Kevin Benedict Ponders the Future

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

Mobile Expert User Video: Portugal Telecom's Manuel Rosa de Silva

Mauel Rosa de Silva is an Executive Member of the Board at Portugal Telecom. I met with him in Cannes, France in a hotel suite overlooking the town and peaceful Mediterranean to discuss enterprise mobility.

Portgual Telecom is a huge international media and entertainment company with locations around the world. They are aggressively embracing the concept and strategy of the real-time enterprise. They have recently implemented a number of different field services optimization solutions from ClickSoftware including deploying ClickMobile to 4,000 field engineers using Motorola MC65 mobile handhelds.

Upcoming Live Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Pre-recorded Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Mobile Expert Video Series: ClickSoftware's Gil Bouhnick

I have been wanting to meet the popular mobility blogger Gil Bouhnick for over a year and this week I finally got the chance to meet and interview him. I met him in France where I was speaking at a mobility conference and asked him about the mobility solutions that he is working on now.

Read Gil's blog, MobileFever here.

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Enterprise Mobility and Manned/Unmanned Systems Integration Capabilities

The army is fundamentally changing the way they are operating by implementing Manned/Unmanned Systems Integration Capabilities (MUSIC). They are developing ways to transfer multi-intelligence capabilities (manned and unmanned data collection systems) between platforms, and to fuse the information in ways they haven’t been able to do before. They are also going to share this information with additional users in ways that were not possible before.

How does this capability relate to enterprise mobility? It is a peek into the future of commercial enterprise mobility. It combines manned (mobile workforce) and unmanned intelligence (remote wireless sensors and M2M communications) into a common platform that will enable the combined information to be used, fused and shared at the right time, with the right person, on the right device and in the right amount.

The army says these changes will allow them to innovate much faster than in the past. As the workload of army operators (commercial equivalents would be service managers and dispatchers) increases, the mobile workforce must rely more on automation and dissemination of information to work effectively in a real time environments.

On a related topic, the army's announced Android based mobility framework and system is called the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P Handheld (read more). Here are some of the initial mobility apps mentioned:

GPS tracking of user-designated friendlies or unfriendlies
Tactical Ground Reporting
Medevac messaging apps
Military contacts address book
Open Office for viewing documents.

The government took an additional interesting step of opening up this platform to mobile application developers. It built its own protected framework for the JBC-P called the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment, or CE, which ensures that apps built for the JBC-P will be secure and interoperable with different mission command systems.

It appears that the mobility apps in JBC-P Handheld, and the mobile intelligence (MUSIC) capabilities identified in this article will all be available on the same mobile devices.

I am watching closely how the military is using mobility and real time intelligence to gain insights and learn lessons on what is transferrable to us involved in the commerical enterprise mobility space.

Upcoming Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Mobile Marketing News Weekly - Week of June 6, 2011

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

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

Mobile shopping could deliver a 4.5 billion pound boost to Britain's economy by 2016 and a further 13 billion by 2021. This is largely due to EBay’s mobile shopping service. Read Original Content

Groupon has filed documentation to raise as much as $750 million in an initial public offering, revealing a short history filled with skyrocketing sales and steep losses. Read Original Content

PriceGrabber reports that 29 percent of smartphone users shop using mobile phones. Read Original Content

TheFind has launched CATALOGUE that uses content from paper catalogues from retail stores and displays them on tablets such as the IPad and Android tablets. Stores that are using TheFind’s new application include Sephora, Uggs and Crate and Barrel. Read Original Content

Pyxis Mobile provides an agile, powerful, and secure mobile enterprise application platform. It enables rapid cross-platform application development, unlimited data integration, enterprise-grade security, and the unique ability to change and update applications in real time. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Pyxis Mobile, http://pyxismobile.com.

Where Should Mobile Intelligence Reside?

I continue to ponder the implications of Microsoft’s recent announcement of their next smartphone operating system version that is code named Mango, specifically, the issue of blurring the lines between search and mobile applications. They want searches to include intelligence that can access and integrate multiple applications on the same phone at the same time for relevant information.

Microsoft used the example of a search for a movie. The Mango operating system would automatically “predict” your interest in related information including movie times, reviews, locations and how to purchase tickets. These different views and data sources would all be brought to you in a simple view.

The concept is exceptional! My question is where should the intelligence for mobile applications really be located? It seems from Microsoft’s announcement that these “predictive” and intelligent features would be developed and supported in the mobile OS (Microsoft Phone). I would guess that SAP might have a different opinion. Perhaps SAP would advocate that mobile applications should be integrated with Business Objects in the back office. I, however, am leaning toward the concept of a new category of solution which would be a cloud based intelligence platform that could integrate with all the various back office systems, ERPs and third party web services and location based services.

It seems that there should be a powerful cloud based intelligence platform that can aggregate all of the required analytics, geo-spatially aware data and real-time intelligence into one feed for a mobile application. The intelligence should be able to be quickly customized for each user.

What do you think? Where do you think the intelligence for a mobile application should be located?

Upcoming Events of Note
ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes,France
Live Webinar - Syclo and SAP have scheduled a webcast for June 8th at 11 AM EDST to provide information on Syclo's SUP integration.
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note
The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Recorded Webinars of Note
3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Mobile Commerce News Weekly - Week of June 6, 2011

The Mobile Commerce News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile payments, mobile money, e-wallets, mobile banking and mobile security that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

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

Computerworld has found that when using PayPal’s Mobile Express Checkout customers are more willing to make purchases as a result of the easy payment process. Read Original Content

VeriFone Systems Inc. says that topline revenues from software, services, and equipment for NFC wallets could increase in the United States between 100 to 150 million, and more internationally, if and when such electronic wallets become mainstream. Read Original Content

Wells Fargo has led the banking world with its mobile features since 2007 and continues to offer new and advanced mobile services to customers. Wells Fargo has recently introduced CEO Mobile, which allows executives to view corporate accounts through smartphones. Read Original Content

Market researcher Pyramid Research is forecasting that 28 percent of all smartphones (around 250 million) sold by 2015 will be NFC enabled. Read Original Content

Pyxis Mobile provides an agile, powerful, and secure mobile enterprise application platform. It enables rapid cross-platform application development, unlimited data integration, enterprise-grade security, and the unique ability to change and update applications in real time. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Pyxis Mobile, http://pyxismobile.com/

U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Corp expects NFC wireless technology to be a main revenue driver in coming years, a senior executive said recently, when it becomes more of a norm for consumers use their mobile phones to make payments. Read Original Content

Mobile banking could see massive user growth as people in India with no nearby financial services can now access banks in remote locations through cell phones. Read Original Content

According to the research firm comScore, mobile banking in Europe has seen a growth of 40 percent since August 2010. Read Original Content

Monitise and the Future Foundation reports that the number of people using mobile banking applications in the U.K. has doubled since last year. Read Original Content

A GfK survey shows that PayPal leads in mobile payments both in user base and engagement. Gfk also found that customers trust PayPal with their credit card information. Read Original Content

A steady increase in the number of smartphone purchases is having a positive effect on mobile music growth, mobile banking and the mobile industry as a whole. Read Original Content

Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict

Upcoming Mobility Events of Note
Windows Phone 7 and Italian Railroad
Will Microsoft’s Mango Shake Enterprise Mobility, Part 1?
The Importance of Mobile EAM and M2M
SAP ECM Partner Open Text Adds Mobility

Upcoming Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

You can follow me on Twitter @krbenedict and read my blog, Enterprise Mobility Strategies.

I have added a feature to my blog site that supports email subscriptions. You can now receive all blog articles directly via email. If you are interested, click here.

http://pyxismobile.com/forms/media-request/?docID=4011

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Upcoming Mobility Events of Note

I am adding a section to the end of each newsletter that includes “Upcoming Events of Note.” This section will highlight upcoming webinars, workshops, conferences and learning opportunities that are related to enterprise mobility.

This week I would like to highlight:

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, France
Live Webinar - Syclo and SAP discuss Syclo's SUP integration roadmap, June 8th at 11 AM EDST
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

ClickSoftware has recently announced the ClickAppStore, support for the Sybase Unwired Platform and much more that will make this year's European User Forum very interesting.
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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of June 6, 2011 **Special Edition

This is a special edition of the Field Mobility News Weekly. In this edition I have collected the best market and trend numbers from the past few months and aggregated them into one edition. You can save this edition and use these numbers in your own business plans and presentations.

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

The global RFID market looks bright, as advancements in technology have spiked adoption across different fields. RFID tags accounted for more than 50 percent of the world's RFID revenues in 2009, with figures reaching between 1.5 and 2.5 Billion. Read Original Content

Juniper Research estimates that some 500 million people across the globe will use their NFC enabled mobile devices to travel on metros and buses by 2015. Read Original Content

According to a study, approximately 30 percent of physicians access medical information using a handheld device or smartphone. Read Original Content

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

In the upcoming years mobile ticketing will spread beyond Europe and will increase in usage throughout North America. Read Original Content

Noteworthy News

Malaysia will give locally reared pigs embedded identity discs in a bid to stop the illegal slaughter and distribution of meat that is unfit for human consumption. Read Original Content

ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. Has announced that the UK's largest water and wastewater services company, Thames Water, has selected the ClickSoftware Service Optimization Suite. Read Original Content

Salt Lake International Airport was able to reduce its workload by 90 percent after implementing fleet management technology. Read Original Content

SAP is developing field service mobile applications that are aimed at technicians and other workers who are frequently away from a central location, servicing customers. Read Original Content

Handheld Group will supply Netherlands Railways with more than 10,000 rugged handhelds for ticket control, travel information and support of workflow processes. Read Original Content

Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict

Windows Phone 7 and Italian Railroad
Will Microsoft’s Mango Shake Enterprise Mobility, Part 1?
The Importance of Mobile EAM and M2M
SAP ECM Partner Open Text Adds Mobility
Enterprise Mobility Application Predictions

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

You can follow me on Twitter @krbenedict and read my blog, Enterprise Mobility Strategies.

I have added a feature to my blog site that supports email subscriptions. You can now receive all blog articles directly via email. If you are interested, click here.

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Windows Phone 7 and Italian Railroad

Motorola ES400

Recently I was traveling on a train in Italy and the conductor asked for my ticket. He pulled out a Samsung smartphone using a Microsoft operating system. He entered several data fields on his screen and then placed the Samsung device back into his leather smartphone case.

I pondered the fact that recently the Dutch railway purchased 10,000 rugged Intermec devices for use on their trains. These were using Microsoft Mobile 6.5x. We are at an interesting point in the evolution of mobility where two organizations with similar needs can both make a case for a different choice, 1) rugged industrial grade mobile handheld, and 2) standard consumer grade smartphone.

I think back to just four years ago and companies with mission critical mobile operations nearly always chose expensive and rugged industrial grade handhelds. An entire industry was built around these types of devices. Today smartphones have so much power and the cost is so relatively inexpensive, that it becomes a real question as to which mobile device type you choose.

I have recently seen Motorola's ES400 Enterprise Digital Assistant. I played with it at SAP's SAPPHIRE NOW 2011 conference. This device is meant to be all smartphone and a ruggedized device. This device has barcode scanning capabilities and software included. It will be interesting to watch this market and to see if rugged cases for standard consumer grade smartphones will be sufficient for many situations, or if there will be an uptick in Android and Microsoft Phone 7 rugged smartphones in the near future.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Will Microsoft’s Mango Shake Enterprise Mobility, Part 2?

In the upcoming Mango version of Microsoft’s Smartphone operating system it is reported that they will add 500 new features. As mentioned in Part 1 of this article one of the key feature updates is designed to blur the difference between search and applications.

Andrew Lees, president of the mobile communications business at Microsoft says about today’s mobile applications, “The user has to go app by app by app. It’s as if every time you wanted to go from the living room to the dining room, you had to go through the front door.”

