>For example; I think, sending maps/navigation information as email
>attachments by Toshiba & Matsushita is a brilliant idea. They can
>then/now, easily scale the functions into more complex calculator
>applications for their registered users by which users can calculate >the
>shortest destination route - minimum time - lowest cost & the best >train
>at any time of the day. This can then be followed by the >destination area
>map. The question is, are they pursuing this ...
Sure, these are the kind of applications with wide appeal that the Japanese
are great at, but I wouldn't really call these enterprise apps. Mobile
enterprise, and I'm thinking Mobile Office, ERP, CRM, Supplychain, Workforce
Management etc.
>Financials, Automobile, Navigation services, Pharmaceuticals can be a
>great place to begin with ... Aligning with IBM,s and SAP's might not
>help them much. Rather if they focus on aligning / co-hosting ASP >models
>of individual wireless applications developed by small local and
>regional developers -- that could make the 'dent in the wall'.
There's plenty of SAP, Oracle and IBM in these sectors Japan too, and among
larger corporates, where the money is, they would want to extend these
applications rather than new apps developed by smaller developers. And did
somebody say Microsoft..?
However, I'm sure there is potential for smaller developers to tailor
solutions to small to medium size companies, who would never buy a SAP ERP,
but still have a mobile workforce who need access to company data. But I
don't see DoCoMo wasting its salesforce on this segment, so the developers
might have a hard time selling their solutions.
Are any of the developers on this list doing anything interesting in the
mobile enterprise space? You may well have experiences that completely
contradict my assessment of the situation...
Cheers,
Daniel Helmer
-----Original Message-----
From: keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net
[mailto:keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net] On Behalf Of Daniel Helmer
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2002 5:57 AM
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) How mature is the mobile enterprise segment in Japan
Hi Sunny,
>But, as time / technology demands, its time to move on --- & most
> >companies are trying to scale their preliminary menu driven functions
> >into full-fledged applications. The masters of quality, & process
> >movement in the world, Japan, is no way going to leave this space
>un->touched ...
I think it's fair to say that Japan is in no better position than
anybody
else to take a lead in this market. They may not even be able to
capitalize
on the advanced stage of consumer mobile Internet services.
Reason is, mobile enterprise is a completely different ballgame. There
is no
coincidence that the US is in the forefront of this market - not because
an
advanced wireless market (beacuse it is not), but its the most advanced
e-business and enterprise application market. For the same reason, Japan
is
less likely to lead the charge here. The fixed internet apps market is
not
particularly advanced, and until they get that one sorted out, it does
not
make huge sense to add mobile functionality (at least not from a
productivity or ROI perspective).
Once they do, the carriers need to be able to offer the usual MS Office,
ERP
from SAP and supply-chain stuff. It will be wireless-enablement of
existing
enterprise apps and processes that will drive this market. And they need
systems integrators with vertical industry expertise to sell and
implement
the whole thing at the enterprise. A new interesting 'ecosystem' will
evolve, I'm sure. DoCoMo is already elaborating with the likes of IBM,
SAP,
PeopleSoft and has announced they want an SI partner, so things are
moving
in Japan too...
At the moment (in Japan and elsewhere), it's very much a 'wait and see'
attitude among enterprises when it comes to mobile solutions.
Cheers,
Daniel Helmer
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Received on Tue May 28 02:55:16 2002