More and more businesses are seeking to empower their mobile sales force with up-to-date business-critical data in the field. The days of jotting down sales orders on paper and looking through agendas to find appointments and contact information are behind us.
So what does SAP offer in terms of extending CRM processes to the mobile user? Well, there are three main options to consider: Mobile Sales for Handheld, Mobile Sales Online and Mobile Sales for Laptop. I frequently receive questions regarding the three different solutions; more specifically what are the key differences and which solution is right for a given user group.
In the first installment of my two-part blog, I have put together a simple table to highlight some of the main differences between the three solutions.
| Mobile Sales Online | Mobile Sales Handheld | Mobile Sales Laptop |
Technology/ Middleware | Mobile Web Dynpro (Java) | Mobile Infrastructure (JSP) | .Net Client / CRM MW |
Connectivity | Online (needs connection) | Offline (sync on demand) | Offline (sync on demand) |
Devices | BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Select Nokia devices, Windows Laptop | Windows Mobile Handheld, Windows Laptop | Windows Laptop |
Local Data Store | None | IBM DB2e | SQL Server |
Data Volume | Depends on connection speed and acceptable response time | Small - Medium | Large |
Functionality | Accounts Activity Management Opportunities Sales Order View Sales Contract View Reports | Same as Online plus Sales Order Create Products View Task Management Calendar Service Order Create Complaint Create No Contracts No Reports | All of the HH and Online plus Account Planning Campaigns and Trade Promotions Shelf Management Visit Planning and Route Optimization Territory Management Time and Travel integration |
Administration Effort | Low | Medium - High | Medium - High |
Skills Needed | Application Expert (administration, functional) CRM configuration J2EE Expert (RFC, Jco, user management) Java Developer (if enhancements are needed) CRM ABAP developer (if enhancements are needed) | Application Expert (functional, technical) CRM configuration Mobile Infrastructure technical/functional consultant Java Developer (if enhancements are needed) CRM ABAP developer (if enhancements are needed) | Application Expert (administration, functional) CRM Middleware developer CRM Basis to manage Servers |
So now that you are a more educated shopper, how can you choose which solution is right for your users? Stay tuned for the second part of my blog where I will provide some pointers on how to make the right choice.