Mango will link specific data points on your smartphone to enhance the user experience. Here are some of the linked data:

Location data
Information about a subject
Shopping options

The data will be presented to the user as “related views.” In the article I was reading (I somehow ripped the article out of the newspaper without the newspaper’s name, sorry!), it described looking up a new movie. The first screen showed theater locations and scheduled viewings, the second screen had reviews and the third included purchase options.

This is a great step toward “predicting” what the user wants instead of everything being manual. Although in early versions this may seem too annoying to those more advanced needs, enterprise users may find these developments will introduce many new efficiencies to the mobile workforce with defined needs.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobil

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

Will Microsoft’s Mango Shake Enterprise Mobility, Part 1?

I read this week about Microsoft’s newly announced Smartphone operating system code named Mango. They reported that it would have over 500 new features. This is impressive since Windows Phone 7 has just been out for seven months. Since I focus on “enterprise” mobility, let’s dig into some of the features that may be relevant.

The strategy and tactics that Microsoft is developing in this next version are intended to enable it to compete against Apple and Google. It involves blurring the lines between search and applications. I found this particularly interesting, because it is my analysis that this is a critical next step in the evolution of mobile software. A busy person does not want to search for and open 13 different mobile applications to find all of the information they may need for one account, task or project. It needs to be aggregated into one role based view or application.

I use the phrases “context aware” and “predictive” to push this concept even further by advocating that business intelligence software that is aware of who you are, what you are doing and where you are located should be able to predict your need for specific information even before you ask for it. Your mobile software should automatically prepare a portfolio of information even before it is needed. This further reduces the need to wait for reports and data as it will be available in anticipation of your need.

Read Part 2 of this article.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

The Importance of Mobile EAM and M2M

Wireless Remote Sensors

In a session I attended on enterprise mobility a few weeks ago the speaker said that he divides mobility into three parts; 1) Extending mobility to internal employees, 2) Extending mobility to external customers, and 3) mobile EAM (enterprise asset management). What do you think of those categories?

SAP announced their first three mobility applications that will be released in the next 5 weeks and one of them is mobile EAM that integrates with SAP. They prioritized EAM, and then met with their co-innovation partner Syclo to ensure them that they were making a simple/basic EAM application and not competing in a significant way with the complex, industry specific mobile EAM applications that Syclo has invested in over the past decade. At the same time Syclo is now embracing SUP as their platform for SAP customers.

In the mobility ecosystem SAP had three early co-innovation partners; RIM, Sybase and Syclo. One of their co-innovation partners was a specialist in EAM. Again, SAP prioritized mobile EAM.

Jim Snabe, Co-CEO of SAP mentioned sensors many times in his presentations during SAPPHIRENOW 2011. Remote and wireless sensors are used primarily to monitor, track and manage enterprise assets. High value assets of all kinds are now including wireless embedded sensors. I spoke with the IT team at Whirlpool appliances last year about this subject and they have an entire product line of appliances that are "smart" and communicate with wireless sensors.

The military (download and read this whitepaper) and the healthcare industry are embracing M2M as fast as they can fund and implement it. What is your organization doing to take advantage of EAM solutions and M2M?

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing: Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise: The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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

SAP ECM Partner Open Text Adds Mobility

Did anyone else miss this recent press release from SAP ECM (enterprise content management) partner Open Text? They are investing in mobility, even though they are a company primarily focused on ECM. I tried my very best to meet up with Patrick Barnert at Open Text but we kept missing each other at SAPPHIRENOW 2011.

Here are some of their current mobility solutions:

Open Text focuses on on ECM. Content is needed on mobile devices. They also have document management systems. Documents need to be accessed by mobile devices. They are the developers of the SAP Vendor Invoice Management solution. This is basically a transactional content management system. A solution for monitoring and tracking the progress of a transaction or document. It works with the SAP workflow and workflows need approvals, alerts and notifications.

You can see from the above information that mobility and mobile solutions will impact just about every aspect of the enterprise and enterprise solutions.

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

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict