Kevin Benedict Ponders the Future

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - November 4, 2010

Kevin's 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 numbers and trends.

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AT&T announced Thursday a new practice area and portfolio called AT&T ForHealth, which will develop wireless, networked, and cloud-based solutions for the healthcare industry.

http://vator.tv/news/2010-11-04-at-t-announces-new-health-division

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Gold-Mobile, a leading provider of Mobile Enterprise CRM Solutions, and Howard University unveiled a new mobile student, faculty and alumni engagement platform as a part of Howard’s 2010 Homecoming Celebration.

http://www.prlog.org/11035234-howard-university-launches-advanced-mobile-solution-for-higher-education-with-gold-mobile.html

Custom Mobile Applications for the Enterprise

When I was managing a mobile applications company a few years ago, our entire market was SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises). In over half the mobile application development projects that we worked on there was NO existing backend database. Companies would contact us and say they needed the following:

A mobile application for a specific business process, inspection project, or unique business model.
They needed a database to store the data they collected in the field.
They needed mobile middleware to synchronize the data from the mobile devices to the database
Web access to the database so people around the company could easily view the data.
Reports on the data collected in the field.

Sometimes it is easy to focus only on the largest companies that use ERPs, but it is important to recognize that the majority of companies in the world do not use big ERPs and these companies are often service companies doing work in the field. These SMEs do not often have their own mobile middleware. They want as much simplicity as possible.

iPad Databases, Gartner and Enterprise Mobility

I was given a demo of ClickSoftware's field services application using HTML 5 and running on an iPad earlier this week. Very cool! It runs in both offline and online mode and can store the data on the iPad in an offline mode. This is significant because iPad is not set up to store content on the device.

I wonder what HTML 5 will mean to Sybase's mobile database business. Will HTML make developing mobile devices easier? How will HTML change the opportunities for mobile application developers?

I attended a briefing by Gartner's Michael King this week on enterprise mobility. Here are some of his comments:

Security and Enterprise Mobility

A VC (venture capital) firm called me yesterday asking my opinion on the importance of security in enterprise mobile applications. I told him every large enterprise asks about security, but they generally expect the mobile platform to address this issue. For example, if a large enterprise purchased the Sybase Mobility Platform, they would expect that the platform would include a solid security component.

Is that how you see it, or am I wrong?

The VC was looking at potentially funding a number of mobile security start-ups. They wanted to know if there was a market for third party mobile security solutions in large enterprises. I would like your feedback and thoughts on this. Is security simply a check box on a feature list of a mobile platform, or will large enterprises look for additional third party mobile security solutions?

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on 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.

Questions about Enterprise Mobility and Recent Industry Developments

I have been contemplating two enterprise mobility subjects today.

1) Syclo is known in the industry for having a very good mobility platform. This has served them well, but may now also be the source of a dilemma. What are they to do with their mobile platform investment in light of SAP's acquisition of Sybase? Syclo, as a co-innovation partner of SAP, will want to support SAP and their Sybase Mobility Platform, but they have a decade worth of investment into their own comprehensive mobility platform.

Here is how Syclo describes their platform, "Syclo's mobile solution framework (Agentry Platform) makes it easy to deploy and manage multiple mobile solutions in all areas of your business. For over a decade, Syclo has built on its mobile expertise and experience at over 750 organizations worldwide to bring you a family of 80 percent preconfigured mobile products that automate work order management, inventory management, scheduling, rounds and readings, turnaround tracking and more. "I image Syclo will now want to offer their customers a choice of two very good platforms, 1) Agentry Mobile Platform, or 2) Sybase Mobility Platform. This will be great for customers, but the challenge for Syclo is developing on and supporting two different platforms and re-engineering their existing mobile applications to run on either. They are self-funded, and this is not a small or inexpensive task.

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - November 3, 2010

Flexible Mobile Solutions - The Great Debate

When I was managing an enterprise mobility company a few years back, nearly all of my customers wanted the flexibility to customize their own mobile applications and develop new ones from scratch using our MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) and SDK (software development kit). The reality, though, was different. Our customers seldom wanted to take the time to learn how to develop enterprise quality mobile applications. They just called us and used our professional services to customize or develop new applications.

Here is the dilemma for mobility vendors: Do they develop mobile solutions flexible enough, and with SDKs simple enough, for their customers to build their own solutions, or do they lock down templates and mobile applications with only limited configuration and customization capabilities?

Mobile Applications and Their Real Value

Where is the true value in mobile applications? This is a big question right now for mobility vendors, especially in the SAP ecosystem. SAP acquired Sybase and their SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform), so the platform question is now answered. So where is the real value now for mobility vendors? What are they going to bring to the market that is of great value and provides them with a defensible market position?

