Please join us at the 2011 All About Mobile conference, taking place November 15, in San Francisco.
From the Desktop to Client-Server to the Cloud...All About Mobile is the premier ISV conference for the next transformation of the Software Industry -- going mobile!
- Keep up with the latest All About Mobile news with the Twitter hashtag: #allmob
- Look Who Attended our 2010 conference -- you'll find more than 100 software executives leading the mobile revolution.
- Check out the Presentations: Videos, Slides, Interviews, and more are available!
Mobility News 
Webinar – Critical Success Factors for an Enterprise Mobile Strategy
Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:56
Webinar Description
Organizations must fully develop an enterprise mobile strategy that considers both employee and customer facing aspects of today’s continually expanding use of mobile technologies. It is important to consider the customer experience as they launch new products, services, and applications. Grant Thornton LLP brings the perspective of working with both ISVs and the consumers of their products in a business advisory capacity. This recorded webcast focuses on several key aspects of an enterprise strategy:
- Key criteria for an Enterprise Mobile Strategy
- Application architecture- Is it ready for mobile
- Planning for BYOD within the enterprise
- Deployment interface
- Importance of security
Click here to download the slides.
Presenters
Tony Hernandez, Principal, Business Advisory Services, Grant Thornton LLP
Mike Barba, Manager, Business Advisory Services, Grant Thornton LLP
CODiE Awards Judges: A Conversation with the Coordinator
Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:59
Nominations have closed for the 2013 CODiE Awards, and I am definitely excited about the variety and caliber of products in this year’s program. I know our judges are looking forward to reviewing the products as well. Our first round review is the core of the CODiE Awards. It is also the portion of the program that gives me the most interaction with the judges and nominees. I am constantly in contact with both groups, ensuring that everyone has a great experience.
What is the first round review?
For the first round review, two judges review each product in each category. For example, products nominated in two categories will be assigned four judges. During this first round, judges participate in product demonstration s given by the nominees. Two options are available for the products demonstrations:
– Live product demonstration: Nominations walk through their product webinar-style with the judges participating as they do the walk-through
– Recorded product demonstration: Nominees may already have a video product demo that can be sent to the judges to watch.
We recommend that the nominees keep the demos to under an hour. If it is a live demo, remember to leave time for Q&A with the judges.
The first round review also includes product access. It’s beneficial for the judges to get a feel for the product on their own, as a supplement to the guided demo. Product access can happen in several forms, including temporary online login information or by sending the physical product to the judge.
I also suggest sending as much additional information as you would like to the judges. This can be additional links to PDF’s, videos, news releases, etc.
Who are the judges?
We take great care in selecting the industry experts who volunteer as judges. Each division reviews every judge application to determine if he/she is qualified. We want to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.
For our software and content categories, the judges consist of industry executives and analysts, members of the media, bloggers, investors, and even some customers.
For our education categories, we use educators and administrators as our judges. They are the users of these products and can best determine what products may work the best in their classrooms.
Judging is a great experience because it gives the customers a chance to review the products and provide feedback that the companies can use to make improvements.
How can you help?
We are still looking for judges in several of our categories in Content, Software, and Education. If you are interested in judging or can recommend a colleague please complete our brief judge application.
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Wendy Tanner is CODiE Awards Coordinator. Follow the CODiE Awards on Twitter @CODiEAwards
Mobile Privacy: Time for Collaboration, Not Legislation
Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:49
Representative Ed Markey’s proposed mobile legislation, scheduled to be introduced today, is the wrong way to go. It would impose rigid privacy rules on the mobile industry that can only lead to stagnation and a loss of innovative dynamism.
And what a loss that would be for such a dynamic, growing industry. According to a recent study, there were over 44,000 app-related positions open in the U.S. in the last quarter of 2011, and overall, there were 45 percent more open app positions than in the previous year. Based on this number, the study found the app economy firms represented 311,000 jobs. Using a standard multiplier, this number grew to nearly a half a million jobs created by the app economy in both direct and indirect jobs since 2007.
Rather than overregulating an industry that holds such potential for economic growth, Congress should be following the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s lead in supporting the industry. The Committee is holding a hearing today focused on apps and where the jobs are.
So if legislation isn’t the answer, what should be done? Over the summer, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched an effort to nudge stakeholders into adopting codes of conduct for mobile transparency. SIIA was supportive of this effort and remains so. But after several meetings it appears that things may be starting to drift. Some scheduled meetings have been postponed. Fortunately, discussions between various industry stakeholders, as well as discussion between industry and consumer watchdogs, are ongoing.
The industry needs to get the substantive mobile transparency discussion moving again, if not through NTIA action then separately.
It’s also important to remember that consumers are not passive victims. If they think they are being abused, they have a healthy capacity for self-defense. As the New York Times wrote last week “many consumers seem to be already taking steps to guard their personal information from data-grabbing apps. A study by the Pew Research Center, released Wednesday, found that among Americans adults who use smartphone apps, half had decided not to install applications on their mobile phones because they demanded too much personal information. Nearly a third uninstalled an application after learning that it was collecting personal information “they didn’t wish to share.” And one in five turned off location tracking “because they were concerned that other individuals or companies could access that information.”
This is good. In the absence of government mandates, and industry codes of conduct, consumers are doing some sensible things to protect themselves. But the lack of consumer trust is troubling and can only inhibit growth in the market. If consumers just say no, the whole industry suffers.
The FTC is trying to help with some guidance. Last week it published its recommendations for mobile application developers, suggesting that companies seek “express agreement” for consumer data they collect and share. Nothing is binding on companies, however, and there is no indication that these recommendations are forming the core of industry codes of conduct or best practice.
Recommendations are good. Consumer self-help is good. But the world is looking to us to show that self-regulation can work as a viable alternative to government mandates. To allow the multi-stakeholder efforts on mobile transparency to falter now would confirm their belief that only the government can set the rules of the road in this area. It is time for the industry to step up and make progress on setting its own rules of the road.
Mark MacCarthy, Vice President, Public Policy at SIIA, directs SIIA’s public policy initiatives in the areas of intellectual property enforcement, information privacy, cybersecurity, cloud computing and the promotion of educational technology. Follow the SIIA Public Policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPolicy
