Mobile Applications and Their Real Value

Where is the true value in mobile applications?  This is a big question right now for mobility vendors, especially in the SAP ecosystem.  SAP acquired Sybase and their SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform), so the platform question is now answered.  So where is the real value now for mobility vendors?  What are they going to bring to the market that is of great value and provides them with a defensible market position?

1. Is it the ability to collect data? 
2. Is it the ability to query data from a backend databases? 
3. Is it the ability to synchronize? 
4. Is it the ability to store data on a mobile database in an offline mode?
5. Is it a mobile apps or forms builder?
6. Is it the integration with ERPs?
7. Is it mobile web tools?

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - November 2, 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.

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The number of financial institutions offering downloadable applications, customized websites and check depositing services for mobile devices is expected to skyrocket in the next year.

http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/175_203/mobile-banking-payments-1027486-1.html

What Do Customers Want from a Mobile Retailing Application?

I came across a interesting report today about mobile retail applications.  This report came from the EDI/B2B company, Sterling Commerce.  You may not expect an EDI/B2B company to be conducting research on mobility, but they provide web portals and other solutions that are now accessed by mobile devices.  As a result, it makes sense to conduct research on why customers are accessing portals on mobile devices.

The Sterling Commerce report indicates that product availability is becoming a necessity for impatient shoppers. Nearly two thirds (66 percent) of consumers surveyed considered it important to very important to be able to conveniently determine in-stock availability before visiting a store.  It was significantly more popular than store locators and even the ability to read product reviews while in the store.

Microsoft, Enterprise Mobility and Software Development Kits

I read an interesting article on CNET written by Josh Lowensohn on the future of Microsoft's Silverlight.  He quotes Microsoft's president of server and tools, Bob Muglia, as saying "our strategy has shifted," and noted that major release cycles for the runtime had slowed.  This is an interesting subject for the developers of enterprise mobility applications designed for the Microsoft platforms.

Here is another quote from Microsoft's Muglia, "When we started Silverlight, the number of unique/different Internet-connected devices in the world was relatively small, and our goal was to provide the most consistent, richest experience across those devices, but the world has changed. As a result, getting a single runtime implementation installed on every potential device is practically impossible. We think HTML will provide the broadest, cross-platform reach across all these devices."

Recently I have been seeing and hearing that more and more of the enterprise mobility vendors are looking at HTML 5, and hybrid mixes of native application support and HTML 5 for their roadmaps.  I believe we are seeing a significant trend here.

What do you think?  Is this a good thing?

Click to Download a Free Aberdeen Report on Mobility in Service

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst

Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin:
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Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - October 28, 2010

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market numbers and trends.

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Microsoft Corp's resident visionary and departing software chief, Ray Ozzie, has urged the company to move on from its Windows and Office roots and imagine a "post-PC world" of simple, global Web devices.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69O5AN20101026

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - October 27, 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.

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A new smartphone app aims to bring a little peace of mind to parents this Halloween. This yearly ritual can also be a source of anxiety for parents as they let older kids traverse the dusky neighborhoods on their own.

http://www.connectedworldmag.com/latestNews.aspx?id=NEWS101026143444527

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - October 26, 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.

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Retailers are hitting up consumers the way they are most likely to pay attention: with that ringing, vibrating gadget that's always close by.

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/10/24/1768832/mobile-deals-grab-shoppers.html

Facebook and Mobile Retailing Applications

For about a month my Facebook wall was invaded by friends involved in raising money for their schools.  It seems Kohls' retail stores were running a program that would award a few schools with $500,000 each toward projects if their schools were able to get the most people to visit Kohl's website and "check in."

I most often browse Facebook from my iPhone or iPad.  By simply clicking on the Facebook link I would be sent to Kohl's website and encouraged to browse.  The browsing, however, was for a good cause.  The students, parents, families and friends all encouraged their networks of contacts to visit Kohls website and browse.  Although it got kind of old after receiving the 133rd Facebook message reminding me to visit Kohl's website to benefit the school, it was effective in getting thousands to visit.  I found the approach and program interesting. 

The Power Behind a Mobile Retailing Application

Mobile Retailing Apps

Most significant mobile applications are integrated with a powerful database application.  At the SAP TechEd conference last week SAP demonstrated an iPad business solution that considered the weather forecast in various regions as indicators of sales.  At TecEd I also met with Ed Krufka, EVP of Solution Services at Smartsoft Mobile Solutions.  He shared some of the complexity of applications he has been working on in the mobile retailing space.

These mobile applications are powered by sophisticated business intelligence solutions that are used to help sell more products to retail customers.  They use knowledge of the customer's history, buying patterns, the weather, locations etc., to change and customize the content on mobile applications.

Mobile Data Collection is a Different Breed of Mobile Application

There is a whole category of mobile applications that is easy to overlook.  It is the mobile data collection category.  Many of these solutions are project specific.  That means a large utility, contractor or government agency needs to collect data on mobile devices in the field for a project, but there is no existing databases to store this data and/or to create reports on it.

When I was the CEO of a mobile software company I was surprised by how much database work my team ended up doing.  We were a mobile applications company, but since there were no existing backend database applications to store the data, we ended up developing those as well.  Once the database was developed, our customers would often want browser access and reports.  Good development work, but it could quickly divert your focus away from mobility.