SAP partner and attend Sapphire yourself. Be a mobile solution provider in a different category than other larger mobility vendors. Be the mobile application provider for; food processors, engineers, bridge inspections, healthcare, quality assurance, sustainability, etc., and then expand your mobile offerings. That is exactly what all the other mobile partners of SAP are doing.

If you would like to discuss these strategies and/or my consulting practice please contact me.

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____________________________

Author Kevin Benedict
Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert

http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/

***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert and as such I work with, and have worked with, many of the companies mentioned in my articles.


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Advice for Mobile Start-Ups: Working with SAP, Part 4

SAP can be like a giant aircraft carrier moving powerfully across the ocean. It is huge and heavy and if you are a swimmer in the ocean trying to make it change directions to suite your purposes, good luck. A more successful approach is to understand the direction the ship is going and jump on board. Sign on, offer them a hand and help them get there. Perhaps as you gain their confidence they will let you into the wheelhouse where you can learn about their intended strategies and influence future directions.

Mobile software companies and their entrepreneurs often feel their mobile technology and strategy is better than all others. They often feel driven by a messianic mission to carry their mobile technology message to the world, and then scream in frustration when others don't seem to "get it." I understand. I have screamed.

Mobility entrepreneurs are often focused on their specific mobile technology. Many have engineering backgrounds and believe they have solved a significant problem. The challenge they often face is not understanding the business of their potential partners, resellers and target customers. Let me provide the following scenario to demonstrate my point:

There is a large conference room with a long table. There are 2 mobility entrepreneurs, 12 IT managers for a large SAP customer, 4 sales and pre-sales folks from SAP, and 3 representatives from a large system integrator with a focused SAP practice in attendance. The mobility entrepreneurs stand up and present the "world's best" enterprise mobility technology to the attendees. When they are done presenting, lots of questions are asked; the entrepreneurs cover them all and leave to catch their flight home expecting a PO on the fax machine when they arrive. The PO never arrives. Why?

Here are some possible reasons:

  1. The SAP customer has a $14 million problem, and the mobile technology presented will solve only $675,000 of that problem. They need a complete solution, not a partial.

  2. The $14 million problem requires a full range of systems integration, business process design and SAP customization to fix. They want to fix this problem with one overall integrated solution, not many small solutions linked together. Complexity can kill.

  3. The SAP customer has three preferred SAP systems integrators – none have a practice around this particular mobile technology.

  4. The SAP customer is simplifying their IT infrastructure to reduce complexity and no non-SAP technology will be added unless it is approved by 17 business and IT committees. Who has the time to fight this battle?

  5. The IT Managers only want to learn mobile technology that will add to their resume and help them get their next assignment. The cool mobile technology that they just witnessed does not have its own category on the IT recruiters' websites. They want NAME power on their resume.

  6. The SAP system integrator does not support the mobile technology, so recommends some other mobile solution that they support and have trained experts on.

  7. The SAP sales team does not get quota credit on it, but they do on another mobile solution. If the sales person does not make their numbers they are fired, so they do not care which mobile technology is better if it does not help keep their job.

  8. SAP's Industry Principals and Solutions Managers also must be very selective as to the mobile technology they recommend. They would not want to recommend a product that was not on the SAP price list or Certified Partner list, unless there was no other viable choice or this product helped sell other SAP licenses that benefited the SAP sales team. Their priorities would be:

    1. SAP solution

    2. SAP price list solution (could be a partner's solution on the price list)

    3. SAP Certified or Innovation Partner

    4. Only in desperate times would a non-partner be recommended and then only if it helped sell more SAP products

  9. SAP pre-sales teams learn about many different technologies, but if it does not help their Account Executive make his/her quarterly numbers, it is unlikely to be introduced to the customer. However, there is an exception; if the solution, combined with an SAP solution helps close more revenue for the SAP Account Executive, then you have a winner.

  10. SAP customers are often on 5 year plans. These plans include upgrades, roll-outs, add-ons, customization, old product sun setting, mergers and acquisitions, etc. What does this mean to the mobile entrepreneur? It means your product needs a 5 year road map that aligns with SAP and the SAP customer's. If it does not, you are unlikely to survive the first round.

  11. Large software companies like SAP often consider potential partners as possible acquisition targets. Issues like are you private or public, customer base size, intellectual property ownership, market presence, etc, play into these considerations. If two partners have similar technologies, the one that is a better future acquisition target may be chosen for strategic reasons.
  12. The SAP customer may have outsourced their IT to a large service provider with their own recommended mobile solution.
  13. The SAP customer may have a large server deal with IBM, and IBM agrees to throw in a software solution for free if the annual support contracts are renewed...it happened to me :-(
  14. The biggest project and highest priority in the company is around route delivery improvement, and your project is mobile SAP CRM. The route delivery mobility vendor agrees to extend their mobile solution into mobile CRM and since it is a higher priority, you lose.
  15. The CIO will never get invited to speak in front of thousands at Sapphire if they choose your solution.
  16. Your user conferences could be held at Denny's.

In summary, a mobile solution needs to be viewed favorably by the SAP customer, SAP sales team and the SAP system integrator. Not always all of them, but most of them. It needs to align with most of their strategic visions, personal interests and compensation structures. The frustrating part of this list for many mobility entrepreneurs is that none of it has to do with "best" mobile technology. These are primarily business issues that relate to alliances, partnerships, self-interests, marketing, strategic directions and business models.

Since we live in the real world, not all of the players' motivations will be clear or have the same level of priority. Sometimes new technologies appear that do not fit these molds, but once you understand these underlying motivations it becomes more clear.

If you are interested in discussing these issues in more detail and/or learning more about my consulting practice please contact me.

Watch for Part 5 in this series - it gives hope back to the Mobile Start-Ups. You can follow-me on Twitter (see right sidebar) and by RSS.

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***************************************************

Author Kevin Benedict

Mobility Consultant, Wireless Industry Analyst and Web 2.0 Marketing Expert

http://www.netcentric-strategies.com/

***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert and as such I work with, and have worked with, many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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Mobile SAP CRM

In a recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan called, European Mobile Sales Force Automation (CRM/SFA) Markets, it is stated that mobile SFA is the largest application segment after wireless email, and this segment will grow close to 300% between now and 2013.

SAP seems to be making a big push in this area with mobile CRM partnerships with Sky Technologies (Certified SAP Partner, Certified SAP NetWeaver Partner) Sybase and RIM (Innovation Partners) in this area. What are the key areas covered by mobile CRM?

  • Activity management – Phone call, email, cold calls, what to do each day
  • Lead management – receive leads, contact, qualify
  • Opportunity Management – define, document and manage specific sales opportunities
  • Account Management – organizational charts, people, budgets, plans, needs
To me these are obvious needs for the mobile sales force. They work and travel in mobile environments so provide mobile tools that let them sell more product and make customers happier.

The future of mobile SAP CRM in my opinion is the combination of mobile SAP CRM and business intelligence. The ability to fully brief a traveling sales person on a customer’s account status, order history, shipments, credit status, financials, latest news and potential opportunities using text and audio files is very useful. Audio because many times a sales person is flying or driving and would benefit from having this information in audio format so they could listen to it.

In addition to the obvious account information, what additional kinds of mobile information do you think would be useful to integrate within a mobile SAP CRM?

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