Mobile Expert Video Series: ETSA Utilities' Jason Lante

Jason Lante is a hands on IT guy that has a great deal of experiences rolling out successful enterprise mobility projects that included implementing software from SAP mobility partner, ClickSoftware and integrating it with SAP in the outback of Australia.  This is a video interview that I recorded at the Mastering SAP Technologies conference with Jason.





***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.

Mobile NFC News Weekly – Week of March 21, 2011

Welcome to the first edition of the Mobile NFC News Weekly.  In our daily research on the mobility market, we are finding more and more information on the subject of mobile NFC (near field communications).  Why is NFC interesting?  It is one of the key components of mobile money, which has the possibility of changing the way banking, business and consumer transactions are made globally.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Money News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

In an example of the battles erupting as smartphones evolve into electronic wallets, Research In Motion Ltd. is locking horns with wireless carriers over control of mobile payment data.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704360404576206412989185134.html

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Google is reportedly testing a mobile payment trial at stores in New York and San Francisco.

http://hothardware.com/News/Google-Purportedly-Testing-NFC-Payment-Machines-In-NYSF-Stores-/

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MasterCard claims mobile touch and go payments through microSD cards are the future of mobile phones in Australia.  The company made the call following Visa's announcement earlier this week of a 50 employee trial with ANZ of iPhone cases embedded with NFC chips to test contactless payments like in PayPass and PayWave cards.

http://smarthouse.com.au/Phones/Mobile/Q2J4K6J2

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Research in Motion’s, managing director, Steven Bates, says that his company will make a push to integrate NFC into its smartphones and tablets.

How Many Mobility Platforms are Enough?



Kevin Benedict and Australian Post's
John Moy (on the right).

I spoke to John Moy from the Australian Post about his many mobility projects this week.  They have all kinds of interesting mobility applications that are customer facing apps.  I recorded a video interview with John that I will publish here as soon as I get a good high speed Internet connection.  The mobile applications he mentioned were the following:

• Postage calculator
• Package tracking
• Locations of post offices

During our discussions John asked a very good question.  He asked, "Does SAP/Sybase have a mobility platform for customer facing applications?"  I thought about this and said, "Good question!"  There are certainly ways to connect customer facing mobile applications with SAP data and processes, but is there a true platform for customer facing applications?  How would you have answered that question?


I would tell you if I knew.


Customer facing mobile applications need to be compelling in order to compete, and for customers to be motivated to use them.  They need to have incredible UIs (user interfaces) and great value.  John and I would have asked this question of the Sybase folks had they attended, but instead we were left to form our own conclusions.  That is a risky venture.

Another good question John asked was, "Will one mobile platform be able to support all of our needs?"  I believe large enterprises may need more than one.  Especially if they have mobile consumer apps.  In the retail and CPG space, there are marketing campaigns, loyalty programs, mobile money, coupons, rebates, specials, catalogs, location based services and social networking components to all of the above.  I have not seen anything in this area from SAP or Sybase yet.  This may be an area where companies may need to work with a specialty mobile platform.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services
Mobile, The Next Big Thing for Business

Webinars of Note

Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility - 10 Lessons Learned
Barcode Scanning in Mobile Apps
Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution
SAP Mobilization - What You Need to Know

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.

Mastering SAP Technologies and Mobility in Australia

Geeks/SAP Mentors Migrating South

About ten SAP Mentors spoke at this year's Mastering SAP Technologies event in Sydney.  I presented one of the opening keynote presentations on Monday, and lead a session called Network Centric Operations in the SAP Environment this afternoon. 

It was a packed house, but there was a noted absence of any Sybase folks.  I met several companies currently interested in purchasing mobile solutions.  The strange thing is that Sybase has a sales office in Sydney, but still did not attend.  It seems there are still some coordination issues to work out.

There were 4 sessions that focused on enterprise mobility this year, and the Demo Jam winner was also a mobile solution.  The Demo Jam winners had the following components and features:

• Remote controlled helicopter
• Barcode scanner on the helicopter
• Wireless remote control of the helicopter using an Android device
• The barcode was capture and wirelessly integrated with SAP's SCM (supply chain management) system.

