Mobile Productivity Blog

Getting the Most out of Mobile Sales Applications

Let’s take a moment, close our eyes, and think back to the 1950’s. These were the times when everyone smoked cigarettes, kids played outside until the streetlights went on, dinner was on the table at 5:00 (typically smothered in butter), and hats and suits were the daily uniform at work. And for the majority of these stereotypical 50’s folks, the occupation of choice was --yep, you guessed it, sales!

Whether it was door-to-door or corporate sales, there was one thing that stood out about these salespeople: their briefcases. Picture one of them with his large briefcase, carrying copious amounts of paperwork about his customers and forms to fill out. What a pain! If you told them that in 60 years, that briefcase would be replaced by something the size of a deck of cards, what do you think they would have said?

Sales is an out of the office, mobile profession. Welcome to selling on-the-go. This concept has been around for a long time, but thankfully as technology advanced, so has the sales profession. Laptops, smartphones, CRM software – these are all common to modern day selling. The challenge is that when they are visiting clients or prospect, their customer data is generally still in the office. Many will print out customer data, try to memorize the data, or even take notes on the data before they go to meet with a client, but the problem with these solutions is that they are not “real time”. Things can change without any notice and without live, real time data, the salesperson is going to be at least partially blind.

We’re in the age of the “CrackBerry” and having a smartphone in this profession is a must. But why? Well, having one of these devices provides the individual with the opportunity to carry LIVE information (not on paper, not on a laptop, not scribbled on your hand; that is a lot of work and uses many resources) without carrying a large object. Smart phones can put customer info in the palm of your hand at the point of contact. They can present interactive CRM and sales data (name, address, phone number, interests in the company, notes of customer interactions in the past, products, analytics, etc) that allows quick review of information prior to a meeting and increased intelligence during the meeting.

If you’re in sales, you NEED this data to be highly accessible to you at all times. With today’s global market you never know when you might need to see this information. But this isn’t all that a salesperson needs. To optimize your sales meetings, having access to comparative and analytical data shows your customer or prospect how you’re positioned in the market place. You can have the ability to access the data in your product warehouse to see real time inventory and product pricing data.

A mobile sales application brings real time critical data, not just a picture of the data. They help to better serve your customer and increases customer satisfaction. Mobile sales applications are simple to use and provide you with information that creates a more fluid and seamless relationship with your client.

Our recently signed on client BlackRock describes why they purchased a mobile sales application:

“We wanted a mobile solution that would support all sales systems from one mobile platform instead of a point solution from each vendor,” says Gary Bigley, Managing Director at BlackRock. “Pyxis Mobile provides a robust and scalable platform that integrates with the variety of business systems we use today, but also can integrate with other systems we’d like to mobilize in the future.”

Client AIC discusses their successes with their mobile sales application:

“We chose Pyxis Mobile because we feel it is the best in class application,” says Miles Radoja, AIC Vice-President, Sales Administration. “We knew that user adoption would be strong because of its popularity in the financial services industry and it turns out that it has been far better than we planned for. Feedback from the field has been extremely positive. Every wholesaler has jumped into this with both feet, and there hasn’t been any resistance from the field in using it.”

Are you currently using any mobile applications to facilitate your sales needs? What difficulties do you find when out in the field?

Ask the Experts - Pyxis Mobile in 2010

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software, Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

Yesterday we talked about where Todd and Arun think the industry will be this year, but what is 2010 going to bring for Pyxis Mobile?

For Todd Christy and his team, user experience in enterprise solutions is a big focus. Their goal is to provide a compelling user experience which makes things easy and shows off the Pyxis Mobile solutions. Todd explains that a broader demographic is reached when there is a focus on enterprise.

Arun agrees; he’s focused on enterprise platforms. “Our customers are making applications that we could never even conceive.” There is a deep and broad need for mobility and limiting to making applications is not broad enough. Pyxis Mobile provides a Configure Once, Run Anywhere™ experience which Arun explains runs with no code on many devices and hopes to see innovative additions such as receipt expense upload via camera phone pictures, market data, and being able to find the nearest ATM (via the device’s GPS).

Arun explains a product feature term: Content Authentication. This means that you can use Pyxis Mobile to deliver a publicly accessible application (like a marketing app), but also provide a password protected section of the application that customers/employees can use to view their personal content. This feature makes it possible for wide application distribution, but with highly focused content available to specific user.

This is the end of our Ask the Experts blog series. Thanks for joining us! If you're curious about any of the topics we've discussed or have a question/topic you'd like us to ask for next time, leave a comment and we will include your question in the next round of interviews. If you’d like to know more about the solutions that Pyxis Mobile can provide for you please email info@pyxismobile.com or call 781-997-0300.

Ask the Experts - 2010 Industry Landscape

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software, Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

We’re two months into 2010, so, I had to ask them: "What’s going to happen this year in the industry?" Todd and Arun were able to give me a little insight on what they think this year has to offer us. Todd describes 2010 as a “watershed year” for Android. That there will be clear signals as to who the audience is for these devices, what level they are at, and what their market share will be. He predicts that hardware innovation will pick up faster than usual, resulting in more devices being released. More hybrids, slates, smartphones, and targeted purpose devices. And changes in their OS will make RIM’s user experience one to envy.

Arun sees three industry leaders who have the most momentum and hold the most market share: RIM, Apple, and Google/Android. He predicts that the weaker ones will fall off the radar (WinMo, Palm, Nokia, Linux [LIMO being the weakest]). Rather than being application heavy, he thinks 2010 will be a trend toward a better constructed mobile web. Right now, the application stores provide reviews, discoverability, and monetization. He believes that the mobile web will take the fore front and will start to provide these benefits and that rich client applications will slip into the background.

So, what are your opinions of 2010? Share them and any questions you may have with us in the comments below!

Tomorrow Todd and Arun sound off about what everyone can look forward to from Pyxis Mobile in 2010. Come back and join in on the conversation!

Ask the Experts - Mobile Advertisements

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software, Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

With the recent buying-up of mobile ad technology firms we can see there is a fire lit under the buyers, driving them to take action with these technologies. Arun describes these acquisitions as the mobile ad ecosystem being built up for something big. While we all are aware of advertisements within some of our favorite mobile applications, it is very rare that we click them and if we do, it was probably an accident. That is how both Todd and Arun see mobile ads; while Todd has never clicked on one, Arun admits that he has clicked by mistake. Although he is a skeptic of mobile ads, Todd can see why the desire is there. There are so many pairs of eyes on mobile devices now, creating an opportunity to advertise through applications, games, and mobile sites. But he thinks that as the hype plateaus, the market will recede.

Arun on the other hand can see what the possible future of these ads may be. In the past, it has been hard to create a well organized and clear mobile advertisement without taking up too much real estate on the screen. With the constant creation of larger device screens, this allows for more ad space and the ability to create a more visually pleasing and effective advertisement. He thinks that these advertisements can range from subtle to explicit, but both are to come in the next few years. With the acquisitions and partnerships being made by Apple, Google, and RIM, we can expect to see advertisements more integrated into the device, thus serving a better purpose. There has been talk of the creation of ads that when clicked on open a text message or a call to the nearest store (via your device’s GPS location), rather than open a mobile web browser page. This technology opens up a world of possibilities and integration; we are just starting to scratch the surface.

Next week we'll be posting about the topic you've all been waiting for: The Mobile Industry landscape of 2010.

Still want answers? Submit a question to us below in the comments section or via Twitter @PyxisMobile

Ask the Experts - QWERTY vs Touch vs Hybrid

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software, Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

Today we explore what I consider a big debate in my world: QWERTY keyboard vs. Touch vs. a hybrid of the two. Everyone has different opinions regarding these features. QWERTY keyboards changed the way people could type on a phone, it made life a little simpler. Then when touch screens came along, they were a big deal, everyone wanted one. Now we have smart phone hybrids which have both a touch screen and an external QWERTY keyboard. Personally, I prefer a QWERTY keyboard, I find it much easier to type with on my BlackBerry Bold. Although, I own an Apple iTouch. This helped me find the deciding factor when it came time to purchase a new phone (iPhone or Blackberry Bold). The touch screen was a key component in my choice -- as a Boston resident, I find it impossible to survive in winter without gloves, thus creating a problem when trying to use an iPhone/iTouch touch screen. Both devices have their pluses and minuses, but the external QWERTY keyboard was a big selling factor for a heavy texter.

Let’s see what our experts thought:

Todd is partial to a QWERTY keyboard when he needs to type an email or a text message, like most heavy users of email and SMS, the ease of using a keyboard makes the extra space worth it. For this reason, Todd doesn’t think that keyboards are going anywhere anytime soon. He says that despite the difficulty of typing, touch screens are great. They have clearly presented themselves as being valuable and the speed and screen quality have allowed it to be prime time. Although, he mentions, there is room for improvement. Like Todd, Arun prefers a QWERTY keyboard. He considers one hand navigation to be “clutch.” As far as the idea of a hybrid, he thinks it provides a great compromise, although he prefers it to be structure like a Palm Pixi. He finds the “transformer” devices (those with moving parts) to be a hassle and easily broken.

There you have it, what Pyxis Mobile’s experts think about QWERTY, touch, and hybrids. Tomorrow, we’ll find out what Todd and Arun think about mobile advertisements.

Want to know more? Submit a question to us in the comments!

Ask the Experts - App Stores

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software, Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

Recently, I read an article about new application stores, so I wanted to get Todd's and Arun's opinions of these new sources to purchase your beloved phone apps.

Todd points out that carriers have not done a great job at providing a friendly and easy to use buying experience for app users. Because of this gap in the market, other stores have been able to emerge, offering a wider variety of possibilities for buyers and developers. Todd thinks that we will see two or three of these stores stick out as the leaders, one of them, of course, being Apple’s store.

While Apple’s store is one of the best, Arun points out that they do not allow their users to download applications from anywhere but the iTunes App Store. So, RIM and Android devices get to have all the fun with any new application stores. Another store Arun mentions is BlackBerry’s AppWorld. While it is a great source of applications for your BlackBerry, it is also a challenge to use. In order to purchase an application, you need a PayPal account, making these new application stores more appealing to consumers than to enterprise users. Although these new stores can be used to broaden a developer’s reach, Arun advises that he would only use an established store. He also warns of the market getting too fragmented if there are too many stores.

So, what do you think? Are these big players going to monopolize the market share or will the smaller companies push through to the forefront?

Tomorrow I'll be revealing my discussion with Todd and Arun about QWERTY Keyboards vs. Touch Screens.

Ask the Experts - Best Mobile Applications

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software, Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

Today, we’ll take a look at apps. I asked Todd and Arun what their “Top Apps” were.

Todd:

• Epicurious  For recipes on the go, creating shopping lists, and cooking in the kitchen with step-by-step directions.
• Thomson Reuters News Pro  Market data/news, stocks, sports, entertainment, health, technology news and many more.
  
• GoogleMaps GPS from your phone including your location, directions, street view, traffic, transit directions, and much more.
  

Arun:

• Thomson One Mobile Monitor portfolios, news, charts, market positions and more.
  
• GoogleMaps GPS from your phone including your location, directions, street view, traffic, transit directions, and much more. (I told you, great minds think alike!)
  
•  Viigo  RSS news, weather, sports, entertainment, travel, and more.
  
• REI Snow Report  Find out about snow conditions, resorts, lifts, and trails of your favorite mountains.
  
• BlackBerry AppWorld  Browse for applications on your BlackBerry, read reviews, find out what’s new

Come back tomorrow for some insights on application stores.

Ask the Experts - The Mobile OS Face-off

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software,  Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

 

Today I delve into the world of platforms and OS. Who makes the best one, why and what do you use?

 

Like many people in the business world, both Todd and Arun use a BlackBerry as their main cellular device. Both also own an iTouch.

 

Todd mentioned that it’s hard to choose because they all have their respective strengths. BlackBerry is a good fit for the business world, the market it has dominated for many years. But for play, Todd likes Apple, the graphics are better and the applications are more diverse.

 

Arun describes himself as a BlackBerry “power-user”; he’s not looking for media or tons of applications. He says that BlackBerry offers the right mix of usability and flexibility. And like Todd, he admits that his iTouch has better graphics and that their application store is better overall.

 

Check back next week for their picks of “best mobile applications.”

Ask the Experts

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of experts here at Pyxis Mobile.  We’ll be speaking with Pyxis Mobile president and CTO Todd Christy and Pyxis Mobile’s director of software, Arun Nagarajan. I set out on a mission to pick their brains about what is going on in the mobile industry and where 2010 will bring us. I found out that it’s true, great minds DO think alike!

 

Today, we start the week with a discussion about Apple’s newest gadget: the iPad. There has been a lot of talk about the iPad since its announcement to the world. What can it be used for? Who will use it? Why do we want one? How is it different? The past couple of weeks, the internet has been abuzz with answers to these questions. However, no one will really know who’s right until it is released and being used by the public.

 

Wall Street & Technology asked Todd Christy what he thought of the iPad in a January 28^th blog post.  “The device’s rich text, enhanced reader application, combined with a large bright screen and embedded video, make it a great tool for presentations,” Todd points out.

 

Chapter 9: Embracing Enterprise Mobility – Every solution is different. Which is right for you?

For nine days, Pyxis Mobile's Mobile Productivity Blog will be publishing a series of articles providing the case for enterprise mobility, along with the technical considerations and evaluation criteria for selecting a mobile partner.

The first thing to consider when evaluating the many different mobility applications on the market today is the technology and architecture on which they’re built. Any good mobility solution will provide an array of critical core functionality. Use the following vendor evaluation tool to assess the capabilities of your prospective technology providers: