Mobile Apps for Almost Everything

On Monday, August 27, 2012, The Wall Street Journal published The Technology Journal Report dedicated to mobile apps.  The report included some very interesting numbers that I want to share:

• The average smartphone user will download 37 mobile apps this year
• 36 billion mobile apps will be downloaded in 2012
• 136 billion mobile apps are predicted to be downloaded in 2017
• The average smartphone user in the USA spends 94 minutes per day using mobile apps
• The average smartphone user in the USA spends 72 minutes per day using browsers
• There are 650,000 apps available in the Apple App Store
• There are 600,000 apps available in Google Play

In addition to these numbers the article identified many different categories of mobile apps:

• Find Shopping Deals
• Remember Everything
• Find a Restaurant
• Get Fit and Stay Fit
• Go to the Movies
• Take a Trip
• Parenting
• Educating Your Preschooler
• Find a House
• Manage Your Money
• How a Remote Meeting
• Teach Math and Science to Kids
• Prepare a Meal
• Keep Track of Your Kids
• Meet Up with Friends
• Manage Your Passwords
• Read Books, Magazines and Newspapers
• Watch Movies and TV
• Take, Enhance and Share Photos
• Learn to Play Music
• Gardening
• Find a Date

I'm amazed at how thoroughly mobile apps have become a part of our personal and work lives.  I travel a lot.  I use mobile apps continuously.  Even though I have been working in enterprise mobility since 2000, I never stop being excited at cool new apps and impressed with their utility.

This past summer my family traveled with me on my Eggs with Benedict Mobile Strategies speaking tour in Europe.  We utilized the AirBNB app to arrange apartments to stay in.  We loved it!  We used our mapping functionality any time we were confused as to our exact location.  We downloaded maps to our iPhones and iPads while on WiFi connections so we could avoid international data roaming charges.  We researched all of our travel destinations using tablets and smartphones.  We kept track of each other across many different cities so we could meet up at the right places and times.  We did our banking from mobile apps and the mobile web.  We found great restaurants.  We reviewed the Underground schedule in London and bought train tickets all via our smartphones.  Mobile apps and the mobile web have completely changed our travel experiences over the past decade.

The vast amount of information at our finger tips is mind boggling.  It thrills me to think that the best information I can find on the Internet, is available even in the poorest regions of the world via the mobile Internet.  Whenever, I or a family member feels ill, we can quickly look up great medical advice.  Again, this medical advice is available now worldwide.

I travel, write, speak, teach, report, conduct research and interviews all using mobile devices.  My business travels with me.  I use the mobile app TripIt to organize my travels.  I use the mobile Skype app to see and communicate live with my family while I am on the road.

Mobile apps and the mobile web have revolutionized our personal lives, and it is doing the same with complete business processes and industries.  Every company needs to recognize the impact enterprise mobility, the mobile web and mobile apps will have on their industry and their competitive landscape.  It is not just a passing fad.

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

Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group

Full Disclosure: I am a 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 August 26, 2012

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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Juniper Research has released a new report on the future of mobile payments. Juniper predicts that mobile payment transactions will reach $1.3 trillion in the next five years, a fourfold increase. Read Original Content

Deutsche Telekom has taken a major step toward its scheduled launch of the Mobile Wallet initiative next year. The company has finalized its technical service provider for its mobile payment initiative, working out plans for card management and technical processing. Read Original Content

A survey from researcher Yankee Group indicates 46 percent of U.S. consumers use smartphones to check prices and product reviews at stores, up 5 percent from 2010. The study up also found 54 percent of consumers have downloaded a mobile shopping application and 24 percent consider these apps essential. Read Original Content

Verivo is a leading provider of enterprise mobility software. Verivo helps companies accelerate their business results. Its unique technology empowers teams to build, deploy, manage and update their mobile apps -- rapidly and securely. Verivo’s mobility platform is used by hundreds of companies in numerous industries, worldwide. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Verivo.  To learn more, visit www.verivo.com

PayPal is teaming with Discover to extend its fledgling mobile wallet service to millions of additional retail locations across the U.S.  Read Original Content

The Romney campaign has announced that it will use Square, a mobile platform that allows users to collect payments on a smartphone, at the GOP convention in Tampa. Read Original Content

InMobi has conducted a survey of 1,000 users in the second quarter of this year and found that 59 percent of them had completed mobile transactions while only 38 percent had made purchases using a mobile device in the previous six months. Read Original Content

The results of the latest study by Juniper Research have been released, showing that near field communication technology will have facilitated approximately $74 billion in mobile transactions by the year 2015. Read Original Content

Mission Critical - Mobile Device Management and Control

Have you ever thought about how a company should manage battery life on a smartphone when they support a BYOD IT environment?  Think about it, a person brings their own smartphone to work that only has 10% battery charge, they drive 40 miles out to a job site and their battery dies. They have a dead device when they should be updating work orders, inventory levels, schedules, job status and new product sales.

