Chris Pepin

IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit 2013 Nashville - Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:17:00 +0000

The IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit kicks off next week in Nashville. From the conference
website:

"At Smarter Commerce Global Summit 2013 in Nashville, you’ll see how leading organizations are using IBM Smarter Commerce to meet the demands of empowered customers. Join this unique event to get expert insights that will help you synchronize the supply chain, optimize inventory, personalize promotions, micro-target marketing, increase relevance and exceed customer expectations across every channel."

I'll be presenting a session on mobile and staffing the IBM booth at the solution showcase

Title: IBM MobileFirst Services: Explore Mobile Consulting, Implementation and Managed Services

Abstract: IBM's industry-leading business and technology services for strategy/design and development/deployment of mobile applications, devices, communication and IT networks are an integral component of the IBM MobileFirst portfolio. Learn how we can help you begin, accelerate and manage your journey to becoming a mobile-first enterprise.

Day/Time: Wed, 22/May 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Location: Nashville Gaylord - Hermitage B

Links:

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Subscribe to our Smarter Commerce blog for highlights and articles from thought leaders.

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2013 IBM Impact conference summary

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Mon, 06 May 2013 01:02:00 +0000

I attended the IBM Impact conference last week in Las Vegas. I blogged a conference preview earlier in the week and the following are the key highlights:

IBM press release: "IBM Unveils New Technology to Connect a Smarter Planet New Appliance, Software and Services Extend the IBM MobileFirst Strategy."
IBM press release: "IBM Drives Enterprise Adoption of Big Data, Cloud, Mobile and Social Business Technologies WestJet Improves Traveler Experience with Real-Time Interactions."
The Internet of Things and the connected car featured prominently in the opening general session with a Ford Fusion up on stage. I blogged on the connected car earlier in the week including my personal experience with 2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid.
Analyst roundtable with Maribel Lopez. Maribel published a great article titled "Mobile Means Impact: Insights From IBM's Impact Conference." I provided input to the book.
IBM's Dirk Nicol authographed my copy of "Mobile Strategy: How Your Company Can Win by Embracing Mobile Technologies."
I recorded a DeveloperWorks interview on MobileFirst
I hosted a peer-to-peer session on BYOD. Earlier in the week, Forrester released a new report on BYOD and the ROI of engaging IBM services to assist with deployment and ongoing support.
I had the pleasure with meeting with dozens of clients, IBM employees and vendors at the solution showcase as well as in one-on-one sessions.
Delivered two sessions of "TMB-1269 : Best Practices for Mobile Enterprise Security and the Importance of Endpoint Management" from 10:15-11:15AM in Venetian - Palazzo K. Abstract: With the rapid growth of smartphones and tablets in the enterprise, CIOs are struggling to secure mobile devices and data across a wide range of mobile platforms. Attend this session to learn best practices around defining a mobile security policy, educating employees about safe computing practices, and deploying a secure technology framework. We'll discuss the benefits of endpoint management solutions like IBM Endpoint Manager in the context of a comprehensive enterprise deployment encompassing smartphones, tablets, PCs and servers.

Best practices for mobile enterprise security and the importance of endpoint management from Chris Pepin

Links:

The Internet of Things: Connected Car

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:10:00 +0000

IBM's Impact conference kicked off today in Las Vegas and the first guest was Vijay Sankaran,

director of application development for Ford. Also on stage was a 2013 Ford Focus with "16 millions lines of code" in its onboard computers. While smartphones and tablets get most of the attention, there are over 9.6 billion devices to connected to the Internet, including connected cars like the Ford Focus. Over 20 billion are expected by 2029.

Wikipedia defines the connected car as: "A connected car is a car that is equipped with internet access, and usually also with a wireless local network. This allows the car to share internet access to other devices both inside as outside the vehicle. Often, the car is also outfitted with special technologies that tap into the internet access or wireless LAN and provide additional benefits to the driver. Examples include: automatic notification of crashes, notification of speeding, ...

