News Analysis: Inside the First Industry-Specific Mobile Apps by the IBM MobileFirst for Apple iOS Partnership

R "Ray" Wang

Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation…...

Read more

The IBM-Apple Partnership Achieves First Milestones

On December 10th, IBM and Apple announced the first wave of industry-specific enterprise solutions as part of the IBM MobileFirst for iOS applications.   In a meeting with Fred Balboni, IBM’s general manager of the Apple partnership; and Jeremy Butcher, Apple Marketing and Strategy, Constellation received an update on the progress of the industry-specific Apple iOS apps

Key developments include:

1. Announcement of 10 new industry-specific applications. IBM launched 10 industry-specific apps that are generally available to the public. These apps include Advise & Grow (Banking and Financial Markets), Case Advice (Government), Expert Tech (Telecom), Incident Aware (Government), Passenger+ (Travel and Transportation), Pick & Pack (Retail), Plan Flight (Travel and Transportation), Retention (Insurance), Sales Assist (Retail), Trusted Advice (Banking and Financial Markets)
   
   Point of view (POV): Constellation estimates that the apps are designed to deliver 80 percent of most organizations’ required needs. The remaining 20 percent will require a combination of configuration and customization for last-mile capabilities. These apps are the first set of third-generation mobile enterprise apps to hit the market from IBM and Apple.
    
2. Delivery of IBM MobileFirst for iOS and MDM and API management. Taking advantage of Cloudant, the release includes an SDK that delivers intelligent workflow and context. This includes full master-to-master replication of JSON objects, shadow databases, and data bursting. The solution also takes advantage of the IBM SoftLayer bare metal for dedicated instances and provides both cloud and on-premises development for iOS. In enterprise mobile management, the solution provides security, application and device management, and enterprise distribution.
   
   (POV): Constellation sees this development as key to both IBM and Apple expanding the future ecosystem for not only the industry-specific apps but the instrumentation required to deliver on Big Data business models. Future Big Data business models build on information differentiation, information brokerages, and information networks. These capabilities open up the future possibilities and enrich the opportunities for the developer ecosystem.
    
3. Offering of enterprise AppleCare services.   IBM and Apple made a commitment to deliver AppleCare service and support offerings with 24×7 phone and email (in English) for end users; toll-free calls routed to Tier 2 phone advisors; one-hour IT level support for P1 tickets; fee-based, technical and onsite support. The service is now available in 10 countries.
   
   (POV): Constellation has a number of clients who have asked about or are inquiries exploring or in the middle of completing an agreement for enterprise AppleCare. The service addresses Apple’s Achilles heel in supporting enterprise customers. Most IT departments and end users expect comprehensive support of Apple hardware and operating systems. Customers have been pleasantly surprised with the onsite repair or replacement of Apple enrolled iOS devices.
4. Progress in delivering IBM logistics expertise to Apple. The IBM MobileFirst supply, activate, and manage capabilities now deliver end-to-end procurement, device enrollment, and lifecycle management services in more than 20 countries. As part of the Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP), IBM can deliver mobile device management; distribute, secure, and manage enterprise apps for easy employee access; and enforce real-time and policy compliance for stronger data protection.
   
   (POV): Constellation believes that enterprise-class organizations will favor this model as the approach gives the IT team centralized control without creating additional friction for the line-of-business users. Another advantage is the ability to take advantage of IBM Global Financing for fair market value (FMV) leases, volume licenses, Apple Advantage discounts, and AppleCare for the enterprise.

Preorder Disrupting Digital Business, published by Harvard Business Review Press In Q2 2015.  Learn more.

Ten IBM MobileFirst for Apple iOS Apps Meet the Third-Generation Mobile Apps Challenge

The IBM – Apple offering is one of the first to meet the requirements of third-generation enterprise mobile applications.  In fact, the design point for IBM’s MobileFirst for Apple iOS apps begins with the application of analytical insight to the Apple iPad and iPhone devices that interact with enterprise systems.  IBM has made a significant commitment to date with five development labs in Toronto, Chicago, Atlanta, Bangalore, and Cupertino.  Further, IBM expects to have 30,000 mobile practitioners trained and fully enabled by year-end and more than 100,000 trained through 2015.

Offerings Address Three Major Enterprise Use Cases

The announced offerings intend to address three major use cases:

1. Industry-specific apps for iOS. These third-generation mobile apps address business requirements and span traditional business processes and functions such as banking, telecommunications, insurance, government, retail, transportation, and telecommunications (see Figure 4). Sample use cases include telecom field service, fuel optimization for piltos, and situational awareness for first responders.
2. ERP for iOS optimized with advanced APIs. These apps extract legacy ERP systems of record from sources such as mainframe, Oracle, and SAP to create new interfaces in iOS native apps through an API management layer.
3. App integration and management for end-to-end lifecycle management for iOS. These solutions provide an end-to-end MDM integration and full management services for mission-critical apps, including maintenance and enhancement across the DevOps lifecycle.

First Wave of Industry-Specific Apps for Apple iOS

The key industry-specific apps include 6 industries that address 10 design patterns (see Figure 4).

The Bottom Line: IBM-Apple Partnership Represents Both A New Class of Applications And A New Type Of Partnership In A World Of Digital Transformation

Constellation believes that mobile is more than just the device.  While smart phones and other devices provide a key enabler, design in digital transformation should take into account how these technologies address the business value and business model transformation required to deliver on break through innovation.  These devices provide the sense and respond, the interactivity, and the connectivity required for digital transformation.

Today’s announcement shows how the IBM and Apple global partnership is helping the two companies co-innovate and co-create new solutions that play to each others strength.   IBM’s big data and analytics expertise, mobile management capabilities, logistics prowess, integration knowledge paired with Apple’s design prowess, device expertise, and enterprise market share penetration have created new digital business models.  The offerings from IBM and Apple are just the first wave of solutions that bring together new out of the box enterprise mobility solutions.  Customers seeking out of the box digital transformation solutions can expect more on the way and can expect to see real out of the box software.

The full analysis and research report can be found here when published on the Constellation Research website.

Your POV.

Ready for digital disruption by starting with mobile?  Add your comments to the blog or reach me via email: R (at) ConstellationR (dot) com or R (at) SoftwareInsider (dot) org.

Resources

Future hardware that impacts your supply chain – think V2V.

pending

Guy Courtin was formerly Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research covering Matrix Commerce and how the Internet of Things drives the evolution of commerce.  Guy has over 15 years experience in the technology space and specifically in the supply chain space. Most recently he was the Vice President of Research at SCM World. Where he focused on the service providers that empowered supply chains. Prior to SCM World, Guy held numerous senior positions. He was responsible for product marketing at RSi, a retail supply chain solution provider. There managed RSi’s go to market strategy around their leading cloud based supply chain solutions. He also spear headed Progress Software’s supply chain group. Where he was responsible for driving revenue and market share as well…...

Read more

I wrote a post earlier this week about a number of hardware trends that will impact your supply chain, those are all in place today, already impacting supply chain and will only grow in significance. But here is one that is futuristic – V2V (vehicle to vehicle).  Why would  a driverless vehicle impact my supply chain you may ask?

Of course the biggest impact will be on making road safer, make cars more energy efficient, reduce congestion to name few. But this enhanced hardware also has the potential to impacting your supply chains. For example – last mile package delivery. Driverless vehicles will bring to delivery the same advantages as companies like Kiva have to warehouse management. Companies like Fedex, DHL and UPS could leverage a fleet of driverless vehicles to make

Coming to you…without a driver.

small parcel, last mile deliveries. With greater overall visibility of traffic patterns, other vehicles and tied into overall grid would allow greater optimization of package delivery. There are already applications such as Route4Me that look to provide optimal routes based on the errands or destinations the consumer has to run. There are a number of these apps that are being baked into the smart cars. Add to this routing software the ability for vehicles to drive themselves and you open up great possibilities when it comes to logistics. Private operators could “rent” out their vehicles for delivery purposes….just like Uber drivers do with their cars when it comes to the chauffeur business.

Supply chains need to think about how this could impact parts of their business models. We are already seeing some retailers like Footlocker offering same day delivery from their stores. They are doing so using services from Deliv (think Uber for small parcel delivery). What if instead of having to use Deliv, they could dispatch driverless vehicles? What if the consumer could use the driverless vehicles for returns? What if the retailer use the driverless vehicles to bring back returns to other locations? This potential delivery channel could truly transform the consumers’ home into an extension of the brick and mortar store.

I realize that V2V technology remains in the future with regards to becoming a reality in our day to day lives. Unlike the other hardware changes, V2V is not going to impact your supply chain today. But think about the potential it may have once it becomes a reality – which is closer than you may realize.

Tagged: Driverless Vehicle, IOT, Last mile delivery, V2V

Digital Business; is your enterprise good enough with the technology?

