Kevin Benedict Ponders the Future

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobility Can Change the World and Healthcare

Puneet Suppal

My friend Puneet Suppal from SAP wrote a great article this week that emphasizes some of the ways mobile technologies can improve and revolutionize the healthcare industry. It is motivating to read these kinds of stories. There are so many different ways that mobile technologies can improve things. Let me highlight just a few.

When I want healthcare or medical answers I routinely look them up on my smartphone. I simply enter http://www.webmd.com/ or any number of other quality sites to read up on the topic. I found out recently that I am allergic to wheat. I discovered this by looking up the symptoms and reading about it on my iPhone. I then scheduled a blood test with my doctor to confirm. The powerful part of this scenario is that mobile devices and smartphones can enable anyone, any place in the world that has access to the internet, the same capabilities for accessing information. Smartphones and the internet can unlock the digitized knowledge of the world and make it accessible to even the remotest corners of the earth.

I worked on a mobility project a few years back that helped medicine be delivered to various parts of Africa. Donors wanted proof of delivery of the medicine in order to continue the program. We delivered a mobile supply chain management and "chain of custody" solution that documented the shipment and delivery of the medicine to final destination. This entire solution utilized smartphones.

There are all kinds of advances in the medical device industry that utilizes mobile solutions and M2M technologies. This week it was announced that Cinterion is planning to embed a cellular wireless chip into a heart arrhythmia monitoring device. The device can monitor patients for up to 28 days and also enables care providers to communicate with patients via the device.

Last week I published an interview with Vivint's Scott Taylor on their use of smartphones and M2M (machine to machine) technologies in the home management and security solutions industries. The capabilities Scott demonstrated on his iPhone are revolutionizing that industry as well.

It is an exciting time to be involved in enterprise mobility.

Upcoming Events

Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011
Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Recorded Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of June 20, 2011

The Field Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

According to a report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc the global chipless RFID tag market will reach $2.0 billion by 2017. Read Original Content

Panasonic will release a 10 inch Android tablet during the fourth quarter of 2011. Read Original Content

Industrial giant Siemens is investing in smart grid start up Tendril and the two will market Tendril's home energy system to utilities. Read Original Content

General Dynamics is supplying the Air Force with 300 rugged and secure handheld computers to senior officers. Read Original Content

Through GIS and fleet management technology, Western Monmouth Utilities Authority was able to increase productivity and decrease expenses. Read Original Content

Philippe Winthrop and Steve Levy Webinar on Enabling the Agile Business through Mobile Strategy

Philippe Winthroup

Two smart mobility experts, Philippe Winthrop and Steve Levy, are presenting a webinar tomorrow that I believe will be very interesting. I have presented with both several times and value their insights. Philippe and Steve are mobility veterans with many opinion, some I even agree with! Here is the webinar description:

Businesses must be nimble and responsive to survive in today’s highly competitive global and local markets. Rapidly growing and increasingly complex demands for enterprise mobility solutions require a development strategy that has the flexibility to change and respond quickly. How do you build a mobile development strategy that has the Agility to meet changing needs while controlling costs?

Please join Philippe Winthrop, Managing Director, Enterprise Mobility Foundation and Steve Levy, CEO, Pyxis Mobile for a discussion on the challenges of creating enterprise mobility strategies that can meet today’s rapidly changing business needs.

Philippe Winthrop, Managing Director, Enterprise Mobility Foundation:

* Enabling business agility through mobile strategy

* Making the transition from tactical to strategic management of enterprise mobility

* How app development strategy enables business agility

Steve Levy, CEO, Pyxis Mobile:

* Why responsiveness and agility are critical to mobile strategies

* How to add responsiveness and agility to your mobile app development process

Click here to register

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Eggs with Benedict - European Enterprise Mobility Breakfast Meetings

My breakfast was this big!

Next week, the week of June 27th, I will be presenting a series of breakfast meetings on enterprise mobility in 5 different cities across Europe. If you are in the neighborhood, I would love to invite you to breakfast with me. I will be having breakfast in the following locations:

Paris - 27th June - Park Hyatt Vendome Hotel - 5 Rue de la Paix
Geneva - 28th June - Hotel Grand Kempinski - 19 Quai de Mont Blanc
Frankfurt - 29th June - Marriott Hotel - 2 Hamburger Allee
Brussels - 30th June - Radisson Blu - 35 Idaliestraat
London -1st July - Park Hyatt The Churchill Hotel - Berkeley Mews Mayfair

If you are interested in attending at any of these locations please email James Common. James is organizing the event. I would love to meet up and discuss enterprise mobility with you! Here is the event description.

K2 Partnering Solutions is proud to be hosting a Mobile Strategy presentation and question and answer breakfast session with Kevin Benedict as our guest speaker. Kevin is a renowned authority in the area of mobility and a much sought after advisor by companies around the world.

Whether you are presently reviewing or have already begun implementing a mobile strategy at your own company, this is an opportunity to broaden your understanding and share experiences with CIOs, Application Managers and Mobile specialists from other leading firms.

We would welcome your attendance and are happy to extend additional invites to your colleagues or peers in this area but would be grateful if you would inform us in advance of the numbers in your party along with their name and job titles.

These will be small intimate breakfast meetings, so if you are interested please contact James right away as there is limited seating and orange juice.

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Response to My Article on Sybase's Embedded Mobile Databases and HTML5

I received feedback on my article, "What Does HTML5 Mean for Sybase's Embedded Mobile Database Business?" from Sybase's Tom Lee this week. Comments don't show up well on this blogging platform so I wanted to publish it here so you could be sure to read it. Please add your comments as well!

Tom Slee: Kevin - interesting comments, but I have a few disagreements. I'm speaking as part of the Sybase mobile and embedded database team, but opinions are my own.

HTML5 is now, as you know, a much bigger spec than just the local database. It includes a lot of video and other UI enhancements (canvas and so on). What's more, the Web SQL Database that you are referring to is no longer part of the HTML5 spec (although it is still present in mobile browsers, still supported, and has a bright future - just not as part of a formal spec.) See http://www.w3.org/TR/webdatabase/

So I think the changing face of HTML5 leads to a couple of confusions in your article. Sybase SUP 2.0, which I think is what you are referring to when you say "September is when SAP estimates they will be releasing their HTML5 container" [Kevin's comment - No, I am referring to SUP 2.1) does not have offline database capability. The container model stores some data offline, but not rich or structured data.

Also, the Web SQL Database has no synchronization component. That means that while it is fine for storing app-specific data, any attempt to keep that data up to date with what's in an enterprise store must be done by a developer. As you know, the data sync/enterprise integration issue is -- like all data consistency problems -- complex, especially in enterprise applications. Sybase products solve that problem for developers.

Who knows where pricing and licensing will go? That depends on many developments in the mobile enterprise space and I have no crystal ball. But I am confident that there is still a future for the offline data model in mobile enterprise applications, and for software that tackles the complex issues around enterprise integration.

Thanks Tom!!!!

Any comments to add?

Upcoming Events

Webinar: Enabling the Agile Business through Mobile Strategy June 21, 2011
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011
Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Recorded Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

M2M News Weekly - Week of June 13, 2011

Welcome to 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. 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.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Pike Research estimates that more than 250 million smart meters will be installed by 2015, up from 46 million in 2008. Read Original Content

According to Connected World magazine Verizon leads the M2M market with the most data connections, while AT&T leads with the most connected devices. Read Original Content

A Sheriff’s department in Arizona has equipped its patrol fleet with mobile data computing which turns patrol vehicles into wireless hubs that allow deputies to access live feedback from a number of sources. Read Original Content

Verizon and Blueforce Development have agreed to combine efforts to provide government and commercial M2M services. Read Original Content

Infonetics Research has found that global convergent charging market, including software and services, grew 37 percent in 2010 over 2009 to $862.3 million, and is forecast to grow to $3.3 billion in 2015. Read Original Content

The 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 Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

IDC has released new figures that the worldwide smartphone market will grow 55 percent year over year in 2011. They also expect the total number of global smartphone shipments to reach 982 million by 2015. Read Original Content

HP has announced that on July 1 it will launch its own tablet to compete with others in the emerging tablet market. Read Original Content

According to a new Gartner study, Android is rapidly taking over the smartphone market with a global market share increase of 27.3 percent between May 2010 and May 2011. Read Original Content

Telefon AB LM Ericsson, the world's largest maker of equipment for mobile phone networks is buying Telcordia Technologies Inc. for $1.15 billion, a deal that will help it manage the explosive global growth in smartphone and broadband Internet use. Read Original Content

Analyst firm Wunderlich Securities no longer expects Research In Motion (RIM) to control a significant share in the global smartphone market. Rather they expect RIM to shift towards building business-oriented devices and cloud-based services that run through a Blackberry network. Read Original Content

SAP's Nick Brown

Nick Brown, with SAP, told me in this interview that around 16 new mobile applications would be available from SAP in the September timeframe. Why the September timeframe? September is when SAP estimates they will be releasing their HTML5 container, and these 16 mobile applications will be developed using the HTML5 container.

HTML5 can hold data on the mobile device even when not connected to the internet in much the same way as Sybase's embedded mobile RDMS (database). I wonder how this new HTML5 strategy by Sybase will impact their embedded mobile database business?

Sybase has traditionally charged for every license/user that has a mobile application using their embedded mobile database. I was a long term partner/customer and paid these quarterly fees for years. This business model will likely go away if HTML5 can handle the data and synchronization requirements of most mobile application developers. It seems to be the preferred direction for even SAP mobility developers.

The embedded database and accompanying synchronization technology has been an effective way of keeping existing customers loyal to Sybase (because of the high cost to change). However, if their mobile database and syncing technology is no longer needed, what keeps mobile developers loyal to Sybase?

Sybase must ensure that there is enough in their mobility platform (SUP), Mobile Device Management (Afaria) and mobile SDK to motivate loyalty from developers going forward since they can use any number of HTML5 tools and SDKs to develop apps.

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict