Data Visualization - Real-time Visibility and Mobile Data

You’ve heard it said a thousand times “A picture is worth a 1000 words”. 

Cliché?  Probably more often than not, but this weekend this saying really hit home.  Some of my buddies we’re hunting in the mountains of Idaho when they got lost.  

Yes they had a mobile GPS device that gave them their GPS coordinates but they had no map to determine the direction they should go. To make things worse the smoke from nearby fires was so thick they couldn’t see notable landmarks to get a bearing. They were so remote the only other communication method they had was a satellite phone.

Yes they had data but they had no way to interpret or visualize the data to make a decision in the field.

This is a critical point in the utilization of mobile apps. Providing data is not enough. The key is presenting real time data in a visualization layer that provides REAL meaning to the user.

If my hunter friends had a mobile device that incorporated GPS coordinates with topographical maps and a compass they would have easily been able to reestablish their position and decide on the best path to safety. Instead they were stranded with limited data and had to call for outside help using a satellite phone to have someone interpret the data and provide the information needed to get back to base camp safely. Yes they had data, but the data was irrelevant without some way to visualize or interpret the meaning of the data. It was comparable to having a “You Are Here” map with no other information than a dot.

With limited interpretable data my hunter friends could not act independently. They had to call in for guidance from those at home base that had better tools to ascertain the best route forward. The support crew back home were in a key position to evaluate the hunters known GPS location against on-line topographical maps, fire information gleaned from the Idaho Fish & Game websites, deciding which fellow hunter could most quickly get to their area if needed and provide instructions to the lost hunters.

Mobile Data Visualization

Many companies are implementing mobile solutions in the same way.   They provide a smattering of information without providing the ancillary data. Mobile reps are thus forced to rely on the home office to help make decision.  Armed with interpretable data mobile reps and managers can act immediately. Further, they can see data connections and patterns that matter. 

In fully integrated mobile solutions mobile data from field personnel can update corporate systems immediately. With a continual flow of interpretable data senior managers are in a position to see the bigger picture and can identify resource gaps, reallocate personnel, analyzing trends, identify shrinking inventories and much more.  The speed to manage and make decisions is exponentially increased as managers not only have data but they have the ancillary data that is instantaneously understandable enabling them to make the right decision for their customers, staff and company

Some industries are incorporating data visualization in unique ways. Here are a couple of examples

Natural Gas Industry – Tank Inspections: 
The team at Zenware has been developing some interesting mobile data visualizations components for the Natural Gas Industry.  Color based prioritization enables field reps to at a glance ascertain the priority level of preventive maintenance calls that need to be included in their weekly visits; Red current day, Yellow within 3 days, Brown within 7 days and White within 30 days.  These priority levels are set systematically based on the current date. This allows field crews to manage work autonomously. Managers are empowered because not only do they have management tools that enable them to adjust priority schedules they also have a graphical display of region that includes real-time location of personnel, natural gas tanks in the area, last sites visited and related color coded priority levels. I think of it as “follow the dots” taken to the next level.

Automotive Industry – PDR (Paintless Dent Repair)

Enterprise mobile solutions combined with data visualization tools are majorly impacting companies that provide new car prep and other auto detailing services to automotive dealerships.  Complete mobile ERP solutions are not only helping manage mobile service employees and service tickets, but also providing CEOs and CFOs a real time view into the current health of the company.

Data visualization tools are presenting mobile generated data in a visually rich manner to show profitability of regions, stores, managers even a look into the efficiency and profitability of a specific employee. Company leaders can instantaneously evaluate gross margins on every service offered, identify product lines that are diminishing or increasing in sales, valuate efficiencies of team members based on time spent on each project and more. Visually rich data presentation is providing the mechanism to drill down to the minute details helping companies fine-tune every aspect of their business.

Mobile data visualization is critical for all industry sectors. The ability for company leaders to quickly visualize, interpret and act on data patterns can significantly impact business. Gone are the days of culling through Excel sheets. Businesses that are implementing data visualization tools into their mobile applications are seeing significant improvements in customer management, inventory management, customer satisfaction, increased productivity and more.

Remember data is meaningless without context. Question is can you see clearly what your data is telling you?

Some Interesting presentations on Data Visualization

David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqjQ55tz-U

Hans Rosling: No More boring Data

http://youtu.be/hVimVzgtD6w

Jody Sedrick

Enterprise Mobility Strategist, Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile 
Zenware

Shopping Lists Just Got Smarter with GPS Notifications

Download Now

For the past couple of weeks my team has been working on a brand new iPhone application for a client. The premise behind the application is to remind you that you have a shopping list not based on time, but rather based on your location.

The app is ideal for the busy mom, student or professional who is out and about.

The application works like this:

1. Create a shopping list.
   Your list can be for groceries, hardware supplies, electronics what ever.
2. Assign items to a store
   As you add an item to the list you can assign it to a store. The app provides built-in integration Google Maps enabling you to search for stores by name based on your current location.
3. Conduct business as usual
   Drive around town as you would normally through the day. The app doesn't even have to be initiated as it works in the background. When you are in the vicinity of a store that has assigned shopping items a visual and audio alert will inform you that you are in the vicinity of the store and ask you to open or ignore your list.

It's really that simple. The application is fully location aware based on the GeoFence parameters that you configure in the settings. Now when you are within 1 mile, 1/2 mile or even in the parking lot you can be notified that you have a shopping list.

We are now exploring other ways that we can incorporate this into this other applications. Imagine what could be done with:

1. Location based marketing based on your shopping list
2. Field Service notifications - accept or reject a new job based on where I am
3. Notify customers of the pending arrival of a technician based on their location
4. Initiate time tracking based on a technician's arrival or departure on a site.
5. Show other customers in my current area

With location based services integrated into your shopping list you can now say like one of the first users, "You just made my smartphone a little smarter."

Jody Sedrick

Enterprise Mobility Strategist, Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile 
Zenware

The Key to BYOD? It’s the Data, Of Course

This article was originally posted on the Chief Mobility Officer Blog presented by Visage
http://visagemobile.com/mobilityblog/2012/09/13/the-key-to-byod-its-the-data-of-course/ 

The Key to BYOD? It’s the Data, Of Course

By Jody Sedrick | September 13, 2012

Millions of smartphones have invaded the workplace in recent years — and millions more are on the way. But it’s not the devices themselves that deserve so much of the chatter surrounding “BYOD.” Yes, legions of workers have made their smartphones and tablets integral parts of both their professional and personal lives. But for CIOs and CEOs, it isn’t the device they’re bringing that matters at all — it’s the invaluable data streams that course through them when they’re on the job.
Everyone can discuss and debate which device, what platform, which apps — but at a higher level, the end-game is all about the data. Forward-thinking technology managers are looking to get access to actionable mobility data to drive business, not just distribute phones. After all, the devices are simply the empty conduits of that data. And the data holds the keys to streamlining communication, tracking user behavior, managing costs and a host of other key business functions.

Smart Mobile Management

With the proliferation of smartphones and ease of access to data, companies are managing BYOD policies whether they want to admit it or not. Some are implementing new processes to get on top of all that data and put it to work. Others aren’t yet up to speed — and are increasingly prone to leaving their organizations vulnerable to security breaches, out-of-control spending and behavior, and unclear (or nonexistent) employee communication policies.
Smart mobility management means having the tools and technology to securely manage the constant data exchanges between your mobile workforce, back-end systems and inventory, assets, customer services, and more. The process needs to consider personal privacy, ease of adoption, and effective management of company data. Where can mobility data make a difference to the bottom line? Naturally, it varies from industry to industry. In just one sector —  field service — here’s what mobility data is helping enable:

1. Improved visibility to work assigned to field service crews, which fosters reduced fuel costs, travel times, and first-time fix rates.
2. Improved job assignments based on immediate availability, current location, or skill set.
3. Increased productivity due to more efficient planning of resources.
4. Improved inventory control with real-time visibility into parts on hand.
5. Increased collection rates with mobile invoicing at the time of service.
6. Improved customer interactions, with access to historical data that enables sales professional to follow up on services offered.

New companion strategies to BYOD, including Mobile Application Management (MAM) and Mobile Device Management (MDM), are evolving to help companies manage their data.These solutions provide ways to distribute applications and data to approved employee devices, corporate- or personally owned, while providing tools to support them in the field. Companies can set data encryption criteria, establish role-based access to data, and set parameters for deleting data or decommissioning a device from the system.
Ultimately, BYOD and companion mobility strategies are all about empowering your business and employees by securely delivering the right data, at the right time, to the right employee and device.
More: How to Safeguard Your Mobile Devices Against Security Breaches and Outages.

Image used under Creative Commons by Flickr user TIC Colombia.

Jody Sedrick

Enterprise Mobility Strategist, Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile 
Zenware

Windows 8 – the Resurrection of Microsoft as a Mobile Giant?

Image Credit: Joe Klamar/Getty Images

For years I have watched Microsoft complacently sit back and let their foothold on the mobile market slip away. Mobile innovation from Microsoft has been conspicuously absent for the past 5 years. If it were not for the rugged space I suspect Windows Mobile would have already gone the way of Palm – a slow agonizing death. And even the rugged mobile space is asking the question “When will you support Android?”

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s last chance to resurrect Microsoft as a long-term viable mobile player enabling Microsoft to recapture marketshare.

Potential Windows Phone 8 Impacts on Business

1. Built-in Development Community, Tools and Resources
Microsoft has a built-in community to develop and deploy applications. Microsoft has the resources and community to promote and encourage development of applications. The tight integration of Windows 8 and Windows 8 Phone will be an attractive choice for CIOs and IT Managers who are looking to fully integrate mobile devices and internal systems.

2. Unique UI 
Windows 8 Phone provides a very unique and functional user interface.  Unlike Android where each manufacturer’s implementation is so varied you wonder if you have the same OS installed.

Microsoft wisely signed licensing agreements with Apple for some of the mobile technologies in their development of WP8. This offers some protection to the device manufacturers. I’m sure manufacturers will consider this as they watch the Samsung vs. Apple court battles continue.

3. Opportunity to Earn a Piece of the Rugged Market
I know that many rugged mobile device users are clamoring for a better device experience. They are tired of wrestling with a needle-sized stylus to enter data and an OS that hasn’t been significantly updated for 5 years. Many are even reconsidering the rugged versus consumer grade ROI argument in light of providing a more fluid way of collecting and recording information in the field. I have also noticed a culture characteristic that has underlined some purchasing decisions. This may seem petty but a reality, many rugged mobile device users I’ve talked to want the iOS experience but they see the iPhone as a “preppy, costly, elite user” mobile device. They see the Android as a blue collar, affordable mobile device option that could play very nicely for Windows Phone 8 adoption.

4. Built-in Printing
This could be the Trojan Horse for Windows 8 Phone business and field service adoption. Printing in the field from an iPhone or Android is a three-ring circus. The hoops you have to jump through to print in the field is largely dependent upon third party intermediaries or full connection to a wireless network.  If Windows 8 Phone provides direct printing this will serve as a dark horse feature that will help the adoption especially in the service sector.

5. Tablet Form Factor
Can you say Coup de Tat? The Surface, scheduled for release Oct. 26th, could be the device that accelerates Microsoft’s recapture of lost ground in the mobile space. Many people want the larger form factor provided by a tablet device. I’ve especially noted this in the field service industries where they want a mobile device that accommodates fat, grubby, man-sized fingers and a full set of mobile functionality.  Add the dual functionality of switching between Windows 8 and traditional Windows mode and Microsoft has provided nice transitional step for many potential users. This coupled with the promise of easier mobile printing could kick the door wide open for Windows 8.

The field is ripe for Microsoft to recapture its place as major mobility contender. Question is will Windows 8 have enough punch to excite mobile users and resurrect the sleeping giant?

Jody Sedrick

Enterprise Mobility Strategist, Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile 
Zenware

I have iPads, Now what?

This week I had a great lunch meeting with a new client. One of the first things my client shared with me was the fact that "We've purchased 20 plus iPads for a pilot project and now everyone is wondering what to do with them." The client then asked me "Do you have some recommendations?"

This is a common theme I run across among potential and new clients. In their excitement and promise of enterprise mobility they rush to invest in new equipment without developing a plan for enterprise mobility.

The timeliness of this is evidenced in Kevin Benedict's blog post today highlighting some of the results of his  2012 Mid-Year Enterprise Mobility Survey where he asked vendors key questions about the challenges encountered implementing mobility. The number one challenge.... Drum roll please.....

"Q: What are your biggest challenges to implementing enterprise mobility today?" 

"A: The number 1 answer was, "Developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy."  There was a tie for the next 2 between, "Determining anticipated ROIs" and, "Educating stakeholders on the potential impact of enterprise mobility on the business."   

(source Kevin Benedict's Enterprise Mobility Strategy Blog)

The importance of developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy is critical. Many companies that I've delivered mobile solutions for are on the third or fourth mobile implementation specifically because they hadn't developed or thought through these three areas.

In the case of my client this week they clearly hadn't developed an enterprise-wide mobile strategy. In fact it was just the opposite, they threw iPads at the stake holders and said "here catch the vision of mobility". That's going to be a little difficult with 14 plus divisions, each with different ideas, interest, understanding, comfortability and vision of mobility. Further compounding the problem, each division has it's own ability to accept or reject the proposed solutions. (You might have guessed it's a state entity).

How do you successfully implement an enterprise solution in such an environment? You have to go back to the foundational requirements.

