Mobile Expert Interview Series: Sybase's Mike Oliver, Part 1

Mike Oliver

I first learned about Mike Oliver, European Mobility Marketing Manager for Sybase, because we are both on the agenda for the upcoming conference in Brussels entitled The Enterprise Mobility Exchange.  Mike was kind enough to schedule some time to share with us.

Note: These are not Mike Oliver's exact words, rather my notes from our interview.  However, Mike did review these notes for accuracy prior to publishing.

Kevin: Why are you going to the Enterprise Mobility Exchange in May? What is the value?

Mike: I spoke at this event last year and found that the quality of the delegates is unmatched. People must pay to attend. The focus has been on utilities and field services and this is a great market for Sybase and our partners. We have found great opportunities from this event every time we have attended. We always get more meetings than we have on our schedule.

Kevin: What are your current roles and responsibilities?

Mike: I am the European Mobility Marketing Manager for Sybase. Before SAP acquired us, I was responsible for marketing our mobility solutions across all of Europe. Now I cover a subset of our products including Afaria and SQL Anywhere.

Mobile Retailing News Weekly - Week of February 28, 2011

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

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

Forrester forecasts that marketing spending on mobile display ads and search will surpass $1 billion in 2011.  That means marketers are set to find quantifiable ROI (return on investment) on mobile for generating real leads, driving foot traffic, and selling products and services.

http://memeburn.com/2011/02/mobile-marketing-and-m-commerce-is-where-the-money-is-moving/

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More and more brands are directing resources to mobile advertising, according to a new survey from DM2 Media and Jumptap.  According to the study, nearly 85 percent of marketers are doing some form of mobile marketing or advertising.

http://www.mediapost.com/blogs/raw/?p=5770

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More and more companies are using mobile marketing to reach consumers, but the latest research suggests they may need to change their tactics.  According to a study by Frost and Sullivan, tablets are a threat to both smartphones and netbooks.

http://www.dma.org.uk/news/nws-dmitem.asp?id=6438&t=Mobile+marketing%3A+Tablets+are+threat+to+smartphones

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VeriFone Systems, Inc. the leading payment solutions provider in the U.S., has urged aspiring mobile payment service companies to engage with retailers in determining market requirements to enable mobile phone-initiated payments and services at the retail point of sale.

The Enterprise Mobility Trends of 2011 - Webinar

Looking into the Future

I would invite you to consider attending the following webinar on enterprise mobility Thursday, March 10, 2011.  It is a panel discussion on how apps and tablets are transforming businesses.

Here is the description of the webinar from Sybase:

Join us for a lively discussion on the latest trends in enterprise mobility with the expert authors of the just-released Enterprise Mobility Guide 2011 published by Sybase.

We'll cover the latest trends in mobile device management and app development - platforms such as iOS, RIM and Android and hardware such as smartphones and tablets - all from the business perspective that matters to you.

Guest experts include:

• Kevin Benedict, a leading independent mobility analyst and consultant in the SAP ecosystem
• Phillipe Winthrop, former Strategy Analytics analyst and creator of the Enterprise Mobility Forum
• Lynette Luna, Editor of FierceMobileIT and Contributing Executive Editor to FierceWireless
• Host: Eric Lai, UberMobile blogger at ZDNet and editor-in-chief of the Enterprise Mobility Guide 2011

BONUS! All webcast attendees will be among the first to get a free copy of the new Enterprise Mobility Guide 2011 mailed to them. Contributors to this 130 page book include: industry experts from Accenture, Google, Motorola, Orange, RIM, Samsung, Verizon, and others; analysts from the Yankee Group and Enterprise Mobility Forum; and leading executives from Sybase and SAP.

Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011
Time: 2-3 PM ET/11-12 noon PT

 Register Here! 

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility group on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

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 February 28, 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 Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Money News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

A hand-held scanner that can detect cancer at a patient’s bedside using just a speck of tissue has been created by scientists from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/harvard-scientists-create-hand-held-device-to-detect-cancer-at-bedside.html

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The highly competitive handset-based mobile resource management market is expected to grow to $2.33 billion by 2016 inside North America.

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9a45fc/north_american_mobile_resource_management_mrm

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Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a new version of its handheld TruScan analyser that not only increases the speed with which the device can identify chemicals, but also broadens the range of compounds it can handle.

Building Compliance Features into Your Enterprise Mobility Solution, Part 2

Monitoring activities

This is Part 2 in this series on building compliance features into enterprise mobility solutions.  You can read Part 1 here.  This article looks at ways to configure best practices and other compliance requirements into mobile applications.

Sales and Marketing

It has been demonstrated many times that the trusted service technician that is standing in a customer's kitchen is a far better sales person than an unknown telephone sales person calling at dinner time. So how can you build processes into mobile applications that help your field services engineers be as effective as possible selling products and services?  Wouldn't it be nice if there was an automatic prompt that told the field services engineer what to discuss with each customer?

I have personally purchased extended maintenance warranties from my own HVAC service man several times over the past few years. They show me how I can save money and get better maintenance by being on the plan. I trust the experience of my service technician.

Mobile Enterprise Applications

When companies first begin considering an enterprise strategy for mobility, they often do not consider the role and value “compliance” layers can play. Even mobility vendors have not yet realized the true value. For the most part, enterprises are still thinking of mobile applications as a way to provide quick and mobile visibility to reports, notifications, approval processes, email messages and to replace paper forms. These are all good features, but there is much more that can be accomplished with mobile enterprise applications than has often been considered.