Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly – December 30, 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 data and trends.

Also read Kevin’s Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read Kevin’s Mobile Money News Weekly

Mobile Applications recently surveyed more than 2,400 business and IT professionals, of whom 37 percent worked at companies with annual revenue of $1 billion or more. The results indicate an impressive uptick in enterprise adoption of mobile applications.

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/22787

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Apple has been hit by a lawsuit that alleges the company and its partners are surreptitiously collecting personal information from the users of iPhones and iPads.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/215041/apple_hit_with_privacy_class_action_lawsuit.html

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CEOs running VC backed companies are optimistic about the opportunities next year, with 58 percent predicting an increase in investing and 64 percent planning to raise VC capital in 2011. The results mark a turnaround for the VC market, which experienced a big slump in 2009 as the economic recession hit.

The Internet of Things (M2M)

Click Image to Enlarge

I read several very interesting articles on the Internet of Things today.  I found them on the website, http://www.readwriteweb.com/.  The Internet of Things (IoT) is described as, "A term for when everyday ordinary objects are connected to the Internet via microchips.  The technologies include sensors, RFID and smartphone standards like NFC.  The use cases are still evolving, but over 2010 we saw large organizations like HP and IBM build out impressive platforms for the Internet of Things."

Why are HP and IBM building out Internet of Things platforms?  According to Richard MacManus, "HP is building an 'Internet of Things' platform because it sees that the coming data explosion will lead to huge demand for more powerful computers and better processing of all that data."

SAP StreamWork, Social Intelligence and Mobile Devices

StreamWork on a
BlackBerry

If you are not yet familiar with SAP's StreamWork solution, it is worth investigating.  As an SAP Mentor, I use this solution a lot when SAP Mentors from around the world are working on a collaborative project.  SAP StreamWork is a collaborative decision-making solution that brings together the people, information, and proven business approaches to drive fast, meaningful results.  The mobile client is marketed with the following description, "Keep collaborating with your team and driving activities forward, even if you're not at your desk."

The mobile client enables the following:

• Create an activity directly from email
• Upload content and add work items
• Add participants to an activity
• View and comment on work items
• Create and view action items

StreamWork is very intriguing to me.  A group can work on making a decision together no matter where each group member is located.  The group can create an activity and then all members can start sharing ideas and linking documents and other content to be shared with the group as tools for making decisions.  You can comment, see the profiles of members, etc.

I believe companies have never effectively taken advantage of the talent and intelligence of their organizations.  Often a person with valuable knowledge may not share it if they are not in the right geographical area, position or group.  There must be ways that you can harvest more of the social intelligence of your organization.  I think StreamWork is a step in the right direction.

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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:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

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 Mobile Retailing News Weekly - December 29, 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 and mobile marketing applications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

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A recent survey by GfK Roper Poll found that three in ten Americans currently use a smartphone, such as an iPhone or BlackBerry. Among consumers with those devices, 30 percent said that, while shopping, they used their phones to try to find better deals elsewhere; and 40 percent used their phones to compare prices.

http://www.jckonline.com/2010/12/27/more-shoppers-researching-mobile-phones

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Thirty percent of respondents in a recent survey said they expected to use mobile coupons during this holiday season, according to a new study by mobile marketing agency Briabe Media and mobile social networking company MocoSpace. Interestingly, only 14 percent said they normally use mobile coupons.

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/1932818/holidays-report-mobile-shoppers-coupons

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A recent survey indicates that 79 percent of smartphone users would like to be able to download discount shopping coupons to their mobile devices and 73 percent would like to receive money off coupons on items they see while shopping in a store.

Kevin’s Mobile Money News Weekly – December 28, 2010

Kevin’s Mobile Money News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile payments, mobile money, e-wallets, mobile banking and mobile security that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

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2010 was a turning point for mobile shopping with 44 percent of smartphone users downloading shopping apps and m-commerce sales increasing to $3.4 billion from $1.4 billion in 2009.