Increasingly, connected cars (and especially electric cars) are taking advantage of the rise of smartphones, and apps are available to interact with the car from any distance. Users can unlock their cars, check the status of batteries on electric cars, find the location of the car, or remotely activate the climate control system."

Increasingly, drivers want to do more in their cars and connected car features are fast becoming key selling points. Earlier this year, I purchased a 2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited through the Costco Auto Program with a full array of connected car features including:

Premium HDD Navigation with Entune and JBL - includes 7-in. high-resolution touch-screen with split-screen capability, SiriusXM Radio compatibility with NavTraffic, NavWeather, Fuel and Sports & Stocks, HD Radio with iTunes Tagging, auxiliary audio jack, USB port with iPod connectivity and control, vehicle information with customizable settings, and hands-free phone capability, phone book access, advanced voice recognition, and music streaming via Bluetooth wireless technology
Entune — includes Bing, iHeartRadio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable and Pandora real-time info, including traffic, weather, fuel prices, sports & stocks. Works by installing an smartphone application and connecting via Bluetooth
Safety Connect — includes Emergency Assistance, Stolen Vehicle Locator, Roadside Assistance and Automatic Collision Notification.

It's a fantastic car with a great end-user experience due to the connected car features. I also appreciated the great gas mileage with the hybrid powertrain (39/highway, 40 city)

IBM brings ROI to BYOD: new report from Forrester

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:19:00 +0000

IBM recently commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine the total economic impact and potential return on investment that companies realized by engaging IBM to implement a “Bring Your Own Device” or BYOD program. it's a great report and available for free from IBM. From the study:

"Interviews with two existing IBM customers yielded a compelling 108% return on investment and payback in less than one month."

In addition to the report, IBM has released two new infographics with the key messages:

To find out more about IBM mobile services, visit IBM.com or, if you need help developing a mobile strategy for your business, email us at IBMMobile@us.ibm.com to make an appointment for a consultation.

Take your child to work day 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:53:00 +0000

Today, Thursday April 25, is take your child to work day. I had the privilege of participating at an IBM event in Southbury, CT. Roughly 40 students, ages 8-16, participated in a full morning of activities and talks including:

IBM Apprentice: two teams of owners and sellers had to stratagize on how to improve sales of a fictional company through the use of mobile technology
What do you know about mobile phones?
Green Data Center tour
Are we secure?

While this was the first take your child to work day I participated it, I have participated in similar events including National Engineer's Week. It's a great feeling to be able to give something back to the community and share my expertise with young minds and to have fun in process!

IBM Impact conference 2013 preview

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:18:00 +0000

I'll be attending the IBM Impact conference next week in Las Vegas. From the conference website:

"Impact 2013 is designed for IT and business leaders who understand that to lead in today's economy, outperforming organizations are especially focused on combining technology with the business to drive innovation and growth. They understand that to succeed - they have to leverage Mobile, Social, Cloud and Big Data and re-imagine their operations, their processes, and their technology."

Here's my schedule:

Sunday, April 28

Arrive in Las Vegas
Record interview for DeveloperWorks
Staff the IBM mobile services booth in the solution showcase from 5-7:30pm

Monday, April 29:

Opening General Session
Participate in analyst roundtable discussion ar 3pm
Participate in Mobile Open Technology Meetup
Staff the IBM moble services booth solution showcase from 5-7:30pm

Tuesday, April 30

Staff the IBM Mobile booth in the solution showcase from 9:45am-1pm
Lead Peer to Peer Networking Roundtable on BYOD from 11:30am-12:00pm
Attend Mobile Mini Main Tent from 1-2:15pm in Venetian H.
Executive one-on-ones
Media dinner: 8pm

Wednesday, May 1

Present "TMB-1269 : Best Practices for Mobile Enterprise Security and the Importance of Endpoint Management" from 10:15-11:15AM in Venetian - Palazzo K. Abstract: With the rapid growth of smartphones and tablets in the enterprise, CIOs are struggling to secure mobile devices and data across a wide range of mobile platforms. Attend this session to learn best practices around defining a mobile security policy, educating employees about safe computing practices, and deploying a secure technology framework. We'll discuss the benefits of endpoint management solutions like IBM Endpoint Manager in the context of a comprehensive enterprise deployment encompassing smartphones, tablets, PCs and servers.

Thursday, May 2

Present repeat session "TMB-1269 : Best Practices for Mobile Enterprise Security and the Importance of Endpoint Management" from 1-2PM in Venetian - Palazzo G
Fly home at 4:30pm

Links:

Conference website
Twitter hashtag: #IBMImpact
YouTube channel
Lanyrd
Mobile apps available in Apple App Store and Google Play. Search on "IBM Impact 2013"

Microsoft Windows XP Extended Support Ends in One Year - Are you Ready?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 01:19:00 +0000

Extended support for Microsoft XP ends in one year, on 8 April 2014. Windows XP was released on October 25, 2001 - 11 years ago.

The end of extended support means the end of security updates as well as technical support from Microsoft. Clients have a few options:

Migrate to a newer version of Windows: Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8. Many clients are choosing to upgrade to Windows 7. Personally, I prefer Windows 8 which offers fast boot times on par with smartphones and tablets, new security feature including secure boot as well as a new "touch" user interface.
Migrate to another operating system like Apple Macintosh or Linux
Migrate to a smartphone or tablet
All of the above

With one year to complete the migration off Windows XP, time is running out. While much has been said for the end of the post PC era at the expense of smartphones and tablets, the PC remains a key requirement for most enterprises and continues to evolve with new features and capabilities.

IBM offers a free, online self assessment tool to help identify ways to increase worker productivity and reduce costs through a flexible workplace. See how you compare to other enterprises! Are you forward thinker or a laggard?

Business value of mobile enterprise

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:05:00 +0000

Yankee Group has released a new study focusing on increased enterprise adoption of mobile. Specifically:

50% of companies will be increasing their budgets this year for mobile applications
34% of all companies are planning to develop 10 or more applications
51% of companies will be increasing their in-house development, 31% their outsourced development
56% are allowing employees to access apps through public app stores, 43% are centrally distributing them directly to employees’ devices, and 36% through a private internal app store

While many studies identify "soft" benefits of mobile (increased productivity, work-life balance, attract and retain top talent), the Yankee study is more specific:

40% of companies rate the amount of time, dollars and effort involved in deploying their mobile apps as high. However, 62% say that the corresponding business value they have achieved, in terms of the impact on their organization’s revenue and profits, has been high.

There are lots of case studies on how mobile adoption is resulting in cost savings. For example, many enterprises are moving away from hardcopy paper and going electronic through the use of tablets and the iPad in particular. A few examples:

The Apple website has excellent case study videos on how enterprises are adopting the iPad.

Eric Lai and Jim Siegel maintain a fantastic list of iPad and Android deployments. However, neither appear to have been updated since December 2012.

IBM Torque Conference Australia: Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:18:00 +0000

I returned home to Connecticut after a successful business trip to Australia for the IBM Torque conference. Highlights:

The focus of the external conference was cloud, mobile and security and took place over the course of a week in three Australian cities: Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. There were over 100 participants for the three sessions.
I led a panel discussion on mobile at each of the three events. Key observations: Few enterprises have a mobile enterprise strategy in place. Security and lack of skills are key concerns. Enterprises are looking to partner to gain new skills and expertise. Few clients have deployed Mobile Device Management (MDM) software and most are overwhelmed by "Bring Your Own Device."
Noted futurist, Tim Longhurst delivered an outstanding keynote session on how the world is changing. See the #IBMTorque hashtag on Twitter for key quotes and links to videos and collateral Tim shared.
While in Australia, I took advantage of the opportunity to meet with IBM colleagues, visit the IBM Cumberland Forest location outside Sydney, meet with clients and vendors.
I also had the opportunity to do some sightseeing in Sydney including visiting the Tarongo Zoo, walking the Sydney Harbour Bridge, tour of the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Symphony (Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1, visiting The Rocks for St. Patrick's Day and visiting the Star Casino.

Twitter hash tag: #IBMTorque

Photos: Picasa

IBM Torque conference: Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:56:00 +0000

I'm in Australia for the IBM Torque conference. From the conference website:

IBM have designed an industry roundtable where your thought leadership and that of your peers will be shared and you will have the opportunity to see how you measure and lead against the pack. You will be able to discuss cloud, mobility and security with a group of like minded IT professionals and ask for the opinions of IBM experts in attendance.

I'm leading roundtable discussion on mobile enterprise. The event is held in three cities over the course of a week:

Brisbane. Thursday, 14 March 2013. Emporium Hotel, Fortitude Valley, QLD
Melbourne. Monday, 18 March 2013. ZINC Federation Square, VIC
Sydney. Tuesday, 19 March. Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf, NSW

I''ll be blogging a summary of the event when it wraps up next week.

Twitter hash tag: #IBMTorque

IBM Pulse 2013 conference summary

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 05:07:00 +0000

The IBM Pulse 2013 conference wrapped up today at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. While the focus of the conference is Tivoli software, other key themes include social, cloud, IBM PureSystems and IBM MobileFirst.

I presented two sessions:

Pulse 2013 - How to run a successful BYOD initiative from Chris Pepin

Pulse 2013 - Mobile strategy and user centered design, an IBM interactive primer from Chris Pepin

In addition, I worked on the IBM Mobile booth at the solution showcase and delivered a demo to analysts on how Tire and Battery Corporation is using IBM Worklight to improve the customer experience through mobile.

One of the highlights of the event was a presentation on leadership from Denver Bronco's quarterback Peyton Manning on the final day of the confernce. While my favorite player is Tom Brady from the New England Patriots, I admire Peyton and he gave a fascinating and entertaining talk.

I'll be back to Las Vegas at the end of April for the IBM Impact conference which focuses on IBM WebSphere software

Links:

@IBMPulse on Twitter
Hashtag #IBMPulse on Twitter
IBMPulse on Vivastream
IBM Pulse on Lanyrd

My photos on Picasa

My videos on YouTube

IBM Pulse conference preview

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:06:00 +0000

I arrived at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas for IBM Pulse 2013 conference which is focused on IBM Tivoli software. From the conference website:

At Pulse 2013 we'll bring you four days of top-notch education with over 500 sessions that demonstrate how to apply the right tools, technologies and best practices to help your organization achieve business without limits. These sessions will focus on applying the transformative power of cloud computing and securely evolving beyond the data center into the world of smarter assets and enterprise mobility. When coupled with an analytical approach to improving Visibility, Control and Automation, the result is an increasingly smarter physical infrastructure supporting today's highly dynamic technology-oriented business models.

This year's sessions will provide valuable insights into:

Managing the velocity of business change with cloud computing
Reinventing key relationships by delivering a mobile enterprise
Accelerating product & service innovation with smarter physical infrastructures
Protecting your rapidly changing infrastructure through security intelligence
Uncovering new insights by leveraging operational "Big Data" analytics

I'll be presenting two sessions:

BME-1211 : Mobile Strategy and User-Centered Design: An IBM Interactive Primer. Monday, 3:30pm-4:30pm. Room 302
MME-1175 : How to Run a Successful "Bring Your Own Device" Initiative. Wednesday, 12:30-1:30pm. Room 320

In addition to presenting, I'll be meeting with analysts and working at the IBM booth at the product showcase. If you're attending, feel free to drop by and say hello. I'll be blogging a summary of the conference when it wraps up on Wednesday and posting copies of my presentations.

Links:

@IBMPulse on Twitter

Hashtag #IBMPulse on Twitter

IBMPulse on Vivastream

IBM Pulse on Lanyrd

IBM announces MobileFirst

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:50:00 +0000

IBM has announced MobileFirst - the industry’s leading solutions and services for the mobile enterprise. From the press release:

"Today unveiled IBM MobileFirst, the most comprehensive mobile portfolio that combines security, analytics and app development software, with cloud-based services and deep mobile expertise. Using IBM MobileFirst solutions, businesses can now streamline everything from the management of employee mobile devices, to the creation of a new mobile commerce app that will transform their entire business model."

