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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SAP SAP Welcome to our first ever #SAPChat! I'm your host Kevin Cassidy & we have Eric Lai (@EricYLai) & Philippe Winthrop (@biz_mobility) with us
ericylai Eric Y Lai @socialkev Should we start cranking up our entrance music? Here's mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdCzixCxZEQ&feature=related #sapchat
SAP SAP Eric is a tech reporter-turned-in-house-blogger for @Sybase (@SAP) covering the evolution of enterprise mobility at @ZDNet, @Forbes #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop Here's my intro music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7LOilr_or0#SAPChat
SAP SAP Philippe is an enterprise #mobility advisor, pundit, quasi-analyst, and enthusiast with @the_emf_dot_org #SAPChat
Q1:
dslovensky David Slovensky #SAPChat - so what is your view on IBM's mobility strategy?
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @dslovensky from what perspective? mobile applications or mobility management? #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop They partner with people on enterprise mobility management, but they r building out their mobile enterprise application strategy #SAPChat
Q2:
jess_SAP Jesse Anarde Is it possible to use web services as a data source in SUP that require more than basic http authentication? eg. Sharepoint #SAPChat
jess_SAP Jesse Anarde If so are there any examples of how SUP/Sharepoint integration has been done? #SAPChat
ericylai Eric 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_SAP Jesse Anarde @ericylai Attempting to use remote sharepoint site as a src. since it has exposed wsdlthought it should be possible with SUP. #SAPChat
jess_SAP Jesse Anarde @ericylai but requires authentication through IIS and I'm not sure there is a way to authenticate beyond basic http in SUP. #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @jess_sap Interesting. What technical issues so far? Tell us more. #sapchat
jess_SAP Jesse Anarde @ericylai also having same challenge with netflix rest API and their open authentication process. #SAPChat
jess_SAP Jesse Anarde @ericylai may be an issue with how I'm attempting to model it in context of MBO. #SAPChat
Q3:
brucelai brucelai what's does mobility management mean? #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @brucelai Check out http://bit.ly/mXfxf7 for more information on enterprise mobility management #SAPChat
KyBedard Kyle Bedard administrator to oversee operation of mobile phone? RT @brucelaiwhat's does mobility management mean? #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop Administrator 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
ericylai Eric Y Lai @brucelai and also chk out www.theemf.org Philippe's awesome mobility site lots of good primers, discussions... #sapchat
Q4:
lucagrilli Luca Grilli #sapchat How is the SUP adoption around the world? Here in Italy is taking off (may be slowly)
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @lucagrilli better question to ask is how is enterprise mobility application adoption going worldwide....and it's going nuts! #SAPChat
ericylai Eric 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:
samfiorella samfiorella Is mobility adoption in Enterprise being driven by internal comm needs or customer-engagement demands? #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop RT @samfiorella: Is mobility adoption in Enterprise being driven by internal comm needs or customer-engagement demands? #SAPChat <---yes!!!
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @samfiorella It's coming from both sides #SAPChat
samfiorella samfiorella @biz_mobility #thanks for taking a stance! 🙂 #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @samfiorella Would you prefer I say buy low, sell high? 😉 #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @samfiorella While @biz_mobility dodges that ? I'll say I think it's internal reasons like Bring Your Own Device. #sapchat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @samfiorella Chk out http://zd.net/hLlL4q #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop There was no dodging - it really is coming from the need for improved internal business processes and customer interaction #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop that's the amazing power of enterprise mobility in terms of how it forces business process re-engineering #SAPChat
Q6:
lucagrilli Luca Grilli #sapchat Will Sybase re-activate DAD support in SUP? Or it will be definitively leaved at community?
Q7:
samfiorella samfiorella Curious on others experiences: mobility app dev companies don't seem too focused on Enterprise mobile apps? #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @samfiorella Most companies are still getting handle on in-house issues like securing devices. Then they think apps like CRM #sapchat
ericylai Eric Y Lai General Mills is cutting-edge at this point for examplehttp://zd.net/qhH8aU #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @ericylai SO Eric - what is "securing devices?" #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop is that mobile device management or mobile security? They are not the same #SAPChat
samfiorella samfiorella @ericylai I know here in Canada, lots of hope for Enterprise Mobility rested on RIM & Playbook (security, etc) #sapchat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @biz_mobility "Securing mobility" in my mind is less about anti-virus more about policy management, updates. #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @ericylai Check out this little vocab lesson http://bit.ly/iCtCLc #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop 100% agreed with you - there is much confusion in the market re: mobile security and secure mobility #SAPChat
Q8:
SergioFerrari Sergio 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_mobility Philippe Winthrop @alex_dea you first need to help them understand what it means to have an enterprise mobility strategy....from a biz perspective #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @alex_dea good ? - define digest #sapchat
samfiorella samfiorella @biz_mobility @alex_dea Too many still trying to figure out Web/Social strategy. Throw another device & you've lost many? #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @samfiorella @alex_dea You need to juggle multiple things at once in this fast paced world #SAPChat
alex_dea Alex Dea @biz_mobility @samfiorella Agreed- Also, there are intersection pts between social/mobile, not necessarily silos #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @alex_dea agreed - and the silos in enterprise mobility management are breaking down as well #SAPChat
Q10:
SAP SAP Is the tablet market dividing into several tiers? Is there a high-end enterprise category forming? #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop All joking aside - in theory there should be no tiers #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop In practice....it's still early in the game...market is really only <2 yrs old!!! #SAPChat
ericylai Eric 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_mobility Philippe Winthrop Who in their right mind will spend $1000 for something you can get for $500 #arbitrageopportunity #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @sap due to overwhelming popularity of $600 tablets like iPad, PlayBook. I do think a $300 'FeatureTablet' category will emerge tho #sapchat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @sap my thoughts on the FeatureTablet http://bit.ly/osKTKW#sapchat
samfiorella samfiorella #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_dea Alex 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_mobility Philippe Winthrop @alex_dea @ericylai You mean like ROI? #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @alex_dea I think it's the usual suspects: compelling case studies of customers showing TCO and ROI. #sapchat
ericylai Eric Y Lai Chk out General Mills or Telllabs http://bit.ly/opxfIX #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop some of the value of enterprise mobility solutions is in soft $$$ while others have a discreet ROI #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop Can you quantify the value of mobile email? No....but we all understand the implicit value of it #SAPChat
Q12:
lucagrilli Luca Grilli Will Hybrid Web Container be potentied in the future? I'm facing problems passing table as input for SAP 😞 #sapchat #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @lucagrilli potentiated? #sapchat
lucagrilli Luca Grilli sorry... improved #sapchat #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @lucagrilli Ok. You playing with SUP 2.0? #sapchat
lucagrilli Luca Grilli Absolutely. Working on 2.1 #sapchat. During table passintg to SAP via RFC or Web Service, an error is alway raised #SAPChat
ericylai Eric 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
ericylai Eric 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
ericylai Eric Y Lai @lucagrilli he's product mkting manager for SUP 2.0 who is working with developers like yourself #sapchat
Q13:
IvanFemia Ivan Femia In which area currently customers are interested to move in mobility? #sapchat
Q14:
tganeshbabu Ganesh Thangamani which area would be preferable to start with? #SAPChat
biz_mobility Philippe 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_mobility Philippe Winthrop @tganeshbabu There's no right answer....but you just need to make the call #SAPChat
Q15:
KyBedard Kyle Bedard 2011-will it be the year that the laptop dies? RT @ericylai my thoughts on the FeatureTablet bit.ly/osKTKW #sapchat @sap
ericylai Eric Y Lai @KyBedard Bold question! I say no. The crossover is a ways away, if you look at Gartner IDC forecasts #sapchat
Q16:
samfiorella samfiorella Which device does Enterprise always have "on"/by their side? Inevitable that mobility (device/apps) will become mainstream. #SAPchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @samfiorella I'm waiting to see the belt holster for my tablet #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @biz_mobility You've already got a belt holster for your light saber, don't you? #childofthe70s #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe 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_SAP Jesse Anarde Any SUP prdct plans to rslv the type restrictions on Web Services and RFC? As in when a response returns an array of objects? #SAPChat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @jess_sap You also need to hit up Messr Stadelman at Sybase... #sapchat
jess_SAP Jesse Anarde @ericylai Thanks a bunch! Looks like a very useful contact! #SAPChat
Q17:
IvanFemia Ivan Femia What are the reasons that make you choose between a native and a cross app? #sapchat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @IvanFemia IMHO native enterprise apps are for ideal world scenarios, when time, developer salaries are no object. #sapchat
ericylai Eric Y Lai @IvanFemia Hybrid apps make more sense for enterprise, when GUI is not paramount, but multiple devices and consistency are. #sapchat
biz_mobility Philippe Winthrop @ericylai @IvanFemia When is the GUI NOT paramount? Only when you don't care about your users IMO #SAPChat
IvanFemia Ivan Femia @ericylai GUI is not paramount? << There are great JMobile based applications with a great GUI and huge usability. #sapchat
Q18:
SAP SAP Eric, Philippe, can either of you substantiate Bill McDermott's claim that "mobile is the new desktop?"
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