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/12/23/best-of-2010-mobile-commerce/

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To thrive in today's ultracompetitive and economically uncertain market, Wall Street firms need to adapt to the desires of bankers, traders, advisers and clients to always be connected while on the go.

http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/it-infrastructure/228900082

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The Royal Bank of Canada has become that country’s first bank to launch a mobile banking application for select smartphones — namely, BlackBerry devices and iPhones, iPod Touch and iPad.

http://www.mobile-financial.com/node/13311/Apple,-BlackBerry-Smartphones-Get-Mobile-Banking-Apps

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Research published recently by Forrester shows that mobile banking provision in Europe is gathering pace. This refers to all three of the main mobile banking services – mobile web, mobile app and text-based services.

http://www.finextra.com/community/fullblog.aspx?id=4832

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In an era of busy work days and short weekends, getting all the errands done has become more and more challenging. To help keep that to do list short, banks have begun launching applications that allow customers to deposit checks from their smart phones.

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/article_1c864842-b945-502e-9716-57da1cf95468.html

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Ebay sees growth in mobile payments pushing its PayPal service toward the offline world, as merchants begin to allow consumers to pay for physical goods with a wave of their smartphone at the cash register.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10941154/1/ebay-sees-mobile-payment-growth-offline.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN

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Visa is in a position to make a large profit from the payment processing of mobile transactions as this sector continues to grow in popularity.

http://www.pivotalpayments.com/ca/industry-news/visa-set-to-benefit-from-growing-mobile-payment-processing-800311152/

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Last month, an unlikely partnership of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile announced a new initiative called Isis that will create an NFC contactless payment network for the three companies’ combined 230 million customers.

http://mashable.com/2010/12/15/smartphone-wallet/

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For many people, smartphones are almost as indispensable as wallets, and your smartphone could soon replace your wallet. A collection of the biggest wireless carriers, handset makers and software developers are putting their weight behind a technology called near field communication.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/122310dnbusdigitalwallet.3044eaf.html

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Of the top 100 financial institutions, nearly 40 percent offer access via mobile web, while 32 percent offer SMS banking and/or alerts and 32 percent offer apps.

http://www.firstannapolis.com/2010-Mobile-Banking-and-Payments-Study

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PayPal is announcing that its payments business is flourishing throughout the holiday shopping season, with a 300 percent increase in mobile payments from November 15 through December 15 compared to the same period last year.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/17/paypal-holiday-mobile-payments-up-300-percent/

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Smartsoft Mobile empowers some of the world’s largest multi-national organizations to extend and improve business processes by providing mobile solutions to their employees and customers. Smartsoft has more than 700 experienced ERP/mobile consultants with over 5,000 man years of experience helping 400,000 plus mobile users achieve their business goals with powerful mobile B2B and B2C applications, designed and developed specifically for today’s popular consumer and industrial grade mobile devices. For more information please visit, http://www.smartsoftmobile.com/.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Smartsoft Mobile Solutions.

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Google Android operating system 2.3, nicknamed Gingerbread, enables near-field communication as promised, but the final release only allows consumers to receive NFC transmissions, not send them. That makes it impossible for consumers to load payment data onto the handset and use that in lieu of credit card

http://www.creditnet.com/credit-news/latest-android-os-won-t-support-mobile-credit-card-payments-800280884.php

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Cellphones functioning as "electronic wallets," shopping carts that provide recipes and a greater ability to command electronic devices with human gestures are some of the technological trends expected to emerge in the coming year and beyond.

http://www.timescolonist.com/life/Cellphones+will+become+wallets+2011+forecast/3979201/story.html

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, mobile industry analyst and experienced mobile industry executive, offers both one and two day onsite workshops designed to educate and inform executives and management teams on enterprise mobility and mobile strategies for businesses. This workshop is designed to provide a complete overview of enterprise mobility and what it means to the business. The workshop is customized based upon the needs of participants. For more details visit http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/workshops.html.

Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict

MeLLmo the Maker of the RoamBI Mobile Application Closes More Funding
Leadership Change in SAP's Mobility Business Unit - Again
Which Mobile Application Company Will SAP Acquire Next?
QR Codes and Mobile Retailing Applications
eBay Mobile Commerce - Real Time Data from Six Global Markets
Changing Attitudes of Mobile Shoppers
Tablets, Mobile Applications and the Enterprise
Wall Street Analyst and SAP Enterprise Mobility
The Global Market for M2M Devices is HUGE!


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You can follow me on Twitter @krbenedict and read my blog, Enterprise Mobility Strategies.

Also available are Kevin’s Mobile Retailing News Weekly and Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly.

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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: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

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.

The Global Market for M2M Devices is HUGE!

The global market for machine-to-machine (M2M) device connections will grow from 62 million devices in 2010 to 2.1 billion devices in 2020, according to a new report from Analysys Mason (London, UK). With a year-on-year growth rate of between 36 percent and 52 percent.  M2M is predicted to be one of the fastest growing wireless connectivity sectors in the next decade.


Wireless M2M Sensors



Some of the biggest enterprise M2M markets are the following:


• energy and utilities
• security and surveillance
• health care and acute disease tracking
• in vehicle GPS and entertainment systems

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the above-listed markets are huge!  M2M is another category of enterprise mobility that takes advantage of mobile technologies and miniaturized sensors and monitoring equipment to send and receive data wirelessly to and from a centralized server.  On the server is management software that allows the human to understand what is going on in remote locations.



Wall Street Analyst and SAP Enterprise Mobility

Happy Holidays
from Kevin Benedict!

I received an interesting call yesterday from a Wall Street analyst.  He wanted my opinion on SAP's acquisition of Sybase.  His premise was that there was not $5.8 billion worth of value in Sybase.  I responded that I had no expertise in valuation so could not help him in that determination.  However, I did have more than enough opinions on enterprise mobility to share.

I provided him the following list for his consideration during his valuation exercise:

1)  Had he looked into the potential value of Sybase's 365?  I said much of the world, and the fastest growing segments of the mobile market (LDC - less developed countries), are increasingly using SMS for mobile banking, money transfers, mobile payments, and many enterprise applications like field services, inventory, database queries, sales reports, etc.  He had not considered this.

Changing Attitudes of Mobile Shoppers

Mobile Shopping

Cameron Franks, area vice president of sales for the Americas at Sybase 365, an SAP Company, recently spoke about a survey they conducted with 1,000 consumers on mobile holiday shopping.  The key finding of the survey was that 32 percent of consumers, if offered mobile-based deals, coupons or alerts, could be persuaded to make a purchase on their mobile device. 

Another recent survey by mobile marketing agency Briabe Media and mobile-social networking company MocoSpace, they found that 30 percent of survey respondents said they expected to use mobile coupons during this holiday season.  Also in the survey, 62 percent said they planned to use mobile phones as a shopping tool prior to entering a store; and 46 percent stated they would use their phones for store or product research.

Tablets, Mobile Applications and the Enterprise

I have been reading several articles lately that talk about how popular tablets are predicted to become in the enterprise market.  Here is an excerpt from one article that I read this morning:

More than one in five Americans will own a tablet by 2014, and 37 percent of them will own them for business use, according to a recent survey.

Current business use of tablets:

• Business correspondence (58%)
• Online meetings/Web conferences (37%)
• Marketing (34%)
• Training (33%)
• Finance/accounting (32%)
• Sales (27%)
• Graphic design (27%)
• Inventory management (27%)
• Customer support (24%)

Another article stated, "Apple could sell 21 million units of its iPad tablet next year as half of the largest and most prominent companies in the world begin testing or deploying the iPad for corporate use, according to an analyst with Wall Street firm Piper Jaffray."


Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly – December 23, 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 data and trends.

Also read Kevin’s Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read Kevin’s Mobile Money News Weekly

Expectations for the tablet market in 2011 are positive, but to put things in context tablets will still be niche devices, maybe 15 percent of smartphone sales. We’ll see more supply than demand in 2011, and probably some vicious price competition because Apple will remain the leader in style, features and shipments.

http://blogs.gartner.com/nick_jones/2010/12/16/too-many-tablets-too-few-buyers/