MobileFirst includes:

Solutions: IBM MobileFirst Platform, IBM MobileFirst Security (e.g. AppScan), IBM MobileFirst Management and IBM MobileFirst Analytics
Services: IBM MobileFirst Strategy and Design Services, IBM MobileFirst Development and Integration Services
Ecosystem: Developers, Business Partners (e.g. AT&T) and Academics

IBM has been delivering mobile solutions for over 10 years and earlier this week was recognized by Forrester at the leader in Enterprise Mobility Services. We're entering the second wave of mobile computing which is focused on turning mobile computing into a profit-generating platform. Billions of dollars are at stake and enterprises that don't embrace the mobile revolution risk being left behind. I'm proud to be an IBMer and to be assisting clients become a mobile enterprise.

Links:
MobileFirst on IBM.com
Press release

Working from the IBM office vs. working from home

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 03:17:00 +0000

For the past five years, I've been working for IBM almost exclusively from my home office which offers a number of advantages:

No commute time
Less money spent on gasoline and less impact to the environment
Greater flexibility to spend time with my family
Less money spent on eating out for lunch and healthier eating
Mobile, collaboration and social technologies allow me to stay visible and work anywhere, anytime from any device.

However, in addition to the advantages, there are also disadvantages. Working from home has its distractions (I have three young children) and it can be difficult to separate home from work. In addition, I miss personal contact with colleagues. I decided earlier this year, as part of a new position I took at IBM, to request an office at IBM's Southbury location which is roughly a 25 minute commute from my house.

I've been working from the IBM office for a month now and it's been overwhelmingly positive. I have fewer distractions and I enjoy impromptu in-person communication vs. conference calls. I still have the flexibility to work from home as needed - for example if the weather is bad or if I have personal appointments close to home. I'm appreciative of the fact that IBM offers this level of workplace flexibility and I'll continue to take full advantage of it.

Embedding videos in Apple Keynote on the iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 01:56:00 +0000

Adding short, relevant videos to a Powerpoint/Keynote presentation can make a big impact when presenting to clients or at a conference. When I'm presenting on topics related to mobile enterprise, I almost always use my iPad. Presenting on a Windows PC or a Mac just doesn't have the same impact as presenting a mobile topic on a mobile device. For example, I presented at the IBM Connect conference last week and showed a short video of IBM's internal transformation to become a mobile enterprise. I began my presentation in Apple Keynote and then switched to the YouTube app, showed the video, and switched back to Keynote. It worked but it wasn't seamless. In addition, I was dependent on network access for YouTube which isn't ideal and can result in "choppy video" without a strong network connection. While I didn't experience a problem for this particular presentation, I like to have multiple options up my sleeve in case things go wrong.

For my next presentation, at IBM Inside Sales University in Killarney, Ireland, I wanted to embed multiple, local videos into a Keynote presentation for a more seamless presentation. Keynote on the iPad allow you to insert photos and/or videos from the Photos application on the iPad . I used MyMedia on the iPad (free to download first 5 videos, $0.99 after) to download the videos from YouTube in MP4 format from the MyMedia app, copy them to the Photos application on the iPad and then embed them in Keynote on the iPad. Step by step process:

Open Safari on the iPad. Navigate to YouTube. Find the video you want and copy the URL to the clipboard.
Open the MyMedia application on the iPad. Navigate to ClipConverter.cc on the integrated browser
Paste the YouTube link from step 1 (above)
Choose the file quality and type (MP4)
Press and hold the download file button until you are prompted to save the video and give it a name
The file will be downloaded to the MyMedia application on the iPad
Touch the "Files" button in MyMedia app on the iPad to view the downloaded video files. Touch the "Save to Camera Roll" button. The video will be copied to the Photos app on the iPad
Open Keynote on the iPad. Open the presentation you want to add a video to. Create a new, blank slide in the presentation. Touch the "+" icon. Select "Camera roll." Select the video and touch "Use." You may want to resize the video to make it larger to fill as much of the slide as possible.
When you come to the slide with the video in the presentation, simply touch the screen to play. I haven't been able to find a way to get the video to play from the Keynote Remote app on the iPhone. I use the Keynote Remote application on the iPhone to control the presentation so I can walk around when I present rather than standing at the podium.

More information:

IBM Inside Sales University Europe 2013 - Killarney, Ireland

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:27:00 +0000

I attended IBM Inside Sales University Europe 2013 in beautiful Killarney, Ireland. The IBM-internal event was attended by over 1,200 Europe-based sellers. I delivered 6 sessions, to a total of 750 people on IBM Mobile Enterprise to standing room only crowds!

This was the first time I attended the event and it didn't disappoint! I connected with dozens of attendees and I'm looking forward to working together in support of clients.

Twitter: #IBMUni2013
My Photos on Picasa

IBM Connect Conference 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:46:00 +0000

I attended the IBM Connect conferences earlier this week in Walt Disney World, Florida. From the conference website:

"IBM Connect 2013. Familiar, yet with a whole new twist. We're connecting the long-standing Lotusphere and last year's Connect conferences — and making them one. IBM Connect combines the deep technical content that you’ve loved for 20 years with the learning you need to accelerate your move beyond social media to drive real business value with social and collaborative technologies."

As a long-time attender of Lotusphere, this year's IBM Connect conference (the new name for Lotusphere) didn't disappoint. My perspectives:

Themes: Social, mobile and cloud (similar to last year). However, unlike last year, more enterprises are deploying as opposed to planing
"They Might be Giants", a band from Brooklyn, NY opened the session with "Birdhouse in Your Soul."
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt gave a great talk on hitRECORD, an open-collaborative multimedia production platform and changing the concept of "asset ownership." As an example, he showed a short film, "The Man with a Turnip for a Head" and described how it was created from a virtual team of contributors.
The consumer market is the new benchmark for work computing. Features borrowed from the consumer marketplace like activity feeds, video, "like" and file sharing are being integrated into IBM's products and taking a "mobile first" approach. A demo of a new secure file sharing capability in IBM Connections, similar to DropBox, received loud applause from the audience.
BlackBerry, the new name for Research in Motion, launched BlackBerry 10 on Wednesday and it was simulcast at the conference. The consensus from attendees in sessions I attended was that IBM should focus on three mobile platforms: Apple iOS, Google Android and BlackBerry rather than focusing on Windows Phone.
Lotus Traveler 9 will ship in March and includes suppport for BlackBerry 10 as well as Windows Phone. IBM Worklight also plans to add BlackBerry 10 support in March. IBM Endpoint Manager supports BlackBerry 10 today. IBM didn't announce when IBM Connections would support BlackBerry.
My specific responsibilities at the conference included presenting, working at the IBM mobile booth at the solution showcase, meeting with clients, meeting with vendors, connecting with colleagues and attending sessions to expand my knowledge. Many sessions were recorded and are available online via Livestream.
The mobile application for the conference could be improved. For example, application didn't allow sessions to be added to my mobile calendar (the app has its own schedule), there was no linkage with social media (e.g. Twitter, FaceBook, Foursquare, etc.) so users could "check in" to a session and share their thoughts. In addition, the mobile application didn't allow you to view/download the slides from the session. Other conferences I have attended (e.g. Gartner Symposium) provided these capabilities.
The conference wi-fi while not great, was adequate. However, the in-room broadband at the Disney Dolphin hotel (both wired and wireless) was very poor (< 1Mbps)
Photos of the event taken on my iPhone 5
My presentation:

IBM Connect 2013: BYOD at IBM from Chris Pepin

IBM ITS University 2013 - Shenzhen, China

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 01:09:00 +0000

Last week, I traveled to China on business for the first time to present at an IBM internal sales conference - ITS University. I was asked to speak on mobile enterprise including IBM's products and services.

A few observations from my visit:

I was pleasantly surprised by China Eastern Airlines, a Skyteam airline. I was able to take a direct flight from New York's Kennedy airport to Shanghai. The plane was new (Airbus A340) and each seat had a power outlet. Service was excellent for economy class (two full meals, one snack, hot towels). Unfortunately, there was no in-flight wi-fi and entertainment was limited to a shared video screen. The China Eastern iPhone app was in Chinese only and there was no web check in or flight status. My two overseas flights (departure, return) were completely full.
Shenzhen is a new, modern business city that is still growing. I saw new high-rises under construction everywhere.
Lots of iPhones. However, all of the Apple products I saw at both the Apple store and authorized resellers were a good 20-30% more expensive compared to the US.
Lots of Samsung Galaxy Note "phablets" at the IBM conference I attended (in addition to iPhones)
People were extremely friendly and helpful. As an example, I was struggling to buy a subway token since I only had large bills. A helpful resident gave me a 1 RMB coin so I would have enough for a token. The subway tokens used RFID technology and the amount you paid depended on the distance traveled.
While the primary purpose of my trip was business, I still managed to squeeze in some sightseeing. See my photos on Picasa
Free wi-fi was everywhere
The Chinese food I had was delicious and had little resemblance to Chinese food in the US. The biggest difference I found was the China uses lots of ingredients that I had never seen in the US (fruits and vegetables).
My AT&T iPhone worked flawlessly (voice and data) roaming on China Unicom (international plan)
I didn't notice any blocked websites. FaceBook, Google, Foursquare, Twitter and Apple Maps all worked flawlessly on my iPhone as well as on wi-fi networks.
Little English was spoken. Two free iPhone apps - Google Translate and XE Currency were very helpful
My first opportunity to use TSA Pre and Global Entry to speed through security and customs. Well worth $100 for 5 years.

It's a long flight, but I'd welcome the opportunity to return to China.

Apple iPad Mini impressions - thumbs up!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:01:00 +0000

Santa brought my son a new iPad mini (16GB, wi-fi) for Christmas this year and I have to say, I'm a big fan. While I had used on in the past for short periods, having one in the house use over an extended period has made me realize what a great tablet the iPad Mini is. Here's why:

Pros:

Extremely thin and light. iPad seems heavy and bulky in comparison
Runs tablet apps (same resolution as iPad 2)
Comes in both wi-fi and 3G versions

Cons:

High cost: $329 (16GB wi-fi). Arguably, none of Apple's products are value priced. However, you get what you pay for with Apple's outstanding build quality
While the screen is nice (1024 x 768) and only slightly less than other tablets, it pales in comparison to a Retina display (I own an iPad 3). I'd like to see an iPad mini with a Retina display.

I'll likely hold off on purchasing one until a new model is released. Rumors point to a March or June refresh from Apple.

Google Nexus 7 tablet impressions - thumbs up!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:09:00 +0000

I've been using a Google Nexus 7 tablet, manufactured by Asus, for the last month and I'm impressed. While I still prefer the iPad (and the new iPad mini), the Nexus 7 arguably delivers the best Android tablet experience at a fantastic price.

Pros:

Great screen (1280x800)
Low price. I got a 32GB version for just over $200 on sale
Native Android experience from Goggle
Easy upgrade to JellyBean 4.2 (one of the few devices out there able to run 4.2)
Nice build quality - the back of the tablet in particular is nicely surfaced

Cons:

No video output
No rear facing camera for pictures, only a front facing camera for video conferencing
No SD card slot
Cheap charger
Performance lags (processor? Android?)
More tablet-specific apps are needed to take advantage of the larger screen (vs. smartphone screen)

IBM Connect Conference kicks off on January 27

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 01:45:00 +0000

IBM's annual Connect conference (previously known as Lotusphere) begins on Sunday, January 27 in Orlando, FL. I'll be presenting again this year on the IBM internal deployment.

1899 : BYOD at IBM: IBM Lotus Notes Traveler, IBM Connections Mobile, IBM Endpoint Manager and More!

IBM is a mobile business with over 120,000 smartphones and tablets in use, of which 80,000 are employee-owned. Lotus Traveler, Lotus Mobile Connect, IBM Endpoint Manager, IBM Sametime, IBM Connections and IBM Worklight are key technologies that make it possible for IBM employees to work securely from mobile devices any place, any time. Attend this session to learn the specifics of IBM's deployment and how IBM is assisting clients deliver on the promise of a mobile business.

When Thu, 31/Jan 08:30 AM - 09:30 AM

Where Dolphin S. Hem I

If you're not attending Lotusphere but want to learn more about IBM's internal deployment, I previously posted a whitepaper, presentation and video on this blog. I'll also be posting my Lotusphere presentation on Slideshare. Here's my presentation from last year.

In addition to presenting, I'll also be at the IBM booth on the product showcase floor:

Sunday 6:30-8pm
Monday 6-8pm
Wednesday 12:30-3:30pm

Links:
Conference website
Twitter hashtag #IBMConnect
Lanyard

2013 Mobile IT Conferences

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 00:34:00 +0000

With over 10 billion mobile devices expected by 2020, mobile is a popular topic at most major information technology conferences. I've started compiling a list below of conferences I'll likely be presenting at in 2013. While I'm unlikely to attend CES, given the consumerization of IT, I'll be following the conference remotely with great interest. Here's a link to my summary of CES 2012.

Name	Date	Location
Consumer Electronics Show (CES)	Jan 8-11	Las Vegas, US
IBM Connect/Lotusphere	Jan 27-31	Orlando, US
MacWorld/MacIT	Jan 31-Feb 2	San Francisco, US
Mobile World Conference	Feb 25-28	Barcelona, Spain
IBM Pulse	March 3-6	Las Vegas, US
IBM Impact	April 28-May 2	Las Vegas, US
BlackBerry World	May 14-16	Orlando, US

5 Signs You're Not A Mobile Enterprise

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:26:00 +0000

Mobile technologies, including smartphones and tablets are taking the world by storm. It is estimated that by 2020 that there will be 10 billion mobile devices. While many businesses have become a mobile enterprise the latest IBM Tech Trends report indicates that 49% have not deployed mobile. Without further ado, here are five signs that you're not a mobile enterprise:

You think that mobile = laptop and nothing else
You think that there are too many security issues with smartphones and tablets so you don't support them for business use
You institute a corporate policy banning the use of personally owned devices (e.g. BYOD) and refuse to accept that employees are using devices for business regardless of the company policy
You limit employee access to email from mobile devices because you feel that employees are wasting time playing games rather than working
You port desktop applications to mobile devices unchanged and wonder why users don't like them.

Is your enterprise mobile? Let me know by posting a comment to this blog or via @ChrisPepin on Twitter

IBM's five innovations for the next five years: sensory computing

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Each year, IBM publishes a list of five innovations that are likely to become reality in the next five years. This year's list focuses on the five senses:

Touch: you will be able to touch through your phone
Sight: A pixel will be worth a thousand words
Hearing: Computers will hear what matters
Taste: Digital taste buds will help you eat smarter
Smell: Computers will have a sense of smell

I'm still waiting for last year's prediction, no more passwords, to become reality

IBM Mobile Enterprise Social Media Residency

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Pepin) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:44:00 +0000

I spent an exciting week with my IBM colleagues from around the world at the Mobile Enterprise Social Media Residency in Raleigh, North Carolina last week. Sponsored by IBM International Technical Support Organization, the same team that creates RedBooks, the residency focused on leveraging external social media tools like Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and YouTube to demonstrate thought leadership on the subject of mobile enterprise. IBM offers a rich set of mobile products and services designed to assist clients deliver on the promise of becoming a mobile business. The residency will be repeated Feb 11-15 and is open to business partners.

In addition to IBM's strong social media presence today via @IBMMobile on Twitter, IBMMobileEnterprise on YouTube, IBMMobile on LinkedIn and countless others, IBM will be creating a new blog dedicated to mobile - similar to the Thoughts on Cloud blog. Along with my colleagues, I'll be blogging on the new site when it goes live early next year. Stay tuned for details!