Mobile Productivity Blog

New mobile technologies can spell trouble unless you've got the right tools.

Recently we’ve seen dramatic evolution of mobile technologies, which begs the question, how does a company keep up with all the new devices and operating systems hitting the market?

Many companies have mobile applications that they use to interact with customers, partners, and employees. When things change in the industry (which we know happens on a constant basis) it makes it difficult to ensure that those applications will work with the newest technologies. With mobility comes a sense of urgency, and when your users procure the newest device or OS and your application does not comply, you have a problem.

When these complications arise, if an organization has built their own applications in-house, it can become quite difficult. Upgrading applications for new device types and operating systems is typically time-consuming and labor intensive. And for companies that built and released one-off iPhone apps within the last year, re-creating those applications for BlackBerry, Android and iPad is a tremendous amount of work.

In just the past couple of months we have had multiple device and OS releases including Froyo (Google’s Android OS), BlackBerry OS 6, Apple 4.0, and Windows Phone 7, as well as many devices with different screen resolutions, features and hardware specific to those new operating systems. As each of these big-players adds more to their repertoire (both hardware and software), applications need to accommodate the latest and greatest features and functionality. But keeping up with these advancements are tough. Each time a new device is added or an OS is changed, the code needs to be updated.

The key in this situation is being able to quantify the cost of maintaining your current applications while developing new ones to meet the needs of users a month, 6 months and even a year from now. If you’re going to develop multiple applications for multiple device types, then choosing the right development tools is key to containing costs and expanding your mobile applications offerings. That’s where a mobile application development platform comes into play: use it to configure one application and run that app on multiple operating systems. Device compatibility and ongoing support for the next generation of devices and operating systems is baked-in to the solution.

By utilizing a mobile application development platform, you can rest easy. Companies that provide those technologies exist solely to simplify your mobile development process by making it fast and easy to update applications and by ensuring compatibility with new technologies as they emerge onto the market. Pyxis Mobile currently provides a multi-platform solution that allows you to easily deploy a custom application on Blackberry, iPhone, Android, and WinMo. Can your app do that?

Hidden Costs of TCO

So I've talked a lot about the importance of a strategy when deploying mobile applications in the corporate enterprise. One of the main reasons that a strategy is so important is that enterprise mobility costs money. It can either cost a reasonable amount of money that provides a lot of value in return...or it can cost a lot of money that provides not-so-much value in return.

Here is a list of the big-ticket costs associated with building just ONE mobile solution for ONE type of device...let's say, CRM for the BlackBerry curve:

• Project analysis and planning
• Selection and training on development environment (BlackBerry JDE, Eclipse, Microsoft Visual Studio, etc.)
• Application development (knowledge of J2ME programming language required)
• Testing
• Plug-in development and data mapping
• Server and infrastructure hardware and maintenance costs
• Security modeling and assurance
• End-user training and documentation
• Support and quality assurance for roll-out of the final product
• Ongoing quality assurance, troubleshooting and testing of new data sources, configurations, etc.
• Annual maintenance and upgrades for server, plug-ins, development environment, etc.

When developing one mobile application on one type of mobile device in-house, a company can create a reasonable cost estimate based on the above-listed big-ticket development, IT and support needs. However, any company developing a mobile application today needs to incorporate shelf life into their equation because devices are evolving rapidly and will continue to do so. So that means that we need to project costs over time and take into account future development needs, device changes and new back-end data sources. Those are factors that add uncertainty to your cost estimate. We also need to account for new user groups that emerge as mobile technology continues to create widespread change in the way people interact with vendors and evolve personal purchasing behaviors.

Consequently, in addition to the costs listed above, hidden costs include:

• New user groups and new demand for apps
  
• New device types and replacement devices
• Mobile OS upgrades
• Changes to back-end data sources and database management software upgrades
• New device hardware (like touch screens, GPS and front-facing cameras, etc.)
• Changes to compliance and regulatory requirements
• Emerging security threats
• Demand for new functionality and expanded feature sets
  

Taking these hidden costs into account illustrates the necessity of a well-thought out mobile strategy that meets today's demand and positions you well for the future. By developing and executing such a plan, you are going to be able to put development tools in place that will grow with you and meet future market demand.

Have you deployed more than one mobile solution and are you having trouble keeping up with new technologies? Do you have a mobile strategy that's worked? Tell us about it!

