Ben Lee on the Mobile Wallet

Mobile retailing guru Ben Lee has written a very interesting blog article on Google's new mobile payment platform.  Some of the most interesting points are as follows:
  • Google’s next version of its Android Smartphone software will support a technology that lets people use their handsets, instead of credit cards.
  • Google CEO Eric Schmitt said that support for Near Field Communications will be integrated into the next version of its Android software.
  • Three of the four largest mobile phone carriers in the U.S. have formed a joint venture to turn phones into digital wallets.
  • Many mobile application developers will incorporate this new functionality into mobile retailing applications.

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 4

Bill Moylan, Syclo's EVP of Sales
This is part four of the an interview with Syclo's Bill Moylan.

Kevin:  What other trends are you seeing in the enterprise mobility market?

Bill:  We are actually still quite focused on the traditional market of field services.  We have a narrower view of enterprise mobility than perhaps you.  There are more devices, more operating systems and more choices for mobile devices, but the value propositions are much the same as we have been selling for sometime.

Kevin:  What do you predict will be different in 2011 in the enterprise mobility market?

Bill:  There will be a massive amount of options available for new mobile devices and operating systems.  This will allow Syclo to recommend exactly the right kind of mobile devices for each kind of job.  We will be announcing Android support soon.

Kevin:  What industry markets are you focusing on today?

Mobile Coupons and Enterprise Mobility

In an article written by Helen Leggatt for BizReport, she writes that 54 percent of retailers will put m-coupon (mobile coupon) systems in place in the next 12 months.  These systems will allow coupons to be dispatched to customers' mobile phones and scanned at the point-of-sale.  I can anticipate that the "dispatched" component could easily be scheduled, location-based, by subscription or on-demand.

In a recent survey by mBlox it was found that over three quarters of all consumers surveyed use coupons when shopping, and 29 percent of UK and 15 percent of U.S. consumers have already used a mobile coupon.  In addition, 71 percent of UK and 42 percent of U.S. mobile users said they would be interested in receiving mobile coupons/vouchers while they are shopping in a store to alert them to a special offer or promotion.

The mBlox survey also shows that there is a different level of adoption rate between UK and U.S. consumers when it comes to business communications use mobile phones.
  • 59 percent of UK and 17 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed stated SMS is their preferred choice when being contacted about appointment reminders.
  • For payment reminders, such as credit card and utility bills, the consumer research showed that more than one in three consumers in the UK chose SMS as their preferred communication channel, but just one in 10 chose SMS in the U.S.
  • Almost 90 percent of consumers prefer multi-channel options for interacting with businesses.
It will be interesting learning what components of SAP will be integrated with mobile coupon applications.  If you have insight into this, please let me know by commenting below.  SAP service partner, Smartsoft Mobile Solutions is one company that I know specializes in the mobile retail application market.

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

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 3

Bill Moylan, Syclo's EVP of Sales
This is part three of this interview with Syclo's Bill Moylan.

Kevin:  Do you talk about improvements to DSO (days sales outstanding) as a value that may be available through better field services processes?

Bill:  Absolutely!  Make sure that all billing is done accurately.  Make sure you are providing the services in the SLA (service level agreement). Make sure you have all the warranty information.  Get the customer to sign off on the work.  SAP gives you a lot of strength in this area.

Kevin:  What mobile device trends are you seeing in your markets?

Bill:  Executives want BlackBerry applications.  Executives are trying to get IT to accept iPhones.

Kevin:  How are you working with Sybase?

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 2

Bill Moylan, EVP of Sales Syclo
This is the second part of this interview with Syclo's Bill Moylan.

Kevin:  What advice do you give companies that are just looking to get into mobility?

Bill:  Let me start out by giving some advice as to what companies should not do.  I have seen many companies that try to build a strategy around what smartphones they happen to have in their pocket. Some companies say to me, “We use BlackBerrys, so we need a mobile application for a BlackBerry.”  That is a wrong strategy, as mobile devices will change, but you want your enterprise mobility strategy to be long lasting.  That is not a good strategic view.

Companies have key business objectives; they are usually around reducing costs and increasing revenue. Companies should look at their objectives and then hunt for areas in the various operational areas where mobility can help the company accomplish them.  We work with a lot of life science companies.  They may be looking for ways they can improve the efficiencies of their 1,500 sales reps. Walk around the entire organization, look for people not chained to their desk and look for ways to improve their operations business, ignore the devices.

Kevin:  Do you see executives and board members starting to use iPads?  Are iPad users more interested in funding mobile projects?

Bill:  I see far more executives using BlackBerrys.  Since they use BlackBerrys they are always asking what they can do with them.  Often they are looking for approval management and things like that on BlackBerrys. I do see iPhones, but they are usually rogue iPhones.

Kevin:  How does a company prepare for mobility?

Bill:  The first step is that you need to understand your current processes.  Where are you today?  What are your current processes?
  • Measure the current processes. 
  • How much time do all your processes take? 
  • How long are you traveling? 
  • How long does it take to complete the work order? 
  • How often are your service technicians completing a repair on the first visit, and how many times do they have to come back for a second and/or third visit?
  • Are your service technicians bringing the right tools for the job? 
  • Do they have the right parts for the job?  
  • How long does it take to fix that particular piece of equipment?  
  • How much overtime am I paying? 
  • Can they move to a more planned maintenance model?  CMMS really help! 
I spoke to a company two months ago about problems or failures in their processes.  They said the two biggest problems were service technicians entering the categories of “other” and under this answer; they would add the second “other.” How can you use “other” to improve planning and processes?  How can you use “other” to improve predictability?  You need to require real answers that are useful answers.

“Be a work order.”  Pin a work order to your shirt and walk the process.  Understand all the hands that touch it, and all the steps.  No cheating!

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 1
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 3
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 4

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

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 1

Bill Moylan, Syclo EVP of Sales
Bill Moylan, EVP of Sales at Syclo was kind enough to spend some time with me recently answering questions.  Syclo is a co-innovation partner of SAP.

Kevin:  What mobile device(s) do you personally carry?

Bill:  I am a mobile junkie! I have a BlackBerry 9700, iPhone, iPad, iPAQ, and I will occasionally carry a Symbol MC55.  I want to get an ES400. I have been a mobile junkie for years! I use the iPad, iPhone and BlackBerry every day.  The iPhone and iPad are mostly for personal use.  However, the BlackBerry is chained to my hand for work.  Oh yes, I have a Netbook in the livingroom to surf the internet while watching TV.  I also have a laptop, but it stays in the office.  I carry the iPad nowadays.

Kevin:  How do you carry them all, one in each pocket?

Bill:  No, I carry the iPhone and BlackBerry in the same pocket. I carry the iPad in my briefcase. The iPad is very useful.  I used the iPad for navigation this week on a three hour drive.  I sat in back and surfed the web on the long drive.

Kevin:  What is your favorite mobile application?

Bill:  The coolest mobile application that I have is called “Wine Snob.” At a restaurant, you can snap a photo of a bottle of wine, it captures the GPS, and it will instantly bring up the details and the retail price.  That way you can see how much you are overpaying for the wine!  You can rate the wine, see other people’s ratings and add comments; enter the restaurant name and the people with you.  It keeps a historic log of the wine you have drank, your ratings and the location you had it.

Kevin:  How romantic! A candle light dinner, you snapping photos of wine bottles, scanning ratings on your iPhone and complaining about overpaying.

Bill:  No, it is not very romantic, but my girlfriend loves it too. She often carries my iPad.  When my daughter is with me, she carries the iPad.

Kevin:  What is your average mobile application deal size now days?

Bill:  Average deal size – many are still SMEs, but average deal size is $250,000 because of smaller upgrades. Net new accounts are all $500,000-$1 million.  The deals with SAP are very substantial.

Kevin:  How is the SAP relationship going?

Bill:  The relationship is going very well.  I am on the road with SAP sales teams now all the time.  I just got back from a sales call with SAP.  It was with a company that does outsourced plant maintenance.  I was with the SAP area VP of sales and the account executive.  We had fun, as we got to see exactly what happens in the field.  I love being in the field, and I training my sales team to be very thorough in the discovery process, so we understand the value.

Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 2
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 3
Mobile Expert Interview Series: Syclo's Bill Moylan, Part 4


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

Mobile Expert Interview Series: SAP's Usman Sheikh, December 2010

SAP's EcoHub is SAP's online market for certified partners' solutions.  If you want to know what's new in the SAP ecosystem, EcoHub is the first place to visit.  I wanted to learn what was new in the category of enterprise mobility on EcoHub, so I called up my friend Usman Sheikh, vice president of SAP's EcoHub.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions and share his thoughts with us.

Kevin:  Usman, you have a great vantage point as vice president of EcoHub.  You get to see what your certified partners are doing.  What is new at EcoHub?

Usman:  Here are some interesting EcoHub facts.  15 percent of all EcoHub solutions are mobile.  When we headline with mobility our EcoHub web traffic doubles.  We get 30-40 percent more sales leads for mobile solutions than other solution categories.  Twenty-five percent of leads that come into EcoHub are the result of social media marketing campaigns.

Kevin:  What does EcoHub do for mobile application vendors?

Kevin's Mobility News Weekly - November 18, 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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Smartphone applications will enable the mHealth industry to successfully reach out to 500 million of a total 1.4 billion smartphone users in 2015 the new "Global Mobile Health Market Report 2010-2015" by research2guidance says.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/500-million-people-will-be-using-mobile-health-applications-in-2015-107160173.html

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The new release of Open Text Everywhere features native client applications for Apple iPhone and iPad.

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-cms/open-texts-enterprise-cms-mobile-app-befriends-iphone-ipad-009154.php

Vivido Labs Releases New Mobile BI Application for SAP Customers

I have been checking in with SAP's mobility partners this week to learn what is new.  I contacted Vivido Labs and it turns out they were in the process of announcing a brand new Moible BI (business intelligence) application.  So let's talk about it! 

It allows you to access BI data on your server and view the updated BI data from your smartphone.  Now for the fun part?  You can customize all the views of the data right from the smartphone. You can add columns, hide columns, and look at the data in hundreds of different ways.   In my experience looking at the same data from different perspectives can give you unique insights.

I am a big fan of getting the right data to the right person at the right time. I see this as a good step in that direction.

Kevin's M2M News Weekly - November 17, 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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Worldwide revenue for embedded mobile modems for M2M applications is forecast to more than triple in 2010 over 2009, and to continue growing strongly through at least 2014, at a 66 percent compound annual growth rate.

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Infonetics-Research-Embedded-mobile-M2M-modem-market-on-track-more-than-triple-2010-1330192.htm

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Members of the M2M sector are posting third quarter financial results this week, and the news seems overwhelmingly positive across the board.

http://www.telecomengine.com/techzones/wireless/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_6663

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