December 22, 2008

SmartFlicks Upgrades & Windows Mobile

Posted on the Pyxis Mobile Application Studio Lab page, SmartFlicks (Pyxis Mobile's free Beta for Netflix on Smartphones) has seen upgrades including Instant Queue Support and also the release of SmartFlicks for Windows Mobile.

View the posts here:



Please contact us with any questions or comments, and pass it on to your friends!

December 04, 2008

Back From Orlando: Financial Mobility Summit 2008 Slides and Mobile Survey Results Posted

Stop by the Financial Mobility Summit website for access to many of the slides presented throughout the program. We have also posted the Flickr stream from the event, so if you were unable to make it this year, you can still feel like a part of the event.

Read on after the jump for more information on the conference and the results of our "Mobility in the Workforce" survey.

Continue reading "Back From Orlando: Financial Mobility Summit 2008 Slides and Mobile Survey Results Posted" »

November 18, 2008

FMS 2008 Day 2

8:41
CPW:  Day Two, and that fantastic Chris Willis kicks the event off... He's charming.
8:41
CPW:  Bill Chambers, the author of the Book "Go The Distance" and Regional VP from Manulife has taken the stage.
8:42
CPW:  Bill's life has been filled with challenges, starting in his teens when he was injured in a near-fatal motorcycle accident.
8:43
CPW:  After the accident, his physical therapy was based around using a peg board to rebuild his motor skills. Thsi "peg board" came to represent life's great challenges.
8:46
CPW:  With his life now changed, (partial blindless and loss of hearing), many of his dreams became impossible. After a some time, new dreams and challenges, including distance running, ,came into play.

150 distance runs, including 4 Boston Marathons, marathons in 31 states, multiple countries and continents, and runs a marathon every 5 weeks. He's won many awards, but the piece of doweling from the peg board is still the greatest example of success.
8:47
CPW:  So why distance running? Clarity of the goal. The next race has a date and a distance. There is a plan for training, and with work, you can reach your goal.
8:49
CPW:  A new goal at 40 was to become a "Master Runner". At that point, his cancer was discovered. His doctor was pessimistic that Bill would run again. Bill fired him. He needed a doctor to work with optimism.
8:49
CPW:  Cancer was another wall to push through, and a supportive team, just like in a marathon, would help him through ir.
8:50
CPW:  4 months after radiation treatments, he ran the Rocky Mountain Marathon and finished. This set a new set of goals (race in all 50 states).
8:55
CPW:  Setting specific SMART goals, managing those goals daily, managing the achievability of the goal, and executing on a plan based on a time limit leads to a successful finish. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely)
8:56
CPW:  The running analogy ties across all parts of business and life.
8:59
CPW:  Bill's book is available at: www.stridingtosuccess.com/book.html
9:00
CPW:  There is no point in running a marathon, or doing anything if all you want to do is finish. There needs to be a deeper goal, with challenges ahead.
9:01
CPW:  Defeat is not an answer or a solution.
9:09
CPW:  Chris Perry, President of the Americas Sales and Customer Service, Markets Division for Thomson Reuters has taken the stage.

9:11
CPW:  Markets Division powers the world's markets. Create transparency, provide insight through independant news and content to enable decisions and are the trusted connection between people transactions an ideas.
9:11
CPW:  They power financial markets, newsrooms, and individuals.

9:13
CPW:  The world has become smaller for TR, with equal-sized operations in the three major sectors of the world (NA, EU, and APAC).
9:13
CPW:  155 countries and 40000 customers
9:15
CPW:  Financial markets exist on connectivity. TR brings together Thomson Financial's buy side IB an dcorporate clients with Reuters sell side community to create one unique, large and global electronic marketplace - "The Professional Internet."
9:17
CPW:  The key to this information is availability. People want this untethered.
9:19
CPW:  - Great video on the progression of technology and information -
9:21
CPW:  Chris is now asking the audience who had a Newton. "Was anyone here NOT born when the Newton was available?" Now Palm, and next Windows CE.

Information and transactions on a Newton were demanded, but the technology was not there. Now, with new devices, there is a freedom to do more.
9:23
CPW:  Handheld computing in the 90s was similar to today, but it was not ready. Now, in the 00's the devices, network, and desire exist to deliver information to any location at any time.
9:28
CPW:  Trends and the Future of Mobility: How do vertical markets drive adoption of mobile applications?
- New stronger devices, improvements in network, internationalization
- Challenges include: stability of networks, security of third-party apps, user understanding, changes to the device set.
9:30
CPW:  Thomson Reuters has: Content, Network & Design Expertise, and Strong Customer Relationships. ("We don't however, wake up every day thinking about financial mobility.")

