TalkBMC - Unwiring IT

The Two-Foot Putt

dturchin — 2007-09-10T12:21+00:00

In recent months, Research in Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry, and Apple, maker of the iPhone, launched dueling mobile software venture funds. Both are bold statements at a time when the venture industry is downsizing and credit markets are convulsing. The former is a $150m fund, the latter $100m - up from an announced $50m. That's a $250m bet on the future of mobile software.

You might point out that $250m is spit in the ocean for RIM ($81b market cap), Apple ($156b market cap), or the venture industry ($29b in total funding in 2007). And you'd be right. But the message it's sending is clear: if ever there was a clarion call to mobile entrepreneurs and engineers, this is it. Consider this: in the past month alone, the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Thunder, 3G iPhone, and Samsung Instinct - all high-end smartphones targeting business users - were announced (or leaked in the case of the Thunder).

We often think tech trends can only be identified in retrospect. This is a rare case when a massive opportunity is bearing down on us like a Mack truck. The signs are everywhere - in newspapers and on TV, in consumer and enterprise purchasing behaviors, and of course in the blogosphere. The unique thing about mobile software is that anyone watching the space knew years ago it would take off yet all of us were wrong about when. Why? We assumed the technology and market conditions present now would be present by about 2003.

We've seen the wireless industry go through ups and downs over the years but there's never been an up like this. According to M:Metrics, smartphone users now spend an average of four hours and 38 minutes per month browsing the mobile web. That's up 89% year over year. Page views are up 127%. According to Paul Carton, research director at industry analyst ChangeWave, "IT budget constraints aren't loosening up anytime soon yet IT leaders are shelling out big-time for [BlackBerrys] despite tightening budgets." Who would have thought when wireless was panned as all sizzle and no bacon as recently as last year that it would keep the IT economy out of a recession?

At a meta level, the real driver here is that computing innovation finally shifted from the PC to mobile platform. It's widely-acknowledged that the shift will be complete when our dominant computing environment is a handheld device and we only use tethered machines for tasks handhelds can't do (creating CAD drawings, for instance). Today, it's easy to consume information on mobile devices but it's a pain to produce it. With the advent of better mobile applications, better text-input technology, and more flexible application design tools, it's only a matter of time before that changes. When it does, the race to mobile-centric computing will be on.

It's obvious where wireless is headed because we've seen it all happen before - first when mainframe apps moved to client-server architectures then when client-server migrated to the web. Most important, we learned what not to do when first-generation mobile applications failed in 2000-2005. We know exactly what applications and infrastructure are missing. It's an uncontested layup. A two-foot putt. No need for Tiger here. Someone call Happy Gilmore. The wireless industry is about to produce the next many Microsoft/Cisco/eBay/Google tech success stories. Here are three opportunities someone will exploit to earn a place on that list:

Mobile cross-platform collaboration
VPN security for non-BlackBerry smartphones
Text input for touch-based handsets

You may or may not sink this one but mark my words - many people will. This isn't intended to be career counseling but if you're surveying the tech horizon and looking for a new adventure, now is a great time to be in wireless software. There are too few great tech veterans in the space and limitless upside. That said, another three or four quarters and all the first-movers will be out ahead and the only opportunities left will involve too much sweat for too little equity.

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We're ready for wireless. Is it ready for us?

dturchin — 2008-05-09T12:25+00:00

I showed up at last week's Wireless Innovations, the Dow Jones wireless venture capital event, expecting to see and hear more of the same tired themes:

"technology as panacea"
"angst and confusion about delayed adoption"
"wireless+venture capital=ugly lovechild"

What I heard was different. For the first time in years. I was impressed.

The talking heads just may be starting to get it. Three new themes - ones you've known about for years - got more air time than Reverend Wright on YouTube:

The mobile end-user experience sucks.
That is what has delayed adoption.
Handhelds will become our primary computing devices when mobile applications become context-aware.

Excellent points. Reiterated by carriers like T-Mobile (Joe Sims, VP and GM, Broadband and New Business), hardware manufacturers like RIM (Nedim Fresko, Director of Strategic Platform Initiatives), and infrastructure players like Qualcomm (Sayeed Choudhury, Product Manager for System Software) during the two-day event.

Mobile devices won't just become the dominant computing environment. They'll be better than PCs because they'll do everything we need to do, nothing we don't, and they'll layer intelligence on top of traditional apps like voice to text, location-based services, and collaboration tools that give the flat, tethered computing experience of the past richness and depth it never had.

I sat in on about 30 product demos from early-stage companies. Many showed real promise. Here are a few that caught my eye:

Ribbit: voice meets Web 2.0 - a platform for building telephony applications. The example shown incorporated visual voicemail into Salesforce.com using a soft VoIP keypad.
Foneshow: radio on your phone - on-demand news and programs delivered as voice calls to standard phones.
Ontela: iPhone camera features meet every phone - take, manage, offload, and send camera phone pictures with ordinary devices as if they were high-end smartphones.

Wireless data isn't mainstream. Handhelds aren't our primary computing devices. But both will be soon. What is clear as day is that social and cultural barriers aren't the culprit. When the mobile user experience is truly better than the PC experience, it's game over for anyone in the software industry who slept through the shift. And by the way, a bunch of smart entrepreneurs are almost there.

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Blogging from HDI 2008

dturchin — 2008-03-14T18:08+00:00

Blogging from the annual HDI conference at the Gaylord hotel in Dallas. If you're looking for high fashion, high energy, or oxygen (we're in one of the world's largest atria - think Biosphere without the plants), go to Miami Beach. If you're looking for the epicenter of IT activity, this is the place. There are more than 2,500 attendees and about 80 vendors - all here discussing (ad nauseum) ITIL, the service desk of the future, and "fixing customers not problems."

I'm biased but I've seen two keys shifts in thinking since last year. The first is a broad rejection of "traditional", "antiquated" software pricing models. It seems the proliferation of subscription-based pricing is infiltrating the minds of IT management. Anecdotally, it's not influencing the minds of finance yet but that's not far behind. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had (actually, I can - five so far) with customers who are generally happy with their service and support products but are evaluating new ones because they're fed up with maintenance bills and rigid contracts and are using that as an excuse to switch.

The second is a shift in how the now-cliched "proliferation of all things wireless" is impacting IT. Last year, wireless was on the mind of HDI attendees (this year we lack oxygen, last year it was sleep - the event was held at the Mandalay Bay) but it was IT tools like help desk and asset management apps they were talking about mobilizing. Most of the mobile and wireless dialog was narrowly-focused around best practices for better-arming field technicians.

Today, not the case. The discussion is about how to support mobile employees - not just field techs. How new technologies like public WiFi, virtual teams, ultra mobile PCs, and iPhones create opportunities and challenges for IT. How IT processes and infrastructure can become as mobile as the business. Examples: one university customer said he needs a better way to disseminate information (from course catalog updates to security threats) to mobile phones and PDAs used by more than 50,000 faculty, students, and staff. Another said she needs to enable and support PDAs and wireless printers used by 1,000 police officers. Her department's goal is to reduce the time it takes to have traffic tickets enter the system from the current (abominable unless you're on the receiving end) six weeks to a more palatable one day.

Again, I'm biased, but I've been quietly applauding this shift in attitudes. Not because it benefits my company but because it's a sure sign the push to align IT with the business is finally transcending the call center.

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Yankee Group: "Wireless Top Strategic IT Project"

dturchin — 2007-12-04T11:28+00:00

I thought I'd share highlights from the Yankee Group 2007 Mobile and Business Applications Survey. An excerpt from the full report is available here or in the November '07 print edition of Mobile Enterprise Magazine. The author is Eugene Signorini, one of the most-respected analysts in the mobile enterprise space.

When asked which strategies will impact business application decisions most in the future, IT executives at companies with more than 500 employees in the US and Europe said "enabling mobile access to corporate apps through wireless technology" is a top priority. When asked which mobile application is the most strategic, those same executives said "service and support."

To all of us in IT with an interest in mobility, these results just confirm what we already know. What's more impressive is how much they've changed in the past year. Consider that after service and support applications, the next most strategic applications are "Productivity Suites" followed by "Email/PIM", "Field Service", and "Sales force automation". In previous years, Email/PIM topped the list. This year's report indicates the shift we've all seen firsthand - wireless email and PIM are the garnish you take too much of at the buffet and put back later once you see the main course.

As IT executives have become increasingly mobile-savvy this past year, service and support has steadily ascended the priority list. Why? Again, for reasons we all know - they're at the epicenter of corporate operations. Devolving true control of these critical apps to the point where service is actually delivered starts a powerful chain reaction that touches every other aspect of the business in powerful ways no other mobile solution can.

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Why is England a Hotbed for Mobile Technology?

dturchin — 2007-11-01T19:50+00:00

I'm 31,000 feet above Reykjavik (moving 577mph and it's -46C outside), digesting the last week in England and reflecting on the narrowing mobile data gap I mentioned. Three immediate impressions, all summed up by the George Bernard Shaw quote: "America and Britain are two cultures separated by a common language."

1) Geography: England (and most European countries) are small by American standards. That means more than just narrower roads and mini cars. It also means shorter travel distances and smaller corporate campuses. Both have a big impact on mobile solutions.

Less time between end points means less time away from a PC but less distance from customers also lowers the threshold for what issues get dispatched. For instance, I met a financial services customer that supports 1,500 end-users in an 11-story building. Every medium or high-priority issue gets dispatched. Don't hear many customers doing that in the states.

2) Transit system: Europe has less of a car culture than the states. As a result, more people spend more time commuting. Commuters have idle time that can be filled with mobile data in ways drivers can't. You see all kinds of creative time-filling (wasting?) techniques on tubes, trains, and buses. My favorite (and I'm not making this up): the foursome of 20-somethings that packed a three-course meal in a backpack (white tablecloths and all) and dined on hen stew right there on the Piccadilly line.

3) Affinity for new technology: in the birthplace of Luddism and the home of Stonehenge, you'd expect widespread disdain for technology. Not so. Some of the most innovative products and services I've seen anywhere all cropped up in London since my last visit.

One simple example: Oyster Cards, debit cards with a magnetic strip that track all transit activities for Londoners, calculate fares automatically, and save incredible amounts of time and waste vs. the paper ticketing system. London's progressive culture, strong economy, and well-educated population all make testing, refining, and diffusing new technologies amazingly easy.

So what does this all mean? Well, mostly, it reminded me why England has been on the leading edge of mobility for so long. It also explains why it's a bit of a crystal ball for all of us in the US. Bring on those cool gadgets but please, all Britons reading this, keep this "innovation" to yourselves.

We'll get back to tips in the next post.

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Practicing Safe Wireless: A Billion Reasons To Plan Ahead

dturchin — 2007-10-01T23:03+00:00

We said we'd raise your wireless IQ. This is the first in a series of posts about key challenges you'll face and ways to make sure you don't flinch when you do. Wireless security is like picking mushrooms in the forest: if you know what's poisonous, they won't ruin your hike. But if you don't, well, read on and learn what's safe to eat.

The topic of security will come up at some point before, during, or after you deploy your mobile solution. The problem is you won't know when, who will bring it up, or what form it will take. We'll address all three.

But first, why is wireless security such a hot topic? Put it this way: change is good when you get a raise or your team wins the Super Bowl after a two-win season. It's almost always bad if you're in IT security. Enter wireless. Just when security got comfortable with VPNs and DMZs and ASPs (oh my!), along come a billion new devices vying for network access from outside the firewall. Talk about a Maalox moment.

Sounds intimidating but it isn't if you uncover the real underlying objection early. The most important tip we have is this: pick the most skeptical member of your security team and proactively invite him/her to join your project before kickoff. Build his/her objections into your planning process. More importantly, you'll need security input when architecting the solution and the most skeptical team member is usually the one most familiar with the right way to get things done.

Wireless objections take three general forms: 1) Is the data sent over the wireless network encrypted? 2) Does the mobile app violate existing firewall or other security policies? 3) How is the data protected on the actual handheld? Yes, no, and carefully - and here's how:

If the first question is security's primary bugaboo, you're set as long as you select a mobile gateway vendor with a built-in wireless VPN. This is fairly standard and it's also the most common objection. All data that leaves your corporate network must be two-way encrypted.

If it's number two, be sure to use pre-approved devices and you won't violate existing security policies. BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, for instance, have a setting called the 'Mobile Data Service' ("MDS") that allows wireless devices to operate on the LAN like laptops. We guarantee you, some VPN-like solution will have already been approved for mobile use.

If it's number three, all data must be encrypted on the handheld. If you require additional security on the device like remote wiping of the memory, there are good third-party device management solutions available like Afaria. In general, though, today's handhelds comply with most laptop-style security methodologies like password timeouts and device locking. If you're using mobile phones (and not smartphones or PDAs), you'll probably access applications via the handheld browser in which case no persistent session data is stored locally.

That is enough to get you asking the right questions. For a deeper dive, email info@aeroprise.com for a free copy of a much more detailed security overview. Click here for another good resource available from BlackBerry.

I'm off to England this week. I'm keenly interested to see how the mobile ecosystem has changed since my last visit. The world is getting smaller (and some would say flatter) every day. Eventually, there won't be as many regional differences in mobile data adoption. But for now, the US and Europe are two separate Petri dishes growing wildly different wireless cultures at different rates. My hypothesis is that they'll look about the same in 2009 when consumer usage yields to enterprise usage and networks and devices converge on one set of standards. Until then, well, I'll let you know when I'm back.

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Welcome to Unwiring IT

ymangum — 2007-09-10T13:29+00:00

Welcome to “Unwiring IT,” the Mobile Service Management blog at TalkBMC. In this space, we'll wax poetic on all things new, exciting and wireless that impact your world as a Service Management leader.

There are 3 billion mobile devices on the planet. And 6.6 billion people. We're spending $60 billion per month on wireless service and consuming 3.5 trillion voice and data minutes. Heck, in Luxembourg there are 1.6 mobile phones per person. Wireless is ubiquitous and yet we only use the most basic capabilities of our devices. It's like we all bought first-class tickets on the Titanic then decided to row behind the ship in a dinghy.

But it doesn't need to be that way.

Only 9% of us use phones and PDAs for more than basic voice and email. Yet, almost all 3 billion devices out there are as powerful as laptops. That's criminal. Like going 40 mph in your Testarossa...on the Autobahn. Or buying Graceland, then camping in a tent on the lawn.

Yeah, mobile is huge. But the Internet has become one tangled blog and there are now roughly seven of them for every man, woman and child. Why read this?

There are many blogs. More than 50 million at last count. But few are as connected to your world or as relevant to your career. You know mobile technology is changing how you work and play. We're writing this because you may not know where it's headed or how much more it can help you.

Who are you?

I'm Dan Turchin, the CEO of Aeroprise, a Mobile Service Management software company. We've been helping companies mobilize their service organizations for more than eight years. That's right, since back when cell phones were for talking, blackberries were for picking and the hottest device around was the Motorola Startac. Over the years, we've mobilized Service Management for hundreds of leading IT organizations on five continents and we've been partnered with BMC Software to make that happen since 2001.

So why the blog?

We're here to share advice and insights, teach you a few tricks, help you avoid traps we all fall into, and, mostly, make you look good when the big boss asks "now that we've eliminated toilet paper, how else can we save money?" We've seen mobile initiatives succeed, fail and everything in between. We'll do our best to make sure yours ends up in the right category. So, stay tuned.

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Turn off Mosaic, Set Baud Rate to 0, and Get Ready for a Big '08

dturchin — 2007-09-10T12:21+00:00

I've often heard wireless is to this decade what the Internet was to the '90s. We all agree the Internet re-shaped how we live, play, and work. By that yardstick, all but the most progressive among us would agree that wireless has fallen short. Until you consider the facts.

There are more than two billion mobile subscribers today - and 1.1 billion PC Internet users. Since 1995, wireless usage has grown 2,800 fold while Internet usage has grown 31 fold. Wireless usage outstripped Internet usage in 2006 and today 19% of the world has Internet access while a full third of us have a mobile phone. Skeptical? Consider this: the 301 million-strong subscriber base of China Mobile, a single operator in that country, is larger than the population of the United States.

Turns out the statement above grossly understates the impact wireless is having. And you know the best part? What we do today on phones and PDAs is IRC circa 1994 (Internet Relay Chat - web neophytes, think green screen) compared with what we'll do in a year or two.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. What can we expect this year? A year after the iPhone iLaunched, here are three themes that will emerge in the next twelve months:

1) Devices that know you: websites are getting smarter but they're club-wielding neanderthals compared to your mobile device. Unlike your PC, your phone knows where you are, who you are, and, with your permission, what you're doing. It's always on you, always connected, and faster than the PC you had five years ago. Expect applications that help you connect with friends, clients, and dinner. Expect to only be interrupted when you're interruptible and only download what you're about to use.

2) No more dead spots: well, ok, that's an exaggeration. But phones and PDAs will roam seamlessly between whatever networks are available - WAN, WiFi, WiMax, etc. In fact, the iPhone does a passable job of that already and the WiFi-equipped BlackBerry 8820 has been shipping since mid last year. The best part is when you're in the office you'll make calls through your PBX and you'll only pay a carrier when you actually use their network.

3) The end of laptops: this is the first year you'll see mobile employees ditch laptops when they leave the office. Who needs a slow, heavy, disconnected paperweight when your mobile device is easier to use wirelessly - and is faster and cheaper. Believe it or not, the computing experience on your phone will soon be better than on your laptop.

Wireless is to this decade what the Internet was to the last one - not so ridiculous after all. I prefer analogies to oxygen or gravity but I'm biased and we'll all know the whole truth soon.

Maybe I got it wrong. I'd love to hear what you think. Send me your thoughts to dan @ aeroprise.com.

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