Mobile Workforce, Enterprise Mobility and Mobile Workflows

Figure1 - MADP

I work with and teach mobile strategies to a lot of large utility companies around the world.  Over the past few years I have been hearing a similar concern from these companies.  They have an aging workforce, and many of their most experienced experts are nearing retirement age.  They are very concerned with losing the institutional knowledge these workers have gained through their many years on the job.  This wisdom is in their heads but rarely documented.

It seems to me one solution would be to start developing "mobile workflows" junior technicians could access and use.  These "mobile workflows" could be developed by experienced experts for the use of more junior service technicians.  These "mobile workflows" could be integrated into mobile applications by way of dispatched service tickets/work orders.

Figure 2 - Mobile Workflow
Configurator

What I am proposing is a layer in mobile applications that includes "mobile workflows."  These mobile workflows will clearly instruct the service technician as to the necessary "steps" involved in successfully and efficiently completing a job.

The MADP (mobile application development platform) would have a "mobile workflow" configurator in the RAD (rapid application development) component (see figure 1).  You would be able to associate specific tasks in your mobile workflow (see figure 2) with fields in your mobile client application.

What is the value?  The junior technician receives his/her next assigned work order and it comes attached with a configured mobile workflow.  They review it to understand exactly what needs to be done.  Let me provide an example.  A service technician receives a work order to maintain an escalator in a busy store during the Christmas shopping season.  The mobile workflow identifies the necessary tasks associated with this job.

1. Schedule the escalator maintenance with the store.
2. Make sure the store security is notified and aware of the time and date of the work.
3. Make sure you have job site access instructions.
4. Make sure you know where you should park your vehicle.
5. Set-up the mandated type of safety barrier.
6. Set-up the mandated type of warning signs.
7. Turn-off the escalator and lock it.
8. Bring the right tools -  identify the right tools.
9. Bring the right specialized equipment.
10. Bring the right equipment manuals.
11. Photograph the job site and safety measures.
12. etc.

These steps are made up from the accumulated knowledge of your most experienced company experts.  These mobile workflows can be integrated into a mobile workflow layer in your mobile application client.  Again, each step in the mobile workflow could be associated with a field in the mobile client application.

We all know these kinds of workflows exist in our ERPs.  I have found myself filling in numerous web based forms lately and can see there are obvious workflows built into the process.  So I asked myself, "Why haven't we done the same thing for mobile applications?"  

When I was the CEO of a mobile application company, we showed our clients how we could customize workflows in a mobile application.  In field A, if your answer is "YES", it jumps to form 17, if your answer is "NO", then it jumps to form 4.  This was a workflow configured into a mobile application.  I suggest a step beyond that.  I propose the "mobile workflow" be assigned to the work order/job, rather than the mobile application.  I propose that if a service technician receives six different work orders per day, each unique work order includes a unique mobile workflow specific to the particular tasks required.

I wrote an article earlier this year, and then discussed it with Israel Beniaminy (see this mobile expert video) on the topic of "mobility will ultimately go away."  What did we mean?  We suggested that mobility will soon become a commodity.  It will no longer be something novel.  All applications will be mobile.  So how would a mobile software vendor differentiate themselves?  I propose by developing additional layers of functionality in the mobile applications, including mobile workflows.

What do you think?  Is this a good idea?

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Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group

Full Disclosure: I am a 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 September 9, 2012

The Field Mobility and M2M 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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

The town of Westminster, Massachusetts has automated access to its waste transfer station using RFID technology.  Read Original Content

The city of Redmond, Washington has unveiled a new GIS map-based online zoning code and property viewing system.  Read Original Content

The real-time location systems market has reached nearly $300 million in 2012, and forecasts see it coming close to $4 billion by 2022.  Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo.

Garmin and Navigon GPS apps are getting new features such as public transportation info, parking finders and even walking directions with upgrades this fall.  Read Original Content

Gordon Sumerling of Esri Australia feels that GIS technology is a critical tool for creating the cities of tomorrow, and engineering firms that fail to incorporate GIS technology “will be damaged by cost and efficiency barriers that remove their ability to remain competitive”.  Read Original Content

California-based Tactus Technology is pioneering a new tactile user interface for smartphone touch screens in which the “tactile layer” will have transparent, physical buttons that can pop up when needed and disappear when not. Read Original Content

Holland 1916 has developed an RFID solution in which the RFID tag is embedded in the surface of a washer and attached with a bolt to the item to be tracked.  Read Original Content

Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly – Week of September 9, 2012

Welcome to Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility in Asia.  Asia is predicted to be the fastest area of growth for enterprise mobility between now and 2016.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Despite a push for mobile business, China’s Baidu only has 35 percent of the mobile search volume.  The company is pushing for pre-installation of its search engine in mobile devices.  Read Original Content

According to a recent survey by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, over 50 percent of full-time employees prefer mobility and employing mobile technology into the workplace.  Read Original Content

Indian e-commerce site Freecharge.in offers a unique customer service plan in which customers can simply recharge their prepaid mobiles online and in return receive gift coupons of the same value.  Read Original Content

Antenna Software provides a complete cloud-based enterprise mobility suite that enables both IT pros and business executives alike to create and manage mobile apps, websites and content across the entire business.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Antenna Software www.antennasoftware.com
Globe Telecom is reaching out to the micro, small and medium-sized businesses in The Philippines, which comprise 99.6 percent of all Philippine enterprises, by offering its mobile marketing tool TxtConnect.  Read Original Content

Korea’s Samsung is wasting no time after its legal loss to Apple, already implementing plans to change its products and develop new mobile technologies.  Read Original Content

South Korean operator LG U+ and LG-Ericsson have partnered to offer subscribers in South Korea access to voice over LTE (VoLTE) services.  Read Original Content

The Android OS leads Apple’s iOS in mobile usage in the Asia Pacific region, with the biggest leads coming from New Zealand with 47 percent Android vs. 16 percent iOS; and Malaysia with 41 percent Android vs. 6 percent iOS.  Read Original Content

Google’s AdMob unit has more than 10,000 registered developers in China and its servers now get 7.9 billion requests a month to show ads to mobile-app users in the country.  Read Original Content

Sitting On the Plane Talking about Enterprise Mobility

If you have the chance, avoid sitting next to me on a plane. I like to talk, and I particularly like to talk about enterprise mobility.  Last night an unfortunate Accenture consultant sat down next to me. He was on a call with his project team that was working on a large BI (business intelligence) project.  I got so excited just listening to the acronyms roll off of his tongue.  I could hardly wait for him to hang-up the phone so I could jump in and talk with him in the brief seconds before he could pull out his Bose sound canceling headset.  I succeeded.

He shared his background, 15 years working for Accenture, focused on BI in the Fortune 100, travels every week.  I told him my background and shared my enthusiasm for enterprise mobility and mobile strategies.  He turned and looked at me, and said as only a geek could do, "I hate mobility."

He went on to say he is constantly asked to give presentations on mobile BI.  The problem is, they never buy his solutions.  This puzzled me.  Why would Fortune 100 companies have so much interest in mobile BI, but never close a deal with Accenture?  What do you think?

In my recent 2012 Mid-Year Enterprise Mobility Survey, the survey respondents said they expected to get ROIs from improved decision due to receiving real-time data and reports.  In my previous 2011 survey, real-time BI reporting also was ranked a top three in priority.  So we can see that companies believe it is very important.

The priorities were ranked from 1 to 10.  One is the top priority.

In the case of the Accenture consultant, however, his clients express a keen interest without buying.  He then went on to ask me, "Companies don't really buy mobility do they?"  I hesitated.  Then answered, "Of course they do.  They are buying at record levels from nearly all mobility vendors that I interview." 

I have some opinions, but I would like to hear from you.  Why would Fortune 100 companies be keen to learn, but not buy mobile BI from the unfortunate consultant that was seated beside me on the plane?

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Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group

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

Mobile Health News Weekly – Week of September 2, 2012

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

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Harmonic Group is in negotiations with a South African private hospital regarding the use of its RFID technology to track and secure newborns. Newborns will be secured using an RFID ankle bracelet, ensuring only authorized personnel are allowed to access to the nursery. Read Original Content

A poll of 600 baby boomers found that, although only 24 percent own smartphones, 60 percent say they would download a health and wellness app if their doctor advised them to, while only 5 percent would on the advice of friends and 18 percent on the advice of family. Read Original Content

A U.S. company has started testing a new online system that allows healthcare professionals to prescribe mobile health apps to their patients. Mobile health application store Happtique says it hopes its mRx form will lead to improvements in patient engagement and adherence. Read Original Content

Antenna Software provides a complete cloud-based enterprise mobility suite that enables both IT pros and business executives alike to create and manage mobile apps, websites and content across the entire business.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Antenna Software.

About 80 percent of doctors and healthcare payers in China say widespread adoption of mobile healthcare is “inevitable,” according to a survey by PwC. Read Original Content

Researchers in Spain, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Israel, Ireland, Sweden and Belgium have joined in a 42 month, $5.2 million effort to develop a wearable monitoring system that automatically delivers medications and provides cues to help Parkinson’s patients. Read Original Content

A medical smartphone devised by an Israeli company will enable patients to consolidate ongoing medical tests and diagnostics in one place, and will also provide them the freedom of travel and ease of use lost with conventional medical monitoring. Read Original Content

A new smartphone application called ICE allows first responders to quickly review pertinent medical history on the scene and with the push of a button send the information to participating hospital emergency rooms. Read Original Content

Mobility News Weekly – Week of September 2, 2012

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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly

Thanks to the growth of smartphones and tablets, entertainment consumption on mobile devices has grown 82 percent from 2010 to 2011.  Read Original Content

As of the three months ended July, Google's mobile OS held a 52.2 percent share of the market, a gain of 1.4 points from the prior three months, ComScore said today. In second place, Apple's iOS grabbed 33.4 percent of the market, up 2 points from the prior period.  Read Original Content

Hewlett-Packard released the eagerly anticipated beta version of its open-source webOS mobile operating system.  Read Original Content

ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware.

According to new data from comScore, for a three-month average period ending in July, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 18.4 percent share.  Read Original Content

Research in Motion’s share of the U.S. smartphone market is below 10 percent for the first time ever.  Read Original Content

Microsoft and Intel dominance will see serious erosion over the next few years in the era of the tablet and smartphone, market researcher IHS iSuppli said.  Read Original Content

More than half of Americans who use apps say they have decided not to install one once they found out how much personal information they'd have to share, according to a study released from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Read Original Content

Mobile Expert Video Series: DSI's Scott Lutz

Have you ever seen an office designed around Apple TV, iPhones and iPads?  Have you ever seen an enterprise mobile software company that runs their customer business center entirely on mobile technologies?  This is DSI's first year on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for MADP (mobile application development platform), but they have been around for over 30 years, experts in manufacturing and many other areas, and they have offices all around the world.

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Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group

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

Enterprise Mobility and Changing Business Models

Have you read about the on-demand, smartphone oriented car service called Uber?  They are turning the taxi and car service industry on their heads.  Why?  They allow you to use a free mobile app to hail an available car service or taxi with the push of a button.  You can see the location of available cars.  You can review the passenger ratings of drivers.  Payment is integrated with the application so you don't need cash.  You can call the driver with the push of the button.

The user experience is wonderful, according to a patient colleague of mine that I questioned over dinner last night.  You can see the distance an available car is from you, and then watch the car's progress as it drives to pick you up.  When it nears, you receive a text message, and when it arrives you receive a text message.

Probably one of the coolest features is the receipt you receive upon completion of the ride.  It includes pick-up location on a map, route taken, drop-off location, distance traveled, a photo of your driver and the amount paid.

I want to hail a taxi or car service right now!  This is a great example of how a simple mobile application, GPS tracking technologies, integrated payment systems, etc., can change an entire industry.  I was told that Uber is being sued by taxi companies all over, because they are changing the industry.  They are introducing efficiencies where they never before existed.  They are removing the middleman.  They are removing friction from the system and improving market visibility.

Enterprise mobility is like that.  It will change industries and competitive landscapes.  You can be the Uber, out front and achieving competitive advantages with mobile solutions, or be the litigating taxi companies.  Your pick.

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Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group

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

Kevin Benedict's What's New in HTML5 - Week of September 2, 2012

As many readers may know, Facebook replaced their HTML5 version of their mobile app a few weeks ago, in favor of a native application written in Object C.  It is much faster and smoother now, however, several functions disappeared with this change.  You can no longer just steal your friends photos by holding down on the image and selecting "Save Image."  You can also no longer simply swipe to delete a snarky comment that seemed funny when it first entered your brain, but now seems ill conceived (I used this a lot!), and pasted links are now handled awkwardly.  This is the give and take between HTML5 and native applications that makes our lives interesting.

Telenav’s Scout for Apps, the HTML5-based voice guided mobile GPS navigation service is now available for Android and Windows Phone platforms.  Read Original Content

Gizmodo asks “Do you prefer the unregulated world of HTML5 apps, or would you rather stick to the status quo of native apps, with their additional polish and ability to better function offline?” and receives a wide range of responses.  Read OriginalContent

Facebook has abandoned HTML5 and unveiled the rebuilt app (rewritten in Objective C) for iPhone and iPad devices, addressing numerous performance issues with the HTML5 version.  Read Original Content

Adobe has released the new version of Contribute, 6.5, now with HTML5 and jQuery Mobile support.  Read Original Content

This article, “Property Finder - a Cross-Platform HTML5 Mobile App”, is a tutorial for the development of a cross-platform HTML5 mobile app for searching property listings in the U.K. using JavaScript, jQuery Mobile, Knockout, and Apache Cordova (formerly called PhoneGap).  Read Original Content

HTML5 Apps

Rob Gravelle reviews and provides examples for using the HTML5 Canvas charting library PlotKit in this article from HTML Goodies.  Read Original Content

Research and Markets has added a new report titled “HTML5: New Monetization Opportunities for Service Providers”, which focuses on opportunities created by HTML5 and its implications for mobile applications.  Read Original Content

The new version of Firefox for Android is now available with new HTML5 capabilities, enabling developers to create Web apps and websites based on HTML5, JavaScript, CSS and other open Web standards.  Read Original Content

The website caniuse.com provides compatibility tables for support of HTML5, CSS3, SVG and more in desktop and mobile browsers.  This view is for HTML5 on mobile browsers.  Read Original Content

“HTML5 will fundamentally change the way we make video games.”  HTML5 is a great platform for powering games and the tools used to build them.  Developers need to be aware of the limitations and understand that the standard is still evolving.  ReadOriginal Content

The W3C has published the first editor’s draft of the HTML Responsive Images Extension, available here:  http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/html-proposals/raw-file/tip/responsive-images/responsive-images.html  Read Original Content

Location analytics startup Placed has announced the launch of support for mobile websites, now providing location data from any mobile browser that supports HTML5.  ReadOriginal Content

Recent research from ComScore MobiLens revealed a preference for mobile users to download content via apps (51.1 percent) rather than through a browser (49.8 percent).  Organizations must decide the best fit for their business - mobile apps or mobile websites.  Mike Ricci from Webtrends believes that HTML5 provides developers a tool for creating a mobile website that is virtually indistinguishable from an app and actually addresses some of the shortcomings for apps, closing the gap between apps and mobile websites.  Read Original Content

Microsoft is adding more HTML5 and CSS3 features in Internet Explorer 10 and is showing them off in a partnership with Atari that brings users 8 classic games.  Read OriginalContent

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Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group

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

Mobile Marketing News Weekly – Week of September 2, 2012

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

According to figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Australia total online advertising increased 21 percent year on year to reach $3.136 billion over the 12 months to the end of June, while mobile ad spend reached $47.5 million, a 212 percent increase. Read Original Content

A study by research firm Yankee Group says global mobile ad revenue will soar by three and a half times, to roughly $10 billion to $11 billion, by 2016. High-growth countries such as Brazil, China and India will lead the surge. Read Original Content

According to Luth Research, companies of all sizes are now discovering mobile marketing is a vital element of their complete programs and are bringing greater returns on investment than their traditional methods. Read Original Content

Sky Technologies has been making SAP mobility easy since 1998. With Sky, you can mobilize your business and empower your team with solutions that are quick to install, easy to use, highly secure, and already proven in hundreds of SAP mobility projects across the globe. For more information, visit www.skytechnologies.com

Pandora advertising sales made up $89.3 million of the company’s $101.3 million during its second quarter. Mobile advertising revenue, considered to be a major driver of Pandora’s future growing, rose 86 percent from the year-ago period, to $59.3 million in the quarter. Read Original Content

Thanks to the growth of smartphones and tablets, entertainment consumption on mobile devices has grown 82 percent from 2010 to 2011. According to Millennial Media and comScore, this growth outpaced the 55 percent increase in overall smartphone ownership within the same period. Read Original Content

In 2011, U.S. mobile commerce sales surged 91.4 percent. By 2015, analysts estimate total mCommerce sales will reach $31 billion, a 363 percent increase from 2011. Read Original Content

Mobile Advertising is expected to jump six-fold from $3.3 billion last year to $20.6 billion in 2015, according to Gartner. The proliferation of smartphones, with Internet browsing and a multitude of applications have created fertile ground for mobile media to spawn. Read Original Content