I attended a session today by Jason Lante from ETSA Utilities on mobile timesheets.  He shared how ETSA Utilities is successfully using ClickSoftware's ClickMobile and ClickSchedule integrated with SAP for about 75% of their employees that work in the field.  They have achieved their mobility and ROI goals and are looking to expand.

Kevin Benedict's Keynote...fun, fun!

I had a gathering of utility, post and CPG company representatives around me following both presentations that I gave.  I kept looking around for some SAP utilities or Sybase folks to bring into these conversations, but none were present.  I don't think the SAP field sales team quite knows how important mobility is becoming to their customers.



***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.

Down Under and Enterprise Mobility Security

I am speaking this week at the Mastering SAP Technologies conference in Sydney, Australia.  Following my presentation this morning on enterprise mobility, I spoke with attendees from MIT's Lincoln Labs and Boeing.  Both of these individuals shared that their companies had many requests for enterprise mobility solutions, but security concerns have prevented any from being deployed.  This sounds like a real problem!

A 2011 study by Kelton Research found that security fears had caused 75 percent of enterprises to delay rolling out mobile apps at one time or another.  Yikes!  This is not good for business if you are an enterprise mobility vendor.  This subject deserves more discussion, but I am working in an outdoor cafe and a tropical storm is about to open up on me and my laptop, so we will pick up this discussion again in the future.

Cheers!

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services
Mobile, The Next Big Thing for Business

Webinars of Note

Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution
Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility in Fortune 500 Companies - 10 Lessons Learned 
Barcode Scanning In Mobile Applications
SAP Mobilization - What You Need to Know

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly
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 March 21, 2011

Kevin’s 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 Money News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

The U.S. Army will soon evaluate prototypes of wearable mobile handheld computers running battle command capability.  New applications will provide dismounted soldiers with network connectivity, command, control and situational awareness.

http://defense-update.com/wp/20110318_jbc-p_wearable_pc.html

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The medical device industry is worth $400 billion in annual sales.  Vante, a medical equipment company is restructuring itself to enter the emerging market.  The company, formerly known as SEBRA, is retooling itself as a market leader in supplying machines to make medical catheters and seal sterile tubing.

http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_7894c9a9-dff4-574f-a809-bd03da540c3a.html

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Pentagon contractors are developing applications for Apple’s IPad and other tablets in order to command and control unmanned aerial vehicles.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/222301/tablets_smartphones_join_the_military.html

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IDC has launched the ZB111 wireless-based barcode scanner, to provide low cost inventory management systems in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics and surgeries.

First Solar Drives Business Value with Enterprise Mobility Platform

First Solar and Mobility

I came across this mobility webinar announcement and wanted to share it with you.  Nothing beats learning directly from the end user.  First Solar has just implemented an enterprise mobility solution and Jay White, Mobility Architect (cool title!) from First Solar will share his experiences.

Here is the webinar description:

Hear first-hand about First Solar’s road to mobility, the critical decisions they faced and the benefits they’re reaping as a result of successfully implementing an enterprise-grade mobility strategy that is able to scale with their needs.

In this informative webinar, Jay White, Mobility Architect at First Solar, will share his insights into enterprise architecture, system integration, and multi-device support and the crucial role they play in successfully and cost-effectively developing enterprise-grade mobile applications.

March 23 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET


Register Here!


***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly
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.

Enterprise Mobility Podcast Series: Neil McHugh, Part 2

This is Part 2 (see Part 1) of an indepth interview that I recorded with mobility expert Neil McHugh.  We talk about all kinds of strategies that companies must consider when preparing to implement enterprise mobility.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1vibltMryY&feature=youtube_gdata



Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services
Mobile, The Next Big Thing for Business

Webinars of Note

Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution
Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility in Fortune 500 Companies - 10 Lessons Learned 
Barcode Scanning In Mobile Applications
SAP Mobilization - What You Need to Know

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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 News Weekly - Week of March 14, 2011

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 Money News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

It's almost too cool to believe.  Simply wave a piece of American currency in front of your iPhone's camera and LookTel, created by software company Ipplex, will tell you the denomination without even having to access the internet.

http://www.good.is/post/video-possibly-the-best-iphone-app-yet-sees-money-for-the-blind/

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Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion together have generated 64 percent of the revenue in the popular and ever growing smartphone market.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2011/03/15/apple-nokia-and-rim-tops-in.html

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Verizon Wireless is the last operator to launch a phone under the 4G banner.  The first smartphone for VZW’s long-term evolution network, the HTC Thunderbolt promises to be the fastest gizmo on the market.

http://blog.connectedplanetonline.com/unfiltered/2011/03/16/vzws-4g-smartphone-service-begins-thursday/

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Consumerization, cloud computing, tablet computing and mobile collaboration are among the major trends that will drive the market for enterprise mobility solutions over the next year.

