Kevin Benedict Ponders the Future

MEAPs, Thick Clients and Mobile Chain of Custody Applications

For people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries like Ethiopia, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, and Ghana, receiving AIDS mediation in a cost effective, secure and reliable manner is critical to saving the lives of millions. In addition to the health crisis, the geographical challenges of trying to care for patients that live in remote villages where access to medical facilities is minimal is a huge obstacle.

The challenge undertaken by global health organizations and companies funded by PEPFAR was to create a drug delivery system that would accomplish the following:

Expedite the delivery process.
Ensure the secure transfer of drugs.
Provide visibility and transparency to participating agencies.
Ensure accurate deliveries.
Automate ARV drug processes that provide a rapid, regular, reliable supply of medications to patients.
Provide a transactional record of the ARV drugs and test kits at every key point in the distribution chain.

The bottom line goal was to provide a truly mobile chain of custody system that could extend across a challenging geographical landscape with minimal technology infrastructure. How was this goal accomplished? The answer - by implementing a MEAP solution that enabled delivery drivers to utilize a mobile application designed to work in a disconnected or connected model. The application leveraged the power and flexibility of an enterprise quality mobile database in a thick mobile client that enabled the delivery drivers to maintain inventory counts, accept proof of delivery, and store key data on a consumer grade PDA until they could be connected with the internet at a later time.

Prior to implementing mobile solutions, agencies were only able to track drugs to a warehouse located in the larger cities in many countries. Now delivery drivers are supplied with a mobile application that can track the delivery and re-ordering of ARV drugs from the warehouse, to regional distribution centers, to area regional centers and finally to the patient. Every time the ARV medications change hands, a digital record is made of the transaction. The information collected is synchronized back up the chain where program managers can actively manage the continual flow of mediations.

Since implementation this mobile solution has helped over 50,000 AIDS patients receive treatments in the Ivory Coast alone. This, coupled with the fact that the mobile solutions decreased the delivery cycle from three months to as little as three weeks, has caught the attention of many other countries and relief organizations around the world. These thick client mobile applications that operate in a connected and disconnected mode are critical to these kinds of environments. Many organizations are looking at using MEAPs and thick client applications to offer better and more timely treatment to those afflicted with AIDS.

In the SAP ecosystem Sky Technologies, Sybase, and Syclo are the SAP mobility partners that seem to focus on supporting custom mobile applications with MEAPs that operate in both connected and disconnected modes using a thick client architectures. By thick client I mean a mobile application that can operate with or without connectivity and that includes a mobile database for storing data on the device while waiting for synchronization.

In my opinion a good MEAP should have an SDK so that the IT department can utilize it to update and edit mobile applications and develop new ones. Without a good SDK that the IT department can learn, the enterprise is hostage to the vendor. The world of mobility is moving far too fast, and the IT department needs to be able to update and upgrade mobile applications on their schedule not the vendors.

Mobile micro-applications and mobile browser based applications are valuable and provide significant ROIs in many situations, but they cannot support the rugged environments described in this case study and would not have saved thousands of lives like the thick client mobile solution that was used.

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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
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. ***************************************************

SAP Insider, SAP Mentorship and a M2M Report

I had a great time leading a session on enterprise mobility today in Palo Alto at SAP's campus. Even if the photo on the left doesn't look like it. It was an SAP Insider event and I met a lot of interesting people from the SAP ecosystem. I led a session called New Mobility Models, Convergence and Augmented Reality on Mobile Devices.

The event started out by Mark Finnern, SAP's Chief Community Evangelist, announcing that SAP has asked me to be an SAP Mentor in the enterprise mobility arena. I accepted and plan to be actively involved in many SAP events this year including Sapphire in a couple of weeks and TechEd this fall. Now I am anxiously waiting for my Rugby shirt that SAP mentors get to wear.

I was able to share information with the audience on many of SAP's mobility partners including Vivido Labs, Leapfactor, Sky Technologies and others and the latest trends in mobility. The event was shown live around the world via webcast.

I am also working on a new mobile industry analyst report on the subject of M2M (machine-to-machine) - think Redbox DVD rental machines reporting their inventories wirelessly to their website. This is a very interesting area. If you have a good example, solution, article or company I should be researching please let me know.

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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
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. ***************************************************

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Leapfactor's Lionel Carrasco

I was in Miami, Florida a few weeks ago and was able to meet up with Lionel Carrasco and do some sailing. Lionel Carrasco is the CEO and founder of Leapfactor, an Enterprise mobility player and partner of SAP. Lionel shared his thoughts and insights while the sun was setting over Miami.

I asked Lionel how he originally got into the mobility industry. He explained that he managed the development, as an SAP systems integrator CTO, of a number of large enterprise mobility projects in the Direct Store Delivery, Logistics Execution, and Sales Force Automation space. These projects were in the USA, Latin America, and Europe. In the course of designing, developing, deploying and supporting these applications, he learned much. He believes this experience will be invaluable to SAP and Leapfactor customers.

I asked Lionel how he would describe Leapfactor. He answered that Leapfactor understands that cloud computing and mobility should come together. This joining together will enable large enterprises to take advantage of mobility in ways similar to consumers. He believes enterprises should mobilize employees, partners, and consumers. He believes enterprises should consider mobilizing their entire ecosystem as there is value to be recognized in all areas of it.

What differentiates Leapfactor from other SAP mobility partners? Lionel answered that Leapfactor is a native cloud based mobile offering that can handle a large scale volume of users, even in on premises implementation models. They do their best to remove the complexity from a mobile enterprise, yet they offer the required enterprise class security and compliance capabilities. He added that Leapfactor does not think from the "inside out." “Looking from the inside out,” according to Lionel, “Makes you think like an ERP running on a desktop computer and simply extending features outside the four walls which limits you.”

"We are thinking of not just one mobile application but hundreds!" Lionel emphasized. "Developers can build them, customers can build them, our partners can build them, and we can build them on behalf of our customers as well."

Lionel emphasized again and again that the economics of mobile applications, the way they are developed, deployed and supported is completely different now than they were even a few months back. I interpreted that to mean not many mobility vendors have recognized or accepted the new paradigms and realities yet. He believes the new business models that Leapfactor is bringing to the SAP marketplace are significant, not only for customers but SAP and the partners ecosystem.

I asked Lionel about his target audiences. His answer was end users, end users, and end users. He believes that end users need to realize value with the very first click of a mobile application, and the enterprise should receive their value second. It is a view that suggests the end users are the secret to an enterprise's success. If the end user likes the mobile application, then the enterprise will realize the value.

Lionel said that Leapfactor is here to create value for the business. The winners will be those enterprises that create apps for the edges of the processes because the core is already taken care of and automated by ERPs. The edges are where the enterprise relates to customers and partners and where the opportunities for mobility lie. He then added that it is also very important to make the IT department the heroes, because they will be able to respond to business demands faster instead of managing the complexity and maintenance budgets.

I asked about Leapfactor's mobile applications. He listed them as follows:

Business Indicators - Mobilized business intelligence for all types of users from the executives down to blue collar workers.
Mobile Alerts - When action and acknowledge is required and email is not enough.
Mobile Approvals - For any system and process that requires an approval.

He then shared that one of the most interesting new mobile applications would be released in time for Sapphire. It is a mobile social intelligence application for large enterprises.

I asked Lionel if he viewed Leapfactor as a development platform. He answered that it is a mobile deployment platform that can rapidly scale up and scale down depending on the customer's and software developer's needs. “We added some development accelerators and user interface libraries to increase productivity and reduce complexity for developers, but that does not make us a development platform. We rely on the native development tools of each mobile OS,” he said.

It is a deployment platform that mobile application developers can use to deploy the applications they have developed without the need to build a complete and expensive SaaS infrastructure themselves.

One of the most interesting thoughts that Lionel shared was this, "Applications and lines of code are increasingly disposable. The code is less and less important since mobile applications can be developed quickly and with relatively little investment." Hmmm . . . where is the value then? Lionel believes the value will be in the ability to economically and quickly deploy and support mobile applications – applications that offer immediate value to the end users and that are easily distributed. I think he was only half joking but he said, "Mobile applications can be easily thrown away as newer and better mobile applications are developed." It seems to be the personification of agile.

Lionel sees one of the key roles of Leapfactor is to help other mobile software developers manage deployments, compliance issues, and testing and then supporting their operational environments through the Leapfactor platform.

One of the key values in the Leapfactor platform is its ability to meter and measure the use of mobile applications. This information can be used for any number of emerging business models that may include charging the user based on transaction numbers, volume of data used, etc.

I asked Lionel for his opinion on the role of mobile micro-apps. He said mobile micro-apps are easy to maintain, easy to deploy, and easy to develop. This means developers can rapidly bring value and incremental improvements to users. He added that sharing the consumer approach to mobile applications with large enterprises also offers a lot of value.

Lionel refers to "thick client" mobile applications as "obese" mobile applications. He said it is wrong to include too many features in one code base for mobile devices. Obese applications are nightmares to maintain and take far too long to develop, test and deliver. He added, "Developers need to stop thinking like Windows Desktop application developers and change their paradigms to think like a mobile user."

In my past I have been involved in many "obese" mobile application development projects. I can share that the customer requirements always seemed to change faster than you could design, develop, test, and deploy them.

I asked Lionel for his opinions on MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms). He said there is still a need for MEAPs on some projects, but the development is very expensive. He believes MEAPs were mostly designed for older development paradigms, and they need to change to support a more consumer-oriented approach for enterprises of today.

I asked Lionel to look into the future and tell me what he sees. He offered that mobility is already pervasive. He said most less-developed nations have more mobile phones than landlines. He believes that soon all mobile phones will be smartphones.

He also believes that enterprises will begin building management functionality that enables a separation between work and play on the same mobile phone. Perhaps it is a work phone until 5:00 p.m. and then switches to personal settings with personal applications. I find this whole area of thinking very interesting.

What is SAP doing right? Lionel said SAP is focused on mobility in 2010, which is a very good thing. They are demonstrating that they believe it is important, and although they have been slow to embrace mobility and cloud computing, they seem to be picking up speed. They are rallying the SAP troops and the customer base which is all good. Lionel added, “I have had the chance to meet Kevin Nix, who now leads the SAP mobile strategy, and it was refreshing to hear his fresh ideas and real world experiences.”

Lionel believes that SAP's partner strategy for mobile applications is the right strategy. "They realize they cannot do it all and have invited partners to fill the gaps" he added. "Past failures that SAP experienced in mobility were due to SAP following old paradigms."

What can we expect from Leapfactor in 2010? Lionel provided the following list:

Leapfactor will show the industry and customers more proof points that Leapfactor's model and technology is the right approach. It will be disruptive to current thinking, but it is the right approach.
Leapfactor will deliver more killer apps, but more importantly, customers and partners will do the same.
Leapfactor will be adding many customers, small and extra large ones.
Leapfactor will publicly release a Developer Kit that has been limited to date to only a few partners.
Additional RIM and Android apps will be released this year.

If there is a mobile expert that you think I should interview please contact me!

Read more interviews with mobile experts:

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy 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. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. ***************************************************

SAP Insider Event, Friday April 30th

For those with time on their hands this Friday - I am a speaker at the SAP Insider event in Palo Alto, CA on Friday, April 30th. I understand the event is going to be available in streaming video for those not able to attend. My session is scheduled for 1:30 PM PDST and is called New Mobility Models, Convergence and Augmented Reality.

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy 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. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. ***************************************************

HP Buys Palm - RIP

Interesting news I hadn't considered - HP as a suitor for Palm.

"Palm's innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP's mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices," Todd Bradley, vice president of HP, said in a prepared statement.

It is fascinating to me when a brand goes bad. Sometimes I think the morale in a company goes bad years before and it rots from the inside out. Employees warn their peers to stay away, recruiting suffers and vacations become the topic of choice. People stay at the company drawing a paycheck long after they give up on its success. They go through the motions but have no belief. Social networking enables industry pundits to sense the demise even before the market does.

I have known many companies in my time where if the staff were given an anonymous survey, they would have predicted its demise years earlier than the fact.

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy 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. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. ***************************************************

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sky Technologies' Neil McHugh

I caught up with Neil McHugh from Sky Technologies the other day. He is a transplant from Scotland to the USA via IBM and is now on the Texas side of the Sky Technologies family. He is VP of Marketing and Business Development – Americas.

Kevin: Neil, tell me about Sky Technologies. I have been working in the mobility industry for many years, but only recently started hearing about Sky Technologies.

Neil: I can understand that. We have actually worked through partners in the US for many years, but never really pushed our brand until last year when we decided to change our go-to-market model and sell directly to customers under the Sky brand (imagine a Scottish accent when you read his answers).

Kevin: How are you finding the market today for enterprise mobile applications (imagine an Idaho accent when you read my questions)?

Neil: We have been very fortunate. The mobile market is strong, and we are winning deals on a monthly basis so our market presence is growing quite rapidly. We also have excellent partners in SAP, RIM, and Motorola and each of these companies bring us business.

Kevin: SAP, RIM, and Motorola all have partnerships with your competitors as well, so how much business do they really bring Sky Technologies?

Neil: Fair question - let me put it this way, these companies will always have multiple partners, but we are known for our ability to support mobile requirements that most other mobility vendors cannot. We are the go-to-guys when they are not getting the answers they want from other mobility vendors.

Kevin: Is this why I see a flurry of press releases from you guys recently. Do you get bonused on the number of press releases you write?

Neil: No, but that is a good idea. We are experiencing record growth in 2010, and every department in Sky Technologies is working around the clock with new implementations, new products, new opportunities, and there is much more to come. In addition, recently some of the very successful and experienced SAP partners have realized mobility is hot and have approached Sky to become their mobility partner. So, the flurry of press releases you see are not just issued by us, but by partners also. It is nice to be receiving this recognition.

Kevin: I remember a mention of Colgate as a recent Sky Technologies customer in the SAP CRM space. Tell me about that.

Neil: You are referring to the EntryPoint statement, right ? This will be a great relationship. EntryPoint are known experts in the SAP CRM market, and we were very excited when they approached Sky. As for the Colgate account. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on that due to confidentiality. Sorry, Nice try Kevin.

Kevin: How significant is the SAP CRM space to Sky?

Neil: All areas of the SAP market are significant. We are not vertical industry focused. We are SAP focused. Anywhere there is an need to mobilize an SAP application, Sky Technologies is there. We have customers both inside and outside the four walls across every industry that SAP works in. So, although we love CRM, we are just as active in the field, manufacturing, utilities, construction and the list goes on…

Kevin: Do you see Sky as a Global solutions company or primarily US and Australia.

Neil: We have customers across 6 continents and 25 countries, so I guess I would classify that as global.

Kevin: Can you give me an example of a global typical customer scenario?

Neil: Certainly. A typical example of a global company utilizing SAP would be BlackBerry and iPhone CRM users in the US, with their field services in Latin America using rugged Windows-based mobile devices and the European operations running Symbian and internal sales using laptops. We can manage them all with a single mobile framework. I guess that also answers the question regarding why partners bring us deals.

Remember to check out the SAP EcoHub this week! It is focused on mobility.

More articles from the Mobile Industry Expert Series:

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy 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. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. ***************************************************

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Vivido Labs' Greg Tomb

I had the pleasure of interviewing the former CEO of SAP North America, Greg Tomb this week. Greg and his team have founded a new mobile application company called Vivido Labs that is working closely with SAP on a number of new mobile applications. As CEO of Vivido Labs, Greg is now leading an effort to mobilize SAP business processes and to create a platform that other mobile application developers can use to integrate their mobile applications with SAP.

I started the interview by asking Greg why he decided to jump into mobility after leaving SAP in 2009. He said that 18 months ago many SAP customers were asking him how they could leverage their massive investments in SAP to get more value. For example, one SAP customer had just purchased 3,000 BlackBerrys and wanted to maximize both the value from their BlackBerry investment and their SAP investments.

Greg added that he also studied the growing momentum around consumer applications that was fast developing. It got him thinking about how the evolution in smartphones and mobile app stores could add value to the SAP ecosystem. "The value of mobilizing SAP is massive," Greg stated. "Not only by making the mobile workforce more efficient, but mobile solutions can change entire business processes. Some processes can be shortened, others totally re-engineered because of mobility."

I was curious and asked about the names Vivido Labs and the Mowego platform. Greg said, Vivido is an Italian word that means "bring life." The word Mowego is the combination of "mobile-we-go." I must admit that before his explanations I had visions of dancing cheese in my head.

Mowego is a mobile platform for smartphones. It is light and easy to install. It supports both web based and native mobile applications. It can be used in a cloud computing environment or installed on-premises, based upon the needs of the enterprise.

Vivido Labs has 40 mobile micro-applications available today.

I asked Greg to tell me more about the Mowego Platform and here are his responses:

It has a smartphone centric focus.
It was developed for other mobile software developers to use.
It does not require data to reside on the device.
The approach is from an enterprise perspective.
It is not device specific.
It does not require SAP NetWeaver – sits outside of NetWeaver – and gives them more flexibility with other ERPs.
It has a workbench that allows you to build and prototype mobile applications.
Vivido Labs' customers can use the work bench to customize pre-developed mobile applications.
It includes the Services modeler, UI modeler, and business process modeler.
Developers can use Eclipse or Java to develop applications that work with the Mowego platform.
In the future when SAP releases a "gateway" for mobile applications, the Mowego platform would sit on top and help manage and integrate a variety of web services for mobile applications.

I then asked Greg what we should anticipate from Vivido Labs by the end of 2010, and here are his responses:

We have 40 mobile micro-applications today. We expect to have 200 by the end of the year, most developed by third party software development partners.
We will have the most advanced smartphone platform.
We will be known as the "Enterprise App Store."

The last question I asked was, "What do you think of SAP's current mobility strategey?" He said, "SAP needs an answer for their customers. They cannot, NOT have an answer, even if the answer today needs to be changed tomorrow. Working with mobile partners today is the right answer."

Remember to check out the SAP EcoHub this week! It is focused on mobility.

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009 Mobile Strategy 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. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. **************************************************

Mobile Expert Interview Series: ClickSoftware's Gil Bouhnick

I had the opportunity to spend time on the phone this morning with Gil Bouhnick who was calling from warm and beautiful Tel Aviv. He is the Director of Mobile Solutions for ClickSoftware and a big fan of mobility, so much in fact, that he has four mobile smartphones and rarely leaves home or the office without two or more in his pockets. Although his office is in Tel Aviv, most of ClickSoftware's customers are in North American and in Europe.

Gil's role is in the product management group at ClickSoftware. He has spent years at ClickSoftware and has been a part of the evolution of their mobile solutions. Early on, ClickSoftware, a company focused on field service automation and service scheduling optimization, integrated with mobile solutions from companies like Antenna, Dexterra (now part of Antenna) and Syclo. However, over time they began to recognize that they needed their own mobile software and framework to support the requirements of their field services customers.

I have to think that ClickSoftware felt it would be better to provide their own mobile software rather than refer business to their largest strategic competitors.

When ClickSoftware determined they needed their own mobile solution and framework, they began working with Microsoft's mobility team and developed their mobile solution around Microsoft environments. Nearly all of their customers were using ruggedized laptops and rugged handheld devices from vendors like Panasonic, Psion Teklogix, Motorola/Symbol and Intermec, which were all using Windows Mobile operating systems. Even today, in the rough and tumble world of field services where ruggedized laptops and handheld computers are required, Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating systems dominate.

ClickSoftware did take a good look at Sybase's mobile middleware before deciding on Microsoft's middleware. They believe Sybase was a good option, but they chose Microsoft and continue to be big fans of Windows Mobile due to Microsoft's dominance in the rugged industrial grade handheld computer markets.

I asked Gil about their plans to support iPhones and Android devices, and he shared that they are preparing to release light weight browser-based applications for Blackberrys, iPhones, and Android devices.

From our discussion, it appears that ClickSoftware is a strong believer in thick mobile clients that can work in connected or disconnected locations. He used the example of service technicians working in elevator shafts that do not have connectivity, but must access and record information on their handheld computer. He also described an increasing need for field services applications to support on-device barcode scanners and integrated GPS functionality.

ClickSoftware's customers (there were twenty new mobility customers in 2009) have large numbers of mobile users. One of their recent customers deployed over 5,000 mobile applications to ruggedized devices. He said all of their large customers to date are using the Windows Mobile operating systems.

Gil shared an interesting trend among their customers. He says he is actually seeing an increase in field service workers caring two mobile devices. The ruggedized industrial grade laptop or handheld computer and a Blackberry, iPhone or Android device. Why? Because often the ruggedized work-oriented computer is focused specifically on the field service application and process, and the field service technicians wants a smartphone for work communications and personal use.

Gil explained a unique phenomena they regularly experience with their customers. He said once a company starts working with a mobile application they nearly always start expanding into all kinds of new and interesting directions. It is very hard for a mobile user to stop at one mobile application. He said mobile applications are hard to limit. Their boundaries are hard to establish. Field services applications can quickly grow to include inventory management, scheduling, asset tracking, dispatch, CRM, inspection, etc.

I have also experienced this phenomena. Once the field service team becomes accustomed to working with mobile applications, they can recognize the need for many additional mobile applications that would benefit them. This was one of the key reasons ClickSoftware decided to jump into the mobile application space with both feet. They recognized that eventually customers would want mobile extensions to all of their software applications, and they were in the best position to support these requirements.

Field service technicians are no longer as easily impressed with mobile applications as they were a few years ago when all things mobile were magical. Today, they are downloading all kinds of powerful mobile applications to their personal smartphones in the evenings and weekends. Today, they expect to see that same level of sophistication from their field services applications.

In late 2009 ClickSoftware released their first standalone mobile solution, called ClickSoftware Mobile. Prior mobile solutions from ClickSoftware were mobile extensions to their enterprise field services applications. ClickSoftware Mobile contains many templates, forms builders and workflow processes that are useful for the field service industry. As it evolves, it will become a useful MEAP for many other processes and workflows as well.

Gil says he believes SAP has the right strategy towards mobility today. He described SAP's mobility strategy as the "App Store" approach to letting nearly everyone offer mobile applications that integrate with SAP. He said this strategy was necessary due to the challenges SAP had in the past with their internal mobility efforts.

What is SAP doing wrong? Gil said one of the challenges he sees is that SAP does not know what to recommend when customers ask. He said all of the mobility vendors continually update SAP on new developments, but he doubts that information is effectively distributed to the field. There are just too many developments happening too fast. He said think of the confusion when a SAP customer needs mobility in 3 or 4 different areas that are covered by different SAP mobility partners. How is the customer going to make a good decision?

What can we expect to see from ClickSoftware in 2010? Gil says that ClickSoftware has deep expertise in field services automation, which will be shown in many new features in their mobile applications including integrated SMS that is contextually aware. Customers can be notified of arrival times automatically based on the current location and schedule of the field service technician. He said their applications are increasingly location sensitive and many new features are being integrated that use GPS coordinates as important data inputs. He gave examples that included location of other service technicians, the inventories of other nearby service vehicles, and web services that include traffic information and alternative routes to help field service technicians be as efficient as possible.

Another feature that Gil's customers have been requesting is a light weight browser based-mobile application for contractors and sub-contractors. These workers are often only involved in a project for a limited period of time and come with many different kinds of mobile devices. As a result, a browser-based approach that enables any contractors with internet connection and permission to access project and scheduling information is best.

When asked about ClickSoftware competitors, Gil said Syclo is likely their biggest strategic competitor. It is my impression that ClickSoftware is committed to the field service industry and complimentary business processes for most of their business now and in the near future. He added that he does not compete much with Sky Technologies but finds their SAP "innerware" approach to mobility interesting.

Gil believes that Apple's iPhones and App Store changed the world. Apple revolutionized how all other mobile applications are developed and deployed. Apple opened up the world in new and different ways and inspired both developers and users to see smartphones and mobile applications differently. He believes the new Apple iPad has the potential to make a similar market impact.

I said to Gil, "Tablets have been around for a decade. Why do you think that the iPad has the ability to revolutionize the world?" Gil answered, "Apple has the ability to do even the simplest things amazingly!" It is the ability to produce amazing experiences that can inspire the world.

Additional interviews in this series:

Sybase has Record Q1 - Credits Mobile Apps for Growth

Sybase has reported some interesting numbers that seem to be meaningful for the SAP enterprise mobility market in general.

"2010 is off to a strong start for Sybase," stated Chairman, CEO and President of Sybase John Chen. "We achieved historical first-quarter highs in revenue, operating margins, earnings, and cash flow." Added Mr. Chen, "Expansion of data, mobile devices, and real-time computing is driving adoption of our Unwired Enterprise strategy and stimulating demand for our data management, analytics, and mobility offerings."

If this is an indicator of a trend for enterprise mobility, rather than just an improving economy, then let the fun begin!

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy 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. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. ***************************************************

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Troy O'Connor

I had the opportunity to interview Troy O'Connor recently while he was in Australia. He is the CEO of Sky Technologies, an SAP Partner, and an expert in SAP mobility. Sky Technologies is a software company, and their mobile solution for SAP is the SkyMobile Framework.

Troy first got into mobility as a systems integrator for SAP. He cut his teeth on mobile applications for warehouse and inventory management over a decade ago. SAP developed a lot of barcode data collection applications using rugged handheld computers like the LXE.

I asked Troy about his thoughts on mobile micro-applications and MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms). He said that mobile micro-applications are very useful, especially for simple forms-based mobile applications, but he would advocate that mobile micro-applications should be developed using a MEAP and supported by a MEAP. That way there is a standard way of developing, integrating and supporting them. MEAPs should provide a rapid and agile development environment for both thick client applications and mobile micro-applications.

I then asked Troy for his thoughts on the role of thick mobile clients and thin mobile clients. He responded that thick mobile clients are less important when there is 100% connectivity, but there are many cases where rugged working environments do not have connectivity. In such places being able to operate in a connected or disconnected mode is important. He added that he prefers the term "Intelligent Mobile Client" over the term thick client. Intelligent Mobile clients typically have more computing power, on device databases, document management, and data collection capabilities that thin clients.

"What about MEAPs?" I asked. He listed the core features he felt a MEAP should have:

SDK to provide tools for rapid and agile mobile application development.
Interface management to protect the integrity of the SAP transaction and ensure it happens and is completed in SAP.
Data modeling, data profiling and data synchronization.
Device management, which is important so errors and support issues can be discovered and resolved quickly.

I followed up by asking, "How do you tell the difference between a good and bad MEAP?" He answered:

The MEAP must be very flexible, because SAP is very flexible. The SAP user must be able to rapidly customize their mobile applications to match any customization they do in SAP.
The MEAP must support both pre-developed (canned) mobile applications and custom mobile applications.
100% of Sky Technologies' customers have requested some level of customization. That is why the MEAP must support this capability.
SAP is a transactional management system, and because of that any mobile applications integrated with SAP must also be compliant as a transactional management system and provide complete end-to-end visibility to these transactions.
SAP interface management is critical. SAP must have visibility into mobile transactions and be able to monitor them from inside of SAP.
SAP scales up to tens of thousands of users. The mobile enterprise application platform must also scale up.

I asked Troy about Sky Technologies' strategy of using an SAP "Innerware" architecture for their MEAP. He responded that Sky Technologies was given a namespace inside of SAP by SAP to integrate their SkyMobile MEAP. It was then certified by SAP and enables SAP to have complete transactional visibility to mobile transactions. The "innerware" strategy also enables them to utilize and maximize SAP's integration technologies including SAP NetWeaver. Many other mobile software companies choose to duplicate SAP functionality in external third party middleware which adds unnecessary layers of complexity.

I learned a new term from Troy - "short pants." This term refers to youngsters or pretenders, those that lack a complete understanding of an environment. He used that term to refer to mobile software companies that do not have deep knowledge and experience working with SAP. I have now added that term to my vocabulary.

When asked his opinion on SAP's current mobility strategy, Troy answered that he agrees with SAP's partnership strategy for delivering mobile applications. He said the market and technology is moving too quickly for a large software company to keep up. They need to support the innovation that can come out of their smaller mobility partners.

In response to the question, "What should SAP do differently?" He answered, "Clarify the licensing strategy and price for mobile applications." He shared that some of his SAP customers had run into confusing licensing issues around mobile devices for SAP, and this caused some grief.

The last question I asked was, "What should an SAP customer ask a mobile application vendor before purchasing?" Troy answered, "Where is the master system? Is it SAP or a third party database or middleware application?"

Related Articles:

Mobile Expert Interview Series: PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Ahmed El Adl, PhD
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Nokia's John Choate
Mobile Expert Interview Series - Jane and Keelin Glendon of HotButtons

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Kevin Benedict
Author of the report Enterprise Mobile Data Solutions, 2009
Mobile Strategy 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. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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