Mobile Websites, why is it, Ebay and Amazon can do it, and SAP cannot ?
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NEWS FLASH 6th JUNE 2014
FIORI IS NOW BUNDLED FREE OF CHARGE
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Dear Mobile Group at SAP,
here is your challenge for 2014…
If I visit www.amazon.co.uk from my PC, I see this in the PC’s web browser:
If I visit http://www.amazon.co.uk from my Smart Phone, I see this in the Smart Phone browser:
Another example, if I go to http://www.ebay.co.uk from my PC, I see this in the PC’s browser:
If I visit http://www.ebay.co.uk from my Smart Phone, I see this in the Smart Phone’s browser:
Now, let’s look at browser based applications from the world’s largest Enterprise software company, SAP.
If I go for example to Solution Manager WorkCenter on my PC, I see this in the PC’s browser:
If I go to SolMan WorkCenter on my Smart Phone, it looks like this in the Smart Phone’s browser:
Oh, it’s the same page 🙁
Why is it so difficult, for SAP to cherry pick across the whole product suite, beginning with Managers as Users,
the most useful scenarios which are already web enabled in ABAP WebDynPro and write the mobile website
version, and have SICF services for mobile devices serving mobile web pages, and react to the incoming
request’s User Agent ?
Why do we have to have, GateWay, Fiori, Apps from the AppleStore, etc ?
For the connected scenario only, for Manager’s only, why, in December 2013, haven’t SAP already started
cherry picking the most useful connected scenario for Managers and enabling them for the Smart Phone ?
If Ebay and Amazon can figure it out, why can’t SAP ? Ebay and Amazon don’t say to me, sorry Mr Silvey,
you need to install GateWay, Fiori, and download apps from the Apple Store.
SAP need to wake up a bit on this, because the next generation of Managers are the Millenials, and they are
expecting the Amazon / Ebay scenario, websites which work on a PC should also work on a Smart Phone, ie
as Mobile Websites.
I don’t see why SAP are procrastinating on this for so long, it’s an easy one to fix, and here’s how to do it:
. Put together a Team
. Focus on the Manager’s connected business scenarios – scenarios for the Manager walking from meeting
to meeting, or even, the Manager on-call over the weekend who is in the Park and has 3G/4G and VPN on
his/her Smart Phone
. Across the whole Business Suite, I mean, FI, CRM, BI, HR, SolMan, etc, cherry pick a list of the ABAP
WebDynPro Website based applications which will be the candidates for the first round of connected
scenario, Smart Device enablement, ie, mobile Website versions (I don’t mean Smart Phone apps here)
. Write the handler in the ABAP ICM for filtering based upon request’s User Agent
. Write the Smart Device friendly version of the Website based applications as Mobile Websites in ABAP
WebDynPro. Please don’t say it’s not possible, if you want some tips on how and what to take from a PC’s
website version and make available on the SmartPhone mobile Website version, then just go compare on
Ebay and Amazon
. Then publish the ABAP WebDynPro mobile Website scenarios as part of the next EHP upgrade
. That’s the foundation, and then, simply, based upon the success, and believe me, it will be a huge success,
just extend the portfolio
. Simples
The Customers will win because they will be able to have Smart Phone access while leveraging existing investment.
Infact, Customers will be really happy.
If they have a Portal, entry point will be the Portal, and voila, job done.
Is it so difficult ?
All the best for 2014,
Andy Silvey.
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You're lucky to have a non-optimized version of your web-based management tool in your tablet... if you were using the SUP* Admin tool, it would show: "You need to install Flash to view this page".
* Note: SUP is part of the Mobile solution of SAP...
Hi Bruno,
thanks for the feedback, and I sympathise, I'd like make it clear, the point of this blog is to philosophise as to why SAP have not started making Mobile Website versions (like for example Ebay's Mobile website) of the most useful Management Website based applications, like HR, SRM, BI, etc.
It will devalue the subject if we use this forum to make a critique of SAP's products, which is not the intention.
Thanks for understanding.
Best regards,
Andy.
Even more obvious pitfalls have to avoided: an iPhone screen (or any other phone screen) is something different than a iPad screen (or any other tablet screen) - both require different user interfaces. You cannot simply scale but you have to develop two diffent user interfaces.
NEVER allow an iPhone app to get displayed on an iPad!
Adding the PC case leads to three user interfaces per application. If you just accept this fact, than development become a little bit more complex, but it's worth to do do it.
Kind regards
Frank
Hi Frank,
you are right, websites, Intranet or Internet, need to be planned where necessary to be able to serve content to:
PC's
Tablets
Smart Phones
Mobile Group @ SAP, top tip, if you have any questions on securing the ABAP WebDynPro web applications which will be created to serve content to smart devices, then look no further than Frank, he's a world expert on SAP Security, just have a look at his SCN Profile and his Content.
All the best for 2014,
Andy.
Hi
I think Fiori Apps are self Adaptable to the different Screens.
Did you check that?
Regards
Rajendra
Hi Rajendra,
thank you for the question and please allow me to answer.
My question is not about Fiori or SMP or GateWay technologies and what they offer and how they work and present content for UserAgents, the question and point of this blog is,
SAP have been writing Intranet based Web Sites, Business content for years, HR, CRM, SRM, SNC, BI, FI etc.
And during all those years, SAP have never provided the same content, or part of the content for anything but PC based web browsers, the content has never been tailored for Smart Phones or Tablets.
In this day and age, SAP should already begin a strategy and policy of enabling ABAP WebDynPro website based content for PC Web Browsers, Smart Phone Browsers and Tablet Browsers.
In our non-SAP lives, non-Business lives, common websites which we all use have enabled their content for Smart Phones and Tablets, some examples are given above.
The time is right now for SAP to do the same with the must useful common popular website content which SAP produce on the Business Suite.
To have content on Smart Phones and Tablets, shouldn't be something special, a special demand, costing SAP Customers, time and money and involving new infrstructure, it should be out of the box with the Business Suite in the same was as the PC Web Browser content is out of the box. It should be part of the Enhancement Packs.
It shouldn't be something special, it should be the standard.
Forgive me for using a cliche, but the question really is a no-brainer and will come up more and more as it has done today over here.
In the past, in large companies nobody had tablets or smart phones, and mobile enabling content probably didn't have a strong enough business justification. Fast forward to today, and in the large companies, a huge percentage of people have smart phones with corporate email and tablets, and therefore, the investment in the personnel's technology has been made, but there is no content available to use on it, SAP need to move now and fill the gap.
I have an iPhone with my job, I have corporate email and VPN on the iPhone, why can't I access SmartPhone friendly versions of the SAP Intranet Websites which I use as part of my job from my Smart Phone ?
Kind regards,
Andy.
One way of looking at this may be...
The sites you have listed want users to Hit them and do Business.
So users visit and buy something which adds to the Revenue..
Now if SAP provided out of the box conversion of Software Suite for Mobile (Which all of us as end users/Implementation Partners) would like to have...then how it would add to the Revenue...that' the question....so they create a solution and sell it for some price...
Regards
Rajendra
Hi Rajendra,
please refer back to previous comments above for response to your points.
Best regards,
Andy.
A wonderful article. SAP needs to consider.