Enterprise Mobility Podcast Series: Neil McHugh

I was able to track down Neil McHugh, VP of Sales and Business Development with Sky Technologies today and record his thoughts on a variety of subjects related to enterprise mobility and strategy.  This is a very interesting discussion.  The link below takes you to Part 1 (see Part 2) of the interview on YouTube. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38TMW2ysQGY&feature=youtube_gdata

Listen to Part 2 of this interview here.

Webinars of Note:

Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution
Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility in Fortune 500 Companies - 10 Lessons Learned (with Kevin Benedict)
Barcode Scanning In Mobile Applications
SAP Mobilization - What You Need to Know

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.

Mobile Money News Weekly - Week of March 14, 2011

The 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.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

Google is trying to beat Apple to the punch when it comes to making Near Field Communication technology popular in the U.S.  Google is about to begin testing mobile NFC payments and plans to do so by installing "thousands" of VeriFone NFC readers at merchants in New York and San Francisco.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/03/google-reportedly-testing-phone-payments-in-nyc-san-francisco.ars

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Recent reports have projected mobile payments would grow to a $680 billion market by 2016.  Juniper Research has valued the mobile payment market at $170 billion in 2010 and projected it to grow to $630 billion by 2014.

http://www.procurement.travel/news.php?cid=mobile-payment-providers-consumer-applications-commercial-applications-hype.Feb-11.28

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Forrester reports that less than 6 percent of American adults have ever used mobile payment.  Americans seem stuck on paper money and credit or debit cards — behind both high-tech first world countries and the developing world in using phones as a wallet.

http://www.technewsdaily.com/us-lags-even-developing-world-in-using-cell-phones-as-wallets-2318/

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Apple has told several UK mobile operators that NFC will not be part of the next iPhone, because Apple is concerned about the lack of an industry-wide standard.

Enterprise Mobility Podcast Series: SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adl

This is a great interview that I conducted with SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adl last week.  He discusses his new role at SAP working on enterprise mobility projects and strategy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZva1Y6KqF0

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly
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.

Mobile Retailing News Weekly - Week of March 14, 2011

The 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.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Money News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

Berg Insight estimates that the total value of the global mobile marketing and advertising market was € 1.72 billion in 2009.  Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 41 percent, the mobile ad market is forecasted to be worth € 13.5 billion in 2015.

http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/sbwire-82016.htm

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While today mobile represents 15 percent of online advertising, by 2015 it will represent 64 percent of all digital ads.

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/research/9264.html

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Recent reports show the total download app market for Android and iPhone will reach a whopping $15 billion by 2013.

http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2129310&spid=24698

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AOL is trying to transform itself from an Internet service provider to a media company, driven by advertising.  And as attention shifts to the mobile Internet from the desktop, AOL realizes that it needs to kick start a mobile advertising business, too.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/03/11/businessinsider-aol-mobile-ads-2011-3.DTL

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The mobile marketing industry in Kenya is set to see significant growth with the launch of the East African chapter of the Mobile Marketing Association.

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sky Technologies' Neil McHugh, Part 3

Neil McHugh

This is Part 3 in this interview.  Read Part 1 and Part 2 here.

Kevin:  Do companies need a mobility enterprise application platform?
Neil:  We believe so.  Ninety percent of the customers we have deploy more than one mobility project.  Mobility is a strategic IT initiative and by deploying a mobile platform, customers can grow and evolve their mobile infrastructure without having to worry about scalability or supporting multiple application types and can continue to add various mobile devices as technology evolves over time.

Kevin:  Do companies need mobile device management?
Neil:  They should definitely consider MDM if the enterprise owns the devices, not so when they allow users to access data through their own personal devices.

Kevin:  What is the hardest part of working with mobile devices?
Neil:  Just the constant changes of operating system updates….

Kevin:  Where do you see the biggest value in mobile business intelligence?
Neil:  The ability to present data in a dashboard screen where you can view critical aspects of your business in one location. This is extremely advantageous if your data is spread across different systems and you can pull data dynamically into one application. This is a cool app.

Kevin:  What value do you see in location-based services?

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sky Technologies' Neil McHugh, Part 2

Read Part 1 of this interview.
Read Part 3 of this interview.

Kevin:  What are some of the biggest challenges you see in mobility today?
Neil:  For customers, so many solution options which provide many alternatives but also lots of confusion.  Mobility is critical to a customer’s competitive strategy to ensure efficiencies continually improve and operational costs are reduced.  With so many options, customer may fall for the marketing hype promoted by some of these vendors which harms the credibility of the mobile technology market.  So our challenge, as a mobile solution provider, is to educate customers in technology and ensure they follow a logical evaluation process that will eliminate vaporware vendors and provide them with a solution that works and meets their business requirements.

Kevin:  How are enterprise mobility implementations different from other typical IT projects?
Neil:  I think from an IT project viewpoint there is far more emphasis and focus on the user experience and the interface.  In other non-mobility projects the primary objective was ensuring the solution worked and if it looked nice…that was great.  With mobility, it is all about the application.  How it looks, ease of use which is just as important in today’s world.

Kevin:  What do companies fail to plan for when implementing mobility?
Neil:  Customers sometimes fail to consider and plan for the rapid change in mobile devices.  How they are going to manage and support the increasing number of devices.  How will they implement changes across their entire company when either an application is updated, or the hardware operating system changes.  A good device management system should be considered during their planning stage.

Kevin:  Where can companies find the biggest ROIs when implementing enterprise mobility?
Neil:  There are so many situations where customers can experience significant ROI, but one of the simplest examples are those customers that implement Field Service applications.  Engineers can often be on the road for several weeks which means submitting invoice information back to the admin departments can be delayed which exerts unnecessary pressure on the cash flow.  By deploying mobile applications, engineers have access to customer information, part numbers and prices which enable them to write invoices on the spot.  They can virtually do anything while mobile that they can do in their office.  This solution has a direct impact on the bottom line and improves customer satisfaction dramatically.

Kevin:  What advice do you have for companies just starting down an enterprise mobility path?
Neil:  I would advocate that customers do their own research and not rely on the typical top SI’s or analysts for solution recommendations.  We always suggest that customers go through a complete RFP process and chose the top four vendors.  From there they should ask each vendor to do a POC on site within three days, provide three customer references.  The chosen solution should have the capability and flexibility to evolve and future changes should be easy to change by the customer’s IT staff.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this interview.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services
Mobile, The Next Big Thing for Business

Webinars of Note

Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility - 10 Lessons Learned
Barcode Scanning in Mobile Apps
Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin

Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sky Technologies' Neil McHugh, Part 1

Neil McHugh

Sky Technologies is an Australian based global software company that has been working in the SAP ecosystem and the Oracle ecosystem for nearly a decade.  The last time I checked they had over 100 SAP enterprise mobility customers.  Because of their experience and expertise, I contacted Neil McHugh about an interview and he was kind enough to agree.

Note:  Neil responded to these questions in writing, so these are Neil's words with minor editing.

Kevin:  What are your current roles and responsibilities? How long have you been in these roles?
Neil:  I am the Vice President for Sales & Business Development for Sky and have been working with them for almost three years.

Kevin:  Where are you located?
Neil:  I am located in Houston, but my offices are in Dallas and Palo Alto.

Kevin:  What mobile device(s) do you carry?
Neil:  I carry a iPhone, iPad and laptop when I travel.

Kevin:  What are some of your favorite mobile applications that you have on your mobile device?
Neil:  My favorite apps for my personal life are VectorVest for financial stock monitoring.  OpenTable to find good restaurants and Redbox for my DVD rentals.  From a work viewpoint an application that simplifies my life when I travel such as (Workflow – PO & Expense approval) CRM for accessing customer information.

Kevin:  Do you ever use your mobile device to buy things?
Neil:  I tend to use my iPad to buy things on Amazon, eBay and moving money around when I am buying stock.

Kevin:  How many computing devices do you have in your home?
Neil:  We have two laptops, two iPads, an iPhone and Android.  Six devices if I counted correctly.

Kevin:  How did you get involved in enterprise mobility?
Neil:  Networking with contacts brought me into the world of SAP and mobility.

Kevin:  What do you like most about working with enterprise mobility?
Neil:  I came from a background of mainframes with IBM which was very stable but bordering on stagnant.  Enterprise mobility is quite different, and it is the first time I have worked in a space where consumer and enterprise meet with the same technology.  So, it is a very dynamic space where hardware, software and communications will continue to improve and help us all to be more efficient.

Kevin:  What are some of the most surprising trends you saw in mobility in 2010?
Neil:  Probably the uptake of the iPad and follow-on tablets.  It was only 11 months ago that the first iPad was released and estimates suggest 10 million from Apple and 7 million from other suppliers.  Also, the adoption rate of iPads into the enterprise has been extremely quick.

Read Part 2 of this interview.
Read Part 3 of this interview.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services
Mobile, The Next Big Thing for Business

Webinars of Note

Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility - 10 Lessons Learned
Barcode Scanning in Mobile Apps
Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin

Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.

Unified View of Mobile Field Operations

I read an article recently about how SAP's customer PG&E once had 67 different local offices dispatching field services crews.  These 67 offices managed 1,500 crews that consisted of approximately 5,000 specialists taking care of 50 million customers.  Each of these local offices only managed and had visibility to their own region's work and crew schedules.  As a result, some regions were very busy, some not.  This resulted in high administrative costs in the 67 offices, and an inefficient use of the field services crews.

PG&E ultimately consolidated all of their dispatching and field services management into two centers and standardized on a central scheduling solution.  This resulted in a unified view of the workforce's schedule. 

Today, the central dispatchers at PG&E have the visibility and management flexibility to schedule or reschedule work and crews to where they are most needed across regions.  This solution consisted of ClickSoftware's ServiceOptimization Suite of tools including ClickSchedule, ClickPlan, ClickAnalyze and ClickForecast integrated with SAP’s work order application.

PG&E is a great example of the implementation of a concept called "Network Centric Operations."  The ability to have a unified real-time view of all of your assets, work/missions, schedules and resources so that you can manage them to most efficiently accomplish the mission. 

I have been studying with keen interest recently how the military is incorporating these kinds of strategies to do more with less.  I believe this goal is equally important in the commercial sector.

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin

Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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 March 14, 2011

Kevin’s 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 Money News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

An Indiana man has developed a smartphone application that may make the war effort safer and more efficient.  Capt. Jonathan Springer created Tactical NAV last year with the help of his wife to provide soldiers with more precise logistics for delivering mortar strikes and artillery fire.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/9a3b94a4c9ea4da386e7bd3ae8ee02e6/IN--Soldier-Smartphone-App/

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The total market for finished barcode scanners (dedicated handheld and fixed position devices) reached an estimated $1.4 billion in 2010, with revenues of $1.5 billion projected for 2011, according to new research.

http://vsr.edgl.com/reseller-news/2D-Imagers-Set-to-Drive-Barcode-Scanner-Market-to-$1-5B-in-201171158?googleid=71158

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Trimble introduced the Trimble TSC3 handheld controller for construction, a powerful and rugged addition to the portfolio of controllers for heavy and highway contractors.

http://www.forconstructionpros.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=25&id=19652

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Telemetry has been used to remotely monitor equipment such as combine harvesters for some time, mainly for diagnostic and troubleshooting purposes.  Manufacturers are now looking to adopt such systems on tractors for enhanced fleet management and better security.

Mobile Solutions for Grocery Shopping and Allergens

I found out recently that I am allergic to wheat.  This fact has motivated me to adjust my diet, and to start reading closely the labels on products in the grocery store.  Last week I was reading the ingredients on a bottle of salad dressing and came across an unknown ingredient.  At first, I thought about using my iPhone 4 to look up the ingredient on the Internet, but then decided to try my free Red Laser app.

I turned the bottle around and snapped a photo of the UPC barcode with the Red Laser app and it instantly brought up a full description of the product and a section called Allergens.  There was a full description of each ingredient and a list of known allergens.

I was impressed!  A simple barcode image capture instantly provided me with all known allergen information for the product in question.  Now in my case the wheat allergy is simply an inconvenience, but with some people their allergies can be life threatening. 

Many mobile applications are simply clever apps looking for a problem to solve, but in this case the Red Laser app, or any other of the multitude of barcode image capturing apps, connected to a powerful database with valuable content can be a life saver.

This is a real life example of how a consumer can benefit from a free mobile iPhone application integrated with a product catalog that contains information important to the consumer.  I will certainly be using my iPhone bar code capturing technology, connected to the Internet and integrated with a database, much more often while grocery shopping.

I can image the CPG (consumer packaged goods) could add all kinds of other related services and information around this model.  If I capture the barcode, and then click on allergen information, that may be a good indicator that I have a special interest in particular ingredients.  The CPG company could then provide me with a list of other gluten-free products available from their company at my current location (GPS connection required).  They could certainly interest me in more gluten free products.  Making more sales should serve as a motivator for CPG companies to develop more kinds of mobile applications that are connected to more valuable consumer services.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services
Mobile, The Next Big Thing for Business

Webinars of Note

Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility - 10 Lessons Learned
Barcode Scanning in Mobile Apps
Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin

Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.

Is Developing Your Own Mobile Solution a Good Idea?

There are a lot of challenges and complexities involved with developing an enterprise mobility solution.  You can choose to purchase a packaged application, where the vendor has already solved most of the challenges, or you can choose to take on the challenge yourself and develop your own mobile solution or outsource the custom development.  It is important, however, to recognize what difficulties and challenges are involved in custom development. The following list of questions and considerations is intended to help you understand what it takes to develop your own mobile solution:

1. Do you have the resources available to collect all business and technical requirements for the application? Do you know what questions need asking?
2. Do you have the time and resources available to design, develop, test, deploy and support a mobile software application for the long term?
3. Do you have the time and people available to review all the hardware requirements and operating system features that are needed by the end user?
4. Do you have experienced mobile application designers available that are familiar with the unique features of every operating system?
5. Mobility is here for the rest of your career.  Are you able to develop a mobility solution that can rapidly evolve as the mobility landscape evolves, or will your design require major work each time new mobile operating systems and devices are released?

Mobile Money News Weekly - Week of March 7, 2011

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.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

The $2 billion in mobile money transactions that occurred in 2009 is expected to grow ten fold to $22 billion by 2012.  Mobile remittances, or phone-to-phone transferring of funds, stood at $11 billion in 2009 and should reach $68 billion by 2012.

http://blogs.forbes.com/ciocentral/2011/02/18/mobile-phones-are-transforming-commerce-starting-in-africa/

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The number of mobile payment users has been rising fast with 351 million users in 2009, and is estimated to reach 1.06 billion by 2014 at a compound annual growth rate of 20.5 percent.  Global mobile payments transactions are expected to rise to $1.13 trillion in 2014 from $37.4 billion in 2009, at an annual growth rate of 98 percent.

https://www.trefis.com/modelDiff?id=11

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San Francisco based startup, Square, has reached a new milestone.  The company is now processing one million dollars in mobile payments per day.

http://www.zippycart.com/ecommerce-news/2140-square-racking-in-1million.html

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According to InsideRetailing.com, more retailers are expected to begin incorporating Apple’s iPad into store operations.  The shift seems to be retailers' response to consumers’ multi-channel shopping habits.

Mobility News Weekly - Week of March 7, 2011

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 Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Money News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

With the launch of the Motorola Xoom, and impending arrival of the BlackBerry PlayBook, HP TouchPad, and a plethora of other tablets, the competition is mounting for the Apple iPad. However, a survey from ChangeWave finds that the dominance of Apple's iPad is assured for the foreseeable future.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/221858/survey_paints_bleak_future_for_ipad_rivals.html

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One year after its formation, the operator led Wholesale Applications Community, has launched its commercial service.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2011/02/operators-launch-wac-wholesale-app-store.php

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 65 percent of the Fortune 100 have either deployed or have pilots running with the iPad.  Meanwhile, Network World puts the number in the Fortune 100 as 80 percent.

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/02/14/enterprise-ipad-adoption-up-to-80-percent-in-fortune-100/

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SAP AG has announced a new road map of in memory applications that will help customers become real time businesses, transforming the way they think, plan and operate.

M2M and Mobile Devices are Changing the Economics of Energy



M2M and Smartphones

A good friend and fellow Boisean, Chris Volk, works for M2M Communications on a project called PEAR.  PEAR stands for Peak Energy Awards Program.  This is a very interesting program that combines M2M (machine to machine) devices with smartphones to provide a significant benefit for energy producers and their customers.

Here is how I understand it to work.  There are certain times of the season and day when energy usage peaks.  Energy utilities are required by law to support these peak times with enough energy.  The problem is that these peaks may only be for a few hours each day, or month or season.  As a result you have expensive infrastructure and assets not being used for much of the time.  This is an inefficient use of money.

Energy generators would rather find ways to reduce the peak usage times in order to reduce the need for  new power plants, transmission and distribution networks.  One way they are doing this is through project PEAR.  This project targets large agricultural irrigation systems and users.  It pays farmers to equip their irrigation pumps with M2M devices that allow them to be managed and controlled remotely and switched off at certain peak energy usage times.  They are switched off for one to four hours at a time.  The equipment is free to the farmer and they are paid a fee for participating.

One of the reasons the agricultural industry was targeted with this program is they have flexibility.  They can be flexible with their irrigation times.  A factory has less flexibility in that their employees start at 8:00 a.m. and leave at 5:00 p.m.  However, a farm has more flexibility to water at different non-peak usage times.

The farmer is given notice in advance, so they know when their pumps will be switched off and can choose to opt out if needed.  The pumps can be managed and controlled by smartphones, computers or via an internet connection to the energy providers systems.

To me, the smartphone component is what makes this story really interesting.  You have mobile devices (smartphones) being used as control panels for industrial and agricultural systems.  Oh My!  First our smartphones became TV remotes, now they can control the farm.  I love it!

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly
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 Monthly - March 2011

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Monthly, 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 Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Money News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Preliminary data from Berg Insight show that the worldwide number of mobile network connections used for wireless M2M communication reached 81.4 million at the end of 2010, up 46 percent year-on-year.

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/47657.php

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A report released by ABI Research indicates more than three-quarters of a billion RFID tags will be used in global apparel markets in 2011.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/09/item-level-rfids-get-support-from-big-retailers-track-your-ever/

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A growing number of startups are applying the principles of social networking to home energy management, and bringing social media to the smart grid.  In the process, they are revolutionizing people’s understanding of their energy use, building successful companies and helping to lessen the impact of each individual on the environment.

http://mashable.com/2011/02/08/smart-grid-social-media/

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Defense contractor Comtech Telecommunications Corp., has revealed that its Maryland-based subsidiary, Comtech Mobile Datacom Corporation, received orders totaling $27.2 million under its MTS contract with the U.S. Army.

Sybase's New Enterprise Mobility Guide

Sybase's Eric Lai

Eric Lai, a friend of mine at Sybase, has just completed a monumental task.  He has organized the publication of a very interesting new guidebook called the Enterprise Mobility Guide.  This is a substantial guidebook with 123 pages, and it is absolutely free!  It contains many different sections:

• Transformation of the Enterprise
• The Mobility Effect
• Mobile Ecosystem @Work
• Mobile Enterprise Best Practices
• Market Data

The articles within the guidebook are written by folks like:

• Raj Nathan, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Sybase, an SAP Company
• Oliver Bussman, Global CIO, SAP
• Greg Jenko, Partner, Global Lead for Mobile Systems Integrations, Accenture
• Philippe Winthrop, Managing Director, The Enterprise Mobility Foundation
• Eugene Signorini, Vice President, Yankee Group
• Many more... 

This is very good material and I would encourage you to download your copy.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services
Mobile, The Next Big Thing for Business

Webinars of Note:
Implementing SAP Enterprise Mobility - 10 Lessons Learned
Barcode Scanning in Mobile Apps
Five Ways to Optimize the ROI of your Mobile Solution

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group on Linkedin
Read The Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Read The Field Mobility News Weekly
Read The Mobile Money News Weekly
Read The M2M News Monthly

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.