HP Enables Telecoms to Deploy and Manage Mobile Applications for Business Customers.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Press Release:

HP Enables Telecoms to Deploy and Manage Mobile Applications for Business Customers.

Enterprise "app store" is heart of mobility platform.

LONDON, April 18, 2012

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HP today announced a mobility platform for communications service providers (CSPs) that enables them to help enterprise customers increase productivity by supporting employee use of smartphones and tablets. 

                                                         

The HP Enterprise Mobility platform enables enterprises to provide internal mobile applications (apps) to employees so they can access company data quickly, easily and securely on their personal mobile devices.

The core components of the HP Enterprise Mobility platform are:

• HP Enterprise Mobile App Store enables CSPs to help enterprises create, certify, distribute and manage ”mobilized” versions of company apps for employees. Hosted at the CSP site and managed for the enterprise, the HP Enterprise Mobile App Store provides employees an easy-to-use portal for downloading apps.
• Multichannel capability supports personalized employee access, regardless of device. Employees can easily browse for apps. Multiple languages are supported to enable regional app stores.
• Multicatalog management enables enterprises to offer apps to different kinds of users by structuring access based on employee location, job type or other criteria.
• Application life cycle management enables enterprises to refresh apps for all device types, track usage, and decommission apps at end of life.
• Integrated mobile device testing ensures that apps perform properly across device types and in varied usage scenarios.
• HP Enterprise Mobility Gateway enables CSPs to help enterprise employees access the right enterprise data at the right time by connecting mobile applications with an enterprise’s back-end systems. Available on the customer premises and as a service from the CSP, the gateway enables developers to create data-rich apps that run effectively even when bandwidth is limited.
• High-performance access is enabled with server- and client-side caching, smart browsing, and offline viewing of large data sets.
• Secure exposure of back-end systems and data to mobile applications is enabled by user authentication and authorization.
• Lifecycle management of programming interfaces of back-end systems is facilitated with usage and reporting tools.
• Composite service development enables mobile apps to access and combine data from multiple back-end systems to create aggregated, high-value information for mobile users.

“Service providers are at a point where they need an enterprise service delivery platform, not just a telco service delivery platform,” said Glen Ragoonanan, lead analyst, Infrastructure Solutions and SDP Strategies, Analysys Mason. “It makes sense to work with a partner like HP that has both telco and IT heritage and can bring the two worlds together.”

Based on the widely deployed HP Service Delivery Platform (SDP), the HP Enterprise Mobility platform features a flexible service-oriented architecture. CSPs can adapt the core HP components to suit specific, complex needs, and they can integrate other HP and third-party solutions to further enhance functionality.

“CSPs must invent new business models to win in a 4G world,” said David Sliter, vice president and general manager, Communications, Media and Entertainment, HP Enterprise Services. “HP’s offering enables CSPs to generate new revenue by helping enterprises tap the productivity potential of smartphones and tablets used by employees.”

In addition to offering mobility services to enterprises, CSPs can use the HP platform to manage mobility services for their own employees, including the development and distribution of new apps.

Designed for CSPs to offer to their enterprise clients, the HP Enterprise Mobility platform also will be sold directly to enterprises by HP, as an on-premises solution.

The HP Enterprise Mobility platform complements previously announced offerings in the HP Mobile Application Services portfolio.

More information about the HP Enterprise Mobility platform is available at www.hp.com/go/emp.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

Angry Birds: Mindless entertainment for Type A personalities

OK, admit it...if you own an iPhone, an iPad or an Android device, you have purchased Angry Birds, or one of its sister games, Angry Birds - Seasons or Angry Birds, Rio.  I admit, I have all of them, and I can't wait for the next iteration to be released.

Developed by Rovio Mobile, it has become a global sensation, now entering the Chinese market, with expected downloads of 100 million in China by the end of 2011 according to Brandchannel.com.

Angry Birds is one of the most mindless games I've ever come across, yet I find myself completely addicted to it.  Good thing I don't bring my iPad to the office!

For the few of you who aren't familiar with Angry Birds, the game basically pits a team of birds, each with a special feature or skill (some drop bombs, some go really fast, some split into multiple birds, etc), against a strange legion of bodyless pigs, who apparently have taken over the bird santuaries.  The player and his team of birds participate in a series of missions to oust the pigs from each of these sanctuaries by destroying the structures and killing all the pigs.  The more destruction you cause and the less birds you use in the completion of each mission, the more points you score.

Sound stupid?  That's because it is!  Yet it is undeniably fun to play and I'm convinced it's designed for Type A personalities like mine who simply can't put it down until they've completed all of the missions. 

Even worse, once I've completed all of the missions, I need to go back and complete each the missions again collecting three stars on all of them (the highest score possible).  Then I have to go back and find all the hidden golden trophies (which give you a few more "special missions")!  Ahhhhh!!!  Help me!

Now I know what you're saying:  The mission of this blog is to discuss marketing news and trends.  So what does my experience with Angry Birds have to do with marketing, you ask?  Nothing I guess, other than highlighting the success Angry Birds developers have had in creating successful brand loyalty, brand extension and brand alignment...through brand addiction.  A simple, mindless game for Type A personalities has become one of the most successful mobile products ever developed.  I'd say that's a pretty good marketing story.

And it also gives me a forum to share my Angry Birds frustration.  Hey, it's my blog.

Mobile Marketing Skeptics Take Heed! The Day of Reckoning is at Hand!

According to a recent article on Marketingprofs.com, "more than one-half of smartphone owners (55.9%) say they prefer using a smartphone to a computer when accessing the Internet", based on a new survey from Prosper Mobile Insights, with 53% saying they use their smartphone so frequently that, "it's their life."

The study also found that only about 16% of smartphone users used their devices "just for calling, text messaging, and email", with texting and internet access being the top two functions they absolutely must have.

When I see this type of data, I'm amazed that I still read articles and comments by doubters who are unwilling to accept the simple fact that mobile marketing needs to be considered as a core element of any B2C marketing plan.

We live in a mobile society.  Mobile communication channels are only growing, while geographic and financial barriers to mobile accessibility are being eliminated daily. There is no need to sit at a desk top computer, or heaven forbid read a newspaper, because almost any information you need can now be accessed through a smartphone.  I have seen no indication that this trend will reverse course anytime soon.  While the product lifecycle of the smartphone itself will eventually go the way of the dinosaurs, some other form of mobile device will simply pop up in its place.  Believe me, Dick Tracy like gadgets are only a few short years away.

More and more businesses are using geo-social mobile platforms like Foursquare and Places to build brand loyalty through customer reward programs, or encourage sampling through discount offers.  Almost every TV and radio station now offers podcasts to better communicate with and engage their stakeholders. And virtually every large retailer has a mobile app for greater shopper convenience.  For pete's sake, even Goodwill of Greater Washington has a very successful mobile app with plans in development to add a shopping portal and a mobile donation receipt. 

According to a study by Chetan Sharma Consulting the mobile app market will surge to $17.5 billion by 2012.

I've heard the argument by cynics that 1 in 4 mobile apps that are downloaded are never used again.  But here's a more powerful figure:  3 in 4 mobile apps that are downloaded are used multiple times!  Wow, where'd that come from?  Like any other strategy, a company that steps into this space needs to be smart about it and not jump in without a plan.

In most cases, mobile marketing is not ready to become the primary marketing channel just yet, but it needs to be added to the equation.  Though clearly adoption is growing.  A well designed mobile marketing campaign integrated into a multi-channel marketing mix can help a business stay in front of consumers in all stages of the customer lifecycle.

Is mobile marketing right for all businesses?  Of course not, but not all businesses need storefronts either.  However, businesses who haven't yet, should begin evaluating the strengths (and weaknesses) of mobile marketing and whether it can ultimately help grow their business or strengthen their brand.

Mobile technology isn't going away.