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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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.