So, Thomson Reuters works with Pyxis Mobile who focuses on: Usability, Mobile Experience, and is the Trusted Mobile Brand.

Together, that creates Thomson ONE Mobile
9:40
CPW:  And finally. "mobility can be dangerous" - The BlackBerry Helmet Video rolls.
10:04[Be Right Back Countdown]5 minutes 
10:18
CPW:  James Stankard, from AT&T and Sheryl Kingstone from Yankee Group have taken the stage.

10:19
CPW:  Sheryl covers the area of customer experience at Yankee.
10:20
CPW:  The session is designed to look at how you can get from 35% user adoption of a system or systems, to 70% or above with a mobile solution that includes that system's data.
10:23
CPW:  James Stankard: When you look at new devices, what changes does that have on the space?

10:24
CPW:  Sheryl Kingston: Users tend to have better technology at home than at work. Personal technology bleeds into the enterprise.
10:25
CPW:  The "Prosumer" majority will influence IT decision making.
10:27
CPW:  Best practices: Mobility Creates CRM Success
- Increasing user adoption from 30-70%
- Mobile composite apps are critical for adoption
- third-gen mobile apps improve the process and the use of data
10:28
CPW:  JS: Help us understand the use of browser vs client?
10:29
CPW:  SK: Browser is a great way to make an application, but SK would not recommend it. A process oriented middleware piece is critical for session persistance, security, and interface.

November 13, 2008

Financial Mobility Summit 2008 Day One (Live Blog)

Financial Mobility Summit 2008 Day One

8:39
Chris Willis:  The day has begun. Chris Willis just finished running through the agenda with the attendees. He is very funny and we found him really entertaining. (aside: "Can people tell who's typing this?")
8:40
Chris Willis:  Pyxis Mobile CEO, Bob Mazzarella is addressing the attendees. His message is that while the Financial Services industry is going through a tough time, its important to drive forward with initiatives that raise revenues and create top-line growth.  
8:45
Chris Willis:  If you look at the industry over the last 10 years, numbers have been down (margins, revenues, commissions). How do those firms get those returns back? Technology. Mobility brings a tremendous amount of opportunity to firms looking to raise their revenue. And with fewer employees, serving the customer becomes a logistics challenge that can be solved with mobile applications.

8:46
Chris Willis:  The rules have changed. Look at how you can tweak your process to be more effective. Pyxis Mobile is changing the way people do business with mobility and it is up to you to find new ways in your firms to maximize that benefit and drive business.
8:51
Chris Willis:  NEW YORK LIFE JUST WON THE 2008 ARGUS AWARD FOR MOBILITY INNOVATION!!!
8:52
CPW:  Todd Christy, Pyxis Mobile's CTO and co-Founder has started his 2008 Mobility Vision Session.

8:57
CPW:  In 2007 the marketplace for devices was fairly straight-forward, in 2008, new devices including the Storm, the G1, the Experia, and others have created a buzz in the space. RIM continues its dominance in the enterprise, but there are others nipping at their heels.
9:02
CPW:  Wireless from the fringe:
- Touch screens are everywhere. As interfaces change, how can they be desiged to be more effective?
- smartphones are in a growth mode, with 19% of all mobile phone users carrying them.
- App Stores have taken off witt Apple, Google and RIM.

9:04
CPW:  Mobile MultiMedia has improved due to screen size, battery and software, with consumer apps stretching the boundaries.

Network advances with 3G networks today and 4G and WiMAX on the horizon.
9:04
CPW:  Fringe Items: 1lb projector, wireless charging, MS Surface
9:07
CPW:  Todd goes on to talk about how Pyxis Mobile has used 2007's "fringe technology" to drive 2008 software. Many customers are using Pyxis Mobile 6.0 (released in early 08) and 6.1 (released Oct 08) that deliver on the promises of FMS 2007.
9:08
CPW:  Stressing the message of "single code base." Every customer uses the same application, configured to support their distinct needs.
9:08
CPW:  Overview of Thomson ONE Mobile. See notes from yesterday.


9:09
CPW:  Pyxis Mobile has taken your advice to include time and expense features to our apps, leveraging the systems that you use in your firms. We also practice this with our team, integrating our time and expense system into our mobile sales application.
9:11
CPW:  RLS2000 is a MA-based real estate service provider. They have used Pyxis Mobile to deliver a mobile version of their web-based offerings.

And finally, from the far fringe, Todd talks about SmartFlicks, our application that provides mobile management of your Netflix queue.
9:14
CPW:  Pyxis Mobile 6.1 Overview:
Advanced GUI Features
Click-to-Sort
Camera Support
BlackBerry 900 Support
and More...


9:14
CPW:  Yes, Mike, they are...
9:16
CPW:  Arun Nagarajan is giving a demo of 6.1 and will be touching on 6.2 features (due 2009).


9:33
CPW:  They are now demo-ing Pyxis Mobile applications on the Storm.

10:04
TBC:  We're about to kick off the Analyst Morning Show with Mike King (Gartner) and Margie Hughes (AT&T)
10:05
TBC:  Margie is a Fin Serv veteran now developing ATT's FS vertical
10:06
TBC:  Mike King covers mobility for Gartner
10:08
TBC:  MK - mobile devices are with us all the time, 80% of people want to interact with service providers via mobile but only 2% can
10:09
TBC:  MK - email is still the killer app for mobile
10:10
TBC:  MK - today the networks are plenty fast, the screens are great, the coverage is good enough...for any application
10:11
TBC:  MH - Why are firms moving ahead with mobility?
10:11
TBC:  MK - Mobile makes ALL of your assets more effective and efficient
10:13
TBC:  MK - Touchscreens and advanced browsers are enabling new, more powerful apps
10:14
TBC:  MK - More efficient sales people = better retention, higher value
10:15
TBC:  MK - Any child born after 1980 doesn't know a world w/o cell phones
10:15
TBC:  MH - What are the mobility benefits?
10:16
TBC:  MK - Soft benefits: better communication, etc
10:17
TBC:  MK - Find 1-2 projects with hard ROI, implement infrastructure via them, then deploy "softer benefit apps" on that infrastructure
10:18
TBC:  MK - Having that infrastructure allows you to experiment, allows Type A organizations to explore freely
10:20
TBC:  MH - What are benefits of mobilizing multiple systems?
10:22
TBC:  MK - Switching between mobile apps is not fun; with small screen and a multitude of back-end systems you need composite apps to access them effectively
10:24
TBC:  MK - Type C companies lag tech trends like mobility, not everyone needs mobile; stalwart firms will be less competitive and will suffer w/ retention w/o effective mobile strategies
10:27
TBC:  MK - CSCO is a bellweather, switching gear up 6% last qtr, emerging tech incl wireless up 27%
10:32
TBC:  MK - 100k devices lost in UK pubs each year; compliance and security are critical partners with business mobility initiatives
10:35
TBC:  MK - Mobile BI, dashboards, and real-time status are big mobile app opportunities
10:36
TBC:  MK - Next phase includes not just what can/should i do based on where I am and who's around me, but melds those things including a business transaction, coupon, and more
10:41
TBC:  MK - Carriers are either "smart pipes" or "dumb pipes"; mobile apps leverage the strengths of smart pipe carriers and bring more biz value
10:44
TBC:  Session over...great insight!
10:53
CPW:  Nikki Pall and panel prepare to deliver Best Practices for Sales and Distribution
10:54
CPW:  Claudia Fogelin from Interactive Communications kicks off the panel, with her Mobility Field of Dreams: Make it easy to get the data (make it fun, easy, simple), they will use it.
10:57
CPW:  As a sales trainer, Claudia sees sales people all over the conuntry. One rule holds true, if they don't use the data, it doesn't matter how well designed or cool the app is.
11:00
CPW:  however, you can't forget technology adoption. Employees are becoming increasingly mobile.
11:12
CPW:  Alan Lee from Legg Mason states that the technology is the basis for mobility, but there is more. What is the users' workflow and are you aligning technology to that workflow?
11:14
CPW:  The best apps are delivered "WITH" the sales team, not just "FOR" the sales team. Pyxis Mobile's ability to change the application configuration on the fly is critical for an iterative application rollout.
11:15
CPW:  Legg Mason has 95% user adoption of their mobile applications.
11:17
CPW:  Scott Kasper from Ivy Funds is up next...
11:19
CPW:  This is Scott's third FMS! Nice.
11:20
CPW:  If the training and documentation is not complete for a new mobile application, the implementation is not going to be as successful.
11:22
CPW:  The over-riding theme of this session seems to be that sales people want to look prepared and do not like to look like they don't know how to use their BlackBerry. So, if your rollout does not include training, you will not have high user adoption. Mainly, because the sales people won't use the device because they don't want to look bad in front of clients. TRAINING, TRAINING, DOCUMENTATION.
11:48
CPW:  Rick Bylina from Good is up. Rick is talking about Standards and the Mobile Application "rEvolution".
11:50
CPW:  Rick knew he was the last session before lunch, so he added monkies and mutations to his overview of how standards and trends apply to mobilizing applications now and in the future.
12:05
CPW:  the FMS Gold Tournament begins in 25 minutes.
12:58
CPW:  I meant golf. I've hit the ball three times and have lost all three.

Exciting new features previewed at Keynote!

Todd and I were up and demo'ed some pretty exciting 6.1 features and a new preview of 6.2 features. The demos went smooth and there was a palpable excitement for some these features. In a matter of 10 mins we showed

  • Local login with access to persisted data - quick access to data when you are on a plane!
  • Local Sorting with multiple criteria
  • Local Searching - address book type type -to-search local filtering on your contact list!
  • Next/Previous with hot keys
  • Scripting - conditionally show or make a field required and run complex validation rules on a field
  • Geotagging - track latitude and longitude info with upload or find requests for location information
  • Storm support - Pyxis Mobile apps running on a touch capable device.


November 12, 2008

Thomson Reuters kicks off FMS2008

William Riordan and Brian Becker from Thomson Reuters kicked off the Financial Mobility Summit 2008 with their Thomson ONE Mobile User Meeting. The session focused on the power of their line of mobile applications that capture the experience of their desktop applications on a mobile device.

Reported as a benefit to their applications is the recent addition of Reuters data to the Thomson product, creating a richer experience for users.

The demo of their most recent release of the mobile product for Investment Management highlighted "experience" and "availability of information".

If you haven't seen the applications visit the demo here.

Thomson Reuters kicks off FMS2008
Thomson Reuters kicks off FMS2008

November 10, 2008

White Paper: Four Trends Reshaping the Market for Financial Advisors

Last week, we released a pair of white papers aimed at the financial advisor space. They are both available through our website.

Four Trends Reshaping the Market for Financial Advisors
And how they drive the need for mobile financial applications

Upheaval in global financial markets is creating tremendous uncertainty for financial advisors and their clients. Today, fee-based financial planners, commission-driven financial advisors, family CFOs, investment managers with discretionary trading authority, and wealth management teams face enormous risks and enormous opportunity.

  • Risk. In down markets, clients are more likely to seek a fresh perspective. So advisors must assure excellent customer service and transparent performance reporting.
  • Opportunity. Again - in down markets, clients are more likely to seek a fresh perspective. So advisors must increase their capacity for prospecting.

At the same time, evolving consumer preferences are affecting the way advisors sell and deliver their services:

  • Consumers empowered by the Internet may not see the need for a financial planner, financial advisor, private banker, or wealth manager.
  • Consumers accustomed to exceptional customer service from retailers, hotels, and other service providers expect a higher level of connection and service from financial professionals.
  • Consumers engaged by immediate mobile access to retailers, friends, and information demand a new level of responsiveness from advisors.

These four trends - increasingly volatile financial markets, consumer empowerment, consumers’ high expectations, and consumers’ mobility - will create winners and losers among financial advisors.

This white paper will analyze these trends and show how they are affecting the way the best advisors work. It will tell how the most successful advisors manage their time. And it will describe ways in which advisors can use mobile financial applications, not only to respond to market and competitive pressures but also to more efficiently close new business.

Keep reading this document here.

Financial Mobility Summit 2008 Starts Wednesday

Don't let the current market conditions get you down. Mobile applications change the way that your employees do their jobs, adding efficiency, productivity and revenue growth.

Leaders from the Financial Services and Mobility industries are coming together this week to celebrate the value of mobility in the enterprise, find new ways to drive greater value, and to collect best practices and use cases that will propel their users to new levels of sales and service.

The Financial Mobility Blog will be covering the event in its entirety (http://blog.pyxismobile.com). In addition, attendees and followers alike can Tweet about FMS using hash tag #FMS08 (Twitterstream available at: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23FMS08).

November 05, 2008

Prepping for FMS 2008

I just watched the first run-through of the megademo that will be presented at FMS next week. 6.1 is a huge leap in function and features. It's not too late to register at http://www.pyxismobile.com/fms2008. Prepping for FMS 2008

October 23, 2008

Committing to Clients: Better Customer Service

The folks over at Javelin Marketing provide insurance agents, investment advisors and financial advisors with tips on Financial Services Marketing, Prospecting, Lead Generation and Sales. Today's blog entry struck me as particularly relevant:

What do you really provide clients—a hope that maybe the mutual funds you help them select will reach their retirement goals, that maybe the UL policy you sell them will earn enough to sustain itself, that maybe the LTC company wont raise its rate? When you think about it, you offer prospects nothing firm and you expect people to give you their money. Maybe it’s surprising that we have any clients at all as we guarantee them nothing and expect them to jump into the financial pool with us, with no life vest.

Of course, you cannot make guarantees. Only the product providers can make these when they apply. But you can make promises about your own actions—something that few financial advisors do. If you don’t make promises to clients, why should they make commitments to you?


They go on to list a number of service-oriented ideas that bring advisors closer to their customers.

Take a read and think about how "doing more in less time" comes into play. How would mobility drive customer service in these cases? Can I prospect more, grow and build my book, and still spend a lot of time with customers?

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