I am personally impatiently waiting for the release of iPhone 5, because my iPhone does not hold its charge any longer.  By about 1 PM, my battery is getting low.  I am lucky I don't need to use it to take product orders and scan bar codes throughout the rest of the afternoon.  If this impacted my productivity, and I had an employer, I wonder if they would ask me to go out and buy a new personal device?

Click to Download

In many industries and businesses it is not enough to simply hope your workforce manages their personal mobile devices efficiently and reliably, as the business is too dependent upon it.

MDM (mobile device management) systems are intended to help a company manage mobile devices.  There are many MDM solutions available on the market, but many cannot remotely control and access a mobile device, and that is critical.  A few like Soti (www.soti.net) enable remote access and control of mobile devices and this enables the IT helpdesk to efficiently trouble shoot and manage mobile devices to ensure efficient use through out the day.  Soti can even monitor your battery use, and automatically optimize your devices use of the battery.

In a scenario where the business depends upon the efficient and reliable use of a mobile device, it is critical that the company have management control of the mobile device.  This, however, can present some complexity.  In some countries this is not legal.  In businesses where there are unions, the unions may not approve, and your employees may simply not permit it.  These complexities may influence entire industries and geographical areas to insist on company owned mobile devices.  This does not remove all complexities, but helps.

In businesses where company owned mobile devices are supported, MDM vendors like Soti, can collect data on the various manufacturers' device specifications, and then document their performance against the specs. This is very important.  If a manufacture says a battery should last for 1,000 charges before it is replaced, data can be collected on each device to monitor when it was charged and predictions can be made as to when more batteries will need to be purchased.  In addition, the collected data can be used to hold manufacturers accountable to their specs, and the data can be compared with the performance of other mobile device manufacturers.

Some MDM vendors have mobile clients that can turn even the most powerful consumer grade smartphone into a purpose built mobile device by controlling and limiting access to only the work apps.  For example, a new Android phone can be limited to only a credit card swiper, bar code scanner and work order management system with SMS.  All the other apps that are available will not be seen or accessed.  This gives businesses the ability to buy off-the-shelf smartphones and use them strictly for business.

The down side of this scenario is that the mobile workforce would likely be all carrying two different mobile devices, one for work and one for their personal use.  This is not ideal, but may be the reality until something more clever comes along.

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

Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility

Full Disclosure: I am a mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly – Week of August 26, 2012

The Field Mobility and M2M 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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

It is forecast that by the end of 2016, the addressable revenue opportunity for mobile operators as a result of M2M will be $1 trillion and will rise to $1.2 trillion in four years' time. Read Original Content

DAP Technologies has introduced a new rugged Windows tablet, the M9700, a waterproof and dustproof device the company claims will withstand 4 foot drops to concrete.  Read Original Content

New data from IDC reveals consumers use retail apps on their smartphones during the week (Monday through Friday) and on the weekend consumers take advantage of barcode scanning type price comparison apps.  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.

True Context Mobile Solutions and Canada’s Bell Mobility are collaborating to offer Bell Mobility’s business customers access to TrueContext's ProntoForms app with the objective to increase business productivity by improving the quality and speed of data collected in the field, allowing mobile workers to access business data directly on their mobile devices.  Read Original Content

The BarCode News has tested and made recommendations on several of the top-rated free and paid weather apps, which enable users to access weather information on the go.  Read Original Content

Combining RFID technology and social networking, new cloud-based software is being utilized at all of the Susan G. Komen 3-day events in 2012, allowing race participants to automatically post updates as they reach different milestones along the course.  Read Original Content

Mobile GPS tracking devices provide real-time safety monitoring for probation and parole agents working alone.  Read Original Content

MobileCON 2012 is a mobile IT and enterprise event designed specifically for the IT executive and professional and will be held October 9-11, 2012, in San Diego.  Read Original Content

The M2M Evolution Conference & Expo will be held October 2-5, 2012, in Austin, Texas.  Read Original Content

RFID technology is enabling officials in Shanghai, China, to protect passengers and taxi drivers and to hopefully slow or stop counterfeit taxis in the city.  Read Original Content

Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly – Week of August 26, 2012

Welcome to the Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility in Asia.  Asia is predicted to be the fastest area of growth for enterprise mobility between now and 2016.

Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

China Mobile saw a drop in net income from 34.42 billion yuan in the second quarter of 2011 to 34.40 yuan in the second quarter of 2012.  Read Original Content

RFID technology is enabling officials in Shanghai, China, to protect passengers and taxi drivers and to hopefully slow or stop counterfeit taxis in the city.  Read Original content

Research in Motion has released an enterprise mobility solution, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, in Malaysia to “help enterprises meet the rising adoption of personal mobile devices for work use”.  Read Original Content

Antenna Software provides a complete cloud-based enterprise mobility suite that enables both IT pros and business executives alike to create and manage mobile apps, websites and content across the entire business.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Antenna Software.

Thailand may finally hold its 3G auction in October of 2012, making it one of the last countries in the Asia Pacific region to do so.  Read Original Content
http://www.zdnet.com/analysts-thai-3g-auction-on-track-for-october-7000002515/

The government of Sri Lanka announced the launch of a cloud facility to “drive innovation and better services for the people”.  Read Original Content

The Indian state of Maharashtra will soon be utilizing RFID technology at border crossings so that trucks, trailers and tankers can avoid long lines for clearance at check-points and also to halt corruption by regional transport officials.  Read Original Content

During the company’s global restructuring, Hewlett-Packard will not reduce its workforce in India, according to CEO Meg Whitman.  Because all business units are in India as well as research and development, the workforce in India will stay largely intact and may increase over time.  Read Original Content

With the recent launch of NFC technology for mobile commerce in Singapore, consumers are concerned with possible security issues with the technology.  Read Original Content and Read More Original Content

Mobile Health News Weekly – Week of August 19, 2012

The Mobile Health News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to mobile health that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

According to a Verasoni study, the top 150 health-related apps have been downloaded more than 67.5 million times onto iPhones, and more than 59.1 million times onto Android devices. Read Original Content

According to a survey by Parks Associates, almost 30 percent of respondents who are mobile phone users that have serious medical conditions say they would be able to monitor and handle their issues better if a mobile app was available that would help. The research also indicates that that as many as 20 percent of all smartphone users would like some kind of mobile medicine application. Read Original Content

Both the telehealth and mobile health markets are expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, according to market researcher GlobalData. Growing applications and availability led the firm to predict that the industry will grow from a 2011 valuation of $13.2 billion to $32.5 billion by 2018. Read Original Content

Antenna Software provides a complete cloud-based enterprise mobility suite that enables both IT pros and business executives alike to create and manage mobile apps, websites and content across the entire business.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Antenna Software

An analysis of the global telemedicine market indicates that it will continue to grow at around 19 percent a year through 2015. In its report, “Global Telemedicine Market 2011-2015,” Research and Markets of Dublin predicts future prospects are immense. Read Original Content

According to GlobalData in a new report, the global mHealth market was worth $1.2 billion in 2011, but will jump in value to reach $11.8 billion by 2018, climbing at an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate of 39 percent. Read Original Content

The market for remote patient monitoring systems is expected to leap to $20.9 billion over the next four years, according to a report by InformationWeek.
The rising number of elderly patients has the U.S. health care system looking for ways to manage costs and avoid hospital overcrowding. The market for remote monitoring systems grew from $3.9 billion in 2007 to $8.9 billion in 2011. Read Original Content

Health and well being applications are estimated to make up approximately 40 percent of new smartphone apps currently being developed. This is a huge market and only set to increase as the benefits become more apparent and smartphone and tablet technology become more widespread. Read Original Content

Mobilized Objects, M2M and Mobile Strategies

A good friend of mine is a civil engineer.  He works on many tidal flat and water way projects.  He was telling me about driving 2 hours north of Seattle to collect data from one water level sensor.  The data collection took one minute.  He then drove 2 hours back to Seattle.  For this one data collection activity, the cost was a 4 hours of time from a senior engineer, fuel and lost opportunity costs.

I shared with my engineering friend that there are M2M communication systems that utilize embedded wireless chips that could simply message him the data from the water level sensor using wireless technology.  He thought that would have been a brilliant idea!  Although a brilliant idea, it would have costs far more to set-up (mobilize the object) with a M2M system than it cost him to drive there and collect it for one sensor.  However, if he had 1,000 sensors that needed monitoring, the costs savings could have been enormous.   M2M systems need volume to generate a good ROI, but if there is volume there can be great strategic advantages and ROIs to be had.  Think about the endless possibilities!   What do you need to collect data on in the field?  What systems, equipment or sensors can you collect data on automatically and have wirelessly messaged to you?

In my mobile strategies workshops, I talk about the concept of "mobilized objects."  These objects can be all kinds of things you may not have considered mobilizing in the past.  Mobility is more than communicating on a smartphone with your mobile workforce.  It can be any data collected remotely and wirelessly sent back to a central management system.  Let me list a few "objects" that you may want to mobilize and collect data on in the field:

• People - Attendance//Qualifications/Experience/KPIs
• Job Status/Schedules
• Locations
• Vehicles
• Parts
• Inventories
• Equipment
• Equipment transportation
• Location and availability of vendors and subcontractors
• Job site access
• Job site security
• Inspections and Permits

All of these items may need to be monitored and data collected on them.  This data can be communicated by a human, or in many cases a remote sensor could collect it automatically.

A field service manager that wants visibility to his/her operations for optimal planning and scheduling purposes may appreciate the ability to look down at their iPad and see the location of all of their people, the status of the jobs each are working on, the qualification each have, the parts and equipment each need to complete the job efficiently and the availability of any sub-contractors or permits needed.  All of this data flowing in from the field can help a manager plan and optimize the productivity of his/her workforce.

Bar code labels and scanners can update information about parts, inventories and equipment checked in or checked out from the warehouse.  GPS tracking systems can update fleet and workforce management systems as to the location of vehicles, equipment, trailers and people.  Work Order Management systems can track the job status and schedules of service technicians and other mobile workers in the field.

M2M (machine-to-machine) communication systems can enable companies to monitor remote sensors across large geographical areas efficiently.  These are used extensively by large fleet managers to monitor vehicles, fuel consumption, location and engine performance.  Utilities monitor their smart grids and their electrical distribution systems.  Irrigation systems, canal systems, pipelines, remote security systems, and thousands of other remote systems also need monitoring.  An M2M system can provide automated data collection, and real-time alerts and notifications.

Mobilizing your workforce may be the first step, but step 2 is mobilizing your objects.  If you missed my interview with SAP's Sanjay Poonen, SAP is also focused on M2M today.

Mobility and M2M are ways of collecting data and sharing data to help people and machines make better decisions.  All enterprises should be taking some time to understand the sources of all the data they need in order to conduct business in the most efficient and productive manner possible.  Where does the data originate, and how can you make the data collection process easier, faster and more efficient?  After considering the source and collection of the data, ponder how if can be integrated with your back-end systems, analyzed and the results shared with the right people at the right time in the field via mobile devices.

This unified 360 degree view of the world can provide your management team with a "Network Centric Operational" environment.  Where everything is networked together to provide real-time visibility and situational awareness.  This is how you can efficiently manage the real-time enterprise.

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

Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility

Full Disclosure: I am a 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 August 19, 2012

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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly

Orlando, Florida based Kony Solutions has bought Sky Technologies, a mobility solutions provider specializing in SAP implementations based in Melbourne, Australia.  Read Original Content

Nokia Oyj, burning cash as it struggles to revive its smartphone business, is winning time for the recovery effort by gaining more customers for another product, basic mobile phones it sells for $39. Read Original Content

Verizon Wireless will carry Windows Phone 8 devices this year, in a major break from the carrier's overall coolness towards all things Microsoft. This could well be the jumpstart that Microsoft's struggling smartphone operating system needs.  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.

According to industry supply chain sources, after HTC’s One series failed to impress the market, they decided on significant price reductions across the whole model range. These include the models already on the market, as well as the upcoming new Android and Windows Phone 8 smartphones.  Read Original Content

According to a new smartphone market monitoring report from Horizon Research, the smartphone market will grow 20 percent in the next 12 months.  More than 55 percent adults will have smartphones by mid next year. Read Original Content

Looking at Japanese smartphone ownership in the three months ending June, ComScore found that Android took home the lion's share with a 64 percent share, up almost two points from the prior three months. Apple's iOS grabbed a 32 percent share.  Read Original Content

Taiwan's HTC has invested $35.4 million in a U.S. based provider of mobile enterprise apps, signaling the smartphone vendor is trying to fill a market space once occupied by Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices, according to analysts.  Read Original Content

LG Electronics said that it would expand the global launch of its flagship smartphone Optimus Vu in a bid to widen its presence in other nations. The company said that it would roll out the gadget in Europe next month and then launch it in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Asia and Latin America.  Read Original Content

Kevin Benedict's What's New in HTML5 - Week of August 19, 2012

Every week as I read articles, press releases and news about HTML5 developments, I am struck by how divergent the views are about the role of HTML5 in the enterprise.  I really think your views depend on your background.  If you are a consumer oriented mobile app developer, native is the only way to go.  If you are an enterprise oriented developer, then HTML5 is great.  What do you think?

Now for the news...

Microsoft has announced that the Pulse news app is now available on the Web and built entirely from HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3.  The new Web app shows that “future-Web technologies are rapidly approaching a state where they can easily re-create native app experiences in the browser”.  Read Original Content

To ensure as many visitors as possible can access their website, the Consortium of Foundation Libraries has developed an HTML5 mobile site in addition to their Flash-based website.  (See http://m.sophiaguevara.wix.com/html_cfl for a preview of the site.)  Read Original Content

ReelSEO provides a list and details about popular HTML5-capable video players and destination sites.  Read Original Content

Health crisis info and support site CaringBridge has launched a new interactive HTML5-based website which combines user-generated content with pre-designed video in order to create a new, custom video experience for each user.  Read OriginalContent

Magic Software's UK Managing Director, David Akka doesn’t believe HTML5 is currently suited to enterprise mobile applications.  “There is a lot of hype around HTML. Although it has improved over the last 15 years, it is still highly dependent on web browsers - with all the implications of that.”  Read Original Content

DevCon5’s HTML5 Summit will be held October 3-5, 2012 in Austin, Texas this year in conjunction with ITEXPO.  Read Original Content

HotelTonight’s chief technology officer Christopher Bailey and EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta discuss HTML5 technology for the travel industry in this article “HTML5: Hype or Hope?”.  Read Original Content

This HTML5 article by Jos Dirksen illustrates how to render open data based onto a 3D globe, walking the reader through an infographic.  Read Original Content

A new HTML5 website gives Nintendo fans the opportunity to play classic games on their iPhone browser; however, performance is an issue with some of the games.  Read OriginalContent

As of August 15th, Android will no longer offer Flash for Android devices, making way for HTML5 to take over video on mobile browsers.  Android users with Flash will continue to receive security updates, but that is the extent to which Adobe will continue to support the plug-in. Flash will no longer be available in the Google Play store.  Read Original Content

This tutorial details how to use the Mobile Photo Album JQuery plugin for developers to build JavaScript galleries for mobile devices.  Read Original Content

A recent report from BI Intelligence highlights the pros and cons of native apps and HTML5, giving HTML5 the advantage in distribution and cost, and native apps the advantage in features, user experience and monetization. BII believes that HTML5 will win for the future.  Read Original Content

appMobi is guaranteeing developers will make money creating HTML5 apps by

offering complete access to their development tools and cloud services and only charging for apps that are profitable.  Read Original Content

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

Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility

Full Disclosure: I am a 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 August 19, 2012

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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

A study by research firm Yankee Group says global mobile ad revenue will soar by three and a half times, to roughly $10 billion to $11 billion, by 2016. High-growth countries such as Brazil, China and India will lead the surge. Read Original Content

The latest round of research by mobile ad network InMobi finds that mobile advertising influences 48 percent of consumers on their purchasing decisions, with more late-technology adopters embracing m-commerce, and of those yet to use it, 45 percent expect to do so within the next twelve months. Read Original Content

According to IAB Australia, total mobile advertising expenditures for the past twelve months grew 212 percent and is valued at $47.5 million. Read Original Content

Sky Technologies has been making SAP mobility easy since 1998. With Sky, you can mobilize your business and empower your team with solutions that are quick to install, easy to use, highly secure, and already proven in hundreds of SAP mobility projects across the globe. For more information, visit www.skytechnologies.com.

eMarketer has released projections for ad spending on mobile marketing and found that the total market for advertising globally will reach $6.43 billion this year. Advertisers are expected to spend $2.4 billion on mobile advertising in the United States in 2012, up from $1.23 billion in 2011. Read Original Content

Brands and advertisers spent 150 percent more on mobile ad display prices over the course of the London Olympics Games, research from M&C Saatchi Mobile has found. Read Original Content

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said revenue from Sponsored Stories, the company's news feed ad product, has a run-rate of about $1 million per day, half of which comes from mobile. Read Original Content

Nokia is integrating Groupon daily deals into its Windows Phone-based Lumia device series, a move to expand the scope of its Nokia Maps platform beyond navigation assistance. Read Original Content

Kony Solutions Acquires Long Time SAP Mobility Partner Sky Technologies

Kony Solutions Acquires Sky Technologies

Kony Solutions today announced they have acquired long time Australian based SAP mobility partner Sky Technologies.  This appears to be a bold move by Kony Solutions to jump into the enterprise mobility market in general, and the SAP mobility market in particular.

Kony Solutions wanted to expand into the enterprise mobility arena, and Sky Technologies needed more investment and a bigger, global presence. Both Kony Solution and Sky Technologies have good technology stories and reputations.  This will make them both stronger and more formidable mobile application development platform competitors.  There is definitely market consolidation occurring.

Kony Solutions has been working hard over the last year to expand from their B2C mobility roots into the enterprise mobility space and this acquisition will bolster their credentials as Sky Technologies has over 14 years of experience delivering mobile solutions into the SAP ecosystem and over 100 SAP mobility deployments with large companies.  I have spoken to many SAP/Sky Technologies' customers over the years and have always heard good reports on their mobility solutions.

This spring I had the opportunity to film an interview with Kony Solution's Chief Mobile Officer Sam Lakkundi in which he shares details of their ambitions.  Also, while in Europe this summer speaking on mobile strategies I was able to meet Kony Solutions' Director of Technical Services, Jay Bopa Rai and film an interview him.  I have also recorded interviews with the Sky Technologies team over the years that offer insight into their solutions and focus:

• Interview with Steve Ware
• Interview with Bruce Johnson
• Interview with Roger Newby

SAP customers have went from enterprise mobility famine to feast.  They now have a plethora of good, solid choices to select from.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter @krbenedict and get all the enterprise mobility news and market developments.

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

Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups

Read The 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.

Kevin Benedict's Video Comments - The Tempo of Enterprise Mobility

In this video I discuss what "tempo" means to mobile strategies, and provide examples of how companies find competitive advantages by increasing their tempo through the use of mobile technologies.  How could increasing the tempo of your business through the use of mobile technologies help your bottom line?

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

Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups

Read The 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 August 19, 2012

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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

According to a new Forrester Research report, mobile banking will reach 108 million users in the U.S. by 2017, approximately 46 percent of all U.S. bank account holders. Read Original Content

Smartphones will drive more than $730 billion worth of purchases over the next five years, according to Juniper Research. Read Original Content

ABI Research data has shown that over the next five years, the total revenues from mobile apps – including in-app purchases and pay-per-downloads, as well as in-app advertising and subscriptions – will explode. In fact, they are predicted to grow from last year’s $8.5 billion to $46 billion by the end of 2016. Read Original Content

Verivo is a leading provider of enterprise mobility software. Verivo helps companies accelerate their business results. Its unique technology empowers teams to build, deploy, manage and update their mobile apps -- rapidly and securely. Verivo’s mobility platform is used by hundreds of companies in numerous industries, worldwide. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Verivo.  To learn more, visit www.verivo.com

Mobile-payment transactions are expected to rise nearly fourfold over the next five years, exceeding $1.3 trillion, according to a new report from Juniper Research. Read Original Content

Fashion specialty retailer Nordstrom has jumped on to the mobile shopping bandwagon in style. The company has launched a free iPad app to help customers choose Nordstrom products easily and quickly. The app will enable customers to browse the store and choose products after trying various combinations in the Dressing Room. Read Original Content

McDonald’s is testing a mobile payment service featuring PayPal at 30 of its restaurants in France. Earlier this year McDonald’s ran demonstrations of a broader PayPal mobile payment service at its franchisee conference in Orlando, Florida. Read Original Content

A new study has found that parents with children under the age of 18 are more likely to use their smartphones for shopping activities than people without kids. Overall, 27 percent of parents made an online purchase using their smartphone compared with 17 percent of nonparents. Read Original Content

