The Benefit of Custom Mobile Applications

There are at least two kinds of mobile applications for large enterprises to consider:
  1. Me-too-apps
  2. Only-me-apps
Me-too-apps often provide efficiency gains and remove the friction from various workflows and processes.  These apps are often simple, easy to implement and off-the-shelf.  Soon all of your competitors will also recognize the value of these mobile apps and will implement.

Only-me-apps are customized applications that often take advantage of your unique processes, unique combinations of back office systems and unique products and services.  Many companies have dozens of different business solutions, ERPs, bespoke database applications, BI systems and other software applications in their inventory.  There can literally be hundreds and even thousands of different combinations of these systems that can be connected together to support mobile workers and applications, and to provide unique competitive advantages.

I have met with many very large companies that view their particular mobile application as a competitive advantage.  One large CPG company that I met with this summer said they have a mobile application that is over 10 years old, but it still provides them with a competitive advantage in their industry.

Mobile applications and mobile strategies that will truly transform a company are likely going to involve the following:
  1. Very smart people
  2. Very smart strategies
  3. Mobile technologies that support points 1 and 2.
In order to effectively support a customized mobile application environment that may have dozens of mobile solutions, you will require specific kinds of platforms, toolkits and mobile security systems to set it up and to manage it.

I will be speaking this week on the subject of "Delivering Competitive Advantages Through Custom Mobile Apps" in this upcoming webinar.


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

Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of September 19, 2011

The 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 Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobility Charts Weekly

Greetings!  This is Kevin Benedict offering a free report on enterprise mobility for everyone that completes my new enterprise mobility survey.  At the end of the survey is a place for you to leave your name and email address.  I will send the results of this survey to all participants.  I believe we can all learn some very interesting and perhaps unexpected information from this survey that will help us plan and develop good strategies.  Take the Survey Here!

The RFID market is forecast by IDTechEx to reach $5.84 billion in 2011 and livestock tracking is expected to become the largest segment, reaching nearly $6.5 billion by 2017.  Read Original Content

Lowes, the home improvement company will be equipping its employees with 42,000 iPhones that they can use in stores to check product information, access the company website or watch how-to videos, according to a report by Bloomberg.  Read Original Content

Grupo Vidrala, a Spanish glass bottle manufacturer is using RFID tracking tags on shipping pallets to help increase efficiency throughout the warehouse.  Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo http://www.syclo.com/

Trimble has released its Field Inspector version 2.1, which is compatible with a variety of its handheld computers and is designed for automating utility infrastructure and smart grid asset maintenance and inspection.  Read Original Content

Mobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adl

This is the ninth interview that I recorded at the SAP TechEd 2011 conference on enterprise mobility.  Dr. Ahmed El Adl gives us his perspective on how enterprise mobility has evolved and changed over the past year and where SAP is looking to go now with mobility.

The links for all nine of the recorded video interviews are listed below for your quick reference.



Mobile Expert Video Series: Centigon's Ryan Goodman



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

M2M News Weekly - Week of September 12, 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
Also read Mobility Charts Weekly

Greetings!  This is Kevin Benedict offering a free report on enterprise mobility for everyone that completes my new enterprise mobility survey.  At the end of the survey is a place for you to leave your name and email address.  I will send the results of this survey to all participants.  I believe we can all learn some very interesting and perhaps unexpected information from this survey that will help us plan and develop good strategies.  Take the Survey Here!

ABI Research estimates that the number of cellular M2M connections will triple by 2014 to 75 million.  Read Original Content

Canada's M2M market could reach $408 million in the next four years, but existing vendor and support channels are not mature enough to meet current M2M demands, according to a report from IDC Canada.  Read Original Content

The Utilities Telecom Council released a report this week that said spending on telecommunications equipment and services related to utilities will hit $3.2 billion this year, a 21 percent increase from 2009.  Read Original Content

According to IDC the total number of smart meter shipments increased 4.1 percent during the second quarter of 2011 as compared to the first quarter.  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/.

SAP announced this week that they have developed a smart meter related application that helps utility companies analyze data gathered through smart technology.  Read Original Content

Mobile Expert Video Series: Sybase's Jagdish Bansiya

I want to highlight a couple of interviews that I have recorded this week at SAP TechEd 2011 that focus on mobile strategy.  Jagdish Bansiya PHD is the CTO of Enterprise Mobility at Sybase, and in this interview he shares his thoughts on what it means for mobile applications to be truly "transformational."  I will publish another interview later today that I recorded with Ahmed El Adl PHD that also focuses on mobile strategies, so watch for this one as well.

Also don't forget that everyone that takes the enterprise mobility survey will receive the final results for free.




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

Featured Post

Leadership Advice from a Futurist - A Reading

Leadership is hard.  So for all the leaders and want-to-be leaders out there, here is some advice that I hope you will find useful. ***...