Former SAP EVP is Solving Headaches with Mobile and M2M Technologies

Today Zia Yusuf is CEO of Streetline, a San Francisco company.  This former SAP EVP is showing up all over the media these days.  Why?  His new company provides some very interesting mobile and M2M (machine-to-machine) technologies that show real time parking availability on smartphones.

What does his solution consists of?

• Battery-powered sensors (M2M) in parking spaces
• Receiver
• Data center in Dallas, Texas
• $1.99 Mobile Parker iPhone application

Here is how it appears to work - Yusuf convinces various municipal governments on the benefits of using Streetline’s solution.  These benefits include:

• Reduces fuel used searching for parking spots
• Reduces the time spent searching for a parking spot
• Reduces neighborhood traffic
• Increased driving safety (not distracted looking for parking spots)
• Provides directions to available parking spots

Once approved, Streetline’s battery-powered sensors are installed in parking spots.  The sensors communicate with the nearby receiver (reporting whether the parking spot is empty or occupied), which connects to the data center in Texas, which in turn connects to iPhone applications everywhere.  The mobile app then shows the number of open parking spaces on any given street and directs you to them via Google Maps.

Jefferson Graham in a USA TODAY article reports that, “IBM in 2010 named Streetline the 'Global Entrepreneur of the year,' after it won several competitions IBM staged to look for companies working on a 'smarter planet.'"

I write about both mobile solutions and M2M (machine-to-machine) communications.  This solution utilizes both, so it wins my favorite mobile solution of the day!

Congratulations Zia!  I knew there was an afterlife.

Whitepaper of Note: Unlocking the Value of Enterprise Mobility

Mobility News Weekly - Week of February 21, 2011

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 data and trends.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Money News Weekly
Also read Mobile Retailing News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

Enterprise mobility will be the biggest trend in tech this year, according to Forrester, with private app stores popping up to simplify mobile app overload.

http://www.cio.com/article/661863/Enterprise_Mobility_in_2011_Keeping_Apps_and_Phones_Under_Control

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Sprint and Good Technology have announced a partnership to provide business grade security and full device management features on Sprint's lineup of popular Android devices that business customers want most.

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-partners-good-technology-provide-android-based-business-solutions

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A new Android app, appropriately titled Route 66 Maps + Navigation, contains a feature called Follow Me that allows real drivers to follow virtual cars turn for turn.

SAP PCN Webcast on Mobile Device Management

I wanted to share information about an upcoming SAP PCN webcast on mobile device management that I will be participating in at 2 PM ET on March 2, 2011. Here is an excerpt from the SAP PCN's official invitation.

LEARN HOW YOU CAN BETTER MANAGE ENTERPRISE MOBILITY

Learn Directly from SAP and Industry Experts About Key Device Management Aspects of Enterprise Mobility

Webinar Highlights

• The case for mobile device management
• What the Afaria mobile device management solution brings to the table
• Strategies for managing your enterprise usage of mobile devices such as iOS, Android, and Blackberry
• Deploying and integrating with Afaria

Panelists

Kevin Benedict
Kevin Benedict is an SAP mentor volunteer, blogger, mobile and M2M industry analyst, and SAP Topic Leader for enterprise mobility.  He is a popular enterprise-mobility consultant, writer, and speaker on subjects related to mobile enterprise. Kevin is an entrepreneur and consultant on enterprise mobility. 

James Naftel
James Naftel is an Afaria product manager at Sybase, an SAP company. In this position, James drives product strategy for Afaria, the market-leading mobile-device- management solution from Sybase. His areas of focus include mobile-device software and asset management, identity and access management, and threat management.

Sam Lakkundi
Sam Lakkundi is an enterprise-mobility architect and a “SWAT” team member at Sybase, an SAP company. He has 15 years' experience working directly with customers that employ a wide range of technologies including client server, database, application server, and mobile engineering.

Registration link:
http://bit.ly/hhMiUq



***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility group 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 Retailing News Weekly - Week of February 21, 2011

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 and mobile marketing applications 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 Money News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

A number of blogs have pointed us to news that mobile payment company Square is dropping the .15 cents per transaction charge for any business using its mobile payments device and service.  Square previously charged 2.75 percent of each transaction amount plus a flat .15 cents per transaction fee.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20035055-62.html

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Google searches conducted on mobile phones centering on shopping-related keywords grew more than 300 percent from January 2010 to January 2011, reports a new Google study on holiday shopping.

http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/02/17/holiday-shoppers-smartphones-search-and-researchand-buy

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A forecast from Yankee Group predicts the worldwide transaction value of mobile payments will total $984 billion by 2014, up from $162 billion last year.

http://finchannel.com/Main_News/Tech/81424_eMarketer%3A_Mobile_Payments_Take_Hold_Around_the_World/

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At the end of 2010 there were over 5.2 billion mobile connections globally – more than three times as many connections as there are PCs in the world. Mobile phone subscriptions continue to rise, making mobile phones the most rapidly adopted technology in history.

Meet Me in Brussels at The Enterprise Mobility Exchange!



Meet Me in Brussels!

I have had the good fortune to be invited to attend and speak at The Enterprise Mobility Exchange in Brussels this year.  It runs May 9th-11th.

Here is the official description:

Equipping your field workforce with mobile technology to deliver maximum profit, productivity and customer service excellence.

The 2011 Enterprise Mobility Exchange is the leading invitation only networking event for businesses actively purchasing and implementing mobile technology for their workforce.  This unique Director's forum will bring together the real decision makers from field service organisations from across Europe.

Attend the 2011 Enterprise Mobility Exchange and:

• Hear from market leaders about cutting edge developments in mobile technology and discover how to apply this to your own business objectives.
• Catch up with peers and make new business connections through a series of networking opportunities.
• Learn from the experiences and challenges other key decision makers face in implementing mobile technology and use this to improve your own enterprise mobility strategy.
• Hear from innovative organisations who have successfully implemented mobility solutions and find out where they plan to invest in the year ahead.

To request your invitation or to find out more visit www.enterprisemobilityexchange.com/kblog

I know SAP ecosystem members Sybase, ClickSoftware and Syclo will all be there.

***************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility group 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.