In May 2010, SAP has decided to acquire Sybase, a leader in the market of mobile solutions for enterprises and leading database solutions. The result of this merger is the ability to provide the customers with better tools to harness the enormous data volumes, which facilitates and accelerates the decision-making process. The mobile solutions from Sybase have improved the accessibility of the SAP system data, allowing you to gain significant business benefits through better use of the existing software and hardware solutions.
What is SUP?
A café at the airport, waiting room at the train station – managers on business trips have their eyes glued to the screen of their mobile phones or tablets. Perhaps they are checking flight schedules or weather forecasts at their destinations, or just getting their usual business tasks done (e.g. preparing for a meeting with the customer or accepting their subordinates’ requests).
Companies use mobile applications tailored to specific user needs – from managerial functions for managers who monitor the project duration and costs on a smartphone or accredit expenses in the team, to the requirements of field workers (such as servicemen, salespersons).
There are plenty of ideas for business mobile applications and they are becoming more and more popular. The reason for that is the greater availability of devices on which you can use them (smartphones, tablets) on the one hand, and an increasing pressure to effectively use and process the information available everywhere, online, on the other.
Sybase Unwired Platform (SUP) is a business mobile application platform enabling developers to quickly and easily develop the applications that make the business data available to users through any device. It is a proven and industry-recognized platform that allows you to manage multiple mobile applications and combines many different types of data sources with the most popular devices. Because SUP supports all popular mobile operating systems (iOS, Android, Blackberry OS, Windows and Windows Mobile), application developers do not have to depend on one platform only. SUP is also valued for its stability and vendor’s support.
It provides seamless integration with databases, web services, SAP systems and any other business applications following the concept of SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). As IT systems change and business needs grow, the use of a mobile platform facilitates constant connectivity of mobile solutions with all the key data and business processes.
Mobile Business Objects (MBO). are an innovative foundation for the Sybase Unwired Platform architecture. MBOs contain the business process logic and data in the form of an independent reusable unit, which is not rigidly tied to the data source. MBOs may be easily created using the integrated graphical design tool and reused in a mobile solution in order to efficiently connect to a desired data source.
With MBOs, you can quickly develop and deploy native applications for a variety of mobile devices and develop a basic business logic only once for all devices with the ability to adapt it to the specific features of the device at a later time, which allows you to fully avail of all its capabilities.
Business benefits from SUP
Better data access and facilities at hand change the way in which employees and customers use business information: mobility changes the very information structure as well. Business information is the key data which board members, managers, employees and customers/consumers rely on and share in real time. The flow of this information is bidirectional. The data from reports on field sales, remote operational activity, customer behaviour, financial activities and other sources is immediately available for people who rely on it while making their own decisions.
Mobility may fundamentally change the relationship between the company and its customers. Mobile devices allow you to use complex target marketing and lower the threshold of customers’ reaction to marketing incentives. Target marketing may be based on a geographical segmentation, but it can also be individualised on the basis of buying habits, demographic characteristics and other factors controlling the analysis. Customer behaviours are converted to data which is an integral, immediate part of business process management.
Wojciech Paczkowski, Team leader, CRM-SD Portal Solutions Team, All for One Poland
Enthusiasm of users, value for business
Another revolution – after mobile telephony and portable computers – taking place right before our eyes entails the development of mobile devices – smartphones and tablets.
Why smartphones and not mobiles? Technologically, it is due to the operating system and hardware capabilities, which the recent computers with the advanced operating systems wouldn’t be ashamed of. For the user, ergonomics and modern design, which gave origin to the new trend.
Mobile users, and ergo the employees and customers as well, spend a lot of time with smartphones, willingly and on their own initiative, using them in many ways. A new communication channel has emerged and it is used with enthusiasm, therefore it’s time to avail of it. Also in business, which many companies has already appreciated.
This potential has also been noticed by SAP. The acquisition of Sybase gave SAP the opportunity to develop in the area of mobile solutions for companies, and gave SAP customers the chance to use the existing systems more efficiently.
The approach to mobile solutions in business is very different from other applications. Key aspects are the security of information and management of the distributed data and devices themselves. A separate, additional tier in a system architecture, which is Sybase Unwired Platform server, prevents mobile devices from connecting directly to the source system (e.g. SAP ERP), which significantly reduces the system workload and additionally secures access to it.
In addition, SUP allows you to work in an offline mode, where the data is replicated to mobile devices, so you can work even without Internet access. In this case, the user works on the latest data downloaded from the server. When they regain network coverage, the results of their work are transferred to the server, and SUP provides synchronization.
Changes in the world of mobile devices are progressing so quickly that companies often do not decide to buy just one device type, but to support many available platforms, i.e. the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. And so enthusiasts of Apple, Android and Blackberry are equally happy. Providing the system functionality on several different platforms is much more complicated. Therefore, the separation of a business logic tier with SUP is a reasonable move in this case. All the more so because the once implemented platform can be used in subsequent applications at a much lower cost.
Wojciech Paczkowski, Team leader, CRM-SD Portal Solutions Team, All for One Poland
Afaria
Equipping the employees with mobile devices and applications alone does not guarantee success, though. Success depends on the challenges and threats faced by field workers. With a widespread distribution of mobile devices and applications, and “arming” employees with them, there is the risk of dozens of confidential and proprietary data being taken out from the secure enclosure of the headquarters. The loss of a mobile phone, by e.g. a sales manager, cannot pose risk to the company of leaking its customer list or commercial data.
A key factor in the successful implementation of mobile devices is to take measures to control and protect mobile assets throughout their lifecycle. Those measures, however, must be a strategic and integral part of the IT’s initiatives.
The Afaria server for the management of mobile devices and applications – another Sybase product – provides full functionality allowing you to distribute the latest version of the software, content and data to mobile devices, irrespective of the available connection throughput. This improves the reliability and usability of mobile applications.
Afaria can also scan and retrieve detailed information about hardware and software operating in the field, providing the IT with full visibility of managed infrastructure at any time. The server, combining the management functions with extensive security mechanisms, provides the best protection against data loss and unauthorized data access, and helps maintain compliance with applicable regulations in this regard.
The data is secure, the IT department controls the situation, and employees have access to the data, content and applications they need for the company to succeed. And should a phone or tablet be lost or stolen – just notify the administrator who will immediately lock access to mobile applications, or even remove them from the device.
Mobile SAP
Combining the capabilities provided by Sybase solutions with SAP potential has already resulted in creating first applications that make the data from the SAP systems (ERP, CRM, BI) available on a mobile platform.
The Sybase Mobile Sales & Workflow application provides secure access to and update of the SAP CRM Sales data from iPhone, including accounts, project contacts, operational activities, and analyses. The application forwards business alerts and workflow messages. It allows you to initiate and approve predefined workflows from outside of the office, e.g. resources reservation, or a business trip reservation.
SAP Manager Insight provides managers (e.g. team leaders, HR managers) with direct access to key performance indicators (KPIs) of their employees. Also, it is possible to integrate applications with the Afaria server.
SAP Employee Lookup allows you to connect to and cooperate with an internal corporate network from anywhere, at any time. This application enables all employees to run through the co-worker catalogue and organization data to boost their performance and efficiency.
The applications described above are available for users of smartphones with the iOS operating system by Apple. There are endless examples of the use of mobile devices and applications in business: reports on inspections of the equipment and devices in the field, ordering components by servicemen, access to the documentation for engineers on construction sites, or current reports on sales promotions are only some of them.
Mobile applications – the use
• Field workers
• Sales representatives / salespersons
• Managers
• Servicemen
• Production plants
• Warehouse workers
• Drivers
• Construction workers
• Health service
• Mining