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.

Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of July 4, 2011

The Field Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

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

ReboundTAG, based in the United Kingdom, has created a new solution focused on preventing baggage theft or loss for airlines and individual business flyers through the use of RFID technology. Read Original Content.

The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense recently ordered 12,500 rugged tablet PCs at a total cost of £30 million. The tablets are for use by front line commands. Read Original Content.

The total smart grid market in the Asia Pacific region is predicted to be worth $28.8 billion by 2017, up from $11.9 billion this year. Cumulative smart grid investment in the region is expected to reach $171.3 billion by 2017. Read Original Content.

Traffic jams and travel time will be reduced greatly after Mumbai India equips toll routes and commuter vehicles with RFID tags. Read Original Content.

The Army Geospatial Center has recently awarded Technology Advancement Group a contract to build a rugged surveying tablet device. Read Original Content.

FleetMatics has received praise for its new mobile app that allows fleet owners to track their vehicles through a mobile app. Read Original Content.

SAP and the Enterprise Mobility Message

I had the opportunity over the past few weeks to meet with many SAP customers to discuss enterprise mobility. I was surprised over the course of these weeks that none of the folks at the companies that I spoke with had attended SAPPHIRENOW 2010 or 2011. As a result, most had very little knowledge of SAP's enterprise mobility plans, solutions or roadmaps. Even less had knowledge of the Sybase Unwired Platform or Afaria. In many cases it was as if I were the first to be sharing this information with them.

All of the companies that I met with were keenly interested in mobility and were working on mobility strategies and projects. It is obvious to me, as a result of these meetings, that there is an entire community of SAP customers that have missed the enterprise mobility message. I think it would be beneficial for SAP to develop additional marketing strategies to try to target this apparently large community of SAP users and decision makers that don't seem to currently be in the loop on SAP's mobility strategies and solutions.

I would encourage SAP to aggressively promote their mobility solutions and strategies into this community as all were in the process of developing or implementing mobility strategies. Many of these companies were very large companies, and someone in the company may know all about SAP's mobility roadmap, but not the folks developing the strategy.

Upcoming Events

ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

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.

M2M News Weekly - Week of June 27, 2011

Welcome to M2M News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices. I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article. I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market.

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

Juniper Research has released a new study that estimates there will be nearly 412 million global M2M connected devices by 2014. Read Original Content.

Berg Insight reports that the market for home health monitoring devices was $10 billion in 2010, and patient monitoring is set to grow approximately 26 percent annually through 2014. Read Original Content.

Pike Research forecasts that worldwide users of home energy management systems will reach 63 million by 2020, up from just over 1 million in 2011. Read Original Content.

Sprint’s recently launched Mobile Command Center is targeted towards the healthcare industry and remote patient monitoring. Read Original Content.

The Australian M2M market is worth about $300 million and analysts predict it will grow to $1 billion over the next four years. Read Original Content.

London Eggs with Benedict Mobility Breakfast Series, July 1st

Eggs with Benedict London

Today we wrapped up the marathon Eggs with Benedict mobility series in sunny London. Five countries in 5 days. It is very hard to remember your hotel room number after 5 different hotels. I was excited to address our biggest audience of the week and dive down into more enterprise mobility discussions. Our audience included a large multinational company with over 80,000 employees and 40,000 supported IT users, SAP consultants, mobility consultants with a background in Syclo integrations and others with SAP financial backgrounds.

It is a joy to meet people who enjoy and appreciate the complexities of enterprise mobility. We explored the following issues and topics today:

Mobile security models
Mobile app development strategies
Change Management involving the mobile workforce
SMS solutions
Mobile BI
Mobile UIs
Rugged handhelds
SAP Mobile Workflow apps
SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform)
Afaria
ClickSoftware
Syclo
MEAPs
M2M

Rob Fiddaman,
K2 Partnering

I also heard how difficult consultants have it when they need an SUP trial license for a client. They phoned their client's SAP AE for a trial license, but no one at SAP seemed to know how to get a trial license of SUP. There was a long drawn out process, before it was finally resolved. The consultants say there are still many processes that need to be worked out between SAP and Sybase.

I learned from an attending large manufacturer of construction materials that they use M2M (machine to machine) technologies to monitor not just assets, but business processes. They know, with M2M sensors, when a cement truck starts pouring cement and stops. They said they use M2M technologies to gain visibility into processes. I love it! Very interesting! They said the biggest challenges with M2M is the cost of building logic around how to best use this data from the field. It needs to be consumed in a system that can benefit from it.

