Challenges for a Global Manager of Service Delivery

This morning in New York City, I spent time with a Manager of Service Delivery for a global security and alarm company.  He shared some of the challenges he faces around mobilizing his field services teams.
  • Operations in 40 countries
  • 40 different ERP instances from many different vendors
  • Need to replace a 22 year old mobile system
  • Old mainframe systems in many regions
  • Desire to integrate mobile time sheets with all the various backend systems and regional laws.
  • Questionable data quality
  • Workforce reluctant to learn new technologies
Sometimes the biggest challenges to mobility, really have little to do with enterprise mobility.  This company is developing their mobility strategy now, looking at mobility platforms and conducting small POCs with a plan to implement in a couple of years.

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing:  Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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.

Mobile Expert Video Series: VIP's Mark Goddard

VIP is a systems integrator that I met at SAPPHIRENOW 2011 that has recently added a mobility focus.  Learn about their mobility strategy and how they are approaching the market in this short video interview.



Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing:  Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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.

Mobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Nick Brown

Myself and fellow SAP Mentor John Appleby interview SAP's Nick Brown on SAP's enterprise mobility strategies, timelines and products.  The audio on this video is rather poor, but the content is great, so crank up the volume and put on the headset.  I have even experimented with adding captions.

 


 
Additional videos by Kevin Benedict at SAPPHIRENOW 2011

 

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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.

Mobile Retailing News Weekly - Week of May 23, 2011

The 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 Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly

A study from TNT Research shows that over 50 percent of consumers in rapid growth economies want to use mobile phones for greater access to financial services.  Read Original Content

According to a new survey by MasterCard Worldwide, 62 percent of Americans who use a mobile phone would be open to using their device to make purchases.  Read Original Content

Advancements in technology are set to change the way customers pay for things, and telecommunication companies and financial institutions are readying themselves for the mobile payment revolution.  Read Original Content

Americans are ready and waiting for mobile payment systems, reveals a new survey from MasterCard, with almost two-thirds open to using their mobile device to make payments.  Read Original Content

VeriFone and software developer Micros Systems have developed a program that will allow NFC enabled phones to pay for meals at restaurants with participating NFC capability.  Read Original Content

Pyxis Mobile provides an agile, powerful, and secure mobile enterprise application platform.  It enables rapid cross-platform application development, unlimited data integration, enterprise-grade security, and the unique ability to change and update applications in real time.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Pyxis Mobile, http://pyxismobile.com/.

According to research done by Acxiom, 20 percent of smartphone owners in the UK are ready for NFC payments.  Read Original Content

A recent rumor suggests that Apple will in fact be introducing an NFC capable iPhone 5 phones during the late summer months.   Read Original Content

EBay is continuing to enter the local mobile shopping market as it continues to purchase startup mobile payment companies.  Read Original Content

Consumer research conducted in nine countries has found that PayPal is the most trusted by consumers to handle personal financial data when making mobile payments.  Read Original Content

Capital One now offers customers an iPhone app to help manage accounts through their mobile devices.  Read Original Content

Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict

Mobile Expert Video Series:  Novus’ Dave Ploch
Mobile Expert Video Series:  Clicksoftware’s Nigel Clark
SAPPHIRE NOW 2011 Day 3 Mobility Photos!
Mobile Expert Video Series:  ClickSoftware's Moshe BenBassat
Mobile Expert Video Series:  Smartsoft Mobile's Ed Krufka
Mobile Expert Video Series:  SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adl
Mobile Expert Video Series:  Leapfactor's Luis Cabrera
Mobile Expert Video Series:  Smartsoft Mobile's Dan Homrich
Mobile Expert Video Series:  AMT-Sybex's Malachy Martin
Mobile Expert Video Series:  SAP's Thortsen Stephan

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing:  Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

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

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, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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.

Mobile Expert Video Series: Novus' Dave Ploch

Dave Ploch is the Director of New Technologies with Novus International.  He is right in the middle of an SAP implementation of ERP, and an SAP mobility implementation.  I interviewed him about his strategies and experiences in this short video taken at SAPPHIRENOW 2011.


Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Exclusive SAP Mentor and Blogger Briefing:  Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Redstone Arsenal's (DOD/Chugach) 3 Maintenance Challenges Solved by Mobile

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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.

Interviews with Kevin Benedict