Archive for August, 2012

App Developer Enhancements Made to AMPchromaTM

by admin on August 28, 2012 in Product News with No comments

Last week we announced some enhancements to the application development components of AMPchroma that will make app development for corporate developers faster and easier, specifically ensuring they can leverage  widely available HTML5, Javascript, and CSS skill-sets, without having to overcome the typical limitations of browser-based development, or recode them for different hardware or software platforms.

You can check out the full announcement here, but a few of the key enhancements include:

  • Integrated testing tools that enable developers to incorporate on-demand or automatic testing into the development lifecycle of their app, rather than having to install separate device-specific testing tools or simulators.
  • Offline synchronization capabilities – including guaranteed transaction delivery and auditing – to apps developed simply by selecting those capabilities from a library of pre-built application components.
  • An updated component library that includes a comprehensive range of plug-and-play user interface controls, which work in tandem with Antenna’s patented device database to ensure that apps incorporating the controls are rendered optimally on over 11,000 different devices, from feature phones to tablets.
  • Developers can also now design their own controls and add them to the suite’s library of pre-built components, enabling their colleagues to have access to them – accelerating the development process. App developers also have the ability to share code with one another on a more informal and collaborative basis via the AMP Builder interface.

The big benefit here are that not only does it speed the process of mobile app development, but in a way that’s ideal for enterprise developers.  Lately the mobile market has been flooded with offerings to allow developers to quickly build mobile app prototypes, but what’s been lacking is a full understanding of what it really takes to make those prototypes enterprise-ready and portable across different mobile platforms, which is important for the large organizations.  Security, reliability, and portability are non-negotiable notions for many enterprises, and as the growing BYOD trend continues to increase the number of phone and tablet platforms that must be addressed, cross-platform functionality is becoming yet another must-have.  And many of these quick-build solutions don’t account for ALL of these factors.  Conversely, AMPchroma’s AMP Builder lets developers build applications quickly and easily with the same skills they use with other open standard toolkits, while addressing the significant difference between generating a prototype app in a few days and creating a real, enterprise-ready, portable app in that same amount of time.

 

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Gartner Catalyst Event – It’s All About The Cloud

by Brian Philbin on August 24, 2012 in Mobile Futures Today with No comments

To borrow a line from the movie Fletch, “It’s all about ball bearings.” While the Gartner event wasn’t necessarily about ball bearings it was clear that the new world order is all about the Cloud.

Cloud computing and Cloud offerings are the wave of the future and are coming on stronger each day. This is the reality we live with and can be a challenge for a traditional IT organization that is used to being able to reach out and hug their hardware on a daily basis. The Cloud creates a host of opportunities that can only make life easier for the average IT organization but there is always a big’ol but at the end.

For mobility, Gartner clearly stated that security, data integrity and device, user, and application management are the key pieces that will make or break a mobility effort. Adding the less huggable hardware option of using the Cloud for your mobility processes can certainly drive the stress level up for IT management. Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel (and its not an oncoming train).

You have long heard the bloggers here at Mobile Masters opine about the need for a mobility strategy and that strategy should start with a mobility platform. Nowhere is that more important than when you combine mobility with Cloud capabilities. The need to manage all the various moving mobility parts (data, apps, users, lost devices, etc.) could drive you crazy, but with the appropriate mobility platform most of the headache is eliminated.

Here’s a simple checklist to reduce the Mobile Cloud stress that emphasizes the value of a platform solution:

  • Data security (encryption at rest on the device and in transit, user authentication, etc.)and data integrity should be a known commodity and not left to the individual developer or application each time
  • Application management should be part of the overall solution and not an afterthought or bolt-on
  • Two words – User management. Need I say more?
  • Device management is the only safeguard you have for hardware that rarely enters your building (and can’t be hugged)
  • Integration!!!! The most often overlooked and underestimated aspect of your mobility effort can be and even bigger problem if not well addressed as part of your mobility platform and Cloud processes

While mobility in the Cloud can be challenging it will offer you the greatest flexibility to adapt to changing market dynamics, devices, and user needs. Choosing the right mobility platform, one that is designed to work in the the Cloud, will keep you on the path for greatest success.

 

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Gartner Catalyst – Day One Recap

by Meghan Attreed on August 21, 2012 in The Mobile Beat with No comments

We’re out in sunny San Diego this week for the Gartner Catalyst conference, focused on mobility, cloud and security, and so far the show has been great!  Antenna has both a kiosk and a Mobile Enterprise Learning Lab at the event, so we’ve had an opportunity to interface with a lot of interesting companies that are looking at mobility in a variety of different ways.  We’ve been showcase AMPchroma in our Learning Lab (the only lab or demo environment at the whole show) and the place has been packed!  Some of our smartest sales engineers have been demonstrating our AMP Builder product for designing and building mobile applications, as well as the AMP Management Center for publishing and managing applications.  As you can see from the pictures below, we’ve been presenting to a packed house and there’s been lots of excitement around AMPchroma here at the show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, the show itself has some really interesting tracks and sessions, which CTO Dan Zeck has been attending (check back on Mobile Masters for more on his thoughts on some of those!), and building the mobile enterprise and mobile apps are two of the main focus areas for the conference. There are a slew of different industries represented here, including financial services, entertainment, government, and manufacturing.

Earlier this week we also announced some developer specific enhancements to our AMPchroma platform which we’ve spent some time discussing with folks at the show as well.  The enhancements, including an integrated testing tool, online/offline synchronization and ability to design custom code and share it with other developers have been positively received.

Stay tuned for more from the show and some thoughts from Antenna executives on the sessions, attendees and overall vibe here in San Diego!

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Could a mobile ticketing site have helped LOCOG’s ticketing woes?

by admin on August 6, 2012 in The Mobile Beat with No comments

By Clare Grant

OK, I’ll admit it. The hype has finally got to me. I’m one of those people chained to my laptop desperately trying to get my hands on some of the last minute Olympic tickets. But unfortunately I can’t spend the whole day glued to a screen. Meetings, the daily commute and other commitments are all getting in the way, which wouldn’t be a problem if there was a mobile website I could regularly track to see which tickets are available. But unfortunately, there isn’t. Not for tickets, anyway.

Here's what the ticket site looks like - clearly not built with mobile in mind.

While LOCOG has done a great job at promoting the importance of mobile – from the Opening Ceremony to apps that keep you updated on Olympic related news and medal counts – it seems to have missed a trick by not providing a dedicated mobile ticketing presence. What surprises me even more is the fact that LOCOG has clearly been thinking ‘mobile’ by developing a mobile optimized version of London2012.com. But when you click ‘ticket’ you’re taken through to tickets.london2012.com which looks exactly as it does on a PC (and for anyone who has tried ordering tickets, you’ll agree it’s not the most intuitive of processes, full of check boxes and complexities which are very difficult to navigate on a small screen!)

There’s no denying that even on fast 3G networks, the process is slow. And we all know that even a tenth of a second can make a difference when trying to purchase tickets for some of the most sought-after sporting events. This puts anyone trying to get tickets from their phone at a significant disadvantage, which seems to be a huge oversight to me. After all, a lot of people who are in a position to attend some of the last minute events may already be wandering around the Olympic Park when tickets become available.

Personal frustrations aside, from a business perspective it just doesn’t make sense to me to not have a fully comprehensive mobile strategy in place. So with public frustration mounting following empty seats and unsold tickets, I wonder whether having a mobile ticketing presence could have helped LOCOG avoid some of its ticketing woes, giving more people the opportunity to attend, regardless of whether they are trying to get tickets from a laptop, PC, smartphone, tablet or old mobile device?

Nevertheless, if you are out and about and are keen to keep up to date on Olympic news from your phone, do check out the BBC Sport mobile website. It’s fully optimized and provides great updates on the latest news, team GB updates and even has a handy medals table at the bottom. I’m also impressed by Olympic travel sites like www.getaheadofthegames.com which have been optimised for mobile, giving you the essential updates when you need them most.

In this day and age, let’s hope that future big events like this do give consumers the opportunity to easily get tickets from their phone. After all, smartphones sales are overtaking PCs and research suggests that more people now have internet capable phones than computers anyway.

 

Clare Grant served as Antenna’s VP of Marketing and Communications and noted Mobile Masters blogger. 

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