More on How You Advise an Enterprise on Mobility

Last week, in a blog article, I discussed the challenges of preparing to consult with a company and advise them on issues related to enterprise mobility.  I shared that it is helpful to send questions in advance so you know what kind of environment you are walking into.  Since that article I have thought of a few more questions which I have listed here:

1. Do you need an SDK (software development kit) to customize and/or edit your own mobile applications?
2. Do you want to develop your own mobile application in-house, buy off-the-shelf or contract with a third party for a custom mobile application?
3. If you want to develop in-house, are your stakeholders patient enough to wait for the final product? What are the costs to the business of not delivering on time? 
4. If you develop in-house, who will support new versions of the mobile operating systems and new mobile devices?
5. Which business unit will budget to pay for upgrades to mobile operating systems and mobile devices?  They change every few months?  Do you really have developers that will be available for all of these updates and upgrades?
6. How will you support it?  What is the plan for supporting mobile applications and mobile devices?
7. What countries will be using it?
8. What data plans does the company want to use in each country? 
9. How will you manage the data plans?
10. What is the policy for replacing missing or damaged mobile devices?
11. Which business unit will pay for lost devices and data plans?
12. What is the process for approving mobile access to ERPs and business processes?

Syclo, a co-innovation partner of SAP in the mobility space, speaks of supporting any data source, any network, any device, any industry, any process and anywhere in the world.  Doing that all for one enterprise takes getting a few questions answered.  What other questions should we add to this list?

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst

Phone +1 208-991-4410

twitter @krbenedict

Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin:

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

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Saving Billions with the Help of Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Part 2

In the UK the water utilities and the government wanted to find ways of reducing water consumption so they could delay or avoid building new water reservoirs.  You can image how difficult and costly it is to build new water reservoirs in populated areas! 

 

The water utilities and the government, which own a significant number of council houses, developed a program in which they would send inspectors out to inspect water usage and recommend ways of reducing it.

The company that was awarded the inspection work contacted me to help them mobilize this system.  Here is a high level view on how I remember the process worked:

1. Mail was sent to the council house addresses announcing the program.
2. Inspection visits were scheduled.
3. Inspectors were dispatched to a certain number of homes each day.
4. Minutes before the inspectors were to arrive, the home owners were called to make sure they were home.
5. The inspectors inspected all of the plumbing and appliances for leaks, and other areas where water consumption could be reduced.
6. Following the inspections the data was synchronized back to a central database.
7. The results of the inspections were organized and recommendations on a per house basis were made and the costs associated with the improvements where calculated.
8. Once the improvements and work was approved, field service technicians were dispatched to install equipment and repair equipment that was intended to reduce water usage. 

The key point was that the ROI for this project was potentially billions of Sterling for the government and water utilities.  Delivering that ROI was dependent on getting the inspections and work done efficiently.  If the inspections and work cost were too much, then the entire project would be jeopardized.  Efficiencies were required in order for any of it to happen.

 

Read Part 1 of this article here.

 

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

 

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

 

 

 

 

http://www.clicksoftware.com/e86e075b-4fca-44c9-bfeb-4efcc978f416/knowledge-center-white-papers-delivery.htm

Kevin’s M2M News Weekly – August 25, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Weekly. This is an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices that I read each week. 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.
You can read archived editions of Kevin's M2M News Weekly at http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/m2m.html.

Also available are Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly and Kevin’s Enterprise Mobility Blog.

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According to a recent IE Market Research forecast, the worldwide market for GPS powered navigation and location-based services will grow from $1.6 billion in 2009 to $13.4 billion in 2014, representing a compound annual growth rate of 51.3 percent.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/slideshow/5-ipad-navigation-apps-offer-new-directions-location-based-services

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The seemingly recession proof smartphone is suffering from a side effect of the rough economy: Manufacturers simply can't build enough of the gadgets because chip makers that rolled back production last year now are scrambling to play catch up.

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100821/BIZ/8210302/-1/rss05

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M2M devices and applications are an area of wireless data usage with a projected compound annual growth rate of over 25 percent per year through 2014 and a projected need for up to 50 billion M2M devices by 2025.

http://networking.itbusinessnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1182351

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You may have heard one of the absolute brightest spots in the tech space is the M2M market where analysts believe sales will total $18 billion in the next five years as device totals surge from 75 million to over 225 million.

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/m2m/m2m-market-to-grow-to-18b-in-5-years.html

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The number of devices connected to the internet is expected to break through the five billion mark this month, according to web market research firm IMS Research. Numbers could be as high as 22 billion by 2020.

http://www.itpro.co.uk/626209/web-connected-devices-to-reach-22-billion-by-2020

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Over the last few years, the key focus of M2M applications has shifted from tactical, local deployments – where M2M began – to increasingly strategic, national and international deployments. As a result, the demand for cost effective national and international network coverage has increased dramatically.

http://www.telecomengine.com/NewsGlobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_6545

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Many technologies today focus on providing high speed connections for multimedia, information and entertainment applications. However, at the opposite end of the spectrum, there is a growing need for new breeds of smart devices based on wireless sensors that have a very different set of core requirements.

http://www.ferret.com.au/c/Clarke-Severn-Electronics/Wavenis-Wireless-Technology-for-M2M-Applications-available-from-Clarke-Severn-Electronics-n894840

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The ABI study "Cellular Machine-to-Machine Markets" discusses the market trends and analyzes cellular M2M vendor strategic responses for the period 2003-2009. According to the study, the M2M communication market has had fluctuating fortunes. While 2007 was a “good year”, 2008 was witness to a drastic decline in shipment volumes and revenues. However, as 3G gained more significance, the market seems to have picked up and it is estimated to be worth $3.8 billion in 2015.

http://m2m.tmcnet.com/topics/m2mevolution/articles/95825-3g-leading-growth-m2m-market-abi-research.htm

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Cleveland's city council has equipped residential recycling bins with RFID tags. Passing garbage trucks count the bins, and any residents whose bin isn't left on the curb for a few weeks will be visited by the "rubbish inspector." After a bit of digging (literally), if it turns out that resident has been discarding recyclables, they face a $100 fine.

http://www.telecomengine.com/NewsGlobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_6544

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According to the 2010 "Green Quadrant" report published by Verdantix, an independent analyst firm that provides commercial analysis of climate change, sustainability and energy issues, Orange "stands out as the telecoms operator that has been most successful in creating, marketing and delivering telecoms solutions which offer sustainability benefits to business customers." Orange already led the market in the 2009 issue of the Verdantix report.

http://www.telecomengine.com/article.asp?Id=AR_6515

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Someday, all cars may be smart and connected. But today, it’s noteworthy indeed that ITU’s Fully Networked Car, and ng Connect’s LTE Connected Car are on display at two different major European tradeshows: the Geneva Auto Show and CeBIT.

http://blog.m2mzone.com/m2m/2010/03/lte-connected-car-project-can-it-bridge-concept-with-reality.html

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ORBCOMM Inc., a global satellite data communications company focusing on two-way M2M communications announced that Caterpillar Inc. has renewed its agreement with ORBCOMM for satellite communication services for their heavy equipment telematics solution. Caterpillar will benefit from their expanded services in countries like South Africa, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/orbcomm-extends-telematics-services-to-caterpillar-inc-2010-08-24?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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Vodafone decided a while ago that M2M represented a strong opportunity for the Group, and subsequently appointed Erik Brenneis to the role of heading up a group M2M Line of Business unit, with overall responsibility for driving Vodafone’s growth in the M2M market. Mr. Brenneis was formerly Chief Sales Officer at M2M market leader Cinterion Wireless Modules and therefore has a strong background in M2M. Since then, they have been recruiting M2M specialists to strengthen this new group unit and aims to have 110 full time staff by the last quarter of this year. This will include regional heads for the Americas, AsiaPacific, and North, Central and South Europe, to be located in-region. To take one example, the plan calls for a new US team with an initial staff of 6, even though Vodafone has no direct presence in that market. Nevertheless, it does have a 45 percent stake in its affiliate, Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile operator in the US, now focusing on M2M following the establishment of nPhase as its M2M joint venture with Qualcomm.

http://www.telecomengine.com/NewsGlobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_6545

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410 twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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Saving Billions with the Help of Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Part 1

I worked on a mobility project a few years ago with a very large construction and engineering firm that did contract work for water and electrical utilities in the UK.  They came to me with a need to survey and inspect council houses.  Council housing is a form of public or social housing in the United Kingdom. Council houses are built and operated by local councils to provide uncrowded, well built homes on secure tenancies at below market rents to primarily working class individuals.

The contractor asked me to provide consulting on how to mobilize up to 3,000 inspectors all around the UK to go to council houses and inspect them for ways to conserve both energy and water.  The number 3,000 had a magical ring to it so I agreed.

I flew to Newcastle where I met with the team and found out their real motivation for wanting to inspect the houses and mobilize their inspectors.  Their real motivation was a desire to save billions in Sterling!  If they could inspect the houses, recommend ways to reduce water consumption by 10, 20 or 30 percent, then they could delay the need to build new water reservoirs which could take years and cost billions.

I like mobile ROIs with the word billions attached! 

The SAP Workforce Scheduling and Service Optimization solution is one of the solutions available that is designed for managing work in the field on mobile devices.

Read Part 2 of this article here.

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

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Kevin Benedict on TechEd 2010 in Las Vegas and Enterprise Mobility

This week I registered for SAP's TechEd 2010 Las Vegas.  I am excited about it this year - the year of mobility!  SAP's 2010 focus is - on premise, on demand and on device.  MOBILE device that is.   I will be teaching a session on The Future of Enterprise Mobility.  I have seen the conference agenda and it is packed full of sessions on mobility.  I hope to see all of you there!

TechEd is a conference designed for those that do the real work.  The developers, architects, business analysts and IT teams.  It is a place to get real answers, not just the marketing messages. 

I filmed a brief video about TechEd and why I like it and uploaded it to the SAP Mentor channel on YouTube.

I hope to see you there!!!  I will be wearing a cool SAP Mentor rugby shirt with "Benedict" written on my back.  Come introduce yourself to me!
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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Report on the SAP Sybase Executive Briefing on August 19th

I was fortunate to have attended yesterday's SAP Sybase Executive Briefing in Boston.  Also attending were SAP Mentors, Jon Reed and Susan Keohan, "the workflow goddess."  There was a lot covered, but in this report I am going to focus on what I learned about enterprise mobility there.  First, I will provide some impressions and then drill into some details.  Keep in mind that this is my biased interpretation (i.e. analysis) of what I heard.

The SAP team wanted to communicate that SAP is a different company, with different management now.  They want to leave the slow, grinding and bureaucratic company and image behind.  They want to be passionate about innovation and technology again.  They want to excite the markets and excite customers with brilliance and innovation.  I was given off-the-record insight into changes in personnel that were intended to support this change.

I heard several themes at the briefing - game changer and transformational innovation.  SAP believes that mobility and in-memory technology that Sybase brings to the equation are game changers.  They will change the world.  The combined SAP/Sybase solutions and technology will be transformational to the industry and to SAP.

SAP has three core strategies this year - on premise, on demand and on device.  Mobile is one third of the SAP focus this year.  However, the entire first hour of the executive briefing was about just mobility!

I spoke with many of the SAP executives and Sybase management about enterprise mobility.  These are smart people.  They have thought through mobility.  Brian Vink said they have been working on mobile CRM with SAP for three years so know SAP intimately. 

I asked Brian Vink the following question over lunch, "Is synchronization more or less important today than in the past?"  He answered that it was just as important today for a MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform).  He said although not all mobile applications need offline/online support and database synchronization, nearly every enterprise will need it.  Any complex mission critical mobile application usually involves databases.  My interpretation of his comment - all enterprises will have a range of mobile application needs, however, nearly all will have a subset of complex mobile applications that need synchronization.

Co-CEO Bill McDermott spoke about real-time enterprises.  Brian Vink with Sybase said real-time enterprises can only happen if all of the solutions are mobilized.  Vink added that all information needs to be mobilized, because the workforce is mobile.

The management teams of both companies emphasized that all enterprises in the next 5 years must be mobilized.  They believe almost all applications will need mobile extensions.  With this vision it is perfectly understandable why SAP spent $5.8 billion on Sybase.

It is important to note that mobility goes way beyond what most people think.  It covers Tablet PCs, laptops, in-vehicle entertainment systems, healthcare monitoring equipment, M2M, e-Readers, email synchronization, mobile security, mobile banking, home energy management systems, and a plethora of other things.  We need to expand our thinking about mobility.  The market is massive!

Brian Vink talked about SAP/Sybase support for M2M (machine to machine) as being an important growth area.  I agree which is why I am writing a weekly newsletter on M2M.  This market is predicted to reach 50 billion embedded wireless devices by 2024. 

Vishal Sikka, SAP Executive Board Member, said SAP has made a major strategic change.  Rather than creating new innovations and technologies that run only on the latest versions of SAP solutions, they will now ensure that major innovations are supported on the majority of all older versions and platforms as well.  New innovations should be able to be used by the majority of the SAP community.

Vishal said, "The math does not work if we invest in new technology that can only be used by a small fraction of our base.  We need to ensure that our best and most innovative solutions can be used by the majority of our community.  The math works when you do that!"

Here are some of the notes I took during the day.

• NetWeaver Mobile, Project Gateway, Afaria and SUP will combine in the next 9 months (targeting Sapphire 2011).
• Sybase is targeting Sapphire for a launch of a mobile SDK.  This will provide developers with everything they need to design, develop, deploy and support mobile enterprise applications, except the device specific GUIs and device functions.  Device GUIs and functions are developed using the mobile OS SDKs (i.e. iPhone SDK, Blackberry SDK, Android SDK).
• All SAP mobility partners better adopt this strategy or be left in the dust.
• Enterprise mobility vendors should immediately refocus investments on mobile middleware to mobile applications and vertical industry support.
• Project Gateway is the way the external world will communicate with SAP.
• SAP and Sybase will work closely together on mobility, but maintain separate operations and sales forces.  Sybase is making good money, so leave it alone.
• SAP and Sybase will jointly work together on SAP related mobile sales opportunities.  As a result, SAP and Sybase sales teams will want to only be introducing mobile solutions that they get compensated on.  This is key for enterprise mobility vendors to understand.  If you want SAP or Sybase help to close a deal, then there better be a compensation plan.
• Third party mobility vendors in the SAP ecosystem are absolutely needed and supported, but enterprise mobility vendors better be supporting the Sybase Unwired Platform and NetWeaver if they want help from SAP and sales support in the long term.
• Sybase said that SAP has over 22 vertical industries.  SAP and Sybase will look at the mobility needs of each of these industries and prioritize them. 
• SAP and Sybase will try to jointly provide mobile solutions for a handful of key mobile solutions like SFA (sales force automation).
• SAP's Nick Brown, SVP of Mobility highlighted the value that ClickSoftware and Syclo bring to the SAP ecosystem.  He said both of these companies are onboard with supporting the SAP/Sybase roadmap and will be deploying their solutions on SUP.  They both offer excellent industry knowledge and experience and have deep industry expertise.
• SAP and Sybase will be identifying "whitespace" markets where there are not currently recognized mobile solutions.  They will survey customers to understand how important these areas are to them.  If they are important to a significant number, then SAP/Sybase will look for a mobility partner to fill that space.  If the space ultimately becomes mission critical and core to the SAP environment, then SAP may look to acquire.
• There are big opportunities for enterprise mobility vendors that support SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform) with deep vertical industry expertise in the 20 plus verticals supported by SAP.  Deep industry knowledge makes you valuable to Sybase and SAP. 
• Mobile vendors that are generalists will find it increasingly difficult to find a niche in the SAP ecosystem.
• Sybase and SAP have been working together on mobile applications for at least 3 years.  They have been jointly developing mobile CRM.
• SAP believes all "real time" enterprises will need mobility.
• SAP believes that all future development needs to have mobile support as a default.
• SAP believes hundreds and thousands of different mobile applications are needed to support various business processes and functions.
• I kept hearing about an SAP solution called Event Inside and event streams...I must learn more.

I will likely think of more information that I missed, but this is the majority.  I also filmed a five part YouTube series following the briefing that can be found on the SAP Mentor channel on YouTube.

1. SAP/Sybase Briefing, Part 1
2. SAP/Sybase Briefing, Part 2
3. SAP/Sybase Briefing, Part 3
4. SAP/Sybase Briefing, Part 4
5. SAP/Sybase Briefing, Part 5

Jon Reed, SAP Mentor filmed an interview with Vishal Sikka at lunch yesterday - Click here to view.

If you want to read my real time tweets from the briefing yesterday, then join me on twitter - @krbenedict.

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

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

http://www.clicksoftware.com/e86e075b-4fca-44c9-bfeb-4efcc978f416/knowledge-center-white-papers-delivery.htm

SAP and Sybase Press Release on Enterprise Mobility Roadmap - August 19, 2010

http://www.sap.com/about/newsroom/press.epx?pressID=13780

Highlight:  The companies will integrate the SAP NetWeaver® Mobile component and SAP® BusinessObjects™ Mobile software with Sybase Unwired Platform to deliver a single mobile development and deployment platform with integrated analytics.

BOSTON, Mass. and FRANKFURT, Germany - August 19, 2010 - At a co-located event today in Boston and Frankfurt, company leaders from SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and Sybase came together for the first time to share the strategy and joint product direction for the newly combined companies. In a bold move that brings together established industry leaders and changes the game for enterprise mobility, SAP announced its intent to acquire Sybase on May 12, 2010. In the few months since that time, the two companies have moved quickly to create product road maps and innovations to transform the way people and businesses work. The combined companies now represent the market-leading position in enterprise applications, business analytics and mobile infrastructure.


Recognizing the strength of Sybase’s existing business model, SAP confirmed that Sybase will be run as a separate, independent unit – and that customer investments in Sybase products will be preserved and supported. Setting the stage for their vision of an unwired enterprise and embracing the evolution of mobile as the new desktop, SAP and Sybase today also unveiled strategic product directions and planned co-innovations in three key areas: enterprise mobility, business analytics and enterprise information management (EIM).

Combined Companies Retain Core Strengths While Leveraging Synergies for Innovation

Outlining the first milestones since the close of the acquisition, SAP and Sybase today announced:

Within the next nine months, the companies will bring together technologies to deliver a leading mobile platform for business that is based on open standards, runs on all major mobile operating systems, and manages and supports all major device types. With this platform, customers and partners can build new mobile experiences on top of existing applications, such as SAP® Business Suite software. In addition, SAP will showcase mobile experiences for all products, including both SAP Business Suite and SAP® Business ByDesign™, similar to what is available for mobile sales for customer relationship management (CRM) today.

SAP and Sybase will present the industry’s broadest solution portfolio for EIM by porting, certifying and optimizing SAP Business Suite and other solutions onto Sybase data management servers – bringing customers a greater choice of database platforms for their SAP applications.

The companies will offer customers a complete and optimized high-performance business analytics infrastructure tapping SAP® BusinessObjects™ business intelligence (BI) solutions on data management servers to deliver end-to-end functionality from discovery (enterprise information management) to storage (calculation and storage engines for transactions, data marts, data warehouse) to consumption (query reporting and analytics, scorecarding, dashboarding, OLAP tools, mobile BI).

The companies will incorporate SAP's in-memory computing technology across SAP and Sybase data management offerings, enabling customers to instantaneously access any type of data, anywhere, any place in real time.

SAP Co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe shared their thoughts on today’s announcement: “The combination of SAP and Sybase is a significant game changer in the industry. Less than three months after this bold acquisition was announced, we are highlighting the first joint products that will transform the way people and businesses work. The product roadmap and go-forward strategy we are sharing today positions SAP to be the only company enabled to deliver a full suite of enterprise software and next-generation business intelligence on any device at any time. The coming together of SAP and Sybase is 100 percent a customer-focused move, delivering a value proposition for customers in mobility, analytics and information management that is unmatched and unique.”

“At Sybase, we have been successfully executing our ‘Unwired Enterprise’ strategy over the last eight years to become the market leader in enterprise mobility software,” said John Chen, CEO, Sybase. “Working alongside SAP, we will take mobility to the next level by extending analytics and bringing our technologies to new vertical markets. With SAP’s investment in Sybase’s technologies, we’ll be able to extend our existing solutions to an even broader audience, and more rapidly innovate as the market’s needs continue to evolve.”

Market-Leading Vendors Unwire the Enterprise With End-to-End Mobile Platform

Research firm Gartner predicts that by 2014, there will be a 90 percent mobile penetration rate and 6.5 billion mobile connections.1 This new generation of users demands immediate access to enterprise applications from any location, at any time. The Sybase acquisition allows SAP to bring customers a mobile platform that can support SAP applications and enable partners and customers to develop complementary applications to help them run their business better.

The extension of existing applications and the delivery of new applications will broaden the reach of SAP solutions across mobile platforms and devices and accelerate the pace of mobile innovation for enterprises. SAP and Sybase already have co-innovated and delivered Sybase Mobile Sales for the SAP® Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application and Sybase Mobile Workflow for SAP Business Suite.

The companies will integrate the SAP NetWeaver® Mobile component and SAP® BusinessObjects™ Mobile software with Sybase Unwired Platform to deliver a single mobile development and deployment platform with integrated analytics. New open standards-based technology from SAP that enables easy access to SAP Business Suite will accelerate the mobilization of SAP applications. SAP will also deliver industry-specific mobile applications built on this next-generation mobile platform.

Complementary Technologies Deliver a Complete Business Analytics Stack

With the combination of complementary technologies from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio and Sybase, the companies now offer a complete and optimized high-performance business analytics infrastructure. SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions are already certified on Sybase IQ 15.0 and Sybase ASE 15.0. Customers can take advantage of complete solutions – from business analytic applications; to reports, scorecards and dashboards; to data integration and data quality; to transactional storage, data marts and data warehousing. SAP and Sybase will also deliver business analytic applications that are optimized for industries such as financial services, consumer products, retail and manufacturing.

SAP in-memory computing technology is the driving force enabling business users to instantaneously access, explore, model and analyze transactional, analytical and Web-based data in real time in a single environment from anywhere, anytime, using any device. SAP and Sybase will incorporate SAP in-memory computing technology across SAP and Sybase data management offerings. SAP has already announced a high-performance analytic appliance as further innovation in the in-memory computing space.

SAP and Sybase Offer the Industry’s Broadest Portfolio for Enterprise Information Management

One of the highest priorities for organizations of any size and across any industry is managing the soaring quantity of data, and harnessing that information to improve their business. The combination of SAP and Sybase EIM offerings provides the industry’s broadest solution portfolio for enterprise information management, including data integration and data quality, master data management, complex event processing (CEP), real-time replication, modeling, application development and database capabilities. Sybase ASE is one of the leading database engines that support transactional and mixed workloads, and will be fully supported by the combined companies. SAP will port, certify and optimize SAP Business Suite, the SAP NetWeaver® Business Warehouse component, SAP® BusinessObjects™ Data Services software and SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions to Sybase ASE — giving customers a greater choice of database platforms for their SAP applications.

Vibrant Ecosystem Benefits From the Combination of Two IT Leaders

With this acquisition, new fields of opportunity are available for the SAP ecosystem. Across all partner types – services, ISVs, hardware and others – partners can participate in the new opportunities that come from the SAP and Sybase strategies around enterprise mobility, business analytics and EIM. SAP has also enabled its ecosystem partners to build and deliver new mobile applications on the mobility platform. Recently, announced on August 9, 2010, a series of Sybase partners launched innovative mobile applications for SAP solutions on the Sybase Unwired Platform. This growing ecosystem is significantly extending the reach of enterprise customers and applications, empowering millions of mobile workers worldwide. This ecosystem is further extended with the opportunity to engage and transact with four billion mobile subscribers, through Sybase’s messaging and mobile commerce services via reach to 900 mobile operators worldwide.


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

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - August 19, 2010

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter that is 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 numbers and trends.

You can read archived versions of the newsletter here - http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/kevins-mobility-news-weekly.html.

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Mobile devices are overtaking PCs. In a nutshell, what we are seeing in smartphones is bigger than anything that has come before it. Much bigger than the PC. And it is coming so fast that we don't realize what's happening.

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/11/the-great-game-mobile-devices-overtaking-pcs/?hpt=Sbin

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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 - http://www.clicksoftware.com/.

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Spain added 269,371 mobile lines in June, bringing the total number to 52.83 million, up by 2.2 percent over the same month of 2009, according to the monthly report by Spanish regulator CMT.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/08/12/4953024.htm

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I was asked the other day to put together a list of questions to send to a management team in advance of my visit. They had asked me to help them develop an enterprise mobility strategy. This was an interesting task. I had little knowledge of the scope of their ambitions, so I approached this challenge by creating a list of open ended questions that were designed to uncover their interests and their range of possible needs. How would you prepare to discuss an infinite number of different mobility scenarios, business processes, IT infrastructures, ERPs and a plethora of mobile devices.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-do-you-advise-enterprise-on.html

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The latest quarterly update to ABI Research's enterprise mobility regional market data sets shows that healthcare, retail and manufacturing, three sectors each with a double digit share, will command over 36 percent of all mobile business customer data revenues worldwide over the next five years.

http://www.embeddedinternetdesign.com/226700253?cid=RSSfeed_embeddedinternetdesign_adlRSS

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Google's Android platform now represents 17.2 percent of the global smartphone market, overtaking Apple's iOS as the world's third most popular smartphone OS and edging past Research In Motion's BlackBerry to emerge as the top selling OS in the U.S., according to new data published by research firm Gartner.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/android-overtakes-blackberry-top-selling-u-s-smartphone-os/2010-08-12?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

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I have been invited to join popular mobility blogger Gil Bouhnick, the Director of Mobile Solutions at ClickSoftware, to speak at an upcoming webinar entitled, 10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid when Selecting and Implementing a Mobility Solution. I don't know where that title came from, as I have made at least a hundred costly mistakes all by myself.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-happens-when-you-schedule-2.html

********

A friend of mine here in Boise, Jon Young developed a very interesting mobile application on Android. The application is a great example of the concept of extending business processes. The application works much like the popular RedLaser iPhone application in that it can scan an ISBN barcode on a book cover and then automatically look it up.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/extending-mobile-business-processes-in.html

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India's telecoms ministry has suggested a formula by which security agencies can get access to corporate email on Research In Motion's Blackberry devices, the Economic Times reported.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=11433558

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The mobile commerce market is worth $2.5 billion today, and will grow four times that amount in the next couple of years, according to a panelist at the eTail 2010 Social Media & Mobile Commerce Summit.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mobile-commerce-market-worth-25b-and-growing-panelist/

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KeyBank is keeping on-the-go customers updated on their accounts via a new SMS mobile banking service.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/keybank-offers-mobile-banking-service-via-sms/

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Mobile operators' 3G networks carry 72 percent of video content viewed by Android smartphone users in the U.S. according to new data issued by mobile video ad network Rhythm NewMedia. By comparison, iPhone users rely on 3G for 56 percent of their mobile video consumption.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/study-3g-networks-carry-72-android-mobile-video-traffic/2010-08-17

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I have been pondering various enterprise mobility strategies this week. I asked myself the question, "Is it better to be an enterprise mobility generalist or a business process expert that mobilizes their solutions?" What do you think?

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/just-because-you-can-doesnt-mean-you.html

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The success of the iPhone and Google's Android platform spotlights the real "killer app" in the smartphone market: having apps. That's a reality likely to haunt Research In Motion as it tries to generate buyers and buzz for its new BlackBerry Torch, which hits stores next week. At Apple, there are about 250,000 apps for that. At BlackBerry's App World, there are just 8,000.

http://pyxismobile.com/News/NewsItem.aspx?id=298

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As Nokia seeks to turn around its smartphone lineup to try to compete with the BlackBerry and with Apple’s iPhone, the company is also trying to shore up its bulk cell phone business, which accounts for 84 percent of the 432 million devices Nokia sold last year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/technology/16iht-NOKIA16.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&src=busln&adxnnlx=1282172401-RkLT58YNWx3Aj4OmI/FB6Q

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Another analyst is reporting Android sales are on fire. Shipments of Android phones will grow by 561 percent in 2010 and take nearly 25 percent of the smartphone market. Additionally, Apple iPhone shipments will overtake RIM smartphones later this year, according to Digitimes Research.

http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-android-control-smartphone-market/55278

********

• Read the latest Mobile Expert Interviews at: http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/mobile-expert-interview-series.html


***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410 twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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

Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should in Enterprise Mobility

I have been pondering various enterprise mobility strategies this week.  I asked myself the question, "Is it better to be an enterprise mobility generalist or a business process expert that mobilizes their solutions?"  What do you think?

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. 

I believe that ultimately having deep vertical expertise makes your position more defensible.  If you have industry expertise, and it is reflected in your mobile solutions, you will provide greater value to your customer.

Let's use the example of SAP Workforce Scheduling and Optimization.  This is a specialized solution that addresses a specific category of problems.  SAP sought a partnership with industry expert Clicksoftware for this solution.  SAP sales teams now sell this solution globally and it is on the SAP pricelist as an SAP branded solution with the suffix "by Clicksoftware."  SAP sought industry expertise for this solution.  The mobile applications that are a part of it are valuable, but much of the value of this relationship is in the expertise built in the business applications themselves, not just the mobile client.  Without the industry expertise, it is highly unlikely that Clicksoftware would have been SAP's selection in this area.

 
Expertise matters.  With the advent of HTML5, mobile micro-apps and other lightweight mobile applications, the value of a particular mobile application is primarily in its ability to interact effectively with a specific "business application" that is somewhere else.  The mobile client has little or no value without the "business application."  As a result, the quality of the business application again becomes the focus.  This is how the mobility vendors within the SAP ecosystem will be weeded out.  Those without deep industry expertise will find it hard to compete with those that do.

I stood on my soapbox.  Now it is your turn.  Do you agree or disagree?  I look forward to your thoughts.

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
twitter @krbenedict

Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

http://www.clicksoftware.com/e86e075b-4fca-44c9-bfeb-4efcc978f416/knowledge-center-white-papers-delivery.htm

Kevin’s M2M News Weekly – August 18, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Weekly. This is an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices that I read each week. 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.

You can read archived editions of Kevin's M2M News Weekly at http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/m2m.html.

Also available are Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly and Kevin’s Enterprise Mobility Blog.

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Within the past 18 months Numerex has quietly positioned their business for strong growth in revenues and profits. Financially they are strong and getting stronger. Long term debt has been reduced to zero, cash is growing and stands at $7.5 million or about 50 cents per share, and non-GAAP net income (before legal expenses) was $1.8 million or about 12 cents per share.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/219979-numerex-s-ideal-business-model

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IMS Research has shared some findings indicating that the number of Internet connected devices is expected to pass the 5 billion milestone this month. Furthermore, the organization forecasts 22 billion connected devices by 2020.

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/08/16/market-research-firm-says-internet-connected-devices-will-surpass-5-billion-this-

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Some figures are already projecting that the market for M2M technology could boost U.S. wireless penetration from the current 90 percent to a staggering 500 percent over the next few years, with M2M connections far outpacing handset buyers in a huge growth spurt for the telecom industry.

http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20100812/INFRASTRUCTURE/100819978/m2m-to-stimulate-stagnating-cellular-penetration-potential

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The M2M sector in Spain went up by 20.9 percent over the same period last year, to over 1.94 million lines. The growth of the M2M sector brings the total number of mobile lines to over 54.77 million.

http://4g-wirelessevolution.tmcnet.com/news/2010/08/12/4953024.htm

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The emerging cellular M2M market has developed some sophisticated models on how to bill for mobile network use. As the consumer wireless industry looks beyond hard caps and unlimited data plans, can it emulate the business models of its M2M counterpart?

http://connectedplanetonline.com/4gparadox/feature/4g-paradox-does-m2m-hold-pricing-lessons-0816/index1.html

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Safefreight Technology, the official mobile security supplier for the IZOD IndyCar Series is partnering with KORE Telematic, to monitor the location and security status of each Indy car transport trailer and logistics support vehicle. Detailed information such as multi-zone temperature monitoring, door openings and aggressive driver acceleration, braking or turning can be transmitted by Smartfleet through the KORE network.

http://m2m.tmcnet.com/topics/m2mevolution/articles/95264-smartfleet-safefreights-easy-to-use-gps-fleet-tracking.htm

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Laird Technologies, Inc., a global leader in the design and supply of customized performance critical components and systems for advanced electronics and wireless products, today announced that they have entered into an agreement with Sprint to extend an M2M product line to a variety of businesses.

http://www.ttkn.com/technology/laird-technologies-partners-with-sprint-to-extend-m2m-product-line-to-a-variety-of-businesses-3405.html


***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410 twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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

Extending Mobile Business Processes in Boise

A friend of mine here in Boise, Jon Young developed a very interesting mobile application on Android.  The application is a great example of the concept of extending business processes.

The application works much like the popular RedLaser iPhone application in that it can scan an ISBN barcode on a book cover and then automatically look it up.  The special part of the application is that it looks up the book in the local library system.  It will show the book's status and allow you to reserve the book if available.  You can read more about it on Jon's blog.

Think about this - you see a book that looks really interesting in a bookstore.  You can use Redlaser to look up the price at other locations or use Jon's mobile application to look it up in the Boise Library System, check the status, and reserve it. 

The Boise Library System also delivers the book free to the local library location of your choice and emails you when the book arrives.  This entire process can be completed on your mobile device.

This is a simple example of a very useful business process that was extended to mobile devices.  On Thursday, August 19, SAP and Sybase will hold a press conference to discuss their mobile enterprise strategies.  I will be listening in particular to how they will be extending ERP business processes out to mobile devices.

The SAP Workforce Scheduling and Optimization application by Clicksoftware is a great example of extending business processes out to the mobile workforce.  Here is how SAP describes it - it  helps your service organization run at optimal efficiency: from demand forecasting and workforce shift planning to real-time optimized scheduling, mobile workforce management, and business analytics. The solution helps ensure that your service organization meets objectives and commitments smoothly and efficiently.


***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
twitter @krbenedict

Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

How Do You Advise an Enterprise on Mobility?

I was asked the other day to put together a list of questions to send to a management team in advance of my visit.  They had asked me to help them develop an enterprise mobility strategy. 

This was an interesting task.  I had little knowledge of the scope of their ambitions, so I approached this challenge by creating a list of open ended questions that were designed to uncover their interests and their range of possible needs.  How would you prepare to discuss an infinite number of different mobility scenarios, business processes, IT infrastructures, ERPs and a plethora of mobile devices?   Were they going to describe a simple iPhone application or a solution as powerful as the SAP Workforce Scheduling And Optimization by Clicksoftware solution?

I think this is one of those tasks that benefits from trial and error.  Here is the list of 14 questions I prepared in advance.  What questions would you add to this list, or ask differently?

1. What business processes are you considering mobilizing?
2. What business units or departments are involved?  Is this a corporate project or departmental?
3. What are your priorities for mobilizing business processes?  Which ones first, second, third?
4. How many people will be using these mobile applications?
5. What are the roles and responsibilities of the mobile users?
6. What are the expected ROIs?
7. What is the desired timeline?
8. Do you have business process diagrams developed for these solutions?  If so, can we review prior to our meeting?
9. What is your one to three year roadmap for enterprise mobility?
10. What backend applications or ERPs are involved?
11. What are your preferred integration strategies?
12. Do you have existing mobile enterprise solutions?  If so, please describe.
13. What are your mobile device or smartphone preferences?
14. Do you want to buy an off the shelf mobile solution, develop one in-house, or contract for a custom mobile solution?

I look forward to your thoughts on how to improve this list.

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
twitter @krbenedict

Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly – August 12, 2010

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter that is 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 numbers and trends.

You can read archived versions of the newsletter here - http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/kevins-mobility-news-weekly.html.

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T-Mobile USA announced another quarter of customer defections, saying its total customers served declined by 93,000 in the second quarter compared with 77,000 net customer losses in the first quarter of this year. Its positive spin is that customers using 3G-capable smartphones continued to increase significantly in the second quarter, driving data ARPU (average revenue per user) to account for 25 percent of the company's total ARPU.

http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/t-mobile-loses-more-subscribers-2q-data-revenues-bright-spot/2010-08-05?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

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As of July 2010 the App Store offers over 225,000 applications optimized for Apple's iOS platform, including 11,000 expressly optimized for the computing giant's iPad tablet. App Store downloads now top 5 billion--free applications represent 81 percent of iOS downloads according to data released in late June by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who adds iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users presently download over 16.6 million apps each day.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/app-store-adds-try-you-buy-section/2010-08-06?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
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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 - http://www.clicksoftware.com/.

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The US is projected to add more mobile subscriptions (about 80 million) than any other developed nation with mobile revenue surpassing all fixed line services by end of 2015, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

http://telecoms.cbronline.com/news/us-mobile-revenue-to-exceed-all-fixed-line-services-by-2015-pyramid_040810
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SAP AG has announced the completion of its acquisition of Sybase, a partner and a market leader in managing, analyzing, and mobilizing business information. Through this transaction, SAP intends to accelerate the reach of SAP solutions across mobile platforms and drive forward the realization of SAP's in-memory computing vision.

http://www.sys-con.com/node/1489651

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A new Nielsen survey shows that only 42 percent of BlackBerry owners want their next phone to be a BlackBerry, while 89 percent of iPhone owners and 71 percent of Android owners plan to stick with those platforms.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704017904575409331541948418.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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I have been invited to join popular mobility blogger Gil Bouhnick, the Director of Mobile Solutions at ClickSoftware, to speak at an upcoming webinar entitled, 10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid when Selecting and Implementing a Mobility Solution. I don't know where that title came from, as I have made at least a hundred costly mistakes all by myself.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-happens-when-you-schedule-2.html

********

Android devices accounted for 27 percent of U.S. smartphone sales during the first half of 2010 according to data issued this week by The Nielsen Company, four percentage points higher than the iPhone--Android now makes up 13 percent of the U.S. smartphone market as a whole, trailing Research In Motion's BlackBerry (35 percent), iPhone (28 percent) and Microsoft's Windows Mobile (15 percent, down from 27 percent only a year ago).

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/android-wins-battle-iphone-still-winning-war/2010-08-05

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Vendors of smartphones shipped a total of 63 million units in the second quarter of 2010, compared to 41.9 million units in the same period a year ago. For H1, vendors shipped a total of 118.3 million units, up 54 percent from the 76.8 million units shipped during the first half of 2009.

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=750019

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AT&T Inc. said Friday it doesn't expect to suffer a "material negative impact" from the end of its exclusive arrangements to carry handsets, including its lucrative deal for Apple’s iPhone.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703309704575413672727878934.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews

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Evidence continues to mount to support expectations that Apple's iPhone 4 will finally launch on Verizon this coming January.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/08/09/iphone.verizon.wired/index.html?hpt=T2

********

Revenues from mobile data in the United States jumped six percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter and climbed 22 percent from the year ago period, according to fresh data from Chetan Sharma Consulting. In the second quarter alone, revenues for mobile data eclipsed $13.2 billion.

http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20100810/CONTENT_MOBILE_MARKETING/100819994/us-consumers-double-their-mobile-data-traffic-consumption-in-six

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I have found that in some industries and markets, mobile applications for smartphones or rugged handheld computers just won't cut it, at least on their own. In heavy construction, utilities, environmental services, disaster relief, inspection and assessment and on blueprint and map intensive jobs, handheld mobile devices simply have screens that are too small to be effective.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/mobile-companion-applications.html

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Research in Motion has agreed to install a server in Saudi Arabia that will allow that country’s authorities to monitor data on BlackBerry devices.

http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/rim-reaches-saudi-deal-over-blackberry-ban-8882

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Sybase, Inc., an SAP company and industry leader in enterprise and mobile software, today announced that partners around the world are successfully launching innovative mobile applications on the Sybase Unwired Platform, the industry’s leading mobile enterprise application platform.

http://www.sunherald.com/2010/08/09/2391759_sybase-and-sap-partners-launch.html

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Samsung Electronics’ share of the global smartphone market is small but growing, says a report from a U.S. based research firm.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2924392

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Nokia maintained its lead in the smartphone market, shipping 24 million units in the second quarter. Despite its failure to launch a successful smartphone in recent years, Nokia controlled 38.1 percent of the smartphone market, IDC said.

http://iblogauto.com/2010/08/10/nokia-rim-control-smartphone-market-despite-dip-idc/

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Global market for enterprise mobility is projected to exceed US $168.8 billion by the year 2015. Growing acceptance from large as well as small and medium businesses, and introduction of sophisticated mobile devices and novel mobility solutions are likely to fuel market growth in the next few years.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/enterprise/mobility/prweb4370204.htm

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• Read the latest Mobile Expert Interviews at: http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/mobile-expert-interview-series.html

• Watch the latest Video Comments from Kevin Benedict on enterprise mobility and M2M subjects at: http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/kevins-video-comments.html

• Watch the latest Mobile Expert Videos at: http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/mobile-expert-video-series.html

• I would invite those interested in enterprise mobility to join the SAP Enterprise Mobility group at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
twitter @krbenedict
Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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

http://www.clicksoftware.com/e86e075b-4fca-44c9-bfeb-4efcc978f416/knowledge-center-white-papers-delivery.htm

Mobile Companion Applications

I have found that in some industries and markets, mobile applications for smartphones or rugged handheld computers just won't cut it, at least on their own.  In heavy construction, utilities, environmental services, disaster relief, inspection and assessment and on blueprint and map intensive jobs, handheld mobile devices simply have screens that are too small to be effective.  In these work environments Panasonic Toughbooks and other ruggedized laptops and Tablet PCs seem to be the better fit due to their bigger displays.  However, there are also cases where companies want both mobile applications for handheld devices and laptop applications that work together.  This category of applications is called "mobile companion" applications.

Mobile companion apps are smaller versions of the laptop or Tablet PC application that are specifically designed for use on a handheld mobile device.  In many cases an engineer has a mounted Toughbook in the cab of the truck, but when he/she leaves the truck they want the ability to interact with the data, collect data, receive alerts, query a database, and fill out forms all on the smartphone using a version of the application designed for smaller screens.

When the engineer returns to the truck, any edits or additions to the data captured on the mobile handheld device is already updated on the laptop.  The bigger displays on the laptops and Tablet PCs can show maps, blueprints, CAD drawings, etc., and the integrated data from the "companion" application.

SAP's co-Innovation Partner, Syclo has coined the phrase "mobile companion" application to describe the coupling of laptops and handheld devices that work together, but have different screen sizes and application designs.

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

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

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Kevin’s M2M News Weekly – August 11, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's M2M News Weekly. This is an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices that I read each week. 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.

You can read archived editions of Kevin's M2M News Weekly at http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/m2m.html.

Also available are Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly and Kevin’s Enterprise Mobility Blog.

********

Berg Insight says worldwide installed base of smart electricity meters will reach 302.5 million units in 2015.

http://www.fieldtechnologiesonline.com/article.mvc/Berg-Insight-Says-Worldwide-Installed-Base-Of-0001?atc~c=771+s=773+r=001+l=a&goback=%2Egde_2114322_news_165748098

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AT&T recognizes the value of the M2M market. During the past three quarters, the company said it has added almost 3.4 million connected and M2M devices bringing its total to almost 6.7 million.

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/weinschenk/despite-lukewarm-reports-m2m-still-overflows-with-promise/?cs=42605

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It is predicted that more than 400 million embedded devices and M2M connections will emerge by 2014 due to the world’s mobile data traffic being transferred onto embedded computing systems at an increasing rate.

http://m2m.tmcnet.com/topics/m2mevolution/articles/94486-wherever-there-embedded-devices-embed-management-capabilities.htm

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In the past 18 months, the Cellular M2M communication market has registered a decrease in both shipment volumes and revenue. However, unit shipment volume started growing along with the growing importance of 3G, which is estimated to result in market worth of $3.8 billion in 2015, market researcher ABI Research said.

http://telecoms.cbronline.com/news/worldwide-m2m-module-market-to-reach-38bn-in-2015-abi-research_090810

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A participant in a Linkedin group I was reading today listed his requirements for an M2M solution. He was asking the group for recommendations as to how to select and implement an M2M solution. Other participants in the group added their advice and comments until there was a long list of recommending vendors, solutions, strategies, etc. I was impressed.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/mobility-m2m-and-linkedin.html

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The bulk of new additions to the mobile services of both AT&T and Verizon Wireless represent "connected devices," which includes non-phone consumer products such as tablets, e-readers and netbooks, as well as M2M units such as meter readers.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/203007/atandt_verizon_cashing_in_outside_of_phones.html

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Wireless Logic, an M2M connectivity provider, is releasing its latest vertical sector share analysis showing that, despite the economic downturn, vehicle tracking M2M deployments have recovered to pre-recession figures, remaining the biggest M2M sector with 60 percent of the market.

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/44715.php

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Through the use of M2M technology homeowners can monitor their homes remotely via the Web or even using a smartphone.

http://www.connectedworldmag.com/latestNews.aspx?id=NEWS100808203152303

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Silicon Valley Power, the municipal utility that provides electricity to 51,000 customers in the city of Santa Clara, recently announced that it has chosen Elster Solutions of Raleigh, North Carolina to provide its smartmeters. Once the smartmeters are fully installed by the end of 2012, residents will also have access to free Wi-Fi across the city through Tropos, a technology vendor based in Sunnyvale.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15607927?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com&nclick_check=1

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New research from the analyst firm Berg Insight says that the worldwide installed base of smart electricity meters will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 31.1 percent between 2009 and 2015 to reach 302.5 million at the end of the period.

http://www.berginsight.com/News.aspx?m_m=6&s_m=1

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M2M gadgets include wireless dog collars, a pill box that uses a wireless connection to remind people to take their medicine, e-readers, a device that tracks product pallets for shipping companies and entertainment systems for people riding in cars. When all these are connected to other devices or the Internet, they will connect using AT&T's network -- meaning more revenue for the company. AT&T expects about $1 billion in annual services revenue in about five years.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62N6ST20100325

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With the Enfora Services Gateway Platform, IBM Maximo users can now define the business rules and logic for how and when an asset should report via M2M, as well as logically associate rotating wireless devices. Additionally, IBM Maximo users are able to track mobile assets with easy access to location information, status and monitoring alerts for movement, Geofencing, reporting and battery levels.

http://www.enfora.com/index.cgi?CONTENT_ID=2971&User:LANGUAGE=en


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

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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Mobility, M2M and LinkedIn

A participant in a LinkedIin group I was reading today listed his requirements for an M2M (machine-to-machine) solution.  He was asking the group for recommendations as to how to select and implement an M2M solution (for more information on M2M read M2M News Weekly).  Other participants in the group added their advice and comments until there was a long list of recommending vendors, solutions, strategies, etc.  I was impressed.

Social networking and social media tools can be used very effectively today if you know how to use them.  I thought back a few years to how questions like this would be posted in the past.  Often you would spend weeks creating an RFI that you would send out to a long list of vendors that you found in the back of an industry trade magazine.  The responses were then reviewed and RFPs were sent to a subset of the respondents.  You would receive responses in the mail over the next few weeks.  The entire process could take months.

Today, you can post 12 questions to a special interest group on LinkedIn, SAP Community Network or other online discussion groups and the ideas, recommendations and links to other resource sites come pouring in within minutes. 

The person that posted the questions about M2M had additional advantages.  He could see the profile of each person responding.  He could see where they worked and review their background.  He could ask additional questions and could ask for clarification.  All of the answers were public, so other peers could also review and debate the merits of various answers.  These public responses have a way of encouraging honest and thoughtful answers.  The whole world can read and critique them.

Public discussions on subjects like M2M also educate the industry.  Everyone benefits from reading the questions and answers that are posted.  It is group think.  It is group education.  It is group advancement.

Group discussions on subjects like M2M also have a way of sorting out vendors.  It is a fact that an M2M vendor could be very competent, but if they don't participate in public forums, they lose their industry standing and thought leadership roles simply because they aren't present and participating.

Companies like Clicksoftware in the enterprise mobility space, however, are active conversationalists in discussion groups like SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin, general enterprise mobility groups, SAP user groups and through sharing their knowledge through blogging.

Today it is not enough to have good R & D, technology, funding, partnerships, marketing and sales channels.  Companies must share their knowledge and participate in the industry's education and conversation.  Some companies have learned this lesson and are active contributors, while others today are fading from view, not because their products are not good, but because they are not participating in the industry's conversations.

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

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.