1. Develop an enterprise-wide mobile strategy. 
2. Educating Stake Holders 
3. Determine anticipated ROIs 

I'm working with my client through this process now.

Notice that while Kevin's survey results showed "Determining Anticipated ROIs" and "Educating Stakeholders" tied in importance, each customer is going to be slightly different. But generally I see the exact trends that are demonstrated in Kevin's Survey.

With my current customer I placed educating stake holders a higher priority based on the sophistication, interest and willingness to adopt mobility of the division managers. Either way you will have to address both of these issues. I tend to see educating stake holders and determining anticipated ROIs as dependent companions that help illustrate and articulate the transformative power of mobility.

Bottom line don't do anything with mobility until you lay a solid foundation for success.

Jody Sedrick

Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile 
Zenware

Mobile Field Service Significantly Impacting Business

This morning I took a look at a great report from Aberdeen (Aberdeen Group Field Service 2011: Mobility and the Extension of the Service Enterprise)

Here are a few interesting stats gleaned fromt he report with some of my thoughts:

• Average workforce utilization is only 57%
  This means your field service techs are idle or non-productive an average of 43% of the time.  Statistically most companies report the majority of idle time is spent driving back and forth between the office or waiting for their next service appointment. The conclusion is field service solutions provide an opportunity to decrease fuel cost as well as increase work force utilization.
• Companies that implemented mobile field service management solutions increased workforce utilization  to 76%
  That's a 19% jump in utilization. This is accomplished through better planning, better scheduling and ensuring the service tech has the information, tools and parts needed for every job. What would a 19% increase in utilization do to your bottom line?
• Companies that implemented mobile field service solutions gained a higher first time fixed rate - 82% versus 65%.
  This naturally leads to higher customer satisfaction rates. On the service side mobile field service solutions are enabling managers to assign the right technician, pre-load service vans with right parts, schedule service calls, etc.. An interesting note, in Aberdeen's report companies reported that 47% of the return visits are due to not having the right part on-hand.

I am seeing similar trends in my own business. One of my customers recently reported an 18% increase in their conversion rate from Estimate to Work Orders by using the "Call Back" feature in ZenTouch.

Field service management tools like ZenTouch provide access to information that enable service teams to improve work order assignment, lower operational costs, provide a better customer experience via reduction of repeat visits, provide real-time data for better communication between customers and the  service desk and more. This doesn't even account for the impact direct integration with backend systems like QuickBooks or Sage are having on the accounting side of the business.

Jody Sedrick

Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile 

Google Maps Coordinate - A silver bullet for field service?

As you may have heard Google has officially entered the mobile workforce space with the launch of Google Maps Coordinate. If you haven't heard Google Maps Coordinate is a mobile workforce tracking system that efficiently allows dispatchers to deploy jobs to their service techs and even track them while in the field.


Google Maps Coordinate offers tight integration with Google Maps as you would expect makes assigning jobs to a technician based on his location very simple and appealing to service managers. Assigning and sending jobs to field service techs is an easy task for dispatchers. Service jobs are time stamped and techs even have the option to accept or reject jobs based on their current on-site status. With an introductory price of only $15 per user Google Maps Coordinate seems like a nice solution for service companies.

Sounds pretty good, Right? What's the downside?

1. Google Maps Coordinate only works on Android. If your team currently uses iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or any other web enabled SmartPhone you are out of luck.
2. Google Maps Coordinate only offers real-time work force dispatching and tracking. Yes, it provides great insight as to where you service team members are now but you are not provided any true scheduling capabilities.  From the service techs perspective he only sees active jobs that are assigned to him enabling him to only focus on the jobs at hand.
3. Integration into QuickBooks, Sage or other accounting systems is non-existent at this point. Given Google's influence I'm sure this will come in future versions. But for now there is no way to streamline and expedite the invoicing processes.
4. Reporting - While Google Maps Coordinates provides information about a specific job there are now report functionalities that show you trends within your business; what service tasks are most common, which service tasks are most profitable, etc.

Clearly Google Maps Coordinate is  Google's first step into providing a cloud based mobile workforce management solution. I expect it to evolve quickly. But based on the service companies I've talked to it does not meet the needs of a field service organization that is dispatching, managing multiple schedules, managing preventative maintenance schedules, managing inventory, conducting data analytics on service call times, evaluating service margins and profitability and integrating with their back end systems.

If you are looking for a real-time tracking and dispatching solution Google Maps Coordinate could be right tool for you. It certainly gives small to medium-sized service business a competitive tool to help them more dynamically manage their service crews and respond quicker to service calls placed by customers.

Jody Sedrick

Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile