Volume 1, Issue 2 / 2008

Newsletter Home - Subscribe

1.15 Billion New Customers and Counting

We all thought that the adoption of the personal computer and then the Internet was a big deal. Well, it was. Compared to what is developing in the mobile handset market today, we are going to have to rewrite the history books.

Reports are coming in this week showing that over 1.15 billion mobile handsets were sold last year, a 16% increase from 2006 record sales of 990 million. And it sounds as if analysts will be disappointed if another 1.2 billion are not sold in 2008.

No wonder Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo and other industry shapers are modifying their business plans and messages to position for their fair share of the market. Each of these handsets may represent a simple cell phone, but it’s the transition of this user base to the next device that has everyone’s attention. This migration from cell phone to ‘smartphone’ is as revolutionary as the PC becoming a portable laptop. The big difference is that the smartphone has the basic utility of a laptop, but at one-third the cost.

Smartphone (Blackberry, Treo, iPhone etc) sales are forecast to grow by 30% CAGR over the next few years. Over 195 million units will ship this year. What is spurring this growth? More and better business applications beyond mobile email are entering the market. Higher reliability data networks at faster speeds are here, with more innovation coming. And finally, consumers are discovering a better work/life balance. You can take your work with you in an instant. We’re not missing as many of the kids sporting events and recitals thanks to this technology.

As always, we will keep you informed on the impact and dynamics of this industry. There are some great articles in this newsletter which show real life scenarios. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at clint.parr@goanyware.com.

Sincerely - Clint Parr
 

When a company with an existing or planned software product decides to implement mobility, the usual goal is to penetrate new markets, add value to existing customers and generally increase their market share. Product Enabling is how Anyware helps these companies “mobilize” and successfully market their product into the mobile eco-system to more quickly achieve their goals.

So why would a company want to mobilize their product? Well, simply put, there are around 300 million cell phones in the US. That’s one for almost every person in the country! Even Google, probably the most well know online search engine, is turning to mobility. Chris Sacca, head of special initiatives at Google recently said, "Mobile is the fastest and cheapest way to reach the largest number of people. There are billions of people on this planet who still don't have access to the Internet. And we think mobile presents the biggest opportunity to get them on the Internet." Plus, opportunities in business mobility, which typically have high ROI's from increased productivity and efficiencies, are really taking off.

The mobile market is obviously large, but it’s not very easy to successfully penetrate. Creating a mobilized product is more than just knocking out some code or creating a 'mobile' web site and expecting it to work on a phone. An untold number of companies have tried and failed to create their own mobile products because they didn’t fully understand the eco-system and the barriers to the mobile product market. Some of those key barriers are:

• Time to market is typically underestimated
• Understanding and partnering with industry leaders can be difficult
• Rapidly evolving technology make targeting specific platforms difficult
• Interoperability between networks, devices and applications is fragmented
• Constantly changing priorities in the market make capturing attention problematic

Much more than just code, product mobility is a strategic effort including business and market planning that can only be successfully accomplished with in-depth practical experience in the industry. And that’s why we’re here.

Here’s an example of a recent Product Enabling project:
Beyond Compliance, a software company based in Canada, reached out to Anyware for assistance in penetrating the US mobile eco-system with their product called Integrated Compliance Management System (ICMS). This product is used by oil and gas companies to ensure compliance with government regulations and corporate policy. Although ICMS is successfully used in Canada, the US market is inherently different and they needed help navigating the product and mobile market barriers to successfully launch their product in the US.

Anyware analyzed the ICMS product and company goals then developed a mobile strategy and tactical roadmap to navigate those barriers. Juan Benitez, President and COO of Beyond Compliance, said, “Anyware’s industry insights in the wireless ecosystem and the US upstream oil and gas industry expanded and validated our business strategy and aided in the attraction of sizable growth capital.” Today, Beyond Compliance is well on its way in implementing their plans.

Anyware helps companies that are completely new to the mobile environment as well as those who have years of experience in the industry, including the largest wireless carriers. Our customers understand that by leveraging Anyware’s understanding of the mobile eco-system, combined with their own product and market niche knowledge, mobile solutions can be brought to market much more quickly and successfully than if attempted alone.

For Palm^®, Inc., the mobile computing leader, mobile insight supports sales success. Palm employs 40 MarketSource^® sales reps to train personnel at over 2,000 AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and Alltel stores nationwide on Treo^™ smartphones. For insight into their activity, Palm relies on the ReForm^™ mobile data platform from Anyware.

Brian Fitzgibbons, sales training manager at Palm, oversees the MarketSource reps. Each rep visits 80 to 100 stores a month introducing product updates, training personnel on product messaging and positioning, and supporting in-store sales. As part of the Palm team, the reps have specific objectives for each visit, and when Fitzgibbons needed up-to-the-minute performance data, he turned to Anyware Mobile Solutions – a Palm partner since 1997 – and its ReForm mobile data collection platform.

Gaining Insight
At the end of every visit, each MarketSource rep asks the store manager or other staff to complete a customized ReForm survey running on a Treo smartphone. The store rep answers a set of yes/no questions and adds an open-ended comment as desired. When the rep is finished, the data uploads via the carrier’s connection the centralized Anyware database. Fitzgibbons can log in anytime to his ReForm Online administrative interface for up-to-the-minute survey results.

Measuring Success
The survey is a “reality check,” Fitzgibbons says, providing valuable feedback to everyone with a stake in sales success, from the MarketSource reps to Palm executives.

“I regularly download a report with about 1,000 responses. The quantitative results from yes/no questions reveal larger trends at a glance, and anecdotal data from the open question often provides insights into specific methodologies. The ReForm survey helps me address issues as they arise and match company goals with my goals and my team’s goals.”

Fitzgibbons also sends results to MarketSource so they can assess performance. And twice a year he produces summary reports that enable Palm executives to correlate store visits with product sales and gain a clear view of sales training effectiveness.

Case in point: Anyware just recently worked with a client in the rental car industry to deploy a solution for tracking vehicles. The "rugged" device we recommended, and the one currently being used, isn't much bigger than your standard business smartphone. But it's so much more - the device sports a barcode scanner for scanning Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs), in addition to cell phone capability for transmitting the data instantly over the cellular network. If you wanted, you could even add voice, GPS and text messaging. So, is it a computer or a telephone? Actually, it's both.

This is just one example of what is happening with mobile hardware. More and more processing power and memory is being compressed into smaller and smaller units. Today, your phone/computer can have cellular voice, data transmission, barcode scanning, signature capture, MP3 players, pics/video, GPS, and the capability to run a wide variety of applications. In the future, the lines between phone and computer will continue to blur until it won't even be possible to distinguish between the two. But today there are an overwhelming number of devices, accessories and other options to choose from and picking the phone/computer can be confusing. To make it more confusing, do you really need to have (or buy) every feature available, or will it be better to buy what you need - with a little room for growth? And which device is that and how to do you find it?

If you're looking at mobility and need some mobile devices, but don't want to end up with the wrong phone/computer, let Anyware help you navigate the options in device choices and make sure you pick the right one for your business needs. We are partnered with all of the leading mobile device makers - for professional and rugged environments. So, no matter what you call the device, phone or computer, Anyware can help you make the right decision.
 

MacroSolve, Inc. To Go Public
Anyware Mobile Solutions Parent Intends to File for Public Registration of Stock
March 11, 2008
 

High-Tech Service
TU Students Create New Business Using Anyware's ReForm XT Platform
March 8, 2008