Is it the ability to collect data?
Is it the ability to query data from a backend databases?
Is it the ability to synchronize?
Is it the ability to store data on a mobile database in an offline mode?
Is it a mobile apps or forms builder?
Is it the integration with ERPs?
Is it mobile web tools?

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - November 2, 2010

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

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The number of financial institutions offering downloadable applications, customized websites and check depositing services for mobile devices is expected to skyrocket in the next year.

http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/175_203/mobile-banking-payments-1027486-1.html

What Do Customers Want from a Mobile Retailing Application?

I came across a interesting report today about mobile retail applications. This report came from the EDI/B2B company, Sterling Commerce. You may not expect an EDI/B2B company to be conducting research on mobility, but they provide web portals and other solutions that are now accessed by mobile devices. As a result, it makes sense to conduct research on why customers are accessing portals on mobile devices.

The Sterling Commerce report indicates that product availability is becoming a necessity for impatient shoppers. Nearly two thirds (66 percent) of consumers surveyed considered it important to very important to be able to conveniently determine in-stock availability before visiting a store. It was significantly more popular than store locators and even the ability to read product reviews while in the store.

Microsoft, Enterprise Mobility and Software Development Kits

I read an interesting article on CNET written by Josh Lowensohn on the future of Microsoft's Silverlight. He quotes Microsoft's president of server and tools, Bob Muglia, as saying "our strategy has shifted," and noted that major release cycles for the runtime had slowed. This is an interesting subject for the developers of enterprise mobility applications designed for the Microsoft platforms.

Here is another quote from Microsoft's Muglia, "When we started Silverlight, the number of unique/different Internet-connected devices in the world was relatively small, and our goal was to provide the most consistent, richest experience across those devices, but the world has changed. As a result, getting a single runtime implementation installed on every potential device is practically impossible. We think HTML will provide the broadest, cross-platform reach across all these devices."

Recently I have been seeing and hearing that more and more of the enterprise mobility vendors are looking at HTML 5, and hybrid mixes of native application support and HTML 5 for their roadmaps. I believe we are seeing a significant trend here.

What do you think? Is this a good thing?

Click to Download a Free Aberdeen Report on Mobility in Service

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

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

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - October 28, 2010

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - October 27, 2010

Kevin's Mobile Retailing News Weekly - October 26, 2010

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

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Retailers are hitting up consumers the way they are most likely to pay attention: with that ringing, vibrating gadget that's always close by.

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/10/24/1768832/mobile-deals-grab-shoppers.html

Facebook and Mobile Retailing Applications

For about a month my Facebook wall was invaded by friends involved in raising money for their schools. It seems Kohls' retail stores were running a program that would award a few schools with $500,000 each toward projects if their schools were able to get the most people to visit Kohl's website and "check in."

I most often browse Facebook from my iPhone or iPad. By simply clicking on the Facebook link I would be sent to Kohl's website and encouraged to browse. The browsing, however, was for a good cause. The students, parents, families and friends all encouraged their networks of contacts to visit Kohls website and browse. Although it got kind of old after receiving the 133rd Facebook message reminding me to visit Kohl's website to benefit the school, it was effective in getting thousands to visit. I found the approach and program interesting.

Mobile Retailing Apps

Most significant mobile applications are integrated with a powerful database application. At the SAP TechEd conference last week SAP demonstrated an iPad business solution that considered the weather forecast in various regions as indicators of sales. At TecEd I also met with Ed Krufka, EVP of Solution Services at Smartsoft Mobile Solutions. He shared some of the complexity of applications he has been working on in the mobile retailing space.

These mobile applications are powered by sophisticated business intelligence solutions that are used to help sell more products to retail customers. They use knowledge of the customer's history, buying patterns, the weather, locations etc., to change and customize the content on mobile applications.

Mobile Data Collection is a Different Breed of Mobile Application

There is a whole category of mobile applications that is easy to overlook. It is the mobile data collection category. Many of these solutions are project specific. That means a large utility, contractor or government agency needs to collect data on mobile devices in the field for a project, but there is no existing databases to store this data and/or to create reports on it.

When I was the CEO of a mobile software company I was surprised by how much database work my team ended up doing. We were a mobile applications company, but since there were no existing backend database applications to store the data, we ended up developing those as well. Once the database was developed, our customers would often want browser access and reports. Good development work, but it could quickly divert your focus away from mobility.

SAP Mentor John Appleby on SAP Enterprise Mobility Plus News and Thoughts

Fellow SAP Mentor John Appleby published a terrific and well thought out article summarizing his views on the current state of SAP enterprise mobility. He works as a technical consultant in the UK for Bluefin Solutions Ltd., so has a much more technical view than I can provide. I recommend reading it.

