Mobile Expert Interview Series: Smartsoft Mobile Solutions' CEO Dan Homrich, Part 1

I was lucky enough to catch up with Dan Homrich, CEO of Smartsoft Mobile Solutions (SMS) recently for an interview.  I am particularly impressed with one data point about Smartsoft Mobile Solutions - they have over 400,000 mobile clients in the field.  That means something they are doing is being done very right!

Kevin:  Dan, how long have you been involved in the mobility industry?

Dan:  I have been using mobile devices since the 1980s.  I have a story about using a 300 baud audio coupler on a pay phone to submit orders, but I have been in the industry for over 15 years.  Fifteen years ago I was involved in implementing industrial grade handheld computers for use in warehouse management.

Kevin:  What was your first PDA, and what mobile device do you carry today?

Dan:  My first PDA was an iPaq using Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system.  I now carry an Apple iPhone 4 and love it!  The multi-tasking is a big improvement.

Kevin:  What is your favorite iPhone application?

Dan:  The Home Depot iPhone application.  It helps you find products, see the products, see the prices, locate the products, etc.

Kevin:  What is your role today and what does that role involve?

Dan:  I am the Chief Executive Officer, and my responsibility is strategic direction and customer satisfaction.

Kevin:  What industries do you see adopting mobility today?

Dan:  We see a big interest in mobile applications from retail companies.  We call this market the B2E (business to everyone) or B2C (business to consumer) market, retailers wanting mobile customer focused applications.  We also see a big interest for any kind of mobile application that can help companies sell more products.

Kevin:  What mobility trends do you see for the rest of 2010 and 2011?

Dan:  There are going to be an increasing number of mobile devices and mobile operating systems.  We do not see a market consolidation yet.  The market continues to grow and diversify.  That means enterprises are going to need a plan to support an increasing number of devices and mobile OSs.  I also believe that if Verizon sells the iPhone, there will be another huge explosion (increase) in interest around the iPhone.

Kevin:  What are you hearing in the market about mobile device management?  Is there an increasing need given your prediction of diversity in mobile devices and mobile operating systems?

Dan:  In the past I have worked on projects where we deployed 5,000 rugged and industrial grade mobile handheld computers.  At that time mobile device management seemed critical.  Today, I hear less interest in mobile device management.  It is a company culture thing.  When devices were specialized for niche markets and specific to a task, companies were concerned about keeping them up and functioning.  With today's smartphones, you can replace the device and be up and running in a few minutes.

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This is part 1 of the interview with Smartsoft Mobile Solutions CEO Dan Homrich.  Read part 2 here.

For more Mobile Expert Interviews read here.

For more Mobile Expert Videos watch here.

***************************************************
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 Mobile Retailing News Weekly – September 10, 2010

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 retail applications, mobile payments and mobile marketing applications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

Additional weekly newsletters on the subjects of enterprise mobility and M2M from Kevin Benedict can be found here http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/.

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This week credit card giant MasterCard launched a version of its MoneySend mobile app for BlackBerry. Similar to the iPhone version, MasterCard MoneySend for Blackberry can settle peer to peer balances by sending money to friends and family and purchasing goods from an informal vendor.

http://mobile.cnet.com/site?t=OFwKYRJPIl1Vm2aMwLYjDw&sid=cnet

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Starwood Hotels & Resorts is letting guests book their travels and make reservations across 1,000 of its properties via a BlackBerry application. Consumers can access their accounts, check reservations and get directions. The application is available in BlackBerry App World.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/starwood-hotels-resorts-accommodates-guest-via-mobile-booking-app/

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Smartsoft Mobile empowers some of the world’s largest multi-national organizations to extend and improve business processes by providing mobile solutions to their employees and customers. Smartsoft has more than 700 experienced ERP/mobile consultants with over 5,000 man years of experience helping 400,000 plus mobile users achieve their business goals with powerful mobile B2B and B2C applications, designed and developed specifically for today’s popular consumer and industrial grade mobile devices. For more information please visit, http://www.smartsoftmobile.com/.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Smartsoft Mobile Solutions.

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Toys “R” Us has announced a new iPhone application that integrates QR codes and content such as videos and rewards into a daily retail shopping experience to enhance its marketing and loyalty initiatives. The application is a consumer engagement tool that blends audio, visuals and rewards with traditional media platforms via mobile bar codes.

See more in this YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTu57Sx5VnI&feature=player_embedded#at=13

Read more - http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/toys-r-us-unveils-multichannel-mobile-crm-tactics/

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AAA has announced an Android counterpart to its popular iPhone app, which displays businesses which feature discounts for AAA members based on location. There are more than 110,000 such locations in the US, and the application, along with your phone’s GPS, will let you know which ones are directly in your area.

http://www.talkandroid.com/13836-aaa-app-now-available-for-android/

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Consumer appetite and enterprise adoption is fuelling the growth in volume, availability and sophistication of mobile services. According to the Sybase 365 Global Consumer Acceptance and Usage Report 2010, 70 percent of consumers were interested in additional mobile services. Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, is now processing more than 1.5 billion messages per day.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sybase-365-achieves-new-milestone-delivering-one-trillion-mobile-messages-2010-09-08?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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eBay has invested over $600 million into mobile apps over the past two years, and users have gained expanded mobility functionality as a result, most notably the ability to process payments for auctions using mobile apps.

http://www.benzinga.com/news/10/09/463375/ebay-mobile-division-planning-major-overhaul-ebay

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According to the Adobe Scene7 Mobile Commerce Survey, 55 percent of respondents cited full screen image zoom and videos as indispensable mobile viewing features for driving conversion, and 96 percent of respondents asserted the most effective visual merchandising features were catalogs and brochures, alternative images, and zoom and pan. Only 18 percent of respondents said they use rich visual merchandising features for mobile commerce today. However, 81 percent cited plans to deploy these features, thus implying richer mobile experiences will be created and offered during the next 12 months.

http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/09/08/rich-media-way-mobile-commerce-survey-says

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According to Forrester, 47 percent of consumers expect to wait no more than two seconds for a Web page to load; 58 percent of mobile phone users expect websites to load as quickly on their mobile phone as on their PC according to Gomez research.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/compuware-gomez-presents-webinar-on-the-top-e-commerce-strategies-for-turning-web-traffic-into-sales-2010-09-08?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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eBay will launch a "motors app" later this year that will let people use a built-in barcode reader feature to scan the Vehicle Identification Number of a car and do a Carfax lookup. The app will also let users enter the make and model of their own car and then filter searches for compatible parts and accessories. eBay also wants to build more "augmented reality" features into eBay's mobile applications. One example could be where a seller could take a video of an antique chair. An eBay application would turn that video into a 3D image that a potential buyer could overlay on a photograph of their room, letting them see how it would look.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/204970/ebay_bringing_mobile_apps_into_the_future.html

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The mobile web (web 3.0) is projected to grow at an annualized 500 percent over the next three years. How can your business benefit from this spectacular growth?

http://smartsoftmobile.com/wordpress/2010/09/02/why-is-it-valuable-to-have-a-mobile-enterprise-strategy/

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In a development with importance to e-commerce merchants and other marketers moving to mobile commerce, phones using Android accounted for one quarter of all North American mobile page views in August, up from 6.4 percent in August 2009, according to the latest numbers from Quantcast Corp. Google’s gain came mostly at the expense of iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone. That system lost 11.4 points of mobile Web share, to finish at 56 percent in August.

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/newsstory.cfm?newsid=2631

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AT&T appears to be in a position to offer the largest selection of Windows Phone 7 devices. We’ve heard rumors of HTC (T8788 or HD7?), Samsung (Cetus), and LG (C900 and GW910) devices headed to AT&T. Our count shows as many as four Windows Phone 7 devices hitting AT&T’s shelves this Fall. Unless something changes over the next two months, AT&T will be at the forefront of Windows Phone 7.

http://smartsoftmobile.com/wordpress/2010/09/07/windows-phone-7-what-are-the-carriers-going-to-do/

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You can read more about enterprise mobility at the blog site, http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/.

Mobile Expert Video Interview – Ed Krufka, http://www.youtube.com/sapmentors#p/u/10/NrF7LvLLlNE


***************************************************
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 - September 9, 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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India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications — not just BlackBerry maker Research In Motion — to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That would likely affect digital giants like Google and Skype.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5it_73CxzMozqkSOODLh2r7aCIlLwD9HVV8CO1

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LG Electronics announced yesterday its intent to launch a new line of dual-core smartphones, dubbed "Optimus," by year's end. The Tegra 2 incorporates two 1 GHz chips, which, according to LG, will mean "up to 2x faster web browsing and up to 5x faster gaming performance over single core processors running at 1 GHz."

http://www.dailytech.com/LG+Well+Have+DualCore+Smartphones+By+Years+End/article19568.htm

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Syclo announced today that it's rolling out major enhancements to its Agentry mobile enterprise application platform. Agentry is the backbone of Syclo's mobile solution framework as it provides both the tooling and infrastructure that enterprises need to develop, test, deploy and manage high availability mobile applications.

http://www.fieldtechnologiesonline.com/article.mvc/Syclo-Announces-New-Version-Of-Its-Agentry-0001

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Apple confirmed the launch of its new Apple TV device for later this month. The media player with HDMI and Wi-Fi will allow users to stream online movies and TV series as well as content from their PCs to an HD TV.

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=754422

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Leapfactor, an SAP partner and start up, today announced a cloud-based system to support mobile applications, including back office custom applications for accounting and customer support.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9183898/SAP_partner_launches_cloud_based_mobile_app_service

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Google's Android Market has the largest share of free applications. App store analytics firm Distimo reports that 60 percent of Android apps are free, an increase of three percent from May. Windows Marketplace for Mobile has the lowest percentage of free apps with just 22 percent, while 26 percent of apps in both Apple's App Store for the iPad and BlackBerry App World are free.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/distimo-60-android-apps-are-free/2010-09-01?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

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You are tasked with managing a team you cannot see. You are accountable for the safety of your employees in locations you have never been. Your success is based upon your team’s ability to overcome all kinds of technical challenges in remote and distant jobsites. You are responsible for your team following company standards, processes and industry best practices without any supervision. You must expertly balance their schedules, qualifications and workloads to maximize customer satisfaction and profitability from a distance.

http://theemf.org/2010/09/01/managing-the-mobile-workforce/

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Consumers buying items via iPads spend an average of up to 20 percent more per purchase than other mobile shoppers.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/peter-session-1-2/

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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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Google is hoping to debut an Internet based digital music service that would launch later this year in conjunction with version 3 of its popular Android operating system for smartphones, according to various media reports.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/google-negotiating-android-music-service/2010-09-03?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

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Total Twitter mobile users has jumped 62 percent since mid April, and, remarkably, 16 percent of all new users to Twitter start on mobile now.

http://blog.twitter.com/2010/09/evolving-ecosystem.html

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Sony Ericsson estimates that China will be its largest handset market in the next three to four years as it looks to increase its share of the country. The Japanese-Swedish joint venture said that smartphone use in China would reach 50 percent of all mobile phone users in the country by 2015.

http://www.mobiledia.com/news/73510.html

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The mobile applications market is estimated to be worth around $25 billion by 2015. However, the economic meltdown has caused some big names within the applications and telecoms industry to shutdown recently and the fears of the aftermath of a recession are still on the clouds.

http://bharatbookseo.blogsome.com/2010/09/03/the-mobile-applications-market/

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SAP AG aims to make China “a second home” as local companies seeking management tools and real time business intelligence will provide “limitless growth” for the software maker, co-Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-03/sap-sees-limitless-potential-in-chinese-market-co-ceo-mcdermott-says.html

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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!