Andy Mulholland

Vice President and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
Constellation Research

Andy Mulholland is Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on cloud business models. Formerly the Global Chief Technology Officer for the Capgemini Group from 2001 to 2011, Mulholland successfully led the organization through a period of mass disruption. Mulholland brings this experience to Constellation’s clients seeking to understand how Digital Business models will be built and deployed in conjunction with existing IT systems. Coverage Areas Consumerization of IT & The New C-Suite: BYOD, Internet of Things, IoT, technology and business use Previous experience: Mulholland co authored four major books that chronicled the change and its impact on Enterprises starting in 2006 with the well-recognised book ‘Mashup Corporations’ with Chris Thomas of Intel. This was followed in…...

Read more

A test question; Your IT systems have just been publically hacked via your new Digital Business? Your biggest competitor has just been publically praised for the speed of its online responses for its Digital Business including its integration to its existing internal IT systems. Can you honestly say that you know if your approach, implementation and operation are competitively good enough, or even if your overall technology approach is embracing best practice?

Probably you will reply that this is such a fast evolving time, both in the Business model, and the Technologies/products, that its impossible to know. Ask the same question about Bench Marking the performance of your IT systems and the likely answer is that yes you have some real sense of performance…. But usually in terms of the costs!  That’s not surprising as IT is a back office cost, even overhead, needing strict controls and operational monitoring to ensure it really is providing the capability to make the enterprise cost competitive. 

Its not too hard to find different reports showing that Technology spend on areas not considered part of the traditional IT role are growing faster than IT, yet at the same time are subject to less scrutiny and management control.

In Digital Business an enterprise is being exhorted ‘don’t plan, just to it, and if you fail try again’ and that’s okay in the sense of the Business part perhaps, but its not likely to lead to long term success in the core technology underpinning the business model. Digital Business very different role created to win more revenues, hopefully more market share, even higher margin business, all of which is enthusiastically measured. Surely it must be every bit as important to establish best practice in the (hopefully reusable) Technology aspects as well?

The answer is clearly yes; but the problem is how? The benchmarks for IT work because of the maturity of best practice resulting in established best practices, leading to comparative metrics.

If bench marking mature IT around established best practices is a critical success factor for competitive cost management of the Back Office. What can be done to help the every bit as important management of evolving Digital Business and its Technology in the Front Office?

Note that this is about the technology that supports Digital Business and not about the actual Digital Business in terms of what is sold, to whom, etc. the focus of the Management Consultants. An obvious starting point is around Cloud, Mobile and Network Operations as these form a relatively common set of core infrastructure both for IT, and now for Digital Business, so extending good practice here should be easiest. Unfortunately it seems as if IT is still struggling with these newer technologies and gaining the tools to operate them successfully. Given the time elapsed and the wide spread experience gain it seems ways to improve operational efficiency are known to CIOs but finding, or justifying the investment must be difficult!

The 2014 TeamQuest IT Management Survey just published shows some worrying facts in relationship to Clouds under the heading of Virtual Machine management. Starting with; 83% of IT managers said their organization lacks proper virtual machine management.

There were plenty of other issues that suggested high awareness of issues, together with the sad fact that the remedial steps aren’t being taken. Here are a few more bullet points from the TeamQuest report summary; ‘amongst the most common IT issues are network slowdowns or outages (42%), poor performing applications (37%), availability issues (37%), equipment failures (36%), and unanticipated change requests (34%)’. Finally, ‘63% of IT managers have experienced cloud outages and 65% of those believe it could have been prevented’.

(With thanks to TeamQuest for allowing the reproduction of these points – see TeamQuest for the full report)

Though you could make a case that much of this report is focused on using the technologies to deliver existing IT its difficult to see how you can support the new dynamic Digital Business requirements without getting the basics right in a relatively static, well understood IT environment. The report, and indeed other reports, all draw attention to the same facts; investment in managing the core technologies whose role is expanding beyond traditional IT into Digital Business is poor and this is leading to operational failures.

This is a management mindset problem that states; ‘if it’s about technology it must be about the costs of providing IT, and those costs/overheads have to be held down. Is it a coincidence that IT all to often reports to the Chief Financial Officer in their role of cost management?

 Is it really right for Digital Business that is about creating revenues, margin, and market share by investing in Technology to report and be managed in the same way as IT?

Pretty clearly not, so why does it happen and what to do about it. As this is a discussion that involves the CFO perhaps we should start by pointing out that the financial management of Digital Business doesn’t work using the existing IT spreadsheets! How can it? Traditional IT is a Capital Expenditure, CapEx, based department with the resulting high overheads which are difficult to precisely allocate; whereas Digital Business is based on using Services through the Operational Expenditure, OpEx, of the using person, business group, product etc.

A transformed Business model that is based on limited unallocated overheads with almost all costs directly allocated and linked to value delivered. For more details see the previous blog Digital Business; mastering new financials controls. Usually CFOs are comfortable to allow others to drive activities if they are satisfied that those activities are adequately financially managed and in line with agreed enterprise strategy and operating budgets.

Stage one is get the new metrics and financial management in place, nobody disagrees with this, but a surprisingly number of people at the Constellation Connected Enterprise event a few weeks back did take the opportunity to point out their problem with actually managing to do this.

What exactly should be on this new spreadsheet management model? Its not too hard to get started with a few starting headings, but the real problem is what would the right benchmark metrics for these be? Interestingly amongst those struggling with this question where all the roles associated with Digital Business technology from Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Digital Officer, and a few others titles too. A fact that also suggests there is as much of big p[picture challenge in the management organizational and responsibility structure as in the Technology itself!

The question to address is no less than the definition of the core metrics to financially and operationally manage the technology that under pins the Digital Business transformation. And the only people who can do this are those actively involved in transforming enterprises and see the dangers of not doing this.

This blog is now going to do something that the author actively disapproves of! It’s going to end with a blatant commercial plea in support of something that Constellation Research is pioneering, namely The Constellation Executive Network. It is what it says, a place where those with limited time, but great responsibilities, and usually hard won experience can get to exchange information to get answers established quickly.

In my personal experience around continual interaction with a wide variety of executives, with a variety of titles and roles, everyone is facing the same very real set of challenges. Individually they are trying to create really new and innovative moves for their enterprises success in Digital Business in an absence of established ‘best practices’ to reduce risk and accelerate progress.

Different industry sectors, different enterprise business models and the very dynamics of the technology itself are making too many of the necessary operational choices feel decidedly ‘risky’ due to the lack of hard information on best practices.

We, (what ever the title your role), all need some practical assistance on getting the basic technology operating model right in every sense of the term; operational, agile, cost and performance. At the start of each previous wave of business transformation driven by the new technology of the time, (Mainframe, Mini, PC, Client-Server), experience shared through membership of a User association has proved invaluable. This time is no different in terms of the value of shared experience, but it is different in terms of the User associations.

Innovative service based Apps delivered from a Cloud, and used competitively in a collaborative environment, don’t allow for a product manufacturer to sponsor a User association in the previous manner. A User association for the technologies of the Digital Business model has to be different, reflective of the new environment and be based on its working methods.  

Constellation Research with its relationships with those involved has taken the lead with the formation of the Constellation Executive Network. It seems the right and necessary thing to do.  I hope join with you in sharing experiences and building a compendium of Best Practices, because if we are honest, we certainly need them!!

See the Constellation Research membership page for more details on the Constellation Executive Network by following this link.

Musings – Time to re-invent email – for real!

Holger Mueller

Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers.  Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization & Innovation  Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...

Read more

The recent weeks and days have shown a lot of movement in the email space – with IBM announcing Verse and Microsoft buying accompli recently.

Happy Customers + Smart Phones = Increased Sales

Partner, Sensei Marketing
Partner, Sensei Marketing

Sales & marketing veteran with almost 30 years’ experience and now 1800 digital projects to his credit for clients including Morgan Stanley, AOL, Hyatt Gaming Management, Snyder's of Hanover, Hitachi, the Home Depot, Kraft Foods, Drees Homes, American Idol, and hundreds more, including leading agencies around the North America.     ...

Read more

How many of your customers are using their mobile device appendages to capture photos? A study conducted by Edelman and Shutterfly this year reports that 81% of US photo-takers (people who have taken at least 10 digital photos in the three months prior to polling) have done so using their smart phones.

Consider the fact that at least two-thirds of Americans own a smart phone (according to Engadget), and the possibilities for enterprising brands are exciting. The study findings indicated that 40% of those who took digital pictures with their smart phones did so at least daily, with 24% shooting multiple times a day.

Are You Leveraging Photo-Happy Customers?

Estimates from Instagram have over one hundred thirty million people share photos and videos on the social network every month, many of them posting their favorite hobbies, locations, and brands. How well is your brand represented in among this sea of user-generated content?

Last year, SnapMyAd, an enterprising start up began rewarding people for taking pictures of ads and sharing them across various social networks. The app features a variety of photo contests, boasting over $1,000 in rewards across different industries, to help monetize the growing trend of visually documenting our experiences.

Using third party apps isn’t the only way to capitalize on the trend however. In fact, we recommend incorporating your audience’s love of photo taking and sharing, powered by instant access to high-quality digital cameras within their smart phones, into a voluntary advocacy campaign instead.

Happy Customers + Smart Phones = Increased Sales

The most loyal fans and advocates share products and experiences they love voluntarily. Further, product shots that become part of an unsolicited customer testimonial has more sway over the purchase decision of like-minded and relevant followers than incentivized social sharing, a fact proven in the research conducted for Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage, and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing.

Consider the following to encourage unsolicited yet rewarding photo sharing among your customer base:

1. Provide the framework.  Consider offering a community site (not just a Facebook page) where photos can be shared, rated, and/or commented on. You may also wish to consider establishing a hashtag that people can use when posting the photos.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask. Like poor salesman, many businesses are simply afraid to ask customers to step up and share their love of the product. If you never ask, you’ll never receive.
3. Acknowledge consumers. True advocates of a brand become advocates because of their real love of the product, the customer experience, or how well that product serves them. Simply acknowledging customers with a thank you or allowing them to become part of a fan community is often more than enough to get true advocates to take and post photos of them using your product. How often have you seen Apple offer cash incentives for customer advocacy? Right, they don’t.
4. Remember it’s about their lifestyle, not your product. No matter how good a shoe Air Jordans may be, the social cache of owning and wearing them is far greater than the utilitarian excellence of the basketball shoe. When encouraging photo sharing, frame the request in a way that encourages customers to share their lifestyle using the product, not just a photo of the product itself.
5. Offer photo-editing software. Whether you choose to develop your own, white-label an open source product or partner with an existing software provider, offering a photo-editing software where customers can enhance or embellish their photos with more of their personality will generate a bigger response.
6. Use consumer-generated photos and videos in advertising. GoPros affixed to the helmets of skiers, snowboarders, and BASE jumpers have provided some of the incredible footage for some of the coolest television commercials made. Instagram photos from fashionistas and foodies are becoming highly sought after sources for catalogues and commercial sites.

Hardware is back! Impacts on supply chain from an old friend.

pending

Guy Courtin was formerly Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research covering Matrix Commerce and how the Internet of Things drives the evolution of commerce.  Guy has over 15 years experience in the technology space and specifically in the supply chain space. Most recently he was the Vice President of Research at SCM World. Where he focused on the service providers that empowered supply chains. Prior to SCM World, Guy held numerous senior positions. He was responsible for product marketing at RSi, a retail supply chain solution provider. There managed RSi’s go to market strategy around their leading cloud based supply chain solutions. He also spear headed Progress Software’s supply chain group. Where he was responsible for driving revenue and market share as well…...

Read more

Hardware has been pushed to the back pages a lot of times – what is cool is the software that sits on the hardware. We don’t want to be bothered with thinking of servers, smartphones, computers, tablets, touch screens, televisions, appliances etc etc…we just want our apps! But hardware is making a come back, at least in the cool category. There are some changes coming to your supply chain…that being powered by changing hardware.

• Robotics – okay okay, I know that automated factories is nothing new…but we are seeing a new surge in how robots are being leveraged within the factory and warehouse.  It is nothing new to see robots on assembly lines. However companies like Kiva Systems have pushed robotics deeper into the supply
  

  Coming to a supply chain near you.

  chain. Their orange robots gained fame by being integral in Zappos’ warehousing. The robots did the majority of pick and pack for the online shoe company. The joke was if you saw a light in the Zappos distribution center it was bad – a human was most likely fixing a robot! The horror…otherwise the robots did not need light…or a lunch break. But the robot influence is not limited at the warehouse or factory floor, companies like iRobot – best known for their Roomba robotic vacuum – offer a number of robotics for areas such as telemedicine and video collaboration. Think about the possibilities of this platform for such areas as after sales servicing. A technician could also have a telepresence robot that is tied back a veteran technician who could be located in one place but bring their expertise to numerous robots at once. Robots will also help do the 3D jobs – Dirty, Dangerous and Dull. Being able to off load these jobs to robots will free up the human for more valuable roles within the supply chain.

• Drones – one could argue that drones are a subsection of robots…and you would have grounds for an argument, but I think they deserve to be discussed separately. What makes them unique is that the drones I am speaking of are the robots that fly. Drones became a part of our vocabulary through their usage by the US military. From a commercial usage we got our first taste of the possibilities when Jeff Bezos of Amazon went on 60 Minutes a year ago and suggested that some day in the near future we might be getting our Amazon packages delivered by drones. While Bezos has since tempered his Amazon
  

  Don’t expect this to deliver your packages…but its little brother and sister.

  deliver via drone, we are starting to see actual usage of the technology to solve some logistics’ issues. DHL has started employing delivery drones to make deliveries to remote areas in Germany. Our supply chains have really only scratched the surface when it comes to using drones. We will continue to see them being leveraged for logistics but also to assist with tasks otherwise challenging to address.  Companies are looking to use drones to go “look” at potential maintenance issues in places that are difficult for humans to reach – for example, drones could inspect parts of oil facilities or factories that are difficult to access. Drones will play a greater role in our society and our supply chains. This time next year Santa Claus might very well be using drones to help him deliver his presents.

• 3d Printers – Last week I took my son to a 3d printer store, and it was great to see how a 7 year old reacted to seeing the printers making a wide array of “things.” Dinosaurs, building models, snow men and other shapes. What I saw was the ability to change how we manufacture, how we deal with spare parts inventory and even impact logistics. Bringing 3d printers to the manufacturing floor will offer new methods but can also expand the factory floor. Manufacturers could place 3d printers closer to the final customer for products that might require some customization or assembly. One can imagine mobile 3d printing capabilities – allowing for true delaying of production and JIT (just in time). Companies like Nike are already experimenting with using 3d printers to make their sneakers. A customer could walk into a Nike retailer, customize a shoe and have it printed on site. True customization. With regards to spare parts, companies such as Airbus are looking to leverage 3d printers to keep certain plane models in service longer. Their vision is to leverage 3d printers to produce specific spare parts that would otherwise not be cost effective to continue to manufacture. When it comes to logistics – we are always trying to solve our last mile issue with regards to delivery. What if your local Staples or OfficeMax had a 3d printer and you could have some of our deliveries sent to the store and printed? Between drones and 3d printers we might have competing hardware solutions for the last mile delivery challenge!
• Wearables – Mobility has had a deep impact on our supply chains already. This should come as no surprise as the BYOD (bring your own device) wave has swept over businesses in general. But I am not just speaking of greater usage of smartphones and tablets in our supply chains. Wearables are the next evolution – dedicated, connected items that we wear. The most common wearable is Google glass. While the jury remains out as to whether or not it will catch on, the genie is out of the bottle when it comes to growing usage of wearables. We are seeing the usage of Google glass in the factory, companies like Plex Systems are demonstrating how they are integrating the hardware with their solutions to add efficiencies on the factory floor.

  Other solution providers like Unvired are leveraging Google glass into their warehouse solutions – bringing greater efficiencies to the pick – pack process. Warehouse workers, using the Google glass hardware coupled with the Unvired solution have hands free access to vital data that makes their job more efficient. Look for wearables to impact a growing number of other parts of our supply chains such as logistics, maintenance and service, POS (point of sale) to name a few. Wearables offer greater mobile intelligence, think of them as adding this enhanced connectivity at the edges of the supply chain network. Look for this added capability to open new business models and capabilities.

• Sensors – The internet of things (IoT) has permeated many of today’s headlines. Pundits speak of all the wonderful things that will come from being able to connect an every growing part of our infrastructure and supply chain. But what is one of the underlying technologies to make this possible? That’s right, the inexpensive and smart sensors – the hardware – needed to make this connectivity possible. Companies like GE are working to infuse a greater number of sensors into their products from locomotives to wind turbines to airplane engines. The sensors throw off a wide array of data allowing for better monitoring of the assets, usage and network optimization. As these sensors continue to drop in price – look for their usability to be expanded to a greater number of assets and products.  Sensors and IoT hold tremendous potential for driving greater network optimization for supply chains – providing the necessary solutions and hardware to achieve greater network visibility. And much like wearables – pushing control and intelligence to the edges of the network.

These hardware evolutions have and will continue to drive innovations in our supply chains. Of course these are all tied into software and intelligence that make the hardware “smart” and useful. Reality is the line between hardware and software has blurred over the past few years and will continue to do so. But companies need to think about reinvesting in hardware to take advantage of these new innovative tools.

Monday's Musings: Why The Third Generation Of Enterprise Mobile Is Designed For Digital Transformation

R "Ray" Wang

Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation…...

Read more

Mobile Is The Main Entry Point For Digital Transformation

Mobile initiatives provide an entry point into digital.  Mobile first is more than a mantra.  Why?  By applying design thinking to solving specific and purposeful tasks and processes, organizations can rethink the digital journey with mobile projects.  More importantly, mobile enables organizations to break the silos of existing systems from mainframes to on-premises systems and bring new life to legacy applications usage.  Many market leaders and fast followers have mobilized their mainframe, legacy apps, and enabled users to access data and information with minimal additional cost with a transformed user experience.  Others have used mobile as an opportunity to break down functional fiefdoms and process silos in their digital transformation efforts.

First and Second Generation Of Enterprise Mobile Apps Rarely Lived Up To The Full Potential Of Mobility

Consumerization of technology in the enterprise, richer user experiences, improved mobile networks, and the rapid adoption of cost effective mobile solutions among the workforce drove demand for the first wave of enterprise mobile apps (see Figure 1). While these apps served as a launch pad for future advancements, the first and second-generation apps failed to meet expectations because they:

Figure 1. The Third Generation Of Enterprise Mobile Apps Has Arrived

• Rarely took advantage of advanced native features. Instead of crafting new experiences, first and second-generation apps, mostly mimicked the same experiences as the systems of transaction they replaced. Hence, old verbs such as create, read, update, delete, and search dominated the experiences. New verbs include comment, like, share, publish, and collaborate. In addition, cameras, audio, and bluetooth interfaces add to the sense and response nature of third generation mobile apps.
• Narrowly focused on replicating existing capabilities. Many of the first-generation mobile apps attempted to replicate legacy functionality on the mobile footprint. Complicated business processes, large data sets, and slow bandwidth met small screen sizes, lack of disconnected solutions, and cloogey user experiences. The result – existing apps were partially mobilized. However, organizations faced limited adoption. Second-generation mobile apps addressed the issue by applying the 20:80 rule and focused on the 20 percent of apps that were used 80 percent of the time. While user experience improved with responsive designs, screen sizes grew, and connectivity improved, users remained frustrated with the widening gap between the art of the possible in consumer mobile and the reality of deployment inside their enterprise.
• Largely remained departmental or siloed in functionality. Most first and second-generation apps often remained in forced fit functional silos representative of the functional fiefdoms inside organizations. Few mobile apps brought data and information from other disciplines. Mashups such as taking HR capabilities and tying them to marketing remained rare in not only design, but also actual delivery. Even fewer mobile apps could bring cross-functional analytics and insight to the user.

Preorder Disrupting Digital Business, published by Harvard Business Review Press In Q2 2015.  Learn more.

The Third Generation Of Mobile First Apps Address The Needs Of Digital Businesses

The shift from systems of transaction and systems of engagement to systems of experience requires mobile apps to create new experiences. This shift from analog to digital design points is the underlying trend in digital transformation as systems progress from massive social scale to massive contextual scale (see Figure 2). User experiences shift from interactive to bionic as impact and reach move from interconnected to segmented value chains. Further, loosely structured knowledge and deterministic business rules evolve into immersive intelligence streams guided by probabilistic pattern based intelligence.

Figure 2. The Shift From Analog To Digital Begins With A Design Point For Intention Driven

In fact the intersection of mobile and analytics is a key gateway to digital transformation projects. The third generation of enterprise mobile apps shares five key characteristics (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Five Key Characteristics Of Third Gen Mobile Apps

1. Resolves an enterprise business problem. Third generation enterprise mobile apps apply design thinking to identify, design, and deliver innovative solutions to business problems. These apps solve cross-functional challenges to the organization.
2. Orchestrates new experiences. Smartphones and other related devices serve as the primary interface design point into enterprise systems. The goal is not to replicate what’s been created but to craft new experiences.
3. Fuels a data to decision backbone with analytics and insights. The goal of these third generation apps is to democratize data and decision-making. Situational contextual awareness is built on top of big data and analytics. Imagine the collective knowledge and power of an entire enterprise at an employee’s fingertips
4. Exploits full native device features. Next generation apps incorporate the plethora of physical sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, barometer, humidity, pressure, light, proximity, and heart rate into the solution design. For example, key enterprise mobility enablers often include the microphone, GPS, iBeacon, GPS.
5. Delivers frictionless experiences. Customers expect seamless orchestration and integration of information from both internal and external sources. Mobile experiences must drive friction out of establishing identity. Signature capture, contextual relevance, and continuity of access across devices are key enablers expected in third generation enterprise mobile apps.

The Bottom Line: Use Mobile As The Gateway For Your Enterprise Digital Transformation Projects

Constellation believes that mobile is more than just the device.  While smart phones and other devices provide a key enabler, design in digital transformation should take into account how these technologies address the business value and business model transformation required to deliver on break through innovation.  These devices provide the sense and respond, the interactivity, and the connectivity required for digital transformation.  In applying mobile solutions to the solution design point, Constellation recommends that clients:

1. Assess how generation enterprise mobile apps can change the business.  Constellation recommends that clients seek the most common, cross-functional business problem that cannot be solved with linear thinking.  Articulate the business problem and benefit.  Show how the solution orchestrates new experiences.  Identify how analytics and insights can fuel the business model shift.  Exploit full native device features.  Seek frictionless experiences.
2. Determine whether to build, buy, or modify.  Given the scarcity of third generation enterprise mobile solutions, most organizations fear the need to staff up large mobile app dev shops.  Where solutions have been developed, expect to take these solutions as a platform to expand from.  Where solutions have not been developed, Constellation suggests that organizations who have strong app dev shops, standardize on a mobile app platform for development.  For those who lack the resources or would prefer not to staff up for mobile app dev, Constellation suggests engagement with design shops and system integrators who have platforms that can scale for the rapid of pace of change in mobile development.
3. Plan for a mobile experience workshop.   As part of the design thinking process, clients move beyond the inquiry or exploratory conversation to solidify objectives.  The process starts with a proof of concept, road mapping engagement, and then the actual enterprise mobility project.   The process often results in quick wins for the business side and cuts cost out of the IT budget.

Resources:

     Inside the First Industry-Specific Mobile Apps by the IBM MobileFirst for Apple iOS Partnership     

Your POV.

Ready for digital disruption by starting with mobile?  Add your comments to the blog or reach me via email: R (at) ConstellationR (dot) com or R (at) SoftwareInsider (dot) org.

Resources

The post Monday’s Musings: Why The Third Generation Of Enterprise Mobile Is Designed For Digital Transformation appeared first on A Software Insider's Point of View.

The holidays are approaching – does your supply chain need IoT to improve results?

pending

Guy Courtin was formerly Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research covering Matrix Commerce and how the Internet of Things drives the evolution of commerce.  Guy has over 15 years experience in the technology space and specifically in the supply chain space. Most recently he was the Vice President of Research at SCM World. Where he focused on the service providers that empowered supply chains. Prior to SCM World, Guy held numerous senior positions. He was responsible for product marketing at RSi, a retail supply chain solution provider. There managed RSi’s go to market strategy around their leading cloud based supply chain solutions. He also spear headed Progress Software’s supply chain group. Where he was responsible for driving revenue and market share as well…...

Read more

As it seems to happen every year, the holiday season seems to sneak up on my faster and faster. I do not know if it has to do with my getting older. Maybe Pink Floyd had it right when they sang: “And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking…Racing around to come up behind you again.” Of course these lyrics come from their wonderful song Time which is something that all retailers and CPG companies have very little of when it comes to the holiday season. The time of the year that is loosely book-ended by Halloween and New Year’s Eve is when many of these companies make the majority of their fiscal revenues. These companies are always looking for whatever technological or process advantage they can leverage to improve their top line sales as well as gain margin. One of the most influential technologies is mobile.

We don’t need to rehash the growth of smartphones globally nor the amount of connectivity and functionality these smartphones put in our pockets. While as consumers we have become tethered to their mobile devices, retailers and CPG manufacturers are all working feverishly to crack the code as to how to maximize our relationships with our smart phones.

Whether pushing promotions and coupons directly to our phones, allowing for payment via our phones or even allowing cross channel sales between the application and brick & mortar store, the usage of mobility remains high on the functionality Christmas list for these firms. When we start speaking of mobility it begs the question – what about IoT (Internet of Things)? Their consumers are already connected via their smartphones, but can or better yet, should retail and CPG integrate IoT into their businesses? And how?

IoT is a hot topic – one that has opened the door to what appears to be vast potential for new business models. But as with many new technologies, not all supply chains’ adoption rate are at the same pace. When it comes to retailers and CPG companies, IoT can offer value – but not the same impact across the retail and CPG sub-segments. For example, in the footwear and apparel sub-segment does IoT mean putting sensors on every pair of sneakers or winter coats? Not necessarily. But making  the pallets smarter allows for better tracking of inventory, when does it ship, when is it received at a distribution center or within the retail channel? Better inventory tracking across the entire network would greatly improve these supply chains. However for those in the food and beverage space being able to do a more precise track and trace – via sensors – will mitigate the risk that arises when there is a food recall. Think of the recent problems faced by the likes of Mars Chocolate or Tesco, and one realizes what an impact better visibility and traceability would have for these firms and their supply chains. Rather than having to invoke massive recalls and spending valuable time to identify the root of the problem, leveraging more IoT would allow you to more quickly identify the root of the problem.

So next holiday season will we see a greater presence of sensors within our retail channels or attached to the side of Lego boxes? At early adopter firms I expect to see sensors and IoT being a greater presence, while I would expect a greater adoption of sensors for most of these firms through the back end of their supply chains. Both IoT and supply chain solution providers need to determine how they can assist and leverage this technology with their retail and CPG customers. As for CPG and Retail companies – determine how the usage of more sensors will impact your supply chain. Do not hesitate to work with your service providers to co-develop solutions. Look for more of our research in upcoming reports.

My new report about IoT will be published next week.