I do have a question that has been in the back of my mind this week. If mobility is so important to SAP, where were all their mobility executives at SAP TechEd? Where was John Chen, Bob Stutz, Kevin Nix, etc, which are the folks responsible for SAP enterprise mobility? There were over 5,000 attendees. My session on the Future of Enterprise Mobility had over 200 registrants. It seems in hindsight, that SAP should have brought the big boys of mobility to the show.

Thursday at SAP's TechEd 2010 - Enterprise Mobility

Today (Thursday) I was able to finally get enough time to sit down in the Innovation Center with SAP folks and see demonstrations of their new enterprise mobility applications. I saw the following applications:

SAP Prove - Workflow approvals (expense approvals)
SAP CRM Mobile
SAP Expense Reports

I loved the SAP Prove application because of the GUI. It was an image of a desk with a crumpled piece of paper on it that had an expense request written on it. Next to it were two rubber stamps. One that said Approved, the other Rejected. By tapping one or the other it would stamp the paper. I loved it. I kept stamping all of them with Reject, Reject, Reject. I could do that all day. What power!

At SAP TechEd 2010 this week, I learned about a very interesting mobility project. A large manufacturer is so concerned about the security of their data, that they have special requirements that all components of computers and servers be cleaned and verified as clean and secure before they are assembled. All steps in the server manufacturing process are audited and verified as clean.

This manufacturer is concerned that a worm, or other malicious bug can be introduced to the system during the installation of software, or the manufacturing of memory or hard drives. Wow, I have just not thought this issue through. They point to the example of the Iranian Nuclear plant that was infected by a worm that was introduced by someone bringing in a flash drive to the secure environment.

SAP Enterprise Mobility Vendor Chooses Sybase's Unwired Platform

When SAP announced they were going to acquire Sybase, the SAP enterprise mobility market paused. Now it is moving again and SAP's mobility partners are aligning with SAP's mobility strategy and announcing support for the Sybase Unwired Platform as this announcement today demonstrates - ClickSoftware Partners With Sybase to Deliver Best-in-Class Mobility for the Service Sector.

Here are some interesting excerpts:

Wednesday at SAP's TechEd 2010 - Enterprise Mobility

Wednesday was another long and interesting day at TechEd. It started with a 7:00 a.m. breakfast with SAP's Premier Customer Network (largest worldwide customers) where Sybase's Sam Lakkundi and Senthil Krishnapillai briefed the attendees on the Sybase Unwired Platform.

For the first time, I saw a product roadmap slide in the presentation from Sybase. Sybase has always been hesitant to share the product roadmap in the past. I am not sure why. SAP likes to say that 70 percent of the world's GNP runs through SAP systems. With those numbers, it seems they have some responsibility to ensure reliable roadmaps are defined and published so the rest of their partner ecosystem and customer base can plan and design accordingly. Sybase - thank you for showing us that roadmap slide! Now if I can only get my hands on it.

Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly – October 21, 2010

Kevin's 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 numbers and trends.

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More shoppers flocked to Amazon’s website during the third quarter, helping the online retailer's net income climb 16 percent and easily beat analyst expectations.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/21/ap/tech/main6979245.shtml

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - October 20, 2010

Welcome to Kevin's 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 that I read each week. I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article. I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market.

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Infonetics Research predicts that the number of connections for embedded M2M applications will jump to 428 million by 2014, from 87 million in 2009.

http://urgentcomm.com/networks_and_systems/news/m2m-applications-market-20101013/

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Companies like Kore Telematics have been working with medical device makers to embed wireless connectivity into devices to create feedback loops, remote monitoring mechanisms and more.

http://mobihealthnews.com/9159/there-is-no-single-business-model-for-mobile-health/

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4G chipmaker Sequans unveiled its latest Mobile WiMAX solution, the SQN1280, an all-in-one WiMAX system-in-package for makers of handsets, tablets, USB sticks, portable hotspots, M2M modules, and a variety of consumer electronics devices.

http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/364604/mobile_telcos_must_prepare_m2m_ericsson/?fp=4194304&fpid=1

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A leading provider of vehicle fleet location based services and telematics technology, WebTech Wireless Inc., has installed five additional NextBus LED signs, providing predictive bus arrival information.

http://communication-solutions.tmcnet.com/topics/communication-solutions/articles/109153-webtech-wireless-installs-five-additional-nextbus-led-signs.htm

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Why isn't the embedded mobile market growing gangbusters? Although more and more devices are now being equipped with mobile connectivity, this decade old market is still small beer in comparison to the conventional mobile handset market.

http://www.mobilebusinessbriefing.com/article/trust-me-i-m-an-embedded-mobile-operator

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By harnessing the resources of MapMechanics’ TruckStops VRS routing and scheduling optimization system, work wear rental and cleaning specialist Fenland has achieved major efficiency gains in its collection and delivery system – reducing fleet strength by around 15 per cent.

http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/21664/2/

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GE Capital Fleet Services has announced a new, three year agreement with a national laundry services provider to use GE's Monitor and Intelligent Ops telematics solutions, with a goal of significantly reducing Web Service Company's operating costs.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge-capital-fleet-services-providing-telematics-solutions-for-national-laundry-services-company-2010-10-13?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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The FieldLogix Green Fleet Management System uses telematics technology and GPS fleet tracking data to produce several Green Reports to help fleet managers to cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint.

http://www.fieldtechnologies.com/nearly-half-of-fleets-measuring-emissions/

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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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Mobile computing places intelligence at the fingertips of first responders, enhances mission critical operations, and improves safety; but consumer products represent an expensive false economy when it comes to meeting the demands of public safety agencies.

http://www.bapcojournal.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/1780/Rugged_mobile_computing__96_consumer_products_are_an__93expensive_false_economy_94.html

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Australian scientists are preparing to use data from a $22 million array of high tech equipment to help them probe deeper into the nation’s coastal oceans.

http://spatialsource.com.au/2010/10/19/article/Gliders-to-probe-ocean-depths/GAJSVMDHCI.html

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AirStrip Technologies has developed one of a kind remote patient monitoring applications that deliver real time vital waveform and other critical patient data directly from hospital monitoring systems to mobile devices to enable healthcare providers to continually monitor vital signs from virtually wherever they are.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/airstrip-technologies-and-sprint-put-critical-patient-monitoring-information-at-the-fingertips-of-medical-professionals-2010-10-19?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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“There exists a mostly untapped opportunity around M2M, smart grid solutions, and especially mobile consumer electronics. In addition, there are opportunities for existing companies and newer entrants to compete around USB modems and a wide range of mobile computing devices as key WiMAX service providers increase their network coverage."

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/18/2324588/sequans-announces-new-wimax-system.html

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Digi International has introduced the Digi m130, an embedded module that allows OEMs to enable their products with GSM/GPRS, GPS and ORBCOMM satellite connectivity in a single solution.

http://www.elp.com/index/display/article-display/articles/electric-light-power/products/mobile-communications/2010/october/embedded-module_enables.html

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M2M Communications, an Idaho based tech company, has been named one of the most innovative providers of M2M communication technology.

http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/manufacturing/6755-m2m-communications-makes-industry-list

Recent articles by Kevin Benedict
Mobile Expert Interview Series – Energy4U’s Florian Ganz, Part 1
Mobile Expert Interview Series – Energy4U’s Florian Ganz, Part 2
Aware and Intelligent Mobile Applications
Mobile Retailing and Location Aware Applications
Who is Paying for Mobile Applications Today?
Link to Recorded SAP Enterprise Mobility Webinar
The Transformational Power of Mobile Enterprise Applications, Part 1
The Transformational Power of Mobile Enterprise Applications, Part 2
The New York Times, Starbucks and Other Retail Locations that Need Mobile Applications
Throwing Your Food Away
Social Networking, ClickContact and Enterprise Mobility

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Archived editions of Kevin's M2M News Weekly are available at http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/p/m2m.html

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

Also available are Kevin’s Mobile Retailing News Weekly and Kevin’s Mobility News Weekly.

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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.

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry
Analyst Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on 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.

Social Networking, ClickContact and Enterprise Mobility

Yesterday, I wrote an article about ClickSoftware's integration between their ClickContact application and Facebook. This is a big deal, so I want to comment more. First let's take a look at what ClickContact does:

ClickContact enables service organizations to put the management of the service experience into the hands of their customers by providing self-service appointment booking and updating over the Internet, including automatic customer notifications, and the option for a post-service survey. ClickContact allows a customer to schedule a service call for themselves, without the help of any of the organization's customer support staff.

ClickContact's functionality is now available in an application frame for inclusion on a service company's Facebook page. This means their customers can schedule appointments, change appointments, and receive appointment updates all on Facebook. Service companies will not be required to create their own websites in order to provide this functionality.

The Facebook application enables the service organization to send customers automatic updates via email, text and voice message, etc., including confirmations, updates and estimated arrival time of the service resource to the service location. This can all be received on the customer's mobile device. Changes that the customer makes to their schedule on Facebook will then be reflected on the mobile applications of the service technicians via ClickSoftware's software for the service sector.

"The most successful service businesses tightly link the human experience with the social web," said Simon Morris, of ClickSoftware. This is a very interesting model. It is one of the first examples I have seen of an enterprise mobility company integrating popular social networking sites into enterprise applications.
If you know of other enterprise applications that are integrated with popular social networking sites please share them with us.

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on 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.