Kevin Benedict Ponders the Future

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 News Weekly - Week of June 6, 2011

Welcome to 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. 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.

Also read Field Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Top Italian utility Enel and its Spanish subsidiary Endesa have launched a pilot project to install remote power meters in Brazil, part of a drive to develop smart grids in Latin America. Read Original Content

GE smart meters are credited for prompting North Leigh in Oxfordshire to reduce its energy consumption by 10 percent for three consecutive months. The power conservation has earned the British village a £20,000 award from Scottish and Southern Energy. Read Original Content

Kore Wireless Group Inc. announced it has acquired Australian-based M2M provider Mach Communications Pty. Ltd. to grow its M2M business for multinational companies. This acquisition allows Kore to prepare for the predicted surge in the Asian M2M market in the coming years. Read Original Content

Reportlinker has recently published a research report and argues that the market for M2M in the utilities sector will see significant growth in connections from 100 million in 2010 to 1.5 billion in 2020. Read Original Content

Matt Hatton from Machina Research estimates the total market for M2M in the utilities segment will be worth approximately $33.7 billion in 2020, up from $5.6 billion in 2010 and peaking at $39.3 billion in 2017. Read Original Content

Mobile Vendor Video: Brothers and Mobile Printers

I had the opportunity to meet both Paul and Andrew from Brothers over dinner last night. Both of these guys are enthusiastic, although confused and misguided, UK soccer fans and passionate mobility guys. In this interview, I ask them to show me the latest in Brother's mobile solutions for field service technicians.

Upcoming Live Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
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

*************************************************************

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.

Mobility News Weekly - Week of June 6, 2011

The 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 Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

Google Maps 5.5 for Android is being upgraded to include check-in and rate and review buttons. Meanwhile, Google Places gets a "People Like You" recommendation feature. Read Original Content

South Korea’s handset maker Samsung has said it eyes a 40 percent share in the Indian smartphone market by December this year as it launches more devices to expand its product portfolio. Read Original Content

In the China market, Motorola Mobility has seen its sales performance improve and market share rebound. Efforts implemented in 2011 will bring a major turnaround for the company in 2012, according to Frank Meng, vice president and president of the Greater China, Motorola Mobility. Read Original Content

In its latest market report, Gartner revealed that worldwide mobile phone sales topped out at 427.8 million during the first three months of the year. Smartphones alone accounted for more than 100 million units, or about 24 percent of overall sales. Read Original Content

Google's Android operating system has taken the Chinese mobile market by storm, helping to dramatically lift the number of smartphones purchased in the region while grabbing share from competitors like Nokia. Read Original Content

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/

Analyst firm Gartner has expressed confidence in South African organizations utilizing SAP products. However the analyst firm calls on local businesses to come to grips with SAP's roadmap as well as the changes it is undergoing. Read Original Content

In the latest update to its Enterprise Mobility Market Data, ABI Research reports mobile broadband revenues from the enterprise segment for cellular connectivity of laptops, netbooks, and media tablets will reach $36 billion worldwide. Boosting enterprise mobile broadband revenues will be connections for the high growth media tablet segment. Read Original Content

Based on ComScore research, Android's market share grew from 26 percent in November 2010 to 31.2 percent in January 2011. By the end of April 2011, the OS had captured a market share of 36.4 percent. At the current rate, Android could capture almost 50 percent of the U.S. smartphone market by the end of 2011. Read Original Content

The smartphone market is expected to keep on booming over the next four years and, not surprisingly, those devices will be populated with an increasing array of downloaded apps. By 2015, market research firm In-Stat expects app downloads to come close to eclipsing 48 billion. Read Original Content

The leading reports on the smartphone market in the United States show Apple's popular iPhone moving to second place for the first time, unseating BlackBerry as Research In Motion's once-leading mobile platform continues it's decline. Google's Android phones are still well in the lead, but there is less than 11 percent share total between the three leaders. Read Original Content

Google signed an agreement with Citigroup and MasterCard in late March to embed near field communication technology in the upcoming versions of Android-based phones, to make mobile phone payments easier. In late May, the company formally took the wraps off a new e-wallet service, featuring not only Citigroup and MasterCard, but partners including Sprint. Read Original Content

The global tablet market is expected to grow to $49 billion, selling 149 million tablet devices by 2015, beating every consumer electronic products after TVs and PCs segments, said new research by Strategy Analytics. Read Original Content

SAP Africa has launched the revolutionary SAP In-Memory Appliance, and the new 4.0 releases of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Enterprise Information Management software for the first time in Africa. The launch comes in response to the huge volumes of data companies today have to access, analyze and base their business decisions on. Read Original Content

Microsoft’s share of the smartphone market continues to dip, according to new numbers from comScore. The research firm plugged the company’s market share at 6.7 percent in April, down from 8 percent in January. Read Original Content

The rising popularity of tablet computer systems will make mobile broadband more successful in the coming five years, according to a report from ABI Research. In its recent study, the insight provider estimates that, by 2016, the global market for mobile broadband will be worth some $36 billion. Read Original Content

Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict

Mobile Expert Video Series: Clicksoftware's Gil Bouhnick
Enterprise Mobility and Manned/Unmanned Systems Integration Capabilities
Where Should Mobile Intelligence Reside?
Upcoming Mobility Events of Note
Windows Phone 7 and Italian Railroad
Will Microsoft’s Mango Shake Enterprise Mobility, Part 1?
The Importance of Mobile EAM and M2M

Upcoming Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
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

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.

*************************************************************

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 User Video: Portugal Telecom's Manuel Rosa de Silva

Mauel Rosa de Silva is an Executive Member of the Board at Portugal Telecom. I met with him in Cannes, France in a hotel suite overlooking the town and peaceful Mediterranean to discuss enterprise mobility.

Portgual Telecom is a huge international media and entertainment company with locations around the world. They are aggressively embracing the concept and strategy of the real-time enterprise. They have recently implemented a number of different field services optimization solutions from ClickSoftware including deploying ClickMobile to 4,000 field engineers using Motorola MC65 mobile handhelds.

Upcoming Live Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Pre-recorded 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

*************************************************************

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: ClickSoftware's Gil Bouhnick

I have been wanting to meet the popular mobility blogger Gil Bouhnick for over a year and this week I finally got the chance to meet and interview him. I met him in France where I was speaking at a mobility conference and asked him about the mobility solutions that he is working on now.

Read Gil's blog, MobileFever here.

*************************************************************

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.

Enterprise Mobility and Manned/Unmanned Systems Integration Capabilities

The army is fundamentally changing the way they are operating by implementing Manned/Unmanned Systems Integration Capabilities (MUSIC). They are developing ways to transfer multi-intelligence capabilities (manned and unmanned data collection systems) between platforms, and to fuse the information in ways they haven’t been able to do before. They are also going to share this information with additional users in ways that were not possible before.

How does this capability relate to enterprise mobility? It is a peek into the future of commercial enterprise mobility. It combines manned (mobile workforce) and unmanned intelligence (remote wireless sensors and M2M communications) into a common platform that will enable the combined information to be used, fused and shared at the right time, with the right person, on the right device and in the right amount.

The army says these changes will allow them to innovate much faster than in the past. As the workload of army operators (commercial equivalents would be service managers and dispatchers) increases, the mobile workforce must rely more on automation and dissemination of information to work effectively in a real time environments.

On a related topic, the army's announced Android based mobility framework and system is called the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P Handheld (read more). Here are some of the initial mobility apps mentioned:

GPS tracking of user-designated friendlies or unfriendlies
Tactical Ground Reporting
Medevac messaging apps
Military contacts address book
Open Office for viewing documents.

The government took an additional interesting step of opening up this platform to mobile application developers. It built its own protected framework for the JBC-P called the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment, or CE, which ensures that apps built for the JBC-P will be secure and interoperable with different mission command systems.

It appears that the mobility apps in JBC-P Handheld, and the mobile intelligence (MUSIC) capabilities identified in this article will all be available on the same mobile devices.

I am watching closely how the military is using mobility and real time intelligence to gain insights and learn lessons on what is transferrable to us involved in the commerical enterprise mobility space.

Upcoming Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
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 Marketing News Weekly - Week of June 6, 2011

The Mobile Marketing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile marketing 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 Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Monthly

Mobile shopping could deliver a 4.5 billion pound boost to Britain's economy by 2016 and a further 13 billion by 2021. This is largely due to EBay’s mobile shopping service. Read Original Content

Groupon has filed documentation to raise as much as $750 million in an initial public offering, revealing a short history filled with skyrocketing sales and steep losses. Read Original Content

PriceGrabber reports that 29 percent of smartphone users shop using mobile phones. Read Original Content

TheFind has launched CATALOGUE that uses content from paper catalogues from retail stores and displays them on tablets such as the IPad and Android tablets. Stores that are using TheFind’s new application include Sephora, Uggs and Crate and Barrel. 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.

Where Should Mobile Intelligence Reside?

I continue to ponder the implications of Microsoft’s recent announcement of their next smartphone operating system version that is code named Mango, specifically, the issue of blurring the lines between search and mobile applications. They want searches to include intelligence that can access and integrate multiple applications on the same phone at the same time for relevant information.

Microsoft used the example of a search for a movie. The Mango operating system would automatically “predict” your interest in related information including movie times, reviews, locations and how to purchase tickets. These different views and data sources would all be brought to you in a simple view.

The concept is exceptional! My question is where should the intelligence for mobile applications really be located? It seems from Microsoft’s announcement that these “predictive” and intelligent features would be developed and supported in the mobile OS (Microsoft Phone). I would guess that SAP might have a different opinion. Perhaps SAP would advocate that mobile applications should be integrated with Business Objects in the back office. I, however, am leaning toward the concept of a new category of solution which would be a cloud based intelligence platform that could integrate with all the various back office systems, ERPs and third party web services and location based services.

It seems that there should be a powerful cloud based intelligence platform that can aggregate all of the required analytics, geo-spatially aware data and real-time intelligence into one feed for a mobile application. The intelligence should be able to be quickly customized for each user.

What do you think? Where do you think the intelligence for a mobile application should be located?

Upcoming Events of Note
ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes,France
Live Webinar - Syclo and SAP have scheduled a webcast for June 8th at 11 AM EDST to provide information on Syclo's SUP integration.
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note
The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Recorded 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

Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly

Read The Field Mobility News Weekly

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 Commerce News Weekly - Week of June 6, 2011

The Mobile Commerce News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile payments, mobile money, e-wallets, mobile banking and mobile security 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 Monthly

Computerworld has found that when using PayPal’s Mobile Express Checkout customers are more willing to make purchases as a result of the easy payment process. Read Original Content

VeriFone Systems Inc. says that topline revenues from software, services, and equipment for NFC wallets could increase in the United States between 100 to 150 million, and more internationally, if and when such electronic wallets become mainstream. Read Original Content

Wells Fargo has led the banking world with its mobile features since 2007 and continues to offer new and advanced mobile services to customers. Wells Fargo has recently introduced CEO Mobile, which allows executives to view corporate accounts through smartphones. Read Original Content

Market researcher Pyramid Research is forecasting that 28 percent of all smartphones (around 250 million) sold by 2015 will be NFC enabled. 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/

U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Corp expects NFC wireless technology to be a main revenue driver in coming years, a senior executive said recently, when it becomes more of a norm for consumers use their mobile phones to make payments. Read Original Content

Mobile banking could see massive user growth as people in India with no nearby financial services can now access banks in remote locations through cell phones. Read Original Content

According to the research firm comScore, mobile banking in Europe has seen a growth of 40 percent since August 2010. Read Original Content

Monitise and the Future Foundation reports that the number of people using mobile banking applications in the U.K. has doubled since last year. Read Original Content

A GfK survey shows that PayPal leads in mobile payments both in user base and engagement. Gfk also found that customers trust PayPal with their credit card information. Read Original Content

A steady increase in the number of smartphone purchases is having a positive effect on mobile music growth, mobile banking and the mobile industry as a whole. Read Original Content

Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict

Upcoming Mobility Events of Note
Windows Phone 7 and Italian Railroad
Will Microsoft’s Mango Shake Enterprise Mobility, Part 1?
The Importance of Mobile EAM and M2M
SAP ECM Partner Open Text Adds Mobility

Upcoming Events

ClickConnect Europe Customer User Forum, June 8th-10th in Cannes, F
Live Webinar - Learn how Carefusion mobilized SAP CRM Field Service with Syclo, June 22, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
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.

http://pyxismobile.com/forms/media-request/?docID=4011

*************************************************************

Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict