SAP Enterprise Mobility Tweetchat: Apps, Tablets and More [Transcript]
As promised (threatened?), Philippe Winthrop of the Enterprise Mobility Forum and I exchanged views about enterprise mobility this morning during SAP's inaugural Tweetchat.
I think it went pretty well: we answered almost 30 questions from and went for a full hour (we were originally scheduled for just half an hour).
In between, Philippe and I cracked wise. For those keeping score at home, Philippe aka The Heel (bad guy in pro wrestling jargon) bore the brunt of Eric The Face (good guy)'s verbal body slams (I kid, I kid).
If you couldn't make it this morning and are interested, below is an edited transcript of our discussion. Thanks to SAP's Kevin Cassidy (aka @SocialKev or @SAP on Twitter), who also served as our moderator.
It's replete with links and theme music: I entered the Tweetchat to the thundering keyboards of 'Sirius' by the Alan Parsons Project, aka the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls entrance music, while Headbanger Phil chose the portentious bombast of 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)' from Metallica.
Crank up one of those songs as you read on...
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SAPSAPWelcome to our first ever #SAPChat! I'm your host Kevin Cassidy & we have Eric Lai (@EricYLai) & Philippe Winthrop (@biz_mobility) with us
ericylaiEric Y Lai@socialkev Should we start cranking up our entrance music? Here's mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdCzixCxZEQ&feature=related#sapchat
SAPSAPEric is a tech reporter-turned-in-house-blogger for @Sybase (@SAP) covering the evolution of enterprise mobility at @ZDNet, @Forbes#SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropHere's my intro music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7LOilr_or0#SAPChat
SAPSAPPhilippe is an enterprise #mobility advisor, pundit, quasi-analyst, and enthusiast with @the_emf_dot_org#SAPChat
Q1:
dslovenskyDavid Slovensky#SAPChat - so what is your view on IBM's mobility strategy?
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@dslovensky from what perspective? mobile applications or mobility management? #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropThey partner with people on enterprise mobility management, but they r building out their mobile enterprise application strategy #SAPChat
Q2:
jess_SAPJesse AnardeIs it possible to use web services as a data source in SUP that require more than basic http authentication? eg. Sharepoint #SAPChat
jess_SAPJesse AnardeIf so are there any examples of how SUP/Sharepoint integration has been done? #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@jess_SAP Yup those are good ?s. I may have to pass U over to a product mgr here at Sybase. Tell me why interest in Sharepoint? #sapchat
jess_SAPJesse Anarde @ericylai Attempting to use remote sharepoint site as a src. since it has exposed wsdl thought it should be possible with SUP. #SAPChat
jess_SAPJesse Anarde@ericylai but requires authentication through IIS and I'm not sure there is a way to authenticate beyond basic http in SUP. #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@jess_sap Interesting. What technical issues so far? Tell us more. #sapchat
jess_SAPJesse Anarde @ericylai also having same challenge with netflix rest API and their open authentication process. #SAPChat
jess_SAPJesse Anarde@ericylai may be an issue with how I'm attempting to model it in context of MBO. #SAPChat
Q3:
brucelaibrucelaiwhat's does mobility management mean? #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@brucelai Check out http://bit.ly/mXfxf7 for more information on enterprise mobility management #SAPChat
KyBedardKyle Bedardadministrator to oversee operation of mobile phone? RT @brucelaiwhat's does mobility management mean? #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropAdministrator to oversee operations? What about all the enterprise mobility deployments coming from the line of business? #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai@brucelai Yo baby bro - here's a quick primer from Forrester on mobile dev mgmt (MDM) - http://zd.net/p7vDPi#sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@brucelai and also chk out www.theemf.org Philippe's awesome mobility site lots of good primers, discussions... #sapchat
Q4:
lucagrilliLuca Grilli#sapchat How is the SUP adoption around the world? Here in Italy is taking off (may be slowly)
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@lucagrilli better question to ask is how is enterprise mobility application adoption going worldwide....and it's going nuts! #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@lucagrilli There is a ton of pent-up interest. Chk out comments to my blog abt SUP 2.0 http://bit.ly/oc4K1O#sapchat
Q5:
samfiorellasamfiorellaIs mobility adoption in Enterprise being driven by internal comm needs or customer-engagement demands? #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropRT @samfiorella: Is mobility adoption in Enterprise being driven by internal comm needs or customer-engagement demands? #SAPChat <---yes!!!
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@samfiorella It's coming from both sides #SAPChat
samfiorellasamfiorella@biz_mobility#thanks for taking a stance! :) #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@samfiorella Would you prefer I say buy low, sell high? ;-) #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@samfiorella While @biz_mobility dodges that ? I'll say I think it's internal reasons like Bring Your Own Device. #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@samfiorella Chk out http://zd.net/hLlL4q#sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropThere was no dodging - it really is coming from the need for improved internal business processes and customer interaction #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthropthat's the amazing power of enterprise mobility in terms of how it forces business process re-engineering #SAPChat
Q6:
lucagrilliLuca Grilli#sapchat Will Sybase re-activate DAD support in SUP? Or it will be definitively leaved at community?
Q7:
samfiorellasamfiorellaCurious on others experiences: mobility app dev companies don't seem too focused on Enterprise mobile apps? #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@samfiorella Most companies are still getting handle on in-house issues like securing devices. Then they think apps like CRM #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y LaiGeneral Mills is cutting-edge at this point for examplehttp://zd.net/qhH8aU#sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @ericylai SO Eric - what is "securing devices?" #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthropis that mobile device management or mobile security? They are not the same #SAPChat
samfiorellasamfiorella@ericylai I know here in Canada, lots of hope for Enterprise Mobility rested on RIM & Playbook (security, etc) #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@biz_mobility "Securing mobility" in my mind is less about anti-virus more about policy management, updates. #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@ericylai Check out this little vocab lesson http://bit.ly/iCtCLc#SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop100% agreed with you - there is much confusion in the market re: mobile security and secure mobility #SAPChat
Q8:
SergioFerrariSergio Ferrari#sapchat do you see more demand related Smartphones or Tablets ?
Q9:
alex_dea Alex Dea@ericlai Any advice for systems integrators and how they can help clients digest enterprise mobility? #SAPchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @alex_dea you first need to help them understand what it means to have an enterprise mobility strategy....from a biz perspective #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@alex_dea good ? - define digest #sapchat
samfiorellasamfiorella@biz_mobility@alex_dea Too many still trying to figure out Web/Social strategy. Throw another device & you've lost many? #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@samfiorella@alex_dea You need to juggle multiple things at once in this fast paced world #SAPChat
alex_deaAlex Dea@biz_mobility@samfiorella Agreed- Also, there are intersection pts between social/mobile, not necessarily silos #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@alex_dea agreed - and the silos in enterprise mobility management are breaking down as well #SAPChat
Q10:
SAPSAPIs the tablet market dividing into several tiers? Is there a high-end enterprise category forming? #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropAll joking aside - in theory there should be no tiers #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropIn practice....it's still early in the game...market is really only <2 yrs old!!! #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@SAP I think the hardware OEMs like Cisco, Avaya would love to see an enterprise tier of $1,000+ tablets but no go #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropWho in their right mind will spend $1000 for something you can get for $500 #arbitrageopportunity#SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@sap due to overwhelming popularity of $600 tablets like iPad, PlayBook. I do think a $300 'FeatureTablet' category will emerge tho #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@sap my thoughts on the FeatureTablet http://bit.ly/osKTKW#sapchat
samfiorellasamfiorella#With growing adoption of mobile in Enterprise comm, I can't imagine that such tiers won't evolve? May be necessary? @ericylai#sapchat
Q11:
alex_deaAlex Dea@ericylai Lot of noise around mobility. How can we help them understand how it could help biz, what import things to consider etc #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @alex_dea@ericylai You mean like ROI? #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@alex_dea I think it's the usual suspects: compelling case studies of customers showing TCO and ROI. #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y LaiChk out General Mills or Telllabs http://bit.ly/opxfIX#sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthropsome of the value of enterprise mobility solutions is in soft $$$ while others have a discreet ROI #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropCan you quantify the value of mobile email? No....but we all understand the implicit value of it #SAPChat
Q12:
lucagrilliLuca GrilliWill Hybrid Web Container be potentied in the future? I'm facing problems passing table as input for SAP :-( #sapchat#SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@lucagrilli potentiated? #sapchat
lucagrilliLuca Grillisorry... improved #sapchat#SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@lucagrilli Ok. You playing with SUP 2.0? #sapchat
lucagrilliLuca GrilliAbsolutely. Working on 2.1 #sapchat. During table passintg to SAP via RFC or Web Service, an error is alway raised #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@lucagrilli I know the docs for SUP 2.0 are still emerging. But these might be good resources for you: http://bit.ly/ocbY3R#sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@lucagrilli You need to speak with Stanley Stadelman at Sybase, try e-mailing him via his blog or Stanley.stadelman@sybase.com #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@lucagrilli he's product mkting manager for SUP 2.0 who is working with developers like yourself #sapchat
Q13:
IvanFemiaIvan Femia In which area currently customers are interested to move in mobility? #sapchat
Q14:
tganeshbabuGanesh Thangamaniwhich area would be preferable to start with? #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@tganeshbabu You have to make the call as to whether you want to 1st focus on internal enterprise mobility projects vs. external #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@tganeshbabu There's no right answer....but you just need to make the call #SAPChat
Q15:
KyBedardKyle Bedard2011-will it be the year that the laptop dies? RT @ericylai my thoughts on the FeatureTablet bit.ly/osKTKW#sapchat@sap
ericylaiEric Y Lai@KyBedard Bold question! I say no. The crossover is a ways away, if you look at Gartner IDC forecasts #sapchat
Q16:
samfiorellasamfiorellaWhich device does Enterprise always have "on"/by their side? Inevitable that mobility (device/apps) will become mainstream. #SAPchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@samfiorella I'm waiting to see the belt holster for my tablet #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai @biz_mobility You've already got a belt holster for your light saber, don't you? #childofthe70s#sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@ericylai And I even have the lightsaber app on my smartphones #SAPChat
Eric The Face lands another blow to Philippe the Heel during the SAP Enterprise Mobility Tweetchat.
Q16:
jess_SAPJesse AnardeAny SUP prdct plans to rslv the type restrictions on Web Services and RFC? As in when a response returns an array of objects? #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@jess_sap You also need to hit up Messr Stadelman at Sybase... #sapchat
jess_SAPJesse Anarde @ericylai Thanks a bunch! Looks like a very useful contact! #SAPChat
Q17:
IvanFemiaIvan FemiaWhat are the reasons that make you choose between a native and a cross app? #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@IvanFemia IMHO native enterprise apps are for ideal world scenarios, when time, developer salaries are no object. #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@IvanFemia Hybrid apps make more sense for enterprise, when GUI is not paramount, but multiple devices and consistency are. #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @ericylai@IvanFemia When is the GUI NOT paramount? Only when you don't care about your users IMO #SAPChat
IvanFemiaIvan Femia@ericylai GUI is not paramount? << There are great JMobile based applications with a great GUI and huge usability. #sapchat
Q18:
SAPSAPEric, Philippe, can either of you substantiate Bill McDermott's claim that "mobile is the new desktop?" #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropMobile is the new desktop? Sure.....just like Cloud is the new Mainframe #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthropenterprise mobility is awesome...no question....but the desktop will still have its place (somewhere) #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthropbesides, in 5 yrs, we'll come full circle anyway back to client/server. we need to do a better job of looking back in time IMO #SAPChat
samfiorellasamfiorella@biz_mobility Global biz + cloud + demand for greater efficiency will drive Enterprise Mobile policies. #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @samfiorella actually, I'll argue that a big data breach will drive enterprise mobility policies #SAPChat
samfiorellasamfiorella@biz_mobility ah, well there's a diff between policy that enables & one that polices. One proactive, one reactionary. #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@samfiorella But you can still be a good cop....remember how they say "To Serve and Protect?" That should be part of ITSM #SAPChat
Q19:
Mario1204Mario AertsWhat is the importance of SAP Netweaver Gateway in the mobile strategy of SAP? #sapchat
SAPSAP .@Mario1204 Great question Mario! Check out this article on SAP NetWeaver Gateway. http://spr.ly/6016RzUE#SAPChat
Q20:
kp_pk_kpkKIRAN pk @ericylai, wen it comes to mobil,end usr always luks out rich UI n graphics,How can v make enterprise apps reach out to these usrs #SAPchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@kp_pk_kpk Re: GUI, you think enterprise users demand rich game-like GUIs? I don't think they do. Lots of quick workflows#sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@kp_pk_kpk Remember lots of enterprise apps will be simply be quick mobilizations of server applications. Applets they were called in the dot com era #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @ericylai@kp_pk_kpk Game like GUIs - no. That would be N/A...but it should still look good or else we'd still be at Windows 3.11 #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@biz_mobility Re: GUI, I was taking narrow definition, of overwhelming prettiness. You're taking broad definition incl. efficiency #sapchat
IvanFemiaIvan Femia@ericylai from an architecture and technical point of view? What about offline support? #sapchat
Q21:
Colin_BestColin Best@ericylai Out of the ~300 organizations using SUP, how many are SAP customers? #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@Colin_Best I don't know exact figure, but it's gotta be majority, for sure. SAP is kindly making SUP their middleware centerpiece #sapchat
Q22:
alex_deaAlex DeaWhere will mobile fit in enterprise? Biz? IT? Will there be separate depts for enterprise mobile vs consumer oriented mobile #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@alex_dea There is no consumer vs. enterprise mobility....we are all users!!!! #SAPChat
alex_deaAlex Dea @biz_mobility :) - fair enough. Do you think enterprise will manage them under one area, or separately? #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @alex_dea which part? the tech or the data or the business logic? #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@alex_dea Check this document out - may help shed some lighthttp://bit.ly/oWPvvM#SAPChat
Q23:
SocialKevKevin Cassidy@biz_mobility@alex_dea But currently isn't there a separation between "business" computers & personal computers? #SAPChat
SocialKevKevin Cassidy@biz_mobility@alex_dea Will there ever be a "business" smart phone & a "personal" smart phone? #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@socialkev you mean BlackBerry 2.0? #shudder#sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe WinthropRT @SocialKev: @alex_dea Will there ever be a "business" smart phone & a "personal" smart phone? #SAPChat <-we're past that IMO
SocialKevKevin Cassidy@biz_mobility But what if I run out of app space on my iPhone. am I to lose Angry Birds because of Mobile CRM? :) #SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@SocialKev depends on what is more important for you....or you can just get a new device with more capacity #SAPChat
Q24:
lucagrilliLuca GrilliAre the features as PhoneGap planned in next Hybrid Web Container version? It should be nice to have camera and giroscope access #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@lucagrilli good ? Can't reveal that yet.
jess_SAPJesse AnardeSeems like the hybrid web container - workflow - does a good job in making a mobile app look somewhat native. #SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@jess_SAP Exactly right on hybrid. Hate to pimp whitepapers, but this is a good one http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1093946#sapchat
Q25:
Mario1204Mario Aerts@SergioFerrari@SAP Like Gateway, is SUP using REST architecture too? In generated code you see JSON interpreters #sapchat
Q27:
kp_pk_kpkKIRAN pk#SAPchat, A quick question: While working with blackberry device, how is the BES access handled ? Can we bypass BES ..??
ericylaiEric Y Lai@kp_pk_kpk Does this thread help? http://bit.ly/pUdJUk#sapchat
Q26:
Mario1204Mario AertsWhy did Sybase/SAP remove the DAD in the 2.0 platform? It was nice for demo's and prototyping #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@Mario1204 What's DAD? Sorry - out of my alphabet soup#SAPChat
Mario1204Mario Aerts@biz_mobility Device Application Designer to generate cross-platform UIs #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@Mario1204 I'm gonna hafta send you over to Stanley.Stadelman@sybase.com product mgr for SUP 2.0. Pls harass him :) #sapchat
Q27:
SAPSAPWhat does it mean to you that over 90% of Fortune 50 companies have deployed #mobile#apps? What does it mean for Mobility?#SAPChat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop@SAP 90% have deployed mobile apps...ok. To what % of their workforce? When we see deep adoption, then we will truly be mobile#SAPChat
ericylaiEric Y LaiRe: Fortune 50, here's the original research http://zd.net/pQ0Gdb#sapchat
ericylaiEric Y LaiOn Fortune 50, I think it's significant. Apps are usually next stage after managing devices. #sapchat
biz_mobilityPhilippe Winthrop @ericylai Some companies are managing devices b/c of the apps #SAPChat
Q28:
kp_pk_kpkKIRAN pk#SAPchat, so when is the much awaited android support hitting ??
ericylaiEric Y Lai@kp_pk_kpk If you mean mobile dev mgmt, Afaria already strongly supports Samsung Android devices, supports other Android less well. #sapchat
ericylaiEric Y LaiOn Android management by Afariahttp://www.sybase.com/mobilize/mobile-device-management/androidsamsung#sapchat
kp_pk_kpkKIRAN pk@ericylai , I mean.. When will we be getting SUP equipped with capability to generate droid specific code for business objects ? #SAPchat
ericylaiEric Y Lai@kp_pk_kpk that's a tough one. Can bug Stan Stadelman too on that one... #sapchat