Dunkin’ Donuts is accelerating its position in mobile commerce with new iPhone and Android applications that lets consumers pay for beverages, food and merchandise at the point-of-sale. Read Original Content

The Tempo of Enterprise Mobility

I taught mobile strategy workshops in 11 countries last year.  In these workshops, one of the first questions I ask is, "What tempo is your business wanting and/or needing to support?"  The definition of tempo that I use is "rate of motion or activity."  In other words, "Does your business environment require a real-time data and communication environment, near-real-time, or is an hourly or daily tempo sufficient?"  These are important questions and they dictate what kind of mobile solution architecture you should be considering.

I helped a large mining company a few years ago to think through their mobile strategy.  They operated large underground mines in remote locations.  They needed production numbers from the mine to prepare downstream resources to process and transport the mined materials.  They needed to know who came to work in remote locations, who was sick, who was on vacation, etc.  They needed to know what equipment required repair and maintenance and when that work would impact production.  They needed to know the production of each shift.

At the time the mining company contacted me, they were using color coded sheets of dirty paper to collect this data in the mine, and at the end of each shift, the supervisor delivered it to a job shack at the top of the mine and an administrative person would enter the data into a networked software system on a desktop computer.

The mining company wanted to upgrade their processes and communication from once every shift, to a real-time tempo.  They wanted instant notification if equipment broke down, and if parts or expert technicians were needed to keep production going.  They wanted to know instantly about any safety issues.  They wanted to know the production numbers throughout the shift, not just at the end of the shift.

Every business process and industry has an optimal operational and communication "tempo."  Knowing what tempo is possible, and how an increased tempo could help improve your operations is critical.  Enterprise mobility solutions have the capability of revolutionizing complete industries by increasing their tempo to provide better customer service, respond to issues faster, fix problems before they become bigger, take advantage of opportunities before competitors can respond, and to greatly improve productivity and efficiencies.

 Some companies understand the competitive advantages that an increased tempo offers, but others don't.  Even today, I have seen companies implementing enterprise mobility solutions and mobile strategies that effectively limit them to a relatively slow tempo for the next three or four years, while their competitors are creating infrastructure and mobile architectures that will enable real-time communications and updates.  These companies see value in real-time business analytics, real-time updates, real-time alerts and notifications, real-time GPS tracking, real-time scheduling, real-time CRM data, real-time inventory updates, real-time production information, etc. 

What tempo would optimize your business or business process?  What will it take to support a faster tempo?  Do you have the capability of processing and utilizing real-time mobile data, or would the data be wasted on antiquated back-end systems and and out-data processes?

My recommendation is to understand your current tempo of communication and operations and how an increased tempo could positively impact your business.  Identify the bottlenecks in your system that limit your tempo and start removing them.  Mobile data sent from smartphones, tablets, mobile handheld computers, M2M, RFID, bar code scanners, GPS, etc, can provide you with real-time data.  Your challenge is knowing what to do with it, and how to integrate and process it to improve your competitive position.

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

Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus

Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups

Read The 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.

Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly – Week of August 19, 2012

The Field Mobility and M2M 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 Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

The use of RFID wristbands in hospitals and health care facilities is on the rise due to the many benefits the technology offers for both the patients and health care personnel.  Read Original Content

Deutsche Telekom has announced the launch of a new M2M developer community which provides developers with access to APIs, programming guidelines and software development kits for building and selling M2M apps.  Read Original Content

Location management, cloud services and tablet-based options are included as part of the enhanced Field Force Manager and Fleet Control solutions from Verizon Wireless.  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.

Truecount has developed a solution for retailers unsure of how to begin implementing RFID technology for their business.  “RFID in a briefcase", or RFID 2-GO, provides all of the necessary RFID hardware and software (except for tags), packed into a compact carrying case.  Read Original Content

GPS provider MapmyIndia has launched CarPad 5, a combination GPS navigator, smartphone and 3G tablet that runs on the Android OS.  Read Original Content

A GPS app, ZabKab, allows users to “hail” a taxi from their mobile device and their location is sent to ZabKab app-equipped taxi drivers looking for passengers.  Read Original Content

The BarCode News provides detailed information and reviews on barcode readers and scanners in this article, “Bar Code Hardware - Barcode Scanners and Barcode Readers”.  Read Original Content