Development of additional applications for other user groups

"Once consumers have a taste of constant connectivity it is extremely difficult to do without it." – Seeking Alpha.

Mobile connectivity is like sliced bread, the wheel, microwaves; once you have it, you don’t want to know life without it. It’s like every invention that has made life easier, except on a greater and more technological scale. Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to have your product or brand represented, and when mobile employee sing the praises of their mobile apps, non-mobile employees are listening with envy.

Herein lies the issue: when one employee becomes mobile and talks about the benefits, it has a ripple effect throughout the office...and pretty soon, everyone is going to want to have what they have. The problem for mobile and non-mobile offices alike is that mobile is now everywhere and everyone is already talking about it. So the awareness has been created, the demand is already there and your employees are already saying "wouldn't it be great if I could get ______ [fill in the blank] on my mobile device?"

In the past 18 months, iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded over 3 billion applications (on the iTunes Store alone!). Today’s society has definitely gone app-happy. BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Google have launched their own app stores to snag users in this market. Smaller, independent marketplaces have also emerged, like GetJar, which offer applications for all different types of smartphones in one place. All signs are pointing to one trend – the increasing adoption and utilization of mobile technologies.

What does this mean for your mobile strategy? Simply that one mobile app isn’t going to be enough to meet the needs of all your different employee groups, your business and supply chain partners AND your customers. Your company will need several applications to meet the needs of all these different user groups. While your sales force or field service agents are the likeliest candidates for company mobility, other employees will want – and would benefit from – mobile applications as well. Managers, executives, strategic business partners, and customers all have unique mobile needs that can help increase business productivity and brand loyalty.

As mobile demand grows, your company will need to meet it. To do it best, create a well thought-out strategy that takes advantage of the breadth and depth of mobile technology available today. Do you have a mobile strategy? Are you facing increased customer and/or employee demand for mobile applications? Let us know...

Expansion of an application to multiple device types/platforms

You just developed an application for BlackBerry devices and deployed it. Everyone loves it! Well, almost everyone. In the excitement and the hype of creating your application, you forgot to survey your employees to determine which devices they use on a regular basis. Unfortunately, those individuals not using a BlackBerry are feeling neglected and left out of the decision making process. While the majority of the people in corporate America have BlackBerrys, there are some people who use iPhones and Android devices - and your cool new app doesn't work for them. 

And then there are your customers. Lots and lots of customers use iPhones. In fact, maybe more customers use iPhones than BlackBerrys. And what about this new Android thing you've been hearing about? Is it really true that one in ten smartphones sold today is an Android phone? That's huge! What do we do about that?

Well, the first thought might be to build more apps. But that will cost time and money...a lot of it. It's time to stop, think and plan. Assess your needs - today's AND tomorrow's needs. Because failing to anticipate your customers' and employees' mobility requirements can cost your company a lot of money.

Take for example the BlackBerry 8700, which relied on RIM's trackwheel navigation system. The 8700 was available as recently as 2007 but you can't buy one today. The track wheel has been phased out completely and replaced with the trackball. As the 8700's that are used by employees are replaced by newer BlackBerry models, the software running on them has to be re-written and upgraded so it's compatible with the trackball navigation system and the OS that powers it. And look at the iPhone. In just the past couple years, we've seen three different models and three major operating system upgrades. The fourth should be here by the end of the summer. How long are today's devices going to be available and what happens when the devices your company and customers currently use are no longer available?

New hardware, software and even entirely new device platforms have all emerged over the past 12 months and they've had a major impact on the market as well as consumer behavior. The pace of evolution is not slowing. What are some of the difficulties you're running into today? What do you think is around the corner for new mobile devices and software - and how are you going to deal with it?

Total Cost of Ownership & The 4 Factors of Mobile App Development

The total cost of ownership for mobile applications is driven by four very real and very important factors that need to be evaluated by any organization seeking to deploy an enterprise grade application.

The Four Factors:

• Development
• Deployment
• Maintenance
• Upgrades of applications over time
  

With every new technological development in the mobile industry, users become more demanding and corporations increasingly rely on mobile applications to serve key roles in customer service, sales force automation, field services and direct marketing. The following factors should be considered in order to estimate the TCO over time of any mobile initiative:

1. Cost of developing a single application for a single device type – i.e. the cost required to develop a marketing application for only the iPhone
2. Continued support, upgrades and administration of an application
3. Expansion of an application to multiple device types and/or device platforms – i.e. a sales force automation application that works on BlackBerrys and developing it for the iPhone as well
4. Development of additional applications for other user groups – i.e. take your sales force automation application (which is your first app) and integrate it with account data to build an app that gives clients access to their own account information (two), then use account activity and transaction information to power a marketing application that incentivizes clients to drive more business to your firm (three). And don't forget your managers and executives - they need an app that takes sales data and rolls it up into performance reports.
   

Cost of developing a single application for a single device type:

 

The costs are straight forward and somewhat simple to estimate depending upon whether or not a company decides to outsource development or build an application in house. There are plenty of boutique firms that companies can hire to develop a custom application and they will quote a price up front based on the scope of the project.Alternatively, a company can develop a mobile application in house. This would mean that the cost is based primarily on internal operating costs with marginal budget required for hardware. What is the best approach for your company? Before allocating resources to the development of a single application for one device type, like many companies have done with iPhone apps, consider your long term mobile needs. A company should ask itself these questions:

• Is this the only mobile application we're going to develop?
• What about other device types?
• If we’re developing an iPhone app, should we make it available on Android (the operating system by Google)? And what about BlackBerry since it still holds 42% of the US market?

 If you think that you'll need to develop more than one application or that you'll need to deploy to more than one device type, then it's worth considering a mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP). A development platform will enable you to cost effectively build and deploy an entire suite of mobile applications for a variety of user groups. ...but I'll go into some more detail on that topic in my next blog!

Integrated Applications - What will we see next?

Smartphones have been a ubiquitous part of our culture for what seems like forever (okay, maybe it just seems like forever to us Generation Y'ers, but long enough that we can justify saying things like “Do you remember when...?”). Popularity of these smart devices has grown exponentially in the past few years in the general consumer market. In the past smartphones were predominantly used by business professionals who needed access to data while they were traveling. Instead of carrying multiple items, like a cell phone, a wireless networking card and a laptop, to organize their life, professionals could use one device to stay connected to the office.

Now consumers have started to demand more out of these devices, showing their need to stay connected to people and information in their lives. Smartphones do a great job of satisfying those needs and once people make the leap from cell phone to smartphone (whether it be iPhone, BlackBerry, WinMo, or the new Android devices) they don't go back. Personally, I have found that having a smartphone simplifies and streamlines my life, but my devices haven't always organized information in the most convenient way. Now we're seeing that integration and organization in mobile software applications and also on the OS level with the Android and Windows Phone 7. The new trend is towards data-driven navigation that integrates multiple data sources and seamlessly organizes information.

For example, instead of having multiple email and social networking accounts linked individually to your phone, ALL of your messages are organized in one location. This can include device specific messages (i.e. BlackBerry Messages), SMS, MMS, various email accounts, instant messengers, Facebook alerts and messages, Twitter @mentions and direct messages, and much more (depending on your device and applications you have installed). Smartphone developers have seen this trend of convenience in the market and have been working it into all of the newest designs.

In the past, consumers were happy enough having a device that could do a bunch of basic stuff, like connect to email and organize contacts. But now people want to have everything and do everything, all at the same time and all at a fast speed. They don’t want to log in and out of many different applications in order to run others. They don't want to manage multiple email inboxes. They don't want to have to read an email from a friend in one location and their recent twitter update in another. They DO want simplicity, which in the case of mobile software comes in the form of integration.

What’s the easiest way for an application to meet consumer demand? Well, most application-specific mobile apps aren’t advanced enough to properly integrate and organize data - but a few can. The most successful and beneficial apps allow you access to update and read social media as part of an intuitive workflow. For example, with well-built mobile software for conferences, not only can you see event, speaker and exhibitor information, but with integrated feeds to Twitter you can live tweet and follow pertinent conversations involving attendees, all without exiting the conference app. Be on the look out for integrated applications like this - it’s what the consumer want so the industry is going to provide it.

Right now, Pyxis Mobile provides integrated applications of all kinds. For example, in our UpperClass application, we provide Facebook integration so that students can update their status without having to exit out and then open another software application. Think about this, you’re a student registering for classes via UpperClass and you want to let your friends know what you’re taking for classes or ask them what they’re taking. Without leaving the application you can post to Facebook and immediately skip to the next item you're working on. There is no interruption of work-flow.

Another great example of social media integration is Pyxis Mobile's latest App from Scratch V winners who built a Boston Marathon Tracker Application. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, it even integrates Foursquare so that supporters can monitor their friends and family members who are running the race, track their positions and times, and send messages or alerts through all the social networking sites. How cool is that!!?

Where do you think the industry is going? What do you think the next move is going to be? Are you and your applications ready for integration?

mLearning - How today's college students learn

Mobility is trending upwards in the educational community in the form of m-Learning and e-Learning. “Ninety-seven percent of students enter college with cell phones, yet few universities leverage this ubiquity for teaching and university life.” (Abilene Christian University) As more and more people are realizing the benefits of mobility and are purchasing smartphones, universities are discovering that they can utilize these tools as powerful learning aids in the classroom.

In addition to Boston University, other schools embracing this technology (but not as integrated as BU) include the University of Michigan, University of Florida, Texas A&M University, Northeastern University, Stanford University, University of Illinois, Abilene Christian University, and Harvard University.

If we look at all these applications from a distance, we can see five different approaches that schools have taken to create mobile apps:

1. Informational – purely used as a promotional tool including non-personal university data (maps, events, campus information)

2. Connected and Personal Content – adding personal school information to the first approach (my classes, my grades, etc.) as well as social media like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare

3. Mobility in the Classroom – integrating the mobile device into classroom learning exercises

4. Whimsical, creative - using mobile devices in ways never imagined like the Mobile Orchestra

5. Community – linking students with their communities by publishing guides, restaurant ratings, security information, business promotions, and events

Let's take a closer look on approach number three - mLearning. Using mobility in the classroom allows students to interact with their environments and each other while learning. For example, consider an art student at a university. The student is assigned to attend a gallery opening and take pictures and comment on their favorite pieces. In the past, this would involve using a bulky camera, developing film and taking notes in a notebook. With today’s technology, a student can snap a photo with a smartphone, attach a few comments and submit it to their professor all from an integrated application.

In a past blog entry regarding BU’s mLearning initiative, we discussed the use of smartphones in finance. In that case, BU students were able to replicate the role of financial analyst with a special mLearning application designed to track company information, news and market data.

As a former marketing student, I know that many of the tasks my professors assigned for us could have been simplified by mobility. For example, many of my classes had students compare in-store advertising to internet, print, commercials, and advertising on the streets (i.e. taxis and bus stops).  Professors would typically want pictures of what you found, a record of where you found it, and an explanation of how it compares to the other advertisements. With the use of an mLearning application and GPS, pictures would be tagged with GPS location and comments, then added to an album that would allow for side by side comparisons.

In addition, in any coursework involving a group situation, mLearning allows for simplified group discussion within the application. It allows them to share files and discuss group assignments wherever they are.

Another great feature for professors is the integration of GPS. Professors have busy lives. Organizing an entire class to attend an event like a conference or exhibit at a specific time - and being there to take attendance - takes a lot of time and logistical planning. Inevitably, in a class of 40, some students won't be able to attend and others will have to forgo other commitments. And yes, some will always show up late, delaying the rest of the group or missing the boat all together. By using a GPS feature, students would have the ability to "check in" to an event virtually with their GPS location, allowing them to attend the exhibit, conference or event on their own time. Since the professor receives a GPS time and location stamp, no one needs to bother taking attendance and counting heads - and students get to learn with friends and classmates in a way that works for them. 

What opportunities do YOU think present themselves within the classroom setting using mobility?

App from Scratch V - Utilizing Pyxis Mobile 7.0

With the release of Pyxis Mobile 7.0 came an opportunity to engage the developers at Pyxis Mobile in App from Scratch V! Everyone here at the office loves the App from Scratch contests. It not only fosters teamwork, but encourages our developers to think outside the box.

Essentially, the rules of the game are 1. No coding (you have to use AppStudio to build your app) and 2. You have 48 hours to complete the application. To read more about it, check out the press release.

Yesterday, seven teams presented their hard work to us (we had live tweeting during the event, check out the hashtag #AFS2010). There was a wide variety of applications created, each team brought something different to the table.

Grand Prize: Pyxis Athletic Association (PAA) - Boston Marathon Tracker

This application was designed to track runners during the Boston Marathon while integrating social media clients. Developed for both the BlackBerry and the iPhone, the Boston Marathon Tracker allows the user to see the leader board, split by Men, Women, and Wheelchair. There is also a key section that makes this application even more useful: the Friends tracker. Within this section where friends who are running the race have been added, the user can click on them, find out where they are currently via GPS, their pace, and an estimated finishing time.

The social media aspect of this application is the fluid integration of Foursquare, Twitter, and TwitPic. From within the application, users can Tweet about the race and also follow the corresponding hashtag, take a picture and send it to TwitPic which then puts it in the “Race Images” feed, and also use their Foursquare account to find stores and restaurants around your current race location. Features from Pyxis Mobile 7.0 used for this application were: composite screens, regions, cover flow, background color, gradients, borders, content authentication, asynchronous images, and iPhone 7.0 features were start-up on any screen, device ID authentication, and image buttons.

    

First Runner Up: Team 44 - 43things.com (Mobile Extension)

This application was designed to mobilize a website that claims to be the “World’s largest goal setting community” which asks the question: What do you want to do with your life? Our developers saw that their mobile site was not very user friendly and took that opportunity to create this application with not only Facebook but Twitter integration on the BlackBerry.

Within this application, users can find people and goals. They can use the Zeitgiest feature which shows which goals are trending and popular and how many users have that goal. After having logged in, it will take one click to add one of these as your goal, while also publishing your new goal to Facebook and Twitter.

Features from Pyxis Mobile 7.0 used for this application were: cover flow, asynchronous images, regions, and content authentication.

 

 

Second Runner Up: Unicorn Factory - goodguide.com (Mobile Extension)

This application was designed to mobilize a website that provides health and safety information and ratings for products. This application is great while shopping to determine whether the choices the use has made are safe, healthy, or green. Features of this iPhone and BlackBerry ready application are browsing, searching, and finding related items. Once the item is found, the user can see the environmental, social and health ratings and nutritional information if applicable. Another informative resource available is the RSS feed for the Good Guide blog.

Features from Pyxis Mobile 7.0 used for this application are: cover flow, asynchronous images, composite screens, gradients, and buttons.

Those were the winners, now, time for the other applications!

Know When to Hold Em - Audiucate

This application was developed for use on the iPad and BlackBerry by children. It is a learning tool which can be customized with the user’s voice to be familiar to the child. Creates a flash card game which the user can assess and add more questions to focus on the child’s educational needs. Includes built in voice prompts and encouragement (hand clapping).

Rick Rollers - Music Genome Project

This application pulls data from last.fm and music-map.com to categorize music by artists and related artists. It was developed to run on an Android device and includes cover flow and click to purchase (at amazon.com).

 

PSG Leftovers - Connect4 - Victorious Secret

This application fulfills the needs and does away with the frustration of wanting a cross-platform multi-player game by running on iPhone and BlackBerry. It is the classic game of Connect 4. Features live, fast updating, regions, auto polling, composite screens and buttons.

Needs Coffee - The Mallbilizer

This application can be used to find malls near any zip code, which stores are at those malls, what promotions or events occurring and when, and allows the user to purchase or re-charge a Simon Mall Vise gift card. All data is pulled from simon.com. The application has been skinned and utilizes cover flow.

 

There you have it! Pyxis Mobile's App from Scratch V winners and participants. You think this is good, wait til you see what they can do in more than 48 hours!

Do you remember when...?

Do you remember when a smartphone was a PDA? When you had to use a stylus to type out messages? When only the most simple of functions were executable? We do, because we were there, implementing our mobile application platforms along the way.

With the release of Pyxis Mobile 7.0 we thought it'd be fun to visually take you through how far our mobile application UI's have come throughout the years and different devices.

2002

 

2004

 

2006

 

2009 - BlackBerry Bold 9000

 

2010 - BlackBerry Tour & Apple iPhone

Our newest UI exhibits many stylistic upgrades which allow you to configure a mobile phone application that rivals and surpasses custom built applications. But rather than a custom built app, you're using a mobile platform to configure and manage your application across iPhone,BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone. Features include cover flow-style image display, flexible form alignment, composite screens, intelligent refresh, and much more.

Oh, and "Go Native or Go Home!"

What do you find important in a custom built application?

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?