James Common
K2 Partnering

I am exhausted but happy. I want to thank all those who joined us and shared their thoughts and experiences. I also want to thank K2 Partnering's Rob Fiddaman and James Common who hosted the events, guided me along and who sponsored this educational tour and made it free for all attendees. It was a pleasure to spend time with them this week. They are talented folks with a passion for technology and providing talented resources to their clients.

Upcoming Events

ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

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.

Brussels Eggs with Benedict Mobility Breakfast Series, June 30th

Eggs with Benedict Brussels

Another day and another city eating breakfasts (still without the promised eggs) and speaking on enterprise mobility and strategies. We had a good group today in Brussels and we learned a lot from each other. One of the companies in attendance has over 10,000 SAP users in EMEA alone. Wow! They were attending to learn more about putting together a global mobility strategy.

Two members of the audience traveled from different countries just to attend our breakfast series on enterprise mobility.

I learned from one of the attendees about a digital pen that they use in South Africa for "proof-of-delivery" applications. It is called Anoto and enables the user to write on pre-formatted forms and the embedded scanner in the pen digitizes the data and the location it was written on the form. This data is uploaded to the integrated enterprise system and is extremely accurate. They have been using it in production for some time now with great results.

One of the attendees shared that the executives in their company had approved buying expensive smartphones, but not mobile applications to go with them. As a result, the smartphones are only used for voice, text and email, although recently the pressure has been increasing for mobile applications.

Another attendee reported that their CEO was insisting that he use only an iPad to manage the entire global company, but this is still just a dream as no budget has been approved to deliver the require mobile solutions. The will is there by all parties, just not the resources yet.

More feedback was that the highest demand internally at one company in attendance was for mobile CRM for their field sales organization. They want to use iPads because of the technical nature and complexity of their products.

Also in attendance was an experienced investor, consultant and former telecom CEO there to learn more about the latest developments in enterprise mobility. We had some very interesting discussions following the meeting. He is looking for investment opportunities within enterprise mobility.

At each of these meetings held across Europe this week I have asked the same question, "Where is your company on the mobility maturity curve?" So far all of the attendees have answered that they are a 1 or 2 on a 4 point maturity scale. There is a huge amount of pent up demand for mobile solutions reported, but resources, time and budget have not yet been fully dedicated.

Today I also spoke to an SAP customer with over 80,000 employees. The attendees from this company were not aware that SAP acquired Sybase and that SAP/Sybase had mobility offerings. They had been trying to figure out how to develop or find existing mobile SAP Workflow apps. They were not aware that SAP already has this. SAP, you owe me.

Tomorrow I wrap up a very busy week of meetings, breakfasts and travel by presenting the last Eggs with Benedict meeting in London. My tour sponsors at K2 Partnering have promised me that they will provide Eggs Benedict for breakfast tomorrow. I will hold them to it.

Upcoming Events

Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

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.

Small Mobile Apps Prove Big on ROI - Guest Blogger

Today we have an article contributed by my friend and guest blogger Andre Guillemin. Andre has over ten years of experience working in health care, financial services and mobility. He has spent the past three years focused on cross-industry solutions for mobile enterprise application development including line of business users in manufacturing, life sciences and wealth management. Andre frequently contributes to industry publications, panels and other events. He is available for consultation on both strategic and tactical use of mobile technologies in the enterprise.

******

We all know that mobile apps don’t need to do everything your desktop systems do – in fact, mobilizing everything on the desktop usually results in bulky, confusing apps that are difficult to use. Less is always more, and I bet you’ll be surprised at how much value you can get out of an app that’s simple, focused, and highly targeted to the needs of the user.

While working on a project last year, one of our target end users said to me “I don’t care about all the other stuff - I just want to be able to log my expenses.” So I asked a few of his colleagues and they all said the same thing, “just help us with expenses.” Those simple conversations revealed an acute pain that they dealt with day in and day out, which was the result of a clunky expense management system. If we could solve that problem for them, we’d be heroes. It was humbling to see my best ideas for that app summarily rejected – but hey, tossing the stuff that I thought they wanted in lieu of the functionality that they actually wanted cut the scope of the project by about 75%, saved a ton of work, and gave the team exactly what they needed. Nothing more, nothing less.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to work with a team that built an app for safety inspectors. Sticking to the concept of simple, user-centric design, the app contained very focused, high impact functionality. It was built and deployed in less than a month and immediately made the lives of plant inspectors a lot easier by eliminating the process of manually entering inspection reports into the computer when they returned to the office.

The best part about building small is that your development cycle is a lot more manageable. And when it comes time to upgrade or modify an app, there are less components to deal with, so your release cycles are shorter and updates have more impact. So when you’re designing your next app, don’t forget what’s important to your end user and remember that most of the time, less app is more ROI.

Thanks for sharing your insights Andre!!!

Upcoming Events

Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

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.

Mobility News Weekly - Week of June 27, 2011

The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

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

The International Data Corporation recently came out with a smartphone market forecast report, which indicates that Apple's share in the global smartphone market could decline from 18.2 percent in 2011 to 16.9 percent in 2015. Read Original Content

Apple holds 40 percent of the smartphone market in Australia with Android in the second place with 30 percent of the market and Symbian coming in a distant third with only 22 percent of the market. Read Original Content

Have you been waiting for Google to come up with a social network that takes advantage of the opportunities a smartphone provides? Google has now unveiled Google+ beta, a social networking backend that can be reached through most web-connected devices and computers. It's in invite-only beta testing, so expect to wait a few months until it becomes available to the public. Read Original Content

According to a report from Strategy Analytics, Qualcomm took first place in fourth quarter 2010 in the smartphone CPU market, and has retained its lead over Texas Instruments through first quarter 2011. As of 2007, Qualcomm had only 3 percent of the smartphone CPU market; but, in first quarter 2011, Qualcomm held 30 percent of the market. Read Original Content

IDC predicts that the number of mobile application downloads worldwide will grow from 10.9 billion in 2010 to 76.9 billion in 2014 and mobile app revenues will surpass $35 billion in the same year. Read Original Content

Frankfurt Eggs with Benedict Mobility Breakfast Series, June 29th

Today, the folks from K2 Partnering and I had another very interesting breakfast meeting, this time in Frankfurt, Germany. The audience included representatives from SAP and SAP CPG customers.

The folks from the CPG company had over 10 years worth of production mobility experience. They shared information about their custom built mobility app that had retail, SFA and merchandizing features. It ran on the Windows Mobile OS, and has been in production for many years. This mobile application was developed in the rich/thick client model and includes a mobile database, and is customized for every region based upon the products sold there. Administrators custom configure each region's mobility applications using a purpose built configuration tool.

The big problem with the CPG customer’s existing mobile application is that it requires Windows Mobile 6.5 and devices that use it OS. Today, smartphones running Windows Mobile 6.5 are nearly impossible to find and the company must scour the internet for replacement devices. Their replacement needs are substantial as they have many thousands of users.

They are now developing a replacement custom mobile application that will run on the Android OS. Why Android? One reason is because Microsoft would not help them figure out a way to support a database on Windows Phone 7. Another reason seemed to be that the CPG company had already gone down a dead end street with a Microsoft mobile OS. They did not want to be in the same situation again.

Another interesting note, Sybase had talked to them earlier this year and had not helped them understand how SUP would be useful for this project. This is unfortunate as it seems to me to be a good fit. I think they may not have had the right mobility expert involved in these discussions. They did recognize big value in Afaria, but that also seemed to lose focus over time.

During my presentations I emphasized that enterprise mobility is NOT about just supporting today’s available mobile devices, but about supporting mobile capabilities for today and tomorrow. In other words enterprises must take a long term platform view of mobility and prepare to support all the major mobile OS platforms today and tomorrow, rather than specific brands and device models. The IT audience in attendance agreed, but said their executives were focused on specific devices such as supporting iPads and iPhones. It is indeed a challenge.

Today’s mobile devices create enthusiasm and passion amongst senior management which open up budgets and encourage projects, but the IT team must temper this enthusiasm long enough to implement a solid infrastructure and platform to support future mobility solutions as well.

Even in Germany, there were no eggs served for breakfast. Tomorrow I am speaking in Brussels and will see if there are eggs there.

Upcoming Events

Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

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 27, 2011

Geneva Eggs With Benedict Mobility Breakfast Meeting, June 27th

Eggs With Benedict Geneva

Today the folks from K2 Partnering and I were in Geneva, Switzerland for a mobility breakfast meeting. It was a beautiful venue on the lake. We met mobility experts from many different companies and had numerous discussions about interesting projects.

Did you know that in some places in Africa medicine bottles have phone numbers on them so you can text to validate the medicine's authenticity? Seems counterfeit medicine is a huge problem in Africa.

Did you know some companies are wanting to capture and utilize the knowledge of their remote workers around the world by implementing social networking and knowledge management solutions? Seems many remote workers do not even have computers. Companies are considering supplying them with mobile phones with SMS capabilities to integrate with these solutions. Very interesting!

Another issue - It is often very difficult for a remote worker to find in-house experts in the same company in different parts of the world? Seems many in-house experts are only known through personal relationships. Large companies want to optimize the value of their institutional knowledge and expertise through mobility.

I am always interested to learn how different systems integrators around the world view the Sybase Unwired Platform and SAP's mobility strategy. I spoke to an SI today that believes Afaria is top notch, but is less convinced about the rest of SUP. He wondered why SAP did not just expand DOE to cover the mobility feature gap. I shared my opinion that there are many motivations for acquiring a company beyond just a particular product feature set. There is market position, image, perception, momentum, brand evolution and a need to start strong and command attention. Everyone must start and build. Sybase was a good place to start and build.

The SIs I spoke with today are seeing a lot of mobility interest from their clients in central Europe. They have numerous opportunities and a strong mobility sales pipelines.

Tomorrow I will be in Frankfurt for another Eggs With Benedict mobility breakfast meeting. Again I was disappointed that there were no real eggs for breakfast in Geneva. How many croissants can one person eat? There is still time to join me for breakfast in Brussels and London later this week to learn if I will ever see a real egg at these meetings.

Upcoming Events

Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

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.

Paris Eggs with Benedict Breakfast Meeting, June 26th

We kicked off the Eggs with Benedict mobility series of breakfast meetings yesterday in sweltering Paris, France. Strangely there were no eggs at my breakfast, only croissants, esspresso and fruit. We had an intimate group of attendees that were passionate about mobility and we explored some very interesting subjects related to the global challenges and demands on IT organizations for mobile solutions.

One CTO from a global cement manufacturer shared that he had just returned from Zambia where he met with his African IT organization and mobility was a central discussion point. The challenges they have are often basic infrastructure issues, like how to connect to the internet.

It was also interesting to learn that a global company was trying to figure out a way to connect with over half of their 78,000 employees who had no access to computers. They were looking at how mobility could solve this issue.

I also heard about how valuable SMS (texting) is to companies in many less developed countries. Basic mobile phones can support SMS, and many SMS solutions can provide incredible value. Banking, payments, notification of departure times for deliveries, etc., can all be done using SMS. One production text-based mobility solution discussed automatically notifying customers when their shipment left the depot. These were just a few of the many SMS based mobile solutions discussed over breakfast.

The discussion around SMS solutions helped me to better understand the value of Sybase’s 365 offerings to the overall mobility picture. Many of us who focus the majority of our time in the Western economies often forget there is much value outside of just expensive smartphones and tablets. We have yet to fully tap the power of SMS, but need motivates ingenuity.

The common thread with the meeting attendees was that enterprise mobility is a priority. Now on to Geneva for the next Eggs with Benedict mobility breakfast meeting, perhaps there will be eggs.

Upcoming Events

Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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

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 27, 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

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt predicts that by 2012 one-third of all restaurants and retail outlets will offer NFC payment options. Read Original Content

SmartSoft has announced a major breakthrough in NFC payments. Together with partners Turkcell and Plastkart, the companies have unveiled Europe's first MNO (Mobile Network Operator) Trusted Service Manager mobile solution for NFC Payments approved by MasterCard. Read Original Content

Research conducted by Technavio reveals that the NFC payments market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 68 percent between 2010 and 2014. Read Original Content

NFC developer ISIS announced that in the first few months of 2012 they will conduct trials for their new payment system in Salt Lake City and in Austin, Texas. Read Original Content

ViVOtech, provider of NFC software and systems, has announced that it has closed $24 million in a Series C round of funding from several new investors. Some investors include Google and Citi Bank. Read Original Content

For the third time this year PayPal has increased it’s forecast of mobile payments and now predicts the company will reach $3 billion in mobile payments during 2011. Read Original Content

The Field Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

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

AT&T has created a cloud system that allows physicians to upload and share medical images over a secure network. This will allow doctors to review patient images securely through their tablets and smartphones. Read Original Content

By using RFID tracking devices on valuable equipment, Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City was able to save thousands of dollars and can now operate with more assurance that their inventory is secure. Read Original Content

Traklok has created a new device that can communicate its location and status via Wi-Fi, satellite and cellular communications, and when used with cargo shipments can secure a cargo container's door so that it unlocks only where and when authorized to do so. Read Original Content

The U.S. Army is currently leaning towards Research In Motion’s Playbook over the iPad, because the Playbook is more secure for military use according to an Army Lieutenant Colonel. Apple and RIM are competing among the branches of the U.S. military to tap into the billions spent on new technology each year. Read Original Content

A study by the University of Cincinnati has found that RFID monitoring of medical supplies could save hospitals 18 percent in labor expenses. Read Original Content

The U.S. Marine Corps recently submitted a request for information to the smartphone community on how handset devices could be used by the Marine Corps to meet their specific needs both on and off the field. Read Original Content

Welcome to M2M News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices. I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article. I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market.

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

A study by The Electrical Power Research Institute estimates that smart grid projects in the United States will lead to $1.3 to $2 trillion in benefits by 2020. Read Original Content

Both SAP and General Electric have joined an alliance of companies in order to help create common standards within the smart meter market. Read Original Content

Ford recently announced that in select new models the vehicle communication and entertainment systems will be able to connect with smartphones. Read Original Content

ABI Research forecasts that by the end of this year there will be over 100 million smart meter shipments and by 2016 there will be 250 million yearly deliveries of smart meter units. Read Original Content

The Northeast Group recently projected that by 2020 the South American smart meter market will reach 104.5 million units and will be worth $21.5 billion dollars. Read Original Content

Wireless Federation reports there will be massive growth in M2M security components in Europe over the next few years. The projections point at growth from 2.4 million in 2010 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55 percent to touch 21.4 million in 2015. Read Original Content

Mobile Expert Interview Series: VWFS's Carl Redman

I was able to schedule and conduct an interview with Carl Redman, Head of IT Development and Business Analysis at Volkswagen Financial Serivces in the UK today. He is a veteran mobility user with two enterprise mobility implementations under his belt, and that makes him an expert in my estimation.

His first enterprise mobility implementation was a joint project between his developers and a team from Research In Motion. The mobile solution was the Mobile Stock Audit app and was used on BlackBerry devices. The app was integrated with SAP on the backend. It enabled his team of auditors to check on the status of over 20,000 vehicles distributed at auto dealerships around the UK. Auditing is very important, because it can help detect dealerships that may be experiencing financial troubles.

The Mobile Stock Audit app enabled auditors to have updated reports on their BlackBerrys and to closely monitor the workloads of their auditors.

This first bespoke (customized) mobility app took six months to develop with RIM. The mobile solution worked fabulously, but it was expensive to develop, maintain and support. If they continued to use this bespoke model, they would need to hire additional IT staff just to develop and support future mobility applications. Redman realized that bespoke mobility applications were not the ideal scenario for his future mobility applications.

Mobile Field Services and Service Optimization - Not This Time

Yesterday we called our lawn sprinkler company and requested service. The service was on a section that had been repaired earlier. I was calling them back to repair the same section.

Here is what an optimzied service would have looked like:

The mobile service ticket would have alerted the service technician that this was the second visit for the same issue.
The service technician would call me and ask a few questions before driving all the way out to my house. This would save time and money.
The service technician would then bring the required parts with him, thus reducing time and fuel and allowing for more work to be done in a day.

Instead, the service technician did not call, did not review the service ticket until arriving, did not look up my account details, and did not review my past service tickets and issues. He drove all the way out, looked at the problem, realized he needed parts, drove all the way back to get the parts, and returned 30 minutes later. A simple five minute visit took nearly an hour. The cost was the same for the 5 minute visit as it was for 1 hour.

I remember another incident with my plumber. I called and scheduled a service call. I said I will take a photo and email it to you so you can see the problem and know what to be prepared for prior to coming out. The dispatcher said, "What would I do with a photo?" Never mind....

You probably don't want to be a service technician at my house. I exhibit a freakish interest in your job, ask too many questions about the way your business operates and follow you around with a note pad.

Upcoming Events

Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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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.

Mobility News Weekly - Week of June 20, 2011

The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

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

Mobile app analytics firm Flurry is releasing a new report comparing the daily engagement of smartphone users on mobile apps vs. web browsing on the PC. Games and social networking categories dominate, capturing 47 percent and 32 percent on consumer time spent daily, respectively. Combined, these two categories control 79 percent of consumers’ total app time. Read Original Content

HighPoint Solutions, a premier provider of specialized IT services dedicated to the life sciences and healthcare industries, has announced a strategic partnership with Pyxis Mobile, provider of the only cross-device mobile application platform designed to meet customers’ constantly changing needs. Read Original Content

Android's rather sizable share of the U.S. smartphone market declined slightly from 52.4 percent to 49.5 percent last quarter. Read Original Content

The global smartphone security software market is set to reach nearly $3 billion by 2017, according to a new report available on companiesandmarkets.com. Read Original Content

Smartphone owners are using more than twice the data from a year ago, while data plan rates have remained constant, according to research firm Nielsen. Read Original Content

Going to Australia to Speak on Mobility and Field Services - July 11-13th

Manly, Australia

I have been invited to speak at the ClickConnect APAC 2011 event in Manly, Sydney, Australia on the subjects of enterprise mobility and mobile field services July 11th-13th. I was in Manly and Sydney in March speaking at the Mastering SAP Technologies conference and it was beautiful and an extraordinary place for a conference so was happy to accept.

This event is open to companies that are involved in field services, service optimization and/or are looking to implement enterprise mobility strategies and solutions.

The focus of the event is on how service organisations can achieve high performance of their people, assets and overall service delivery by overcoming specific barriers that may stand in the way.

Folks from SAP, Sybase, ClickSoftware and many other service companies that have already successfully implemented mobile and service optimization solutions will be speaking. If you are interested in attending click here for more information.

I will be leading a number of sessions on enterprise mobility strategies and the real-time, network centric operational approach to field services, and reporting on my most recent mobility research. I hope to see you there!

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

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 20, 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 00
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

A recent study by InMobi reveals that African mobile web users prefer the mobile channel (46%) to their Desktop (10%) and even In-store (44%) when shopping for Apparel, Consumer Electronics and Entertainment Tickets. Read Original Content

A new report from research firm Gartner predicts that global mobile advertising revenue will reach $3.3 billion this year, up from $1.6 billion in 2010. Read Original Content

ABI Research reports that by 2016 there will be over 830 million enterprise smartphone and tablet apps, a growth rate of nearly 90 percent. Read Original Content

According to Cowen and Company Google will see a 41 percent increase in mobile online advertising revenue this year. Read Original Content

A new report from research firm Gartner says that global mobile ad revenue is projected to reach $20.6 billion by 2015. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow to $6.9 billion by 2015. Read Original Content

TMC reports that advertising through mobile apps is more effective than advertising on mobile websites. Read Original Content

Pyramid Research reports that by 2015 there will be $6.2 billion dollars in location-based advertising. 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./

Location based application company Foursquare announced that they have reached the 10 million member threshold. Read Original Content

There are now over 6,000 location-based apps for the iPhone and Forbes predicts that location0-based services will continue to become the trend among consumers. Read Original Content

Everything Everywhere, O2 and Vodafone are partnering to provide both contactless payments and location-based advertising in the same package. Read Original Content

Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict

Mobile Commerce If You Want My Business
Mobility Insights for Tuesday
Mobility Can Change the World and Healthcare
Philippe Winthrop and Steve Levy Webinar on Enabling the Agile Business through Mobile Strategy
Eggs with Benedict - European Enterprise Mobility Breakfast Meetings
Response to My Article on Sybase's Embedded Mobile Databases and HTML5
What Does HTML5 Mean for Sybase's Embedded Mobile Database Business?

Upcoming Events

Eggs with Benedict - European Tour - Mobility Strategies and More, June 27 – July 1, 2011
ClickConnect APAC 2011, July 11 – 13, 2011
Syclo Mobile Conference 2011, July 13 – 15, 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
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
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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.

Mobile Commerce If You Want My Business

"They should have a mobile app if they want my business!" That is what my wife said to me today. She was referring to a particular business focused hotel chain without a mobile app. "I use my mobile Amazon app constantly. I want to do business with companies that have mobile apps," she added.

Forrester Research reports that mobile commerce revenue is expected to reach $10 billion by the end of this year and will continue growing at an annual rate of 39 percent.

I wonder how many other people feel the same as my wife.

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

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

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict