Kevin’s M2M News Weekly – September 29, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices that I read each week. I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article. I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market.

Location Based Services and Mobile Retailing Applications

There is a fast growing segment of the mobile applications market that is rapidly being adopted by retailers.  Retailers and consumer packaged goods companies like Best Buy, Disney, Procter and Gamble, Starbucks, The Gap, American Eagle, Sports Authority and Macy's are all involved in various location based services projects. 

SAP's Consumer Mobile Initiative

SAP is now starting to really deliver vertical specific mobility strategies, ideas and solutions.  I love it!  They are demonstrating that they really understand the power of mobile applications.  Take a look at the following agenda items from their upcoming SAP Retail Forum 2010 in Las Vegas:

Kevin’s Mobile Retailing News Weekly - September 28, 2010

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile retailing applications, mobile payments and mobile marketing applications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

More on Mobile Scanning Apps and Retail Stores

This morning I read an article written by Ben Lee of Smartsoft Mobile Solutions called Mobile Application Use for On-site Retail.  Ben describes how a number of different retailers have incorporated mobile applications, barcode, QR codes and scanning software into their strategies. 

Print Ads and QR Codes Combined with Mobile Scanning Software

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Brooks Brothers is using QR (quick response) codes in its fall collection print ads that let consumers purchase the items they see right from the pages of Esquire magazine.  The challenge is getting customers to download the scanning software to their smartphone the first time.  After the mobile scanning app is downloaded, the process should be very easy.

SAP Enterprise Mobility Webinar - SAP, Sybase, PriceWaterhouseCooper and Kevin Benedict

I am very excited about this upcoming webinar on October 6th at 2 PM ET, because I have seen the draft presentation and it offers details that have been hard to find until now.  SAP/Sybase are starting to provide real insight into their strategies, the architecture of their solutions and the various components. 

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Open Text's Micah Kalen

For those of you unfamiliar with Open Text, they are an SAP Co-Innovation Partner (like Syclo and RIM).  They are an enterprise software company and leader in ECM (enterprise content management).  Open Text brings two decades of expertise and supports millions of users in 114 countries. They are focused on helping organizations capture and preserve corporate memory, increase brand equity, automate processes, mitigate risk, manage compliance and improve competitiveness.  With that said, they are also developing a mobile enterprise software application called Open Text Everywhere.

SAP's Mobility Partners After SAP’s Acquisition of Sybase, Part 3

The true value in extending business processes to mobile devices is to enable more employees, customers and partners to benefit from the company’s existing IT systems and investments. Mobile applications enable more users to take advantage of the ERP and other IT assets. SAP, in their central role, needed to define how mobile applications could efficiently and effectively connect and integrate with their solutions. The Sybase acquisition and the recently announced mobility roadmap now fulfills that need.

SAP's Mobility Partners After SAP’s Acquisition of Sybase, Part 2

SAP made a safe bet with the Sybase acquisition. Sybase was already the undisputed global leader in enterprise mobility databases, mobile synchronization technologies, mobile security and mobile device management. This is not another new emerging strategy and future solution. It is a mature and proven solution with millions of mobility users worldwide.