Apple iOS and the Enterprise - Latest Developments

My friend and mobile expert Dave Akka shares his insights on the latest Apple strategies and developments to support the enterprise in this guest article.

Following the recent Apple WWDC developer conference, it’s worth looking at what they are doing to make their products more attractive to the enterprise?

iOS: The accidental leader?

As NetApp’s Mike Elgan noted recently, iOS became the leading operating system for enterprise mobility almost by accident, although it might be more accurate to say that it wasn't originally designed for the enterprise or expected to be such a hit.  The iPhone was released as a consumer device like the iPod into a world of feature phones with a small smartphone market dominated by Nokia’s Symbian, while the Blackberry was the fully-locked-down enterprise mobility device of choice.  No one expected that the consumers who bought the iPhone would consider it to be so much better than their work devices that they would break every policy imaginable to use them at work, and kickstart the BYOD or Bring Your Own Device phenomenon.

The iPhone became the dominant enterprise mobile platform for several reasons, including the ease of developing corporate apps, the iPhone’s popularity as a status symbol that made it the choice for senior managers who were able to insist on using it, and a few enterprise-friendly features that were added to iOS over time.  However the biggest reason is that it has a large, loyal customer base that love the device and feel it makes them more productive.

In the pre-BYOD world, it was assumed that consumers wanted usability, photo quality and a wide choice of applications (or the ability to do anything with the device), whereas enterprise users weren't important because it was all about management tools and easy integration into corporate systems. BYOD showed that enterprise users are also consumers, and want the same things from a work phone that they do from a personal one.

A good demonstration of this is that the first time I saw BYOD in action was at the end of a meeting when one participant took out his iPhone, took a photo of the whiteboard we had covered in notes, and sent it to everyone in the meeting.  The reaction around the table was “what a useful device; what else can we do with it?” That team had woken up to the potential of BYOD and enterprise mobility.

The iPad took off in a similar way: originally sold as a media consumption device, it has become the enterprise mobility device to take to business meetings with an array of apps that let you present, collaborate, take notes and network far more effectively than was previously possible, and you can even catch up with that latest TV series on the train on the way home.

Possibly as important as any enterprise functionality is the way that Apple sells and supports iOS devices for business in its retail stores.  I recently had a problem with my iPhone and while it was being repaired (which happened easily and seamlessly, by the way) the store staff were keen to discuss whether I used it for business, what apps and functionality I liked, what requirements it filled and so on. This showed a real commitment to making iOS devices easy for business users to get started with.  iOS devices in the enterprise also lead to Mac sales as you need to use a Mac in order to deploy enterprise apps and settings to iOS.

Apple Adding Enterprise Features

The recent preview of iOS8 shows that Apple is now very deliberately targeting the enterprise mobility market both by reinforcing the user experience that got it this far but also by providing features that make it a more attractive choice for IT.

The newly-announced Device Enrollment Program allows corporate-issued iOS devices to automatically configure and access corporate apps, reducing the time and support needed to get a new device working; and LDAP is a key component as it brings auditability to the iOS deployment with account control and authentication.

Meanwhile, the ability to passcode-protect corporate data on the device, by protecting access to the calendar, contacts, mail, third-party apps and more mean greater security for the enterprise while fingerprint unlocking means the user doesn’t have a headache accessing that data.  VIP messages allow users to keep track of important conversations more easily and even small things like automatic VPN connectivity could make a big difference to the user.

Overall, iOS8 brings advances with:

  • Simplified IT administration and security, between MDM tools; enterprise grade security including encryption, per app iCloud controls and certificate-based single sign-on; and managed book and PDFs to easily deliver content
  • Improved application development, with the TouchID API, document provider APIs, content filtering and extensibility, not to mention the new Swift language
  • Greater ease of use and productivity with improved mail, seamless working between iOS and Mac, improved calendar and peer-to-peer AirPlay

I don't want to go into too much technical detail here, but if you are interested you can find a more detailed breakdown here.

From the enterprise mobility perspective, features like Continuity, which allows users to pick up work where they left off across multiple Apple devices and the ability to create purpose-built keyboards for specific task-related apps could help increase productivity.

iOS is unlikely to completely own the enterprise mobility space in a BYOD world, but it is certainly set to continue its strong performance.

In addition, Apple and IBM announced a partnership yesterday, to aggressively go after the enterprise market.  Here is an excerpt from The New York Times, "In a deal that could deepen Apple’s sales to corporations and strengthen IBM’s position in business software, the two companies announced a wide-ranging partnership intended to spread advanced mobile and data analysis technology in the corporate world."

David Akka, MBA, M.Sc.
Managing Director, Magic Software Enterprises UK  Ltd.
dave_akka@magicsoftware.com

Thanks for sharing Dave!

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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Feedhenry's Dr. Micheal O' Foghlu

In this segment of the Mobile Expert Interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Micheal O' Foghlu (pronounced Meehaul O Fowl Loo), but of course you already knew that.  His name actually has four accents above the letters of his name, but I don't know how to add those.  Sorry!  He is the CTO of the mobile platform company Feedhenry and has a lot of interesting insights to share.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/td--FUaeJtc?list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw


It's time again for the annual State of Enterprise Mobility report.  A lot has changed in the enterprise mobility world in the past year.  Would you be willing to participate in the survey?  All participants will receive the final report for free.  Here is the survey link - http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e9hmymorhwv3wle0/start.

I will be compiling the results and writing the report in the month of August.

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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

IT Infrastructures and Architectures are Impacting Mobile Experiences - Early Survey Results

Have you taken this year's The State of Enterprise Mobility Report survey yet?  If not, please do as your insights are very important to us.  All participants will receive the final report free.  Here are some early results:

  • 73% of survey participants report their mobile strategies and plans are inhibited by limitations in their current IT infrastructure, design and/or architecture.
  • 83% of survey participants report the demand for mobile apps will force enterprises to make major investments in their IT environment to better support real-time interactions with mobile apps.
  • 80% of survey participants report that less than half of their back-office systems are optimized to support mobile applications.
  • 86% of survey participants report they have back-office systems that are too slow or incapable of supporting real-time interactions with mobile applications.
  • 33% of survey participants report their IT environment prevents them from delivering an optimized mobile application experience.
  • 36% of survey participants report they are dedicating budget to replace or upgrade back-office systems for the specific purpose of enhancing mobile app performances.
  • 65% of survey participants report the changes needed to optimize their IT environment for current and future mobile application requirements will significantly impact their IT budget?
  • 83% of survey participants report they expect business processes will need to change due to the impact of mobile applications on the business.
Please share your views, opinions and insights by taking this short survey and receive the final report free.


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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: AnyPresence's Founder Rich Mendis

In this segment, I had the privilege of interviewing the founder of AnyPresence, Rich Mendis on his views of the enterprise mobility market, mobile strategies and his predictions for the future.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/GvvGl652Q9k?list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Code Halos - Tracking the Mobile Workforce, Equipment and Other Variables for Optimal Performance

I write and speak often on the need to have a thoughtful Code Halo strategy in addition to your mobile and digital strategies.  Code Halos is the term for the information that surrounds people, organizations, and devices.  Many companies consider Code Halo strategies only for marketing, sales and customer service, but a well thought out Code Halo strategy for work done in the field like maintenance, repairs, asset management, construction and engineering is also important.  Let me try to make the case here.

There are many different objects and variables that can impact the performance of a mobile workforce, especially in the services industry.  In my enterprise mobility workshops I call these things PIOs (performance impact objects), and PIVs (performance impact variables).

Examples of PIOs:
  • People
  • Parts/Supplies/Materials
  • Tools
  • Job locations
  • Equipment (and availability)
  • Transportation (and availability)
  • Vendor (and availability)
  • Subcontractor (and availability)
  • Jobsite access
  • Permits/Approvals
Examples of PIVs:
  • Schedules (dependencies)
  • Qualifications
  • Skills
  • Experience
  • Weather
  • Traffic
  • Condition of equipment repair/maintenance
  • Sickness/Health
  • Funding
Each of these items must come together at the right time and right place to optimize the performance of a field service technician.  I think of PIOs and PIVs in the context of building the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.  In order to be completed and functioning, all the PIOs/PIVs had to come together at the right physical place and time.  If pieces were missing, or misaligned the entire system was delayed or fails.

In an ideal world, we would have full situational awareness.  All of the data from each PIO and PIV would be instantly available to our management system so predictive analytics and artificial intelligence could align all the variables for optimized service delivery.  Full situational awareness does not happen by accident.  It requires a great deal of strategy, planning and execution.

All of the PIOs and PIVs need to be tracked and monitored.  Sensors (IoT), GPS vehicle tracking and smartphones all play an important role here.  The data that is needed to make right decisions, either by a human decision maker or an artificial intelligence system needs to be collected, and as data has a shelf-life, it needs to be timely.  Those on the Titanic knew they were in trouble, but only when it was too late to prevent the trouble.  They would have appreciated good information a few minutes earlier.

Let me provide a scenario for consideration.  A customer calls in and requires repairs to a specialized, expensive piece of equipment.  The repair requires specialized training and skills, certifications, special parts, special tools and experience.  Knowing just the schedules and locations of your field service technicians is not good enough.  You need to know information concerning each PIO and PIV.  In order to optimally provide service to your customer, you need to know and monitor all relevant information, and since most field services teams are mobile, that means mobile technology and wireless sensors must be integrated with as many PIOs and PIVs systems as possible in order to provide the necessary data and visibility to maximize productivity.

When PIOs and PIVs are all connected via a shared network that provides visibility to network members it is called a Network Centric Operation.  A full network centric operational environment may not be economically feasible for 25 service technicians, but for 2,5000 service technicians yes.

If you have an available field service technician without the right experience or qualifications, then that doesn't help.  If you have a qualified, experienced and available field services technician, but without the right tools, equipment, parts or their location is too distant to be of service, then that also doesn't help.

PIOs/PIVs are most often not in one location for easy management.  They are located in many different locations and accessed via many different systems.  Enterprise mobility, sensors, connectivity, integration, dashboards, dynamic scheduling, HCM (human capital management), GPS tracking and event/project management, predictive analytics and artificial intelligence are all required to bring all of these pieces, data and variables together to provide optimal productivity.  Ideally these would be brought together under a considered Code Halo strategy for collecting, analyzing and using data to optimize productivity.



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Speed, Agility, Enterprise Mobility and Better Thinking

Dromology - the science (or logic) of speed.  This is the definition developed by Urbanist and Professor Dr. Paul Virilio's.  He believed that, "a thing that acts with speed quickly comes to dominate that which is slower."  I highlighted this statement in his paper when I read, Speed and Politics recently.  I have observed this phenomena when analyzing businesses and their digital transformation efforts.

In today's business world speed and agility, or the lack thereof, can mean the difference between success and failure.  IT systems of yesteryear are today's anchors dragging down companies.  Business strategies and ways of thinking that brought successes in the past, today prolong their inevitable demise. It is not just the investments of the past that weigh down a business, but old thinking.

Agility is not just a programming and project management methodology, but a business requirement.  I recently attended a talk by Todd Lutwak, a Partner at the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz.  He said the cost of forming and running a startup company is down 100Xs that which it once cost.  Why?  It is due to things like open source technologies, cloud computing, SaaS business models, globalization and LinkedIn.  LinkedIn?  Indeed! He said LinkedIn enables startups to quickly, efficiently and cost effectively find the experts they need in ways never before possible.

All of the innovations and efficiencies Lutwak identified as helping startups, contribute to efficiencies, speed and agility.  No longer does a startup need to invest much of their investor funds into business systems just to start operating.  They can subscribe to SaaS solutions and be operating in 24 hours without significant upfront investments.  This speed enables the startup to focus on the innovative products and services, getting them to market, solving customer problems and making money.  Their focus can be on that which makes the business successful.

I believe the trend in enterprise mobility away from expensive on-premise MADP (mobile application development platforms) to MbaaS (mobile backend as a service) business models and solutions align with Lutwak's observations.  Companies don't want to make massive budget, time and resource commitments to platforms that may restrict their future agility and speed to market.

Many companies today believe the only way they can be successful in the future is to buy startups, or spin-off their own startups and build up from there.  They have concluded that the fossilized thinking, processes and systems of the traditional business are not conducive to future success.  That is sad, but often an all too accurate conclusion.

Let's just make sure that we build the next phase of our businesses with speed, agility, innovation and creative thinking at the core.



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Application Performance, Speed and an Optimized User Experience Survey

Who wants a mobile turn-by-turn navigation system that was delayed by 30 seconds?  "You should have turned," is not what I want the automated voice to say to me.  I want a real-time experience on mobile apps. The challenge is that not all back-office systems and IT environments were designed to support real-time interactions with mobile apps.

I am currently working on a research project to better understand how the requirement to support real-time interactions with mobile applications will impact IT organizations.  Would you be willing to take a short survey to contribute your observations to it?  If so, please follow the link.  All participants will receive a free copy of the final report.

Survey - http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e9hmymorhwv3wle0/start

Thanks in Advance!
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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

IoT Expert Interview: Microsoft's Nick Landry

This week I am both learning, and speaking at the The Internet of Things Expo in New York City.  I will be teaching a session on the subject of IoT, Code Halos and Digital Transformation Strategies. Today, I had the privilege of interviewing Microsoft's mobile and IoT guru Nick Landry (Twitter @ActiveNick).  In this interview he shares Microsoft's solutions and strategies around the Internet of Things.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/smE9rjfLiWI



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Kevin Benedict Interviews SAP's Consumer Insight 365 Guru Jim Brooks

MNOs (mobile network operators) collect massive amounts of data on mobile phone usage, activities, web use and location.  SAP has 500 MNO clients around the world.  Combine the two and you have a service that can provide an incredible amount of business insight.  Jim Brooks shares the details of this new SAP service in this interview recorded with me at SAP's SAPPHIRE conference.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyoqHUEGUJ4&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw&feature=share



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: SAP's Adam Stein

SAP announced many new developments in their SAP Mobile Platform this week in Orlando, FL at SAPPHIRE.  In this interview, SAP's Head of Mobile Solution, Product Marketing, Adam Stein shares the details.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/Y6j77VMdciY


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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: VDC's Eric Klein

I had the pleasure to meet and spend time with VDC Research's Senior Analyst for Enterprise Mobility, Eric Klein this week at the SAPPHIRE conference for SAP users.  In this interview we discuss a wide range of enterprise mobility trends and developments.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4hRuAsb-Ug&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw&feature=share



************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: SAP's Senthil Krishnapillai

SAP's solutions for mobile security continue to evolve and respond to competition and customer requests.  In this interview, SAP's Head of Mobile Security, Senthil Krishnapillai, a long time friend and veteran mobility product guru announces the new solution www.SAPMobileSecure.com and shares the details.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe-jvfsjBWc&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw



************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile IoT Expert Interview: Dr. Severin Kezeu

Dr. Severin Kezeu, Founder of SK Solutions has one of the most interesting solutions I have seen anywhere at SAP's SAPPHIRE conference this week.  It is not just about increasing productivity or being more efficient, it is about saving lives using SAP's Hana and Code Halos strategies.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPqxDxcakds&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw



************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

How Many Solutions Does it Take to Implement Enterprise Mobility?

How many different solutions do you need in order to implement an enterprise quality mobile solution?  I think this is a worthy question.  In years past MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) and MADP (mobile application development platform) vendors tried to cover all of your needs, but the market has determined this is not an acceptable model going forward.  Companies are just not comfortable putting all their eggs in one basket and betting the mobile farm on an unprofitable VC backed mobility vendor.  Enterprise mobility is just too strategic.  Even when companies have standardized most of their internal business solutions on a major ERP vendor, they want to keep their options open.  SAP understands this and has worked to make their SAP Mobile Platform environment play nice with other vendors and toolkits.

Given that market manifesto, companies must now pick and choose their own variety of mobile solutions, platforms and toolkits.  The first question, again, is how many solutions do you need?  I am going to suggest at least one more than you may have thought.  Several vendors including Aternity (www.Aternity.com) and B2M Solutions (http://www.b2m-solutions.com/) propose that you must understand your business process and systems' performance first, second your mobile app performance, and thirdly your workers' performance (KPIs) in the field.  How many of you have recognized this solution category in the past?  Not many I think.  This is an area generally overlooked in most mobility projects.

Think about this scenario - Your team develops the world's best mobile app, however, it sucks and nobody will use it!  How could that be?  The business process, back office systems, APIs and security environments are too slow to support the needs of the mobile app and by extension the mobile user.  That is a critical problem.  It would have been nice to measure the performance of those required systems and processes before you invested in the development of the mobile app. Many IT environments were not designed with mobility in mind.  Today, major work must be done in many enterprises to support the new digital and mobile realities.

I am recommending that enterprises first measure the performance of the business process and relevant systems before they start developing the mobile app.  Once the performance is deemed satisfactory, then develop the mobile app and measure its performance.  Isolate performance issues at each step of the way.

Once your business processes, systems and mobile app performances are all deemed satisfactory, then seek to start measuring workforce productivity and KPIs via the mobile apps.  This data can be used to better understand "patterns of life" and "patterns of work" and optimization efforts implemented.



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Information Dominance as a Company's Mobile Strategy

In many industries today the competitive battleground is quickly shifting to the effective use of data to drive marketing, sales, customer support, R&D, and to deliver hyper-personalized user experiences and digital products.  These changes are most readily seen in companies that engage customers on the web and through mobile apps.  As more and more of customer interactions and engagements move to mobile apps and websites these changes will be all the more pronounced.  Just think about mobile banking, mobile commerce, mobile search, mobile media, mobile news/content and mobile travel apps.  These apps and the companies behind them are now offering incredible levels of near instant personalization based upon their knowledge of your preferences, location, shopping history, loyalty status, etc.  The more effective companies are at using their knowledge of you to personalize your experience, the more attractive, convenient, productive and sticky their apps become.  We at Cognizant call the effective use of data, "Code Halos" strategies.  Code Halos are the data that surround you, your activities and preferences.  It is the combination of personal and enterprise data used to provide the optimal experience.

Companies that will win in this competitive battlefield will understand that data collection, processing speed, analysis, situational awareness and the hyper-personalization of the users' experiences are the keys. They will recognize it is about speed.  It is a race to collect, analyze, and personalize.  The late US Air Force Colonel and great military strategist John Boyd coined the acronym OODA for observe, orient, decide and act.  He identified the fact that decision-making could be a competitive advantage.  If you can make good decisions faster than an opponent you have a powerful advantage.  Think about this in terms of a boxer in the ring, or a fighter pilot in the sky.  If you can understand the situation, make good decisions and act faster than your opponent you will likely win.  The same is true when the effective use of data is involved in user experiences and commerce.

Code Halo strategies is a way to think about and structure your information logistics in a manner that will give you information dominance.  Information dominance means you have an information logistics infrastructure in place for collecting data, analyzing and personalizing experiences better and faster than your competition.  This information, with the right IT infrastructure and architecture, can be used to instantly provide hyper-personalized experiences on the web and on mobile apps for customers, prospects, partners and employees.

Your information logistics systems must be fast enough to keep pace.  If your information logistics systems lag due to legacy systems that cannot support a "real-time" environment that is required for mobile apps and websites, then you have some hard choices to make that will impact your company's ability to succeed in this new world dominated by information.


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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Mobile Labs' Dan McFall

In all my years of researching and writing about enterprise mobility, I have not taken the time to learn about automated testing solutions for mobile apps.  These are important solutions as mobile applications are often your brand and primary point of interaction with customers and even employees.  They had better work!  In this interview, we discuss mobile app testing processes and strategies.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_LB7wff_S8&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw&feature=share



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Highlights from the Enterprise Mobility Focused Conference M6 Mobility xChange Last Week

If you were not fortunate enough to attend the M6 Mobility xChange last week in San Diego surrounded by smokey sunsets and wildfires, then you can catch some of the highlights here!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/3mebyK26O5k

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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Strategies They Don't Teach in Business Schools or Computer Science Labs

I have taught classes and half-day workshops on mobile and digital strategies in 17 different countries around the world in the past three years. Some of the most interesting discussions during these classes and workshops are around the following topics - the strategies behind the mobile strategies.
  • Velocity: The speed at which you can bring all required resources to a specific location to complete a task.  Remote and mobile assets and workers require mobile technologies to connect them to the "network."
  • Swarming: The ability to contact, communicate and coordinate the gathering of all necessary resources to perform a task.
  • 4D Coordinates:  The ability to coordinate resources to arrive at a specific location at a specific time.  
  • Projecting Commerce at Distance:  Using mobile applications to open new markets and geographies without adding labor, assets or inventory.
  • Time Compression:  Using mobile applications to accomplish more in a given time.  Something that took weeks now takes minutes.  Think real-time visibility, job status updates, inventories and dynamic scheduling.
  • Information Dominance: Using real-time information to dominate your competition.  Use real-time information to maximize business agility, precision marketing, situational awareness and optimized logistics.  Use it to anticipate, compete, counter and outmaneuver competitors.  Recognize your ability to collect, analyze and manage information better and faster than your competition often trumps those with more physical assets (brick and mortar).
  • Information Logistics: The systems involved in the collection, transmission, analysis, reporting and sharing of information.  The more efficient and real-time your information logistics, the faster you can make good decisions and act.
  • Loyalty and culture:  Develop camaraderie, teamwork, accountability and loyalty with real-time collaboration tools and KPI dashboards on mobile devices.  Stay in the know on your performance and the performance of others.  Share ideas and solve problems as a team.
  • Full Spectrum Information:  You can't have situational awareness without having real-time data coming in from all your key business areas.  Dominate competition by collecting, transmitting, analyzing and reporting real-time information and its meaning across all operational areas including: SCM, WMS, manufacturing, marketing, sales, customer service.
  • Reducing Conjecture and the Fog of War:  Using mobile applications as remote sensors to collect real-time data that enables data-driven decision making.  Think date and time stamp, GPS coordinates, activities monitoring, tasks and project updates.
  • Operational Tempos:  Increase the speed at which information and, thus, operations can work.  Don't let the lack of timely information slow down your operations.  Maximize productivity and the quality of decision making by collecting, analyzing and sharing the right information as fast as possible.
  • Information Driven Tactics: Tactics, the art and science of positioning resources for optimal use, and maneuvering them to keep them as such.  You can't fully utilize real-time and agile business tactics without real-time information enabled by mobile technologies.
  • Information Shelf-Life:  Recognize the value of information diminishes over time.  The faster it can be collected, analyzed, reported and shared the more value it has to decision makers.  Mobile devices support faster data collection, transmission, analysis and reporting.
  • Information and Competitive Decision-Making: In battles, the general with better situational awareness is often better able to make strategic decisions and to maneuver his resources to the point of need, thus gaining an advantage.  If you consider competitive decision-making as a game, the winner is the person who can receive more information faster, analyze it, understand the meaning, make a decision, act upon it and review the results and adjust accordingly in a manner faster than his/her opponent.  Mobile technologies are a critical component of this capability.
  • Force Multiplier: - Definition - A force multiplier refers to a factor that dramatically increases (hence "multiplies") the effectiveness of an item, person or group.  Mobile technology is a force multiplier.  Today a small team can manage a global workforce using email, messaging, voice, Skype, Google+ Hangouts, Salesforce.com, cloud-based mobile apps, shared spreadsheets, Google Drive or Dropbox etc., all while traveling on an airplane.  Productivity is ridiculously multiplied.
  • Speed and Mobility: Capturing a market today is not about having more buildings, people and assets, but first and foremost it is a matter of Code Halos strategies, data analytics, movement and circulation.  Identify your online/digital market, identify your prospects, customize and personalize their experience, and be there at the right time with the right products.  This can be done with a great mobile app supported by a powerful Code Halo enabled systems and digital content management systems.
  • Sensor Platforms: Understand the sensors available on your smartphones, via bluetooth accessories, vehicle telematics and the Internet of Things and how these contribute to your situational awareness and information logistics strategies.
Some may read this list and think these are all obvious, but they would be wrong.  Not many companies are actually documenting and thinking these through as part of their strategy and transforming their business models as a result?  The future belongs to those with faster and more accurate business insight that supports hyper-personalized shopping experiences for customers, work experiences for employees and data-driven decision support for managers.   These capabilities enable the agility to respond to changing consumer behaviors and business and market opportunities based upon the more effective data collection, analysis, reporting, personalization  and decision-making that is enabled by an optimized mobile data and information logistic system.

I accept invitations to teach workshops and to speak at conferences or events whenever I can. I will do my best to accommodate.  I am organizing workshops now in ANZ, UK, Nordics and India.  Contact me at Kevin.Benedict@Cognizant.com if you are interested.

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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Carlo Cadet, Perfecto Mobile

On Fire
M6 Mobility Xchange 2014
Last week I spent three days at the M6 Mobility Xchange conference surrounded by wildfires.  The smoke filtered sunsets and glowing skylines at night made for a memorable event.

I like this intimate event.  There were a couple of hundred attendees and excellent content on emerging trends and use cases around enterprise mobility.  There was plenty of time to network and many of my mobility industry analyst peers were there to share insights.

In this interview recorded at the M6 Mobility Xchange, Carlo Cadet, mobile testing automation expert with Perfecto Mobile, shares the details of automated testing strategies for large scale mobile app deployments.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO2SE3nj1go&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw



************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Jack Gold, Mobility Analyst

I had the privilege this week at the M6 Mobility Xchange of getting to know mobility guru and expert Jack Gold.  In this interview we talk about his views on wearables, the Internet of Things, enterprise mobility and mobile strategies.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://m6mobilityxchange.com/



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Feedhenry's Steve Drake

I have been attending the M6 MobilityXchange this week in smoky San Diego.  It has been an adventure!  The hills were glowing with the reflection of wildfires last night at the reception.  Everyone seemed to be hydrating as fast as they could in case the fire came too near.

I had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion this morning with mobile experts Sam Lukkundi, Bill Padula, Adam Stein and Darren McGrath.  It got out of control.  My apologies.  My comedic career started and ended in about 3 minutes.

In a break between sessions I was able to sit down with former IDC enterprise mobility analyst Steve Drake (now with Feedhenry) and record his views of enterprise mobility now and in the future.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/6U4Uz7v_Udw



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Notes from the M6 MobilityXchange Conference in San Diego

Benjamin Robbins, Jack Gold,
Rodney Johnson, Kevin Benedict,
Philippe Winthrop, Bob Eagan
I am learning a great deal from some of the most experienced mobility gurus in the business this week at the M6 MobilityXchange in San Diego.  Yesterday we discussed all kinds of new developments taking place in enterprise mobility.  Here are some of my notes from day #1.

  • We are entering the age of wisdom - the result of many mistakes in enterprise mobility
  • Maribel Lopez identified three phases of enterprise mobility, 1) Extend capabilities, 2) Enhance capabilities and 3) Transform your business
  • Question to ask, "What is now possible with mobile devices that was not possible without?"
  • Continued discussions around mobile devices with dual persona.  Select work persona, and all your apps and screens are configured for work.   Select personal persona and all your apps and screens are configured for personal use.  These could have different security settings, etc.
  • Mobility is about creating "right time" experiences.
  • Question to ask, "Why are my customers connecting at this moment in time?"  What is happening in their lives at this moment.  How can we enhance and support that moment.  Think landing at an airport and turning on your smartphone.  What may the customer want to know at this moment of time?  Where is Starbucks?  Where is my connecting gate?  Where is my airline lounge?  Where is baggage claim?  Don't wait for the user to select, make some predictions.
  • American Airlines reported there are now more check-ins on mobile devices than on the web.
  • The top mobile app users at American Airlines correspond to the top customers.  Invest in these customers.  They deliver the profits.
  • Airlines are testing iBeacon/Beacon technology to help raise the quality of care for their best customers - read more about iBeacons here.
  • Ford has developed the Ford Open XC open standard for interfacing with their cars' data.  I can image service companies offering to monitor all of your car's data and servicing your vehicle based upon the data received.
  • Heard a new mobile security phrase today that made me laugh sophomorically, "sniffing your packets" hehehehe.

Stay tuned for Day #2.



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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

The Impact of Digital Transformation and Mobile Apps on Banking

The banks of today will not be the banks of tomorrow unless you're caught in the script of Ground Hog's Day ~ Kevin Benedict

Mobile apps are rapidly replacing branches as the customer preferred point of interaction with banks. Today, customers are choosing their banks based upon the quality of their mobile apps and the services that are enabled.   In recent customer satisfaction surveys, mobile apps were shown to play a significant role in keeping customers satisfied.

In addition, users today are seeking ways to consolidate their personal financial management tools and banking tools all in one application.  They would like a complete view of their personal finances.  The challenge today is these services are often providing by different providers with different apps.

In the following news excerpts from 2014, we can clearly see the impact mobile and online banking is having on banks.

RBS recently announced there has been a 30% fall in the number of transactions carried out at its branches since 2010.  As a result, they are shutting 44 branches across the UK. The number of online and mobile transactions has now surpassed those taking place in branches and ATMs.

Citibank Korea Inc., the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc. announced it will close nearly a third of its branches, reflecting falling profits in the country and a shift to online banking.  The bank said it would cut the number of its branches to 134 from 190 over the next several months and enhance online services for mobile and tablet platforms.  Source: April 8, 2014 edition of the WSJ
Challenges - Digital Transformation and Banking

Senior bank executives view technology as the biggest cause of transformation to the industry (Source PwC, Retail Banking 2020: Evolution or Revolution). The problem is that executives are not confident about their preparedness for a technology-driven transformation.  Only 20% believe their organizations are prepared for this transformation.

The accelerating demands for mobile apps from business units and customers are triggering a tidal wave of disruption.  This disruption is a huge challenge for CIOs who must transition their banks’ strategies to align with the technology adoption rate of their customers.   

  • 50 percent of respondents say their company does not have a mobile strategy. 
  • Of those companies with a mobile strategy, 45 percent say it is not aligned with IT objectives
  • 36 percent say it is not aligned with business objectives. 
  • Tactics are overshadowing the development of long-term strategy.

Source: Ponemon Institute report titled The Changing Mobile Landscape in Financial Services

In addition to the technology related transformations, non-banks are entering into services once
reserved for banks.  For example, Wal-Mart has launched a service called Walmart-2-Walmart that allows customers to send money to other customers using the store’s network of more than 4,000 retail locations.  Source: http://www.bankinnovation.net/2014/04/walmart-enters-p2p-space/

Did you know that most traditional banks draw the majority of their income from loans?  Wal-Mart-housed banks, however, tend to draw more income from fees. Among the 6,766 banks the Journal looked into, just 15 had fee income higher than loan income.  Among those 15 were the top 5 banks operating through Walmart.  Yikes!  Those with low-incomes never get a break!

The world of banking is changing.  Today traditional banks must be innovating at the same rate as their customers are adopting technologies and changing their shopping and buying behaviors.  That is a huge task for those sitting on top of 40 year old mainframe systems not designed for a day of real-time and mobile interactions.


************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Professors and the Unanticipated Consequences of Digital Transformation

Code Halos - The Book
On my run yesterday I listened to a Freakonomics Radio podcast as I do regularly.  In the latest podcast titled How to Think Like a Freak — and Other FREAK-quently Asked, authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner discussed the fact that university professors get to keep all the rights to books they write and the profits they generate as a result, but not for inventions.  I have been pondering that topic since.

Why would universities treat the creation of a book, and the profits from a book, differently than that of an invention?  Perhaps written ideas were perceived as having less value, than using those ideas to produce a physical object with productive value.  Although, it could be argued that patents are written words and drawings.  If a university professor wrote a book of patentable ideas, they could sell it and keep all the profits, but if they used the words to make a product they would lose the rights and the profits.   Hummmm...

How does this strange agreement work in an age of digital transformation when many of the most profitable businesses produce no products, but are simply based upon the clever arrangement of digits. Netflix, Amazon, eBay, Google etc., come to mind.  They base their businesses off of the use of "Code Halos."  Websites, product catalogs, digital ads, e-commerce engines, shopping carts and online shipment tracking systems are digital (letters and numbers representing 0s and 1s).

I don't think universities have yet thought this through.

************************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Editor
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation, EBA, Center for the Future of Work Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies
Recommended Strategy Book Code Halos
Recommended iPad App Code Halos for iPads

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Interviews with Kevin Benedict