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/kevin-benedict-on-teched-2010-in-las.html

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Samsung, the world’s second largest cell phone maker, has decided to use Google’s Android as a key software platform for its smartphones alongside its own new bada software.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6811FI20100902

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According to IDC's worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker, handset vendors shipped a total of 317.5 million units worldwide in the quarter, up 15 percent year-over-year and eight percent sequentially, driven by seasonal strength.

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052970204812504575469674114253814.html?mod=googlenews_barrons

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Over the past year Apple has lost ground to Google, losing 11 percent of the mobile web consumption market, while Google picked up 17 percent more market share. iOS still maintains a significant lead with 56 percent of the market, more than twice that of Android, but current growth trends could cause problems for Apple in the near future.

http://www.worldtech24.com/phones/android-gaining-apple-ios-mobile-web-market-share

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Google Android and Windows Mobile will see their smartphone market share increase by 2014, while BlackBerry and Apple will experience declines, according to a new research note from IDC.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Android-Windows-Phone-Will-Lead-Smartphone-Market-Surge-IDC-197754/

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Toshiba Electronics Europe has expanded its family of mobile peripheral device ICs with the TC358751XBG, which provides the interface between a mobile device's host processor and embedded displays as well as external equipment, such as a TV set or projector. The buffer content can be rendered simultaneously on two displays (typically with different content) and external equipment.

http://www.eetimes.de/en/new-mobile-dual-screen-display-ic-offers-1080p.html?cmp_id=7&news_id=222903617&vID=8

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Automotive service organization AAA is driving foot traffic to the locations of its retail partners via a loyalty focused Android application. The AAA Discounts application lets consumers know about nearby discounts available to members of its Show Your Card & Save loyalty program.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/aaa-targets-android-users-via-loyalty-program-app/

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Amazon Kindle get’s new firmware and shows up on BestBuy.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Amazon-Kindle-Gets-New-Firmware-Shows-up-on-BestBuy-155779.shtml

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A new survey has revealed that 65 percent of adults sleep with their cell phones on or next to their beds. This latest sampling from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows how cell phones continue to grow ever more vital in our livelihoods.

http://www.technewsdaily.com/two-thirds-of-adults-sleep-with-their-cell-phones-1189/

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Salesforce.com, a provider of software as a service to companies over the web, has introduced mobile application Chatter for social networking inside companies.

http://telecomyatra.afaqs.com/news/index.html?sid=1835_Salesforce.com+introduces+Chatter+networking+solution

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Recent articles from Kevin Benedict’s blog Enterprise Mobility Strategies for SAP and Others

Compliance Functions for Mobile Applications
What Percent of the U.S. Workforce is Mobile?

NEW Recommended newsletter – Kevin’s Mobile Retail News Weekly

Recommended Webinar

I participated in the webinar, 10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Selecting and Implementing a Mobility Solution this week. It can be viewed here, http://www.clicksoftware.com/96ec7ed7-023c-4260-a063-a7d5c320dd23/knowledge-center-on-demand-webinars-registration.htm?mgs1=06a52axCfU.

Recommended Whitepaper

Networked Field Services - http://www.clicksoftware.com/1c7060c0-1296-4c54-90d6-8f83c5c5ecf0/knowledge-center-white-papers-registration.htm

***************************************************
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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What Percent of the U.S. Workforce is Mobile?

"The United States has the highest percentage of mobile workers in its workforce," says the IDC 2009-2013 forecast.  "With 72.2 percent of the workforce mobile in 2008.  The U.S. will remain the most highly concentrated market for mobile workers with 75.5 percent of the workforce, or 119.7 million workers, being mobile in 2013."

Those numbers represent enormous opportunities for enterprise mobility vendors.  The first question that came to my mind when I read that quote was, "What kind of mobile applications are they going to need?"  I think the answer is thousands of different kinds. 

I assume that others including SAP's co-Innovation partner Syclo also believe that.  Sylco has spent the last ten years investing in their Agentry Mobile Platform and Smart Mobile Suite to make them flexible enough to serve a broad market.  Here is how they describe themselves, "We offer fully configurable, rapidly deployed mobile applications that run on a variety of devices and support real time wireless and offline computing."  They don't know what mobile applications all of their customers will want, so they have invested years worth of effort developing capabilities that will enable it to be useful for a broad audience.  That is something I learned as CEO of a mobile application company.  The more flexible the platform, the more investment in time and money it took to develop.  Simple mobile micro-apps can be developed quickly that just connect point A to point B.  However, it you want point A to connect to point C, D, E and X then you have an expoentially larger task.

The point is that MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms) that are flexible enough to handle a broad range of mobile applications are extremely challenging to develop.  However, they offer enormous value, and the price is likely going to reflect the investment.

***************************************************
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 – September 8, 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.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @krbenedict.

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

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There's no question that many wireless operators consider the next growth opportunity to rest with embedded wireless devices. Some operators estimate that by embedding wireless connectivity into all types of devices -- from netbooks to e-readers to GPS devices -- the wireless industry could reach a penetration rate in the range of 300 to 500 percent. Indeed, in a recent ABI Research study, the firm predicts manufacturers will ship 54 million mobile broadband enabled consumer electronics devices by 2014.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/slideshow/what-devices-are-early-winners-embedded-and-m2m?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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A team of investigators in Spain is currently developing remote sensing technology that could keep a virtual eye on pollution levels being generated by traffic jams.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Remote-Sensing-Technology-Analyzes-Pollution-155428.shtml

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OEM and aftermarket consumer telematics systems continue to gain momentum in both developed and developing regions due to growing popular awareness of their many benefits related to safety, security, maintenance, convenience, infotainment, and cost savings. These benefits will drive growth from 37 million telematics users in 2010 to more than 211 million in 2015, well over a five fold increase.

http://www.eetimes.de/en/consumer-telematics-users-to-reach-211-million-by-2015-says-abi-research.html?cmp_id=7&news_id=222903452&vID=391

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Christiana Care launched its tele-ICU program five years ago to better monitor patients at Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital, but for the past 17 months it also has been working with rural and small hospitals in Maryland. Because the technology feeds real time patient data and live video from afar, the services of local intensivists can be used to monitor patients hundreds of miles away.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100905/HEALTH/9050373/Giving-patients-hands-on-care-from-afar

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St. Jude Medical has paid $60 million to acquire a 19 percent stake in CardioMEMS, a firm that's developed a wireless patient monitoring technology.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2010/09/06/daily1.html

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While media coverage is certainly not a new concept at the race, at the 2010 Tour de France, fans had access to more information about their favorite riders than they had in previous years thanks to M2M technology. Fans were able to get real time statistics on cyclists such as their location, distance traveled, even heart rate, via the Web.

http://connectedworldmag.com/latestNews.aspx?id=NEWS100901093605933

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Location based Web services like FourSquare, Gowalla or Facebook’s Places feature may be all the rage in the tech news, but by and large, Americans aren’t buying into it, according to a recent article in the New York Times. Location based Web services generally allow people to “check in” via their Mobile devices -- actually registering their physical location with the Web site -- with the goal of playing a game, receiving a coupon or discount, or connecting with friends who may be nearby.

http://m2m.tmcnet.com/topics/m2mevolution/articles/98453-location-based-mobile-services-more-hype-than-hot.htm

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Recently, Peter Hartwell an engineer from computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. told the audience at the firm's Executive Energy Conference in Dubai he believed intelligent sensor technology deployed on oil rigs and other drilling equipment could have prevented the disaster had they been installed, and that certainly in the future, such measures should be taken to avoid a repeat of the disaster.

http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20100901/DEVICES/100909996/mobile-technology-seen-as-critical-in-disasters

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An ABI report indicates that renewed interest from mobile operators in the M2M space, coupled with the widespread deployment of 3G, has led it to predict the M2M market will be worth $3.8 billion by 2015.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/slideshow/what-devices-are-early-winners-embedded-and-m2m

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Juniper predicts that the number of mobile connected M2M and embedded devices will reach almost 412 million globally by 2014. The growth of these embedded devices will mainly come from an ever increasing number of utility meters, mobile connected buildings, consumer and commercial telematics and retail and banking connections.

http://telecomyatra.afaqs.com/news/?sid=1795_M2M:+The+future+of+technology

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As part of its ongoing commitment to improve driver safety for its commercial auto customers, Travelers today announced a potential discount of up to 15 percent on certain auto liability insurance premiums for qualifying businesses that effectively use telematics technology to monitor their commercial fleets and driver behavior. Similar to GPS, vehicle telematics go beyond navigation and positioning by storing and sending data on how a vehicle is operated.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/53997120/Travelers-Embraces-Fleet-Vehicle-Telematics-to-Improve-Roadway-Safety

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Technologies such as wireless sensor networks, real time distributed sensor networks, and FPGA-based reconfigurable I/O hardware are relatively new to the wind industry. But the reconfigurable hardware is central to many network applications.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/a-nervous-system-for-renewable-energy-projects/

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In the years ahead, the National Football League looks set to dial up some new tech blitzes that will make the game fairer and safer. Among the technologies most likely to make it onto the field soon are wireless sensors in the ball and in players' gear.

http://www.technewsdaily.com/going-deep-the-future-of-technology-in-the-national-football-league-1171/

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Putting chips into devices other than computers and mobile phones - a market known as embedded processors - represents a $10 billion opportunity, according to Intel's Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini. The market for PC processors is $34.5 billion.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/06/BUHI1F8BJF.DTL

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3M has agreed to acquire Tel Aviv based Attenti, a remote people-tracking technology provider for $230 million.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/48119/20100901/3m-attenti-cogent-google-facebook-location-based-services-geriatric-care-acquistion.htm

***************************************************
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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Compliance Functions for Mobile Applications

In an article I published on The Enterprise Mobility Foundation earlier this week, I spoke of the challenges involved with managing a mobile workforce.  Here is an excerpt: 

"You are tasked with managing a team you cannot see. You are accountable for the safety of your employees in locations you have never been. Your success is based upon your team’s ability to overcome all kinds of technical challenges in remote and distant job sites. You are responsible for your team following company standards, processes and industry best practices without any supervision. You must expertly balance their schedules, qualifications and workloads to maximize customer satisfaction and profitability from a distance."

The management challenges listed above are magnified by distance, remote locations and the lack of management visibility.  Often these challenges are not just about managing.  They can also be about safety, liability, legality, quality and customer SLAs (service level agreements).

A few months back, Gil Bouhnick with Clicksoftware, told me about a mobile application he worked on that incorporated Union rules into a mobile application.  It included a complete set of rules, above and beyond, simple work order management.  This application would look at the tasks required of the service technician and review a database of Union rules to ensure the service technician was not doing anything counter to those rules.  This conversation got me thinking.

Perhaps mobile applications could have an application layer for the following:

• Safety compliance
• EPA compliance
• FDA compliance
• OSHA (occupational safety and health administration) compliance
• Legal compliance
• Union compliance
• Quality standards compliance
• Best Practices compliance
• Corporate standards compliance
• Sorbanes-Oxley Act compliance
• SEC compliance
• Customer Service Level agreement compliance

Of course this list could go on forever, but the point is mobile applications can integrate a "compliance" application layer that could associate different compliance issues with each piece of data and field.  Specific jobs could activate specific compliance rules.  Certain tasks and projects could flag specific safety procedures.  This "compliance" application layer could improve the documentation and implementation of the appropriate behavior in remote workers which in turn makes it easier to management them.

What are your thoughts?  Would this be a useful mobile application layer, or simply a pain for the mobile worker?

***************************************************
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 Mobility News Weekly – September 2, 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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The worldwide smartphone applications market grew more than $2.2 billion within the first quarter, according to a study by research2guidance. In 2009 the applications market had posted revenue of $1.7 billion. Mobile application download numbers reached a total of 3.8 billion in only six months, compared to 3.1 billion in 2009.

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=753129

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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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A new report from the Globe and Mail indicates that while Google’s rise in the smartphone world shook up the market, its Android operating system may have reached its peak.

http://www.visagemobile.com/news/news/understanding-mobility-management-news/5078/report-finds-growing-smartphone-options-for-businesses-may-lead-to-short-reign-for-android-devices-in-the-enterprise/

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Google unveiled a way for Web users in the U.S. to make calls through its Gmail email service, further pushing into the Internet-calling business and ratcheting up competition with similar services such as Skype.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451743621937792.html

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In May Dr. Neal Sikka began a six month study examining how accurately emergency doctors and physician assistants at GWU Hospital could diagnose wounds from patient-generated cellphone images. "Mobile health" does not mean a clinic on wheels. It is an emerging field within telemedicine that comprises all aspects of care generated from or available on a portable mobile device such as a cellphone.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/30/AR2010083003939.html

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Apple's iPad will account for an overwhelming 74.1 percent of global tablet shipments this year, with the remaining 25.9 percent consisting of a mix of older PC-type tablet products and competitive slates, according to a study by iSuppli.

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=753118

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Motorola Inc. unveiled a new smartphone version of its handsets that feature a popular Chinese handwriting technology, in hopes that the company can make a comeback in China, where it was once the market leader.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704323704575461513047883520.html

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Sony Ericsson Chief Executive Bert Nordberg said Tuesday that he expects smartphone use in China to expand to half of all mobile phone users in the country within five years, as the company joins other global handset makers in shifting its focus to higher end devices.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704421104575463344074776632.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Samsung says they've sold one million T-Mobile Vibrants and AT&T Captivates in less than a month and a half in the US.

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/29/samsung-galaxy-million/

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Microsoft will spend about $400 million to promote the launch of its forthcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system according to Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldberg, adding his forecast doesn't include the millions the software giant has already committed to pay its handset manufacturer partners to offset non-recurring engineering costs.

http://www.fiercedeveloper.com/story/analyst-microsoft-will-spend-400m-market-windows-phone-7/2010-08-30

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Mobile content revenues in the U.S. will increase from less than $1.15 billion in 2009 to over $3.53 billion in 2014, a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20 percent, according to a new forecast issued by digital intelligence firm eMarketer.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/emarketer-mobile-content-revenues-top-3-5-billion-2014/2010-08-31

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AT&T Mobility readjusted its schedule to begin offering services in a number of markets it had acquired from Verizon Wireless earlier this year. The carrier said it was moving up the launch dates in markets in South Dakota, North Dakota, Alabama, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado from the originally announced “mid-2011” to “the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011.”

http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20100902/CARRIERS/100909988/att-mobility-accelerates-alltel-market-transitions

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Syclo announced it is rolling out major enhancements to its Agentry mobile enterprise application platform. Agentry is the backbone of Syclo’s mobile solution framework as it provides both the tooling and infrastructure that enterprises need to develop, test, deploy and manage high availability mobile applications.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/Agentry_Mobile_Platform/Enterprise_Mobility/prweb4460374.htm

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T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced that the company has been awarded a three year blanket purchase agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Under the terms of the agreement, the EPA and its 17,000 employees will have access to a full range of T-Mobile products and services.

http://www.bradenton.com/2010/08/31/2540816/t-mobile-usa-awarded-epa-mobility.html

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The middle-aged Internet (ARPANET first went live more than 40 years ago) could easily slide into complacency, but the National Science Foundation might be staving this off with four multimillion dollar grants that the agency has recently awarded. The Future Internet Architecture research projects are expected to re-think the network from the ground up, taking into account emerging security concerns, the demand for greater bandwidth and the growth of mobile devices.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=re-thinking-the-internet-with-secur-2010-08-31

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You are tasked with managing a team you cannot see. You are accountable for the safety of your employees in locations you have never been. Your success is based upon your team’s ability to overcome all kinds of technical challenges in remote and distant job sites. You are responsible for your team following company standards, processes and industry best practices without any supervision. You must expertly balance their schedules, qualifications and workloads to maximize customer satisfaction and profitability from a distance.

http://theemf.org/2010/09/01/managing-the-mobile-workforce/

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I recently 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!

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/kevin-benedict-on-teched-2010-in-las.html

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Nearly a year ago, on August 27, 2009, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called to order his first meeting as the head of the new five member panel. Inside the FCC's low slung but expansive meeting room in Southwest Washington, D.C., the commission voted to open a series of inquiries into the wireless industry.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/special-reports/one-year-fcc-where-things-stand?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

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Companies could increase their annual revenue an average of $2.01 billion by improving employee productivity through making their data just 10 percent more usable and accessible.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/sybase/study-refutes-nick-carr-shows-data-it-do-matter/397

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Recent articles from Kevin Benedict’s blog Enterprise Mobility Strategies for SAP and Others:

Education and SAP Enterprise Mobility
Apple Stores and Motorola No More
Systems Integrators and SAP Enterprise Mobility

Recommended Webinar:

I participated in the webinar, 10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Selecting and Implementing a Mobility Solution this week. It can be viewed here, http://www.clicksoftware.com/96ec7ed7-023c-4260-a063-a7d5c320dd23/knowledge-center-on-demand-webinars-registration.htm?mgs1=06a52axCfU.

Recommended Whitepaper:

Networked Field Services - http://www.clicksoftware.com/1c7060c0-1296-4c54-90d6-8f83c5c5ecf0/knowledge-center-white-papers-registration.htm


**************************************************
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 – September 1, 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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The auto industry is getting fired up about wireless technology in cars and trucks, but it's not just for connecting passengers' laptops or streaming Internet radio stations. At an assembly plant outside Toronto, Ford Motor Co. is using Wi-Fi transmitters to load customized phone and entertainment features into its Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers as the vehicles chug down the production line.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704504204575445642013867472.html?mod=rss_Technology

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This week Audi has been demonstrating its Travolution technology on a fleet of test vehicles near its headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany. The Travolution package incorporates a number of different technologies, including vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure communications and SmartACC. The vehicle-to-infrastructure component allows vehicles to communicate with traffic signals over a combination of WiFi and 3G mobile.

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/06/03/audi-demonstrating-travolution-vehicle-to-infrastructure-communi/

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The National Science Foundation has awarded a three year, $7.5 million grant to a Rutgers led research team to develop a future Internet design optimized for mobile networking and communication. The team of nine universities and several industrial partners has dubbed its project “MobilityFirst,” reflecting the Internet’s evolution away from traditional wired connections between desktop PCs and servers toward wireless data services on mobile platforms.

http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2010/08/national-science-fou-20100827

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Although they won’t attain field readiness in time to help workers trapped by the mine collapse in Chile, a number of new technologies will enter service in the next few years that could drastically increase mine collapse survival rates. These technologies differ in their use, but all use advanced sensors to help miners locate fallen colleagues, alert rescue teams and flee to safety.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38884331/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

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The convergence of personal health records and mobile communication devices may provide the mechanism to engage consumers to use technology to enhance self-care, taking cost out of the health care system, according to a new Deloitte Issue Brief released today by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.

ttp://pr-canada.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=253126&Itemid=59

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An ABI report indicates renewed interest from mobile operators in the M2M space, coupled with the widespread deployment of 3G, led it to predict the M2M market will be worth $3.8 billion by 2015.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/ereaders-tablets-are-early-winners-embedded-device-category/2010-08-26

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The love affair between people and their mobile phones will grow even stronger once those devices go beyond communications and entertainment and into actual control of entire home and office environments.
http://connectedplanetonline.com/topics/machine-to-machine/m2m-smartphones-smarter-083010/

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Intel's $1.4 billion acquisition of Infineon's wireless chipset unit is now official and may boost Intel's prospects in wireless a great deal, especially in smartphones and embedded wireless products.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/intel-goes-all-wireless-infineon-deal-will-bet-pay/2010-08-30

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Eurotech, a supplier of embedded technologies has announced the Eurotech TurboXb computer on module has been deployed in GE Healthcare's EView ventilator data capture device.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ge-healthcare-deploys-eurotech-turboxb-computer-on-module-in-medical-data-capture-device-accessory-101865608.html

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Telefonica will launch a new business area in September as the company looks to beef up its data technology services and expand revenue. The Madrid based telecommunications company said that besides the video content delivery network the company will expand in the segments of eHealth, applications, security and financial services, cloud computing and M2M Internet communications.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100831-703849.html

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Mobile payment is slowly gaining traction in China, with systems already in place in top-tier cities for subways, supermarkets, convenience stories, cafes, and fast food chains. China's mobile payment market size is estimated at USD 417 million in 2010, up 45 percent from 2009. Users are expected to nearly double to 150 million. These numbers mostly reflect niche forms of mobile payment, from IC embedded traffic cards to online payments made from a handset.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/08/31/4983086.htm

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The number of mobile connected M2M and embedded devices will ramp up to nearly 412 million globally by 2014, according to analyst firm Juniper Research. But the main market drivers won't be the oft-hyped e-readers or netbooks. Rather, they will be several enterprise verticals led by healthcare monitoring, a small market today, but one poised to achieve significant revenues.

http://connectedplanetonline.com/mobile-apps/news/m2m-connected-devices-grows-0122/

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Wireless operators have decided to stake their claim in the mobile telematics market. The market is growing rapidly, as module prices fall and the cost and time of developing and integrating new M2M solutions drops. The industry is no longer dominated by a few verticals, such as security and fleet tracking. Broad new fields such as telemedicine, home automation, agriculture — even the insurance industry — are investing in M2M.

http://connectedplanetonline.com/connectedplanet/news/operators_piece_together/

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The world of M2M communications is no longer just about vehicle tracking applications, Kore Telematics is fond of saying. But according to its own numbers, 70.7 percent of the M2M device connections Kore manages still connect GPS devices in vehicles and other assets.

http://connectedplanetonline.com/topics/machine-to-machine/kore-m2m-connections-071510/

***************************************************
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.

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

Education and SAP Enterprise Mobility

Last week I wrote an article pondering how management strategies may need to change to take advantage of both current and emerging mobile technologies.  My reasoning is that simply placing mobile devices in the hands of a mobile workforce does not on its own improve the business.  Mobile technology is simply a way of enabling new and improved business processes and management practices.  To me this means management needs to be educated.

The SVP of National Customer Solutions Delivery, Tony Geheran at TELUS recently stated, "Efficient and effective management of our large mobile workforce is critical to the success of our business.”  The important part to note about this statement is that efficient and effective managing is the key to success, not mobile technology.  Mobile technology is an enabler, not the end goal.

I read recently that one SAP mobility partner, Clicksoftware, is advocating the combination of technology with educational services to help businesses find the right balance between reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, employee preferences and industry regulations.   I am a fan of this approach.  Having been involved in hundreds of mobility projects I know how important it is for the stakeholders to have a deep understanding of why mobile technologies are useful and why it is worth the implementation effort and costs.

I believe it is important for managers today to spend time in education and research to learn how mobility can make managing more efficient and effective.

***************************************************
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.

Apple Stores and Motorola No More

In December of 2007 I wrote a blog article questioning why Apple was using the Motorola MC50 handheld computers and Microsoft Mobile operating systems in their stores rather than their own devices and operating systems.  Every time I popped into an Apple store for the next couple of years I would see the same thing.  However, last month I noted that all the Apple sales associates were carrying the Apple iTouch with a sleeve that appeared to have an integrated barcode reader.

I interpreted this development to be a measure of progress that Apple has made toward supporting enterprise requirements.  Early on, Apple would not use their own solutions for enterprise class POS and retail applications but now in 2010 they do.

The iTouch was using an integrated barcode reader which is a good step toward field data collection.  It seems reasonable to assume it could also integrate with RFID and any number of additional Bluetooth enabled data capture accessories.

I wonder if there would be a large enough market for a ruggedized iPhone?  It would not work well with field workers that wear gloves, but for many service technicians working primarily indoors it might be fine.  There are a lot of service technicians from companies like Konica Minolta that work indoors and are implementing mobile field services solutions. 

Here is a description of the Konica Minolta solution.  Jobs are raised in the SAP system, and this information is automatically passed to ClickSchedule via the existing interface. ClickSchedule (from an SAP mobility partner) then allocates the most suitable individual to fix or service the product based upon the engineers' skill sets, location and availability. This information is then seamlessly passed to the field engineer via rugged mobile devices which the engineers use again to update progress.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Apple developed a ruggedized and industrial grade device running iOS for this segment of the market?  Would this work or do you see more limitations with the iOS that would prevent this from being a reasonable alternative?

***************************************************
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.

Systems Integrators and SAP Enterprise Mobility

One measure of the level of maturity in a technology market is if a systems integrator can do the work, rather than the original solution developer.  Today, most SAP enterprise mobility vendors are still doing their own work.  Why?  The solutions are new, dynamic, rapidly expanding and ahead of adequate documentation and systems integrator training programs.

It is still rare to see systems integrators using SAP mobility solutions from vendors.  It is still very common to see systems integrators custom building their own mobile applications.  This however, is not in the best interest of SAP customers in the long term.  Out of the box solutions are generally more stable.  They have been tested for longer periods of time and often have more companies using them in production environments.

I was interested to read that ENERGY4U, a German-based consulting and implementation firm was implementing SMART Work Manager from Syclo for use with the SAP® ERP application for RheinEnergie, a German utility. The solution will automate technicians’ daily meter and preventative maintenance work order processes.  ENERGY4U specializes in providing consulting and implementation services related to SAP solutions for utility companies in the deregulated energy market.

The fact that ENERGY4U, a systems integrator, is implementing a mobile solution from a mobility vendor in the SAP ecosystem is a sign of maturity and progress in the industry.

If you are a systems integrator and are implementing a mobile solution from an SAP ecosystem partner please let me know the details!

***************************************************
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 26, 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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Garmin is recalling 1.25 million GPS devices, most of which were sold in America, because their batteries could overheat and cause fires, the company said Thursday.  The affected units contain batteries made by a third-party supplier, and almost 800,000 were sold in America.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/26/technology/garmin_recall/index.htm?hpt=T2

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The news of Intel acquiring McAfee for nearly $8 billion caught the tech world off guard and perplexed analysts at face value. The fact is that it doesn't make much sense based on the Intel and McAfee of today, but as the dust settles the deal makes more sense when viewed as a visionary shift with an eye on where technology is headed--everywhere. The challenge for the future of Intel is that the relevance of the PC is waning in an increasingly mobile world.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/203764/intelmcafee_deal_secure_mobility_by_design.html?tk=hp_new

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I was fortunate to have attended last week'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.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/report-on-sap-sybase-executive-briefing.html

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Target Corp., best known for its "cheap chic" clothing and furnishings, is adding a series of new services aimed at bolstering its electronics departments.  Target announced this morning that it is launching Target Mobile.

http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2010/08/23/daily19.html#ixzz0xdhDzbAQ

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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 independent survey, which examined consumer preferences and attitudes surrounding mobile shopping, found that 15 percent of consumers have used their mobile devices to make purchases. “The key finding is that 15 percent of all mobile phone users—not just smartphone users—made a purchase from their mobile phone,” said Adam Forrest, product marketing manager at Demandware, Woburn, MA. “The age demographic with the highest usage was 25-34 with 21 percent of them making a purchase from their mobile phone.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/15pc-of-consumers-have-made-purchase-with-mobile-device-study/

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Tuesday morning Sprint Nextel's Virgin Mobile division unveiled its newest offering: a $40 monthly flat rate for unlimited mobile broadband use. The plan immediately will replace the company's current $20, $40 and $60 plans; current users of those plans will be able to use up their existing data or time, whichever comes first.

http://www.crn.com/news/networking/226900152/for-virgin-mobile-true-mobility-means-no-contracts.htm;jsessionid=AHfkKEJJLS7Qt7j74Bw+Cg**.ecappj02

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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.  I invite you to join us on August 31st.

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

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New data from Ground Truth reveals that mobile romance is heating up as temperatures climb in the summer months. According to the mobile media measurement firm, the number of visitors to mobile dating sites increased by 92 percent from the first week in June to the last week in July.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/press-releases/romancing-phone-mobile-dating-climbs-summer-heats#ixzz0xdhtdtN7

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Mobile devices from tablets to notebooks to mobile phones are invading the enterprise. Here's a look at some of the trends that are shaping today's mobile enterprise.

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/iPhone-to-Windows-Phone-7-Top-Enterprise-Mobility-Trends-876783/

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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, and hosting two SAP Enterprise Mobility sessions in the Expert Lounge. I have seen the conference agenda and it is packed full of sessions on mobility. I hope to see all of you there!

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/kevin-benedict-on-teched-2010-in-las.html

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China’s Union Mobile Pay is reporting an M-Commerce sales volume equivalent to $4.4 billion U.S. (30 billion yuan, which is about 3.1 billion euros), according to a report Tuesday from PaymentsSource. That service also reported 140 million registered users, as of the end of last year.

http://www.storefrontbacktalk.com/e-commerce/more-m-commerce-proof-from-china-4-4-billion-in-mobile-revenue-last-year/#ixzz0xktFnZIU

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The worldwide mobile payments market--including purchases of digital and physical goods, money transfers and NFC transactions--will grow from $170 billion in 2010 to almost $630 billion in 2014 according to a new forecast issued by Juniper Research.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/juniper-forecasts-mobile-payments-reach-630b-2014/2010-05-04

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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.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/saving-billions-with-help-of-enterprise.html

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Bank of America Corp plans to begin a test program next month that lets customers use smartphones to pay for purchases in stores. The program, set to run from September through the end of the year in the New York area, is the biggest step yet by the biggest U.S. consumer bank toward creating a "digital wallet" with a host of financial capabilities built into the latest, most sophisticated mobile phones.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idCAN1927163120100819?rpc=44

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High end retailer Barneys New York went for speed and simplicity when it launched its mobile commerce site in October.

http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/08/26/when-it-comes-m-commerce-test-and-test-again-retailer-says

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Two-thirds of service providers surveyed intend to use WiMAX for mobility-based services by 2012. This indicates a richer service environment for WiMAX in the future, but at the same time, the survey showed that key challenges remain; specifically, the limited range of WiMAX-enabled mobile devices and the difficulty of building low-ARPU pricing models for developing countries.

http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2010/WiMAX-Services-Strategies-Service-Provider-Survey-Highlights.asp

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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 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.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/saving-billions-with-help-of-enterprise_26.html

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A new survey of hundreds of wireless industry executives from around the world found strong support for a switch from flat-rate mobile data plans to usage-based models. The survey found that 48 percent of executives surveyed predicted that carriers will focus on developing new mobile data pricing models over the next three years. Additionally, the survey showed that 55 percent of those surveyed agreed usage-based models are coming to mature markets, and 47 percent said flat-rate data plans are crimping their ability to increase revenue.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/08/25/end_of_fixed_price_data_plans_may_be_near/

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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.

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

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SAP and Sybase Press Release on Enterprise Mobility Roadmap – August 19, 2010: 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.

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/sap-and-sybase-press-release-on.html

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I have been thinking a lot lately about how management, and the art of managing, needs to evolve with the advancement and progress in mobile technology. It is not just mobile devices that change, but a whole list of new capabilities that are now available to a manager. I wonder how many managers have adapted their management styles and practices, and re-engineered their business processes to take advantage of these mobile features and capabilities?

http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/2010/08/sap-enterprise-mobility-and-management.html

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Networked Field Services whitepaper - This paper explores the convergence of several different technologies including: mobility, GPS, business intelligence and M2M (machine to machine) technologies with evolving field services management strategies. This convergence has resulted in a new “Networked Field Service” model that has been developed by leading military strategists. Governments have made huge investments over the past few years in Network-Centric Warfare strategies and mobile data collection technologies that are relevant to field services organizations.

http://www.clicksoftware.com/1c7060c0-1296-4c54-90d6-8f83c5c5ecf0/knowledge-center-white-papers-registration.htm

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High end retailer Barneys New York went for speed and simplicity when it launched its mobile commerce site in October.

http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/08/26/when-it-comes-m-commerce-test-and-test-again-retailer-says

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

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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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SAP Enterprise Mobility and Management Education

I have been thinking a lot lately about how management, and the art of managing, needs to evolve with the advancement and progress in mobile technology.  It is not just mobile devices that change, but a whole list of new capabilities that are now available to a manager.  I wonder how many managers have adapted their management styles and practices, and re-engineered their business processes to take advantage of these mobile features and capabilities?

What do you think?  Do you see managers staying on top of new mobile capabilities, or are they managing the same way they did in a disconnected world? 

Let me provide just one example.  Earlier this year Syclo connected their mobile applications to the SAP global support backbone.  This is a great step that recognizes the importance of mobility to the enterprise, but how many managers know what this means and how to use it effectively?  Here are some details.

Syclo’s mobile applications now connect to the SAP global support backbone of the SAP® Active Global Support organization and have built-in support for incident processing and remote diagnostics using the partner edition of the SAP Solution Manager application management solution, providing end-to-end incident management processes.   Syclo is using SAP Solution Manager during support operations and conforms to SAP standards for shared support processes, service-level agreements and escalation procedures. The integration between Syclo’s SMART Work Manager and SMART Service Manager applications and SAP Active Global Support will help customers increase operational efficiency.

Now that the technology is here, I believe it is time to educate management.  What do you think?


***************************************************
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.