Warm Up with a Bowl of Mobile Alphabet Soup

by Jim Somers on February 4, 2013 in Marketing Moonshot with No comments

Do the terms MDM, MRM or MAM mean anything to you? How about COIT, COPE or MIM? If you’re confused, you’re not alone. Along with the rapid proliferation of “smart” devices has come the equally fast-paced use and adoption of new acronyms for companies and IT departments to learn. With another hectic year in mobility underway and some frigid weather here on the East Coast, I thought we might all warm up with bowl of what we call the “Mobile Alphabet Soup,” designed to help you understand what some of the most widespread acronyms mean. Enjoy, and let us know in the comments if there are any we missed.

Antenna’s Mobile Alphabet Soup

  • BYOD: Bring-Your-Own-Device, named after another acronym you may already be familiar with (depending on how college was) – BYOB. This refers to a general IT policy adopted by many organizations where employees are allowed to bring in any smartphone on any platform and connect it to the corporate network. Typically, companies provide employees with a stipend to purchase a device and then support it on the backend.
  • COIT: Consumerization of IT is a broad term used to encompass a trend where innovation in the consumer markets becomes a catalyst for change and innovation in the historically top-down driven business world, forcing IT to reorient their policies, practices and procedures.  The aforementioned BYOD is a good example of this, but other technology juggernauts like Facebook, Twitter, and DropBox – to name just a few – are having a profound impact on how IT addresses the intersection of mobile, data, social, and cloud.
  • COPE: Corporate Owned, Personal Enabled describes a possible response of IT departments to problems caused by a BYOD policy. Instead of employee-owned devices, the policy recommends companies provide devices for employees and allow them to use them for personal purposes as well. Important for such a policy are separate perimeters or “containers” that can manage, and sometimes keep separate, personal and private information.
  • MDM: Mobile Device Management is a broad category, which became popular following the explosion in smartphone adoption within enterprises. At its core, the term refers to the variety of options and tools available to companies to say what users can and cannot do with mobile devices provided by companies or brought into the enterprise by employees and connected to a corporate network. One key to look for with MDM tools is the ability to manage and work with the major mobile platforms out there today.
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More on the Rise of the Mobile Strategist

by Meghan Attreed on January 18, 2013 in The Mobile Beat with No comments

Late last year we released some research about the rise of a new role in enterprise mobility – the Mobile Strategist.  Jim Somers talked about this in a blog post you can check out here, but we’ve recently been expanding on the topic since many of our customers, prospects, and colleagues have found it so interesting. We created an interesting infographic to illustrate some of the most compelling research points, which a few mobile and HR publications have really enjoyed – check it out at the bottom of the post!

Earlier this month we released an eBook about the “9 Reasons Why Every Business Needs a Mobile Strategist,” which has been a big hit!  This week we also hosted a webinar to expand on the topic, featuring guest panelist, Kevin Benedict – head analyst of social, mobile, analytics and cloud at Cognizant and Mobile Strategist.   If you missed the webinar, be sure to download the replay here.

As 2013 kicks off, it’s expected to be another banner year for mobile – Strategy Analytics recently declared that mobile business apps revenue reached $25 BILLION in 2012, and predicted that revenue associated with mobile workers using enterprise business apps on mobile devices is expected to nearly double over the next 5 years as a result of hundreds of millions of mobile workers using a growing number of mobile business applications. Defining a mobile strategy is going to be crucial to the success of mobile endeavors, so I encourage you all to check out the eBook and the webinar.

Infographic after the jump!

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The Annual Not-so Serious 2013 Predictions…

by Jeff Yee on December 20, 2012 in Mobile Web with No comments

The elections are over, the turkey’s been eaten and there are now presents under the tree.  That means it’s time for the annual blog where we have fun predicting how 2013 will turn out.  The key word being “fun”, as this is designed for entertainment purposes only.  Although for the second year in a row, one of our predictions was nearly true.  RIM did acknowledge that the co-CEO arrangement wasn’t working, but no, they didn’t bring Bill Gates out of retirement and then proceed to license Windows.

2012 was a year filled with exciting news about new devices, patent wars and claims from every carrier that they had the fastest network.  Hmm… now that I think of it, that sounds like 2011 too.  But heading into 2013, assuming we can all avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, the Mayan-predicted end-of-the-world, and consumers actually spend money in 2013…we have a lot to look forward to.

Therefore, here’s a poke at some of the wild things that could possibly come true in 2013.  From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!

Top Five 2013 Predictions for the Wireless Industry

#5) iPhone Max – What’s a tablet and what’s a phone?  The lines are blurred in 2013.  Tablets are getting smaller and phones are getting bigger.  Apple tries to keep pace with the 6.3” Samsung Note in 2013, intending to beat them by introducing a new 7” iPhone.  But Tim Cook wants to keep the Apple supply chain simple.  The new iPhone is essentially the size of the iPad Mini but with voice capabilities.  Apple Marketing has the answer.  Develop one product.  On one side of the device, there’s a “call” button with an iPhone Max logo.  Flip the device over for the touch screen and the iPad Mini logo appears.  One device; two brands.  Marketing genius.

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Every day is Cyber Monday (aka a Discount Day)…For Microsoft

by Meghan Attreed on December 4, 2012 in The Mobile Beat with No comments

Black Friday shopping has always been a polarizing activity. Fans of the ‘occasion’ argue that the bargains on offer justify the overnight lines and mass brawls commonly cited by its detractors.

Cyber Monday is less controversial.  Or at least, it used to be. Nowadays you hear as many people complaining about Cyber Monday as you do Black Friday. And it fact, it’s really transformed into Cyber Week. 

One of my favorite Cyber gripes goes like this: the Monday after Thanksgiving was originally proclaimed Cyber Monday because it was the first day back at work for many Americans, and therefore the first post-Thanksgiving day on which they had access to the high-speed internet needed to capitalize on deals that move fast. Now that everyone has a home broadband connection (the gripe continues), no one day is more ‘cyber’ than any other. The implication is, I think, that if Cyber Monday is suspect, Cyber Monday deals must be suspect, too.

But are the gripers right? Are the deals suspect? In order to find out, I spent a few minutes browsing through the Cyber Monday deals various retailers offered on tablet devices. Here’s a deliberate selection of what I found:

  • eBay sold the Google Nexus 7 (32 GB) at a $20 discount
  • Amazon sold the 8GB version of the Kindle Fire at a $30 discount
  • Microsoft sold the Windows 8-based Acer Iconia (32 GB) at a $100 discount
  • Apple sold the iPad range at a $0 discount

No need to blink – you read that last part right. Apple discounted none of its iPad products this holiday season (although Best Buy gave away store gift-cards worth up to $60 to shoppers who purchased certain models).

Overall though, I’m forced to admit that the information I’ve gathered for this post says more about the tablet market than the reality of the Cyber Monday bargain. Amazon and Google’s devices are reasonably desirable and subject to token discounts. Apple’s hardware is still the most popular by a margin and the company neither has to nor wants to discount its products. And Microsoft? It’s still struggling to get Windows 8 into the air one month after the official launch date.

By the way, comScore reports that Cyber Monday 2012 was the ‘heaviest’ online shopping day in US history: revenues of $1.46 billion were recorded. It may be one of the more transparent ploys in the American marketing playbook, but the day is clearly retaining its status as an ‘event’ in the minds of consumers – and doing so despite the fact that more retailers than ever are rolling out early Thanksgiving deals/trying to turn the five days through Thanksgiving into a festival of discounts™.

 

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Thanksgiving, Mobile and Family

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

With the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, I’m reminded to be thankful for all the things we have that make life great. The Northeast was hit pretty hard recently with the Superstorm Sandy, so being thankful for the little things in life has been really easy. But one thing the storm highlighted for me was how much we take connectivity for granted. There were several days when it was difficult to get in touch with loved ones because of compromised mobile service.

It made me thankful that for the majority of the time we are better able to connect with the ones we love. And it also made me realize how much mobility has actually made it possible to spend time with family and friends. 

I think the pervasiveness of technology makes many people feel as though there is no longer a time when we disconnect – that mobile devices and mobile working makes us “always on.” On the flip side, it can also create more time for the things we want to do because of increased flexibility. Here’s an example. My father worked for a large insurance company, and he worked in a large city near our home. When I was little, he had a commute (in a lot of traffic) and he traveled often for work – for conferences, seminars, etc. If there was something that required his attention at work or something he needed to complete, he had to do it in the office. He was great about balancing his time so he could coach my softball team or come to violin recitals, but there were times when he just wasn’t able to make them because he was out of town or still in the office. With the advent of mobile technology, employees have more flexibility to work remotely and still reliably access the corporate data and applications they need. More fathers can leave the office, get to those soccer games and still do what they need to get done – outside of the office.

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iPad Mini: Is This A Watershed Moment for BYOD or Will the Tide Turn Back?

by Dan Zeck on November 20, 2012 in Mobile Mastery with 1 Comment

Like many of my colleagues and “mobilists” alike, I watched with interest when Apple recently unveiled its much-anticipated iPad mini. The rumor mill, as always, had it partially right (display size, A5 chip) and partially wrong (the lack of retina screen and sub-$300 price, most notably).  One thing is certain: despite the lack of the long lines outside stores that have accompanied their product launches of the past, Apple has another hit on its hands.  As proof, the company sold 3 million iPad minis in its opening weekend. 

While the device certainly makes a great holiday gift, the jury is still out on the tablet’s impact on the enterprise. Speaking to PC Advisor, industry analysts like Frank Gillett of Forrester and Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates clearly think the more portable form factor, smaller price, and access to Apple’s vibrant app ecosystem will appeal to many businesses who have thus far held out on the tablet revolution. Others, like Zach Whittaker at ZDNet, think the device will be a bust and faces serious competition from Microsoft, who is investing heavily in the dedicated tablet sector within the booming tablet market.

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What is it all about? Gartner says Data, Mobile, Social and Cloud…

by Steve Harding on November 12, 2012 in Mobile Surfer with 1 Comment

According to the main keynote at Gartner Symposium in Barcelona last week, we are at a nexus and the four things that CIO’s need to take seriously if they want to advance their organisations (and their careers) are:

  • Information (Big Data)
  • Mobile
  • Social
  • Cloud

So what does Gartner’s Nexus mean?  Take it from Gartner Managing VP, Chris Howard who said:

“Well it signals a shift of control into the hands of users more than we have ever seen before.   This is an extension of consumerisation.  Organisations need to absorb the ways that their employees and consumers want to work and build systems to support them.  The nexus levels the playing field – it makes it much easier for small start-ups or for very agile companies to leap frog into the opportunity space.  Many companies are so held back by their legacy that they cannot move quickly enough.   Organisations that do not pay attention to the nexus miss an opportunity.  They miss an opportunity to expand into new markets, to reach new customers and to ‘engage’.   Engage with customers and employees in a way that advances their business.”

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Going where every iPhone has gone before – the enterprise

by Jim Hemmer on October 26, 2012 in Mobile Machinations with No comments

When the iPhone 5 was unveiled last month I made some comments on the device and Apple’s strategy that were covered by quite a few of the media outlets interested in industry reaction to the launch. 

I actually had a couple of different observations, but those that seemed to resonate the most were:

“The iPhone 5 has not been re-designed – it has been re-fitted. It was the same story with the new iPad when it launched earlier this year, and that’s going to raise more questions about Apple’s ability to innovate in the post-Jobs era. Even more so when you consider that the most significant update to the iPhone 5’s hardware—an increased screen size—looks like it’s straight out of Samsung’s playbook.” 

Incidentally, both Mobile Entertainment and Mobile Marketing jumped on that last sentence to criticize Apple’s litigious behavior towards Samsung – but that’s a blog post for another day.

The point I’d like to make here is that my observations on the launch weren’t wholly critical of Apple – I also released the following statement:

“With its larger screen, faster processor, and improved battery life, the iPhone 5’s success in the enterprise is all but assured. The iPhone 5 will only strengthen the BYOD culture created by the launch of the first iPhone back in 2007.”

The question is – do I stand by these remarks now that I’ve had a chance to get to know the device first-hand?

In short – yes, I do.

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The Rise of the Mobile Strategist

by Jim Somers on October 18, 2012 in Antenna News, Marketing Moonshot with No comments

In February this year two very astute Forrester analysts, Ted Schadler and John McCarthy, published a report entitled Mobile is the New Face of Engagement – a report that proclaimed:

…the first step in the mobile strategy is to create the office of the chief mobility officer and a supporting mobile architecture team. Why? Because without it, firms will waste too much time and money as marketing goes after a mobile loyalty app, sales builds tablet apps, the CFO implements mobile expense approvals, the CTO does his app in support of the new smart product line, and the head of Asia resellers builds a mobile dealer app.

 

While Schadler and McCarthy refer to this individual as the ‘Chief Mobility Officer,’ the role can have myriad handles, like Chief Wireless Officer, VP Mobile Architecture, Head of Mobile Strategy, or Director of Mobility.  Here at Antenna, we generally refer to the role as the ‘mobile strategist,’ which is not intended to be a literal title, but rather a broad descriptor for the person that owns the Herculean responsibility of defining and driving a company’s mobile strategy.

More often than not, we observe that the role is situated in the IT department since the basic premise – as the Forrester analysts suggest – is for enterprises to get control over the growing number of mobile app projects, and construct a more holistic mobile vision, strategy and roadmap.

The job description often includes some, or all of the following responsibilities:

  • Individual must build strong relationships between the IT organization and the various lines-of-business to gather requirements, inventory business needs and identify risks.
  • Individual is responsible for establishing and expanding the company’s mobile application framework across the entire enterprise to ensure proper security, governance and reusability.
  • Individual is responsible for building the business case and determining the proper investment priorities that will influence the broader IT roadmap.
  • Individual must have a strong understanding of application development, infrastructure and backend middleware technologies, such as SOA, REST, JSON and HTML5.

So, you may be thinking, “Is this ‘mobile strategist’ thing real, or is it something that is manufactured for Forrester to sell more research and Antenna more software licenses. Fair question.

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Dealing with the Downside of Innovation

by Brian Philbin on October 5, 2012 in Mobile Futures Today with No comments

With the dawn of the iPhone5 we are all reminded of the old adage, “We will serve no wine before it’s time.” Or maybe we will.  The iPhone5 has been in market for a few weeks now…so come the complaints. 

In this day and age of “faster is better and we’ll deal with the consequences later,” one could quickly get carried away with themselves. Too often we see products hit the market before they are ready for prime time. It’s the nature of a highly competitive environment and the ever-growing demands of the end user. With enormous pressure on product managers to provide newer and better stuff in a shorter period of time the inevitable result is sometimes missing the quality target.

As a guy who used to teach Total Quality Management I am keen to point out that doing it right is far better than doing it fast. Many customers have heard me say, “If all we do is automate your current bad process all you will have is a faster crappy process.” Not very politically correct of me I know, but sometimes the truth stings a bit.

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