Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of February 28, 2011

Kevin’s 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 Retailing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Money News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

A hand-held scanner that can detect cancer at a patient’s bedside using just a speck of tissue has been created by scientists from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/harvard-scientists-create-hand-held-device-to-detect-cancer-at-bedside.html

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The highly competitive handset-based mobile resource management market is expected to grow to $2.33 billion by 2016 inside North America.

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9a45fc/north_american_mobile_resource_management_mrm

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Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a new version of its handheld TruScan analyser that not only increases the speed with which the device can identify chemicals, but also broadens the range of compounds it can handle.

Building Compliance Features into Your Enterprise Mobility Solution, Part 2

Monitoring activities

This is Part 2 in this series on building compliance features into enterprise mobility solutions.  You can read Part 1 here.  This article looks at ways to configure best practices and other compliance requirements into mobile applications.

Sales and Marketing

It has been demonstrated many times that the trusted service technician that is standing in a customer's kitchen is a far better sales person than an unknown telephone sales person calling at dinner time. So how can you build processes into mobile applications that help your field services engineers be as effective as possible selling products and services?  Wouldn't it be nice if there was an automatic prompt that told the field services engineer what to discuss with each customer?

I have personally purchased extended maintenance warranties from my own HVAC service man several times over the past few years. They show me how I can save money and get better maintenance by being on the plan. I trust the experience of my service technician.

Mobile Enterprise Applications

When companies first begin considering an enterprise strategy for mobility, they often do not consider the role and value “compliance” layers can play. Even mobility vendors have not yet realized the true value. For the most part, enterprises are still thinking of mobile applications as a way to provide quick and mobile visibility to reports, notifications, approval processes, email messages and to replace paper forms. These are all good features, but there is much more that can be accomplished with mobile enterprise applications than has often been considered.

Building Compliance Features into Your Enterprise Mobility Solution, Part 1

One of the many challenges that companies have is managing a mobile workforce that is often working on remote and distant jobsites.  Many important parts of the business can be impacted by how the mobile workforce does their job while in these environments.  This article will discuss how mobile enterprise applications, with integrated compliance monitoring and prompting, can help companies manage remote and mobile work forces.

Customer Service in Remote Locations

The experience the customer has with your company is directly determined by how they are treated by the company representative they meet.  Often the onsite worker is the only face to face interaction the customer ever has with a person from your company.  The way the customer is treated and the services that are preformed can make all the difference between a good and bad experience and referral business.  How do you ensure that best practices are being followed in remote worksites?

Jobsite Safety

Jobsites can often be dangerous.  There may be safety issues and safety regulations that must be followed.  There are often specific processes that must be followed to reduce risks and to provide the safest working conditions possible for the workers and other people around the jobsite.

Legal Liabilities

There are many risks that must be considered.  If a jobsite is not properly prepared for safety and an accident happens, the company responsible for the work may be liable.  How do you ensure your workforce follows the appropriate processses, does mandated tasks and documents these steps to reduce risks?  Can a mobile device be used?

Best Practices

It is often the case that companies train their employees to do what is considered best practices within their company and industry.  These best practices can be at the core of a company’s competitive advantage.  How does a manager ensure that best practices are being followed on remote jobsites where there is no onsite supervision?  Best practices might be the difference between running an profitable operation and an unprofitable operation.

Read Part 2 of this article.

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

Rapid SAP Mobilization for the Enterprise Webinar

Preparing for the effort

SAP Services partner, Smartsoft Mobile Solutions has invited me to share my research on how best to prepare for implementing enterprise mobility in an upcoming webinar on March 8, 2011 at 11:00 AM ET.  Following my presentation, the Smartsoft Mobile team will present an overview of their experiences and knowledge gained through work on major SAP mobilization projects.

Topics to be covered include:

1. Trends in SAP Mobilization

2. Best Practice:  Mobile Engagement Methodology

3. Rapid Mobile Solution Deployment

4. Five Ways to Optimize your ROI

You are invited to join this webinar by registering here.

***************************************************
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 analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

M2M and SAP Enterprise Mobility

I have a bandwagon.  When I get on it, I shout that enterprise mobility and M2M communications will quickly merge.  I published an article earlier today about Zia Yusuf, former SAP EVP, and his new company Streetline that perfectly demonstrates the combination of mobile and M2M technologies.  Streetline’s parking sensors report the availability of a parking spot to an iPhone app.

Machines talking to machines and then sharing that information with mobile applications are the wave of the future.  Today, Redbox (kiosk DVD movie distributors) has their computerized and M2M enabled red metal kiosks communicate with your smartphone.  You can open a smartphone Redbox application and query the availability in inventory of a particular movie within a specific distance from your location.  The GPS on your smartphone tells Redbox your location and it queries each of its metal distribution kiosks for inventory levels and reports back to your smartphone app.

Let’s now take a look at some of the session titles at an upcoming M2M conference as they hint at the relevance and importance of M2M:

• M2M for Public Services and Smart Cities
• Automotive M2M, Asset Tracking, and Telemetry
• Embedded Networking Systems in the Smart Home and Office

M2M communications impacts, public services, cities, assets, vehicles, homes and offices.  Sounds pretty ubiquitous to me.

SAP is also now involved in various parts of the M2M and smart grid discussion.  Here is a recent press release about an SAP whitepaper titled, SAP Leads the Charge for Smart Grid Adoption in Europe. 

If you question the importance of this kind of technology here is the value as described in SAP’s press release on the paper, “the pervasive application of digital information and communication technologies can help the European Union achieve its 2020 goals of increased energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions, integration of renewables and greater energy security…”  Is there a nobler goal or mission?

SAP’s commitment to this technology area is highlighted in this press release excerpt, "At SAP, we are deeply committed to a leadership role in the development and application of ICT (information and communication technologies) tools and technologies able to turn the smart grid vision into reality…”




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.