Case at Hand:
A mid-sized company with a workforce of 500+ employees, out of which 40-60% are stationed at client locations more than 50% of the working hours. The company wants to provide a mobile platform to keep the employees connected at all times. With BB on its way to decline, the company decides to establish a new mobile computing platform for its employees, along with a BYOD support option, provided the mobile device is compatible with the company network and user has complete documentation supporting his/her proof of purchase etc.
Evaluating the various options, the company IT admins should look into the following factors here:
Getting the Work Done:
Both android iOS supports MS Exchange accounts, android even has the meeting invite response.
Both android and iOS support MS office. There are multiple 3rd party app providers for working with MS office on both leading mobile platform. Google recently even release Google Docs, Sheet and Slides – which have the native capability to edit the MS office 3 most important formats – Word, Excel and PowerPoints, and that too for free! Also google drive provides a large cloud drive for free which can be used for free and seamlessly integrates with Google’s office solutions. So, a ‘+1’ for android in this department.
Network Support for Admins:
This is important – as there is a BYOD option that the company wants to explore. However if the company decides to go with android instead of iOS, the network admins are sure to have a tough time due to android fragmentation. Even if most of the android users are on KitKat (4.2+), the various UI customizations by the OEMs can still create nightmares for the admins trying to troubleshoot device related issues over a call. Here the iOS scores +1 due to vertical integration between software and hardware and minimal fragmentation and more or less the same UI over all iOS devices.
Security:
Both android and iOS provides robust security with device encryption and remote wipe features. iOS maintains an edge here as android devices are easier to unlock bootloader and obtain ‘root’. It’s also easier to ‘sideload’ applications in android than in iOS which can be security admin nightmare.
Also starting from iOS 8 the device encryption will be switched on by default. Starting with Android L google is rumored to keep android device encryption switched on by default which will give it added protection. However despite all this, the perception of security in iOS is more than that of android as it had issues of malware infections in the past through the official Google Play Store. Due to fingerprint scanner present on all newer iOS devices, iOS gains one more +1 here.
Cloud Implementation:
Google’s cloud services are much robust than apple’s which is just foraying into the cloud area with its iCloud initiatives. Android can use enterprise J2EE backend services, whereas iOS is a bit limited in scope in this area. Hence developer support can be better for android than iOS due to the popularity with J2EE framework. +1 for android here
Killer Apps:
For many Google maps and Google Now are two killer apps that overshadow the apple maps / Siri by a large margin. Google seamless integration of data across its multiple services results in a much powerful contextual device. Regarding other apps, google and Apple are almost tied as both platforms carry almost all the required apps by developers. The android emulator is supposed to be one of the best and hence app development is a breeze. +1 for Android here.
Conclusion:
Office work – Google
Network admin – iOS
Security – iOS
Cloud implementation – Google
Apps / Solutions – Google
The company management should allocate weights to the various parameters and evaluate the costs associated with network administration of each platform. As of now both platforms are quite competitive and provide their own sets of value addition and challenges for a company-wide BYOD program.
Showing posts with label Mobile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mobile. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Adding IT Value to Evolving Business Models
Executive Summary:
Change has become the new normal across industries. The healthcare industry is dealing with changing market dynamics and is only now realizing the full impact of the Affordable Care Act. The financial services sector is facing growing regulatory challenges on one side and the opportunities offered by the recovering global economy on the other side. The US retail and B2B banking sector is under the impact of changing customer preferences vis-à-vis mobile banking. US Retailers are also dealing with domestic “low price” challengers and the avenues offered by the investment opportunities in the emerging economies, especially in the e-commerce sector. Manufacturers have the need to optimize the production and supply chains in order to lower costs. This article explores how effective IT decision making could help firms deal with the constant flux in their business models.
Healthcare:
The market dynamics in healthcare is changing, as the firms involved understand the true impact of the Affordable Care Act. There is increased competition because of insurance exchanges and the existing market shares are being disrupted (see exhibit 1).The reimbursement models are being updated, the healthcare networks are evolving and the Medicare market is expanding as more baby boomers retire. Hospitals are revamping their service delivery models to better improve patient outcomes and insurance companies (payers) are trying to negotiate better contracts with hospitals (providers) and formulate the most optimal benefit plans for patients. Under such a scenario, it’s critical for both the payers and providers to understand the evolved preferences of the old and new clients/customers. Do customers prefer a high deductible plan with wide coverage or a low deductible plan with narrow coverage? What type of group insurance are the employers demanding with geographically diversified work force? Are more employees telecommuting to work and if yes, have their insurance needs changed?
The second key aspect is to re-evaluate the firm’s business value. How can I drive better business value in the changed landscape? Are we targeting the correct market segment? Are our plans/benefits still relevant? Are our claim adjudication systems capable of meeting the new SLA’s? After deliberating on the above questions, the firms have to assess the capabilities that need shoring up. Creating a rules based, flexible reimbursement, network, contract and benefit management systems and having a better control of the business processes by automating them will help the insurance companies. Since the changes are continuous, it’s beneficial to set up a Service Oriented Architecture within the enterprise and better integrate the disparate source systems. Firms can deal with changes better when a service oriented enterprise is created.
Exhibit 1:
Financial Sector:
Change has become the new normal across industries. The healthcare industry is dealing with changing market dynamics and is only now realizing the full impact of the Affordable Care Act. The financial services sector is facing growing regulatory challenges on one side and the opportunities offered by the recovering global economy on the other side. The US retail and B2B banking sector is under the impact of changing customer preferences vis-à-vis mobile banking. US Retailers are also dealing with domestic “low price” challengers and the avenues offered by the investment opportunities in the emerging economies, especially in the e-commerce sector. Manufacturers have the need to optimize the production and supply chains in order to lower costs. This article explores how effective IT decision making could help firms deal with the constant flux in their business models.
Healthcare:
The market dynamics in healthcare is changing, as the firms involved understand the true impact of the Affordable Care Act. There is increased competition because of insurance exchanges and the existing market shares are being disrupted (see exhibit 1).The reimbursement models are being updated, the healthcare networks are evolving and the Medicare market is expanding as more baby boomers retire. Hospitals are revamping their service delivery models to better improve patient outcomes and insurance companies (payers) are trying to negotiate better contracts with hospitals (providers) and formulate the most optimal benefit plans for patients. Under such a scenario, it’s critical for both the payers and providers to understand the evolved preferences of the old and new clients/customers. Do customers prefer a high deductible plan with wide coverage or a low deductible plan with narrow coverage? What type of group insurance are the employers demanding with geographically diversified work force? Are more employees telecommuting to work and if yes, have their insurance needs changed?
The second key aspect is to re-evaluate the firm’s business value. How can I drive better business value in the changed landscape? Are we targeting the correct market segment? Are our plans/benefits still relevant? Are our claim adjudication systems capable of meeting the new SLA’s? After deliberating on the above questions, the firms have to assess the capabilities that need shoring up. Creating a rules based, flexible reimbursement, network, contract and benefit management systems and having a better control of the business processes by automating them will help the insurance companies. Since the changes are continuous, it’s beneficial to set up a Service Oriented Architecture within the enterprise and better integrate the disparate source systems. Firms can deal with changes better when a service oriented enterprise is created.
Exhibit 1:
As the global economy recovers from the financial crisis of 2008, it presents both challenges as well as opportunities. Various regulatory requirements put in place such as Basel III, Dodd Frank Act, Simpson-Bowles Plan etc., to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis force significant changes to the business model of the financial firms. A KPMG study on the impact of regulations on the financial services sector predicts a high impact on the net income of the firms (See exhibit 2). With these regulatory changes, firms have to update their IT systems to better capture critical data. Firms are better off undertaking an effort to optimize their IT infrastructure, overhauling their enterprise application security, enhancing their digital user experience interfaces to capture additional data and migrating and modernizing their IT applications. These efforts could be staggered to prevent disruptions to the everyday business but are very critical to effectively comply with regulatory requirements.
The recovery of the global economy also provides new opportunities for growth to the sector. As new business models are discovered and new market segments identified, the firms have to put in place business processes and rules to capture those segments. Digitizing business processes and rules gives better control to the firms and the required flexibility to deal with any future changes.
Exhibit 2:
Banking:
The new retail and B2B banking customer is increasingly conducting his/her transactions via the mobile application. As per a McKinsey & Co survey, today 65 percent of customers interact with their banks through multiple channels. Human interactions are generally reserved for more complex problems: only 25 percent of agent phone calls are inquiries that could be serviced in other channels. Banks that do not provide the seamless banking experience to customers across various channels – branch, mobile and web – risk the possibility of losing out the customer’s business to other banks that provide a seamless experience. Effective mobile strategy that provides banking value to the customer and also provides banks an ability to cross sell products to the consumer similar to a physical branch is needed. Banks need to adopt cloud mobile development platform such as IBM Worklight to quickly create mobile applications and roll it out to the end consumer.
In a B2B setting, banks that can quickly set up new accounts and add/update financial products to the banking business customer can capture additional market share. The sales representatives should be able to present the product information and capture customer information on a tablet. Designing and selling new financial products that offer convenience to the businesses will provide the competitive edge to the banks.
Retail:
US retailers are being challenged over price by “online only” retailers such as Amazon and other competitors that are offering e-commerce channel. The retailers are struggling to reduce high costs due to big investment in stores. A key method to reduce high inventory costs is to have an integrated supply chain visibility and to be able to sync the merchandize ordering with that of supplier inventories. Also retailers can no longer have fulfillment channels in silos. There is a need to integrate the fulfillment channels and provide visibility across – a consumer should be able to add a desired product to their wish list on the website, review that product in store, purchase the product in store or place an order online and receive the product. The product return procedures should be similar irrespective of where the product was purchased. In order to provide the new business value, the retailers need to transform the customer digital experience, better integrate their source systems and modernize their IT applications by moving them into new platforms.
E-Commerce provides an exciting opportunity in the emerging markets. As per RESEARCHANDMARKETS study, the e-Commerce industry in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40%, from US $ 5.9 billion in 2010 to US $ 34.2 billion in 2015E. An India based e-Commerce retailer, Flipkart, recently raised $1 billion in fresh funding. Amazon is increasing its presence in India as well. The emerging middle class of the developing economies provides a huge opportunity for the retailers. The new consumers with disposable income favor purchases of latest technology products, mainly electronic goods, over the internet. There is a significant margin that could be captured here. These new markets provide additional area of growth for those retailers with global ambitions. The retailers should fortify their e-commerce offerings and build a strong supply chain integrated with their e-commerce sites both over the web and mobile. The proliferation of smart phones in emerging economies also provides a huge opportunity in the m-commerce space. The mobile development strategy is critical to capture this opportunity.
Manufacturing:
With increased competition from global competitors, US manufacturers face a growing need to optimize production and reduce costs. It is more critical than ever to identify the core strengths in manufacturing and outsource any parts that are better off supplied by a supplier with a low cost. The manufacturers need to constantly evaluate available supply chain options and choose the most cost effective option. As per a KPMG survey, many manufacturing executives (49 percent globally; 54 percent U.S.) admit that their companies currently do not have visibility of their supply chain beyond Tier 1 suppliers. Moreover, only 9 percent of the 335 global respondents of the 2013 KPMG survey say they have complete visibility of their supply chains. This number is even lower among U.S. executives, with only 7 percent claiming complete supplier visibility (see exhibit 3). Adopting a robust Business Analytics and Decision Management solution is a key lever in the changed landscape. Using a business analytics and reporting software such as IBM Cognos provides the manufacturers with access to real time data on production capacity, inventory management, supplier inventories, budgeting, forecasting etc., so that more informed decisions could be made.
Exhibit 3:
Conclusion:
While updating the business model to better deal with the changing landscape is a challenge, overhauling and effectively implementing an IT ecosystem will help smooth the journey to a great extent. Taking the help of advances in IT will help to reduce the productivity disruptions caused while modifying the current business model. Choosing a trusted IT business partner that can provide holistic IT services will also go a long way in alleviating this pain.
To learn about how Prolifics provides business value to clients around the world, visit www.prolifics.com.
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N.R. Vijay is a Solution Architect in the Business Process Management division of Prolifics. He has over 10 years of consulting experience across domains such as Retail, Healthcare and Banking. Specializing in technology, management concepts and enterprise strategy, he is focused on change management and process improvement initiatives. He co-authored a whitepaper titled "Improving Customer Loyalty through Business Process Optimization and Advanced Business Analytics"
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Wednesday, July 23, 2014
What We Can Expect from the IBM-Apple Alliance
The IBM-Apple deal was one of the most talked about news stories in the world of IT this week. As Premier IBM Business Partners, we at Prolifics are thrilled to hear how these two innovative enterprises will continue to shape the future of mobile.
To learn more about the alliance, we decided to sit down with two experts who can share unique insight on what this means for IBM, today’s businesses and consumers around the word. At Prolifics’ Sea Change Summit this week in Montauk, New York, we met up with Ken Parmelee, Technology Business Development Executive, MobileFirst at IBM. We also sat down with Maya Abinakad, Marketing Communications Manager at Prolifics, to talk about what Prolifics clients
Ken Parmelee, Technology Business Development Executive, MobileFirst at IBM
Why do you think this deal is happening now?
Apple and IBM have an opportunity to shape the mobile enterprise market uniquely. The enterprise market has for years asked for stronger management, security and more scalable solutions. This partnership provides enterprise grade iOS solutions.
In your opinion, just how big is this announcement, when looking at IBM’s 100+ year history?
IBM has had many historic announcements. This would rank high due to the explosion of the cloud and mobile markets and the lack of enterprise solutions in those spaces. Apple's strong consumer focus will lend to IBM design to create even better user experience for these. Both companies are at their best with their focus on the combined capabilities
What are your predictions in terms of what customers can expect as a result of this deal?
Customers can expect:
The future of computing is all about predictive analysis and intelligent automation that drive personalized, contextual interactions and user experiences. Leveraging the capabilities of IBM MobileFirst for iOS developers will be able to create applications that bring this to reality on the mobile devices Apple creates that are renowned for their user experience.
Connect with Ken Parmelee today!
Maya Abinakad, Marketing Communications Manager at Prolifics
What do you think the Apple-IBM alliance says about technology and business today?
I believe the message this is sending to the market is significant. Mobile has very much been a disruptive technology and has transformed both our personal and professional lives. Until now, we have seen a clear separation between these worlds when it comes to mobile devices. The IBM-Apple alliance will bring a greater overlap, as IBM and Apple combine proven enterprise solutions together with a best-in-class user experience. I hope that this will lessen the divide between business leaders and creative leaders.
What does this deal mean for Prolifics’ clients?
It means they can have the best of both worlds. These solutions will include the market-leading strengths of IBM and Apple – bringing a completely new level of value for businesses. Our clients are forward-thinking, and this will enable them to leverage the full potential of mobility, all while benefiting from the excellent design and user experience of Apple mobile devices. We are excited to help them get to the next level in mobility.
In what ways do you think Prolifics will be able to contribute to this new alliance?
As a Premier IBM Business Partner, Prolifics has always been committed to leveraging IBM technologies to create customized IT solutions that create competitive advantage. Now, we will be able to offer powerful mobile enterprise solutions on iOS, empowering our clients in ways that were never before possible. As our clients continue to lead their industries in innovation, they will rely more heavily on Prolifics’ technical excellence and industry focus.
Connect with Maya Abinakad today!
Congratulations to IBM on this exciting initiative! We look forward to contributing to your continued innovation!
To learn more about Prolifics, visit www.prolifics.com.
To learn more about the IBM-Apple alliance, visit: http://www.ibm.com/mobilefirst/us/en/
To learn more about the alliance, we decided to sit down with two experts who can share unique insight on what this means for IBM, today’s businesses and consumers around the word. At Prolifics’ Sea Change Summit this week in Montauk, New York, we met up with Ken Parmelee, Technology Business Development Executive, MobileFirst at IBM. We also sat down with Maya Abinakad, Marketing Communications Manager at Prolifics, to talk about what Prolifics clients
Why do you think this deal is happening now?
Apple and IBM have an opportunity to shape the mobile enterprise market uniquely. The enterprise market has for years asked for stronger management, security and more scalable solutions. This partnership provides enterprise grade iOS solutions.
In your opinion, just how big is this announcement, when looking at IBM’s 100+ year history?
IBM has had many historic announcements. This would rank high due to the explosion of the cloud and mobile markets and the lack of enterprise solutions in those spaces. Apple's strong consumer focus will lend to IBM design to create even better user experience for these. Both companies are at their best with their focus on the combined capabilities
What are your predictions in terms of what customers can expect as a result of this deal?
Customers can expect:
- World-class enterprise purchase and support for their devices
- More secure solutions and services
- Developer tools and services that speed development while creating beautiful high fidelity iOS experiences that scale.
The future of computing is all about predictive analysis and intelligent automation that drive personalized, contextual interactions and user experiences. Leveraging the capabilities of IBM MobileFirst for iOS developers will be able to create applications that bring this to reality on the mobile devices Apple creates that are renowned for their user experience.
Connect with Ken Parmelee today!
What do you think the Apple-IBM alliance says about technology and business today?
I believe the message this is sending to the market is significant. Mobile has very much been a disruptive technology and has transformed both our personal and professional lives. Until now, we have seen a clear separation between these worlds when it comes to mobile devices. The IBM-Apple alliance will bring a greater overlap, as IBM and Apple combine proven enterprise solutions together with a best-in-class user experience. I hope that this will lessen the divide between business leaders and creative leaders.
What does this deal mean for Prolifics’ clients?
It means they can have the best of both worlds. These solutions will include the market-leading strengths of IBM and Apple – bringing a completely new level of value for businesses. Our clients are forward-thinking, and this will enable them to leverage the full potential of mobility, all while benefiting from the excellent design and user experience of Apple mobile devices. We are excited to help them get to the next level in mobility.
In what ways do you think Prolifics will be able to contribute to this new alliance?
As a Premier IBM Business Partner, Prolifics has always been committed to leveraging IBM technologies to create customized IT solutions that create competitive advantage. Now, we will be able to offer powerful mobile enterprise solutions on iOS, empowering our clients in ways that were never before possible. As our clients continue to lead their industries in innovation, they will rely more heavily on Prolifics’ technical excellence and industry focus.
Connect with Maya Abinakad today!
Congratulations to IBM on this exciting initiative! We look forward to contributing to your continued innovation!
To learn more about Prolifics, visit www.prolifics.com.
To learn more about the IBM-Apple alliance, visit: http://www.ibm.com/mobilefirst/us/en/
Friday, March 28, 2014
Prolifics Employee Showcase: Handly Cameron
Handly Cameron is a Software Architect for IBM Collaboration Solutions (ICS) and Mobile at Prolifics and an IBM Champion for ICS. He has over 20 years of experience in enterprise collaboration and application development and is passionate about helping companies leverage social and collaboration technologies to drive business value.
We recently caught up with Handly to learn more about his time at Prolifics and some of the exciting initiatives he has worked on.
Joining Prolifics
Handly joined the Prolifics team over two years ago, stating that he saw great potential to grow in the IBM space and was impressed with Prolifics’ depth and breadth of experience across the IBM portfolio.
Technical Expertise and Becoming an IBM Champion
Handly was named an IBM Champion for ICS in the first group of Champions in June 2011. Since then, he has been selected as an IBM Champion each year and has earned 43 IBM certifications. In fact, he even helped the IBM team write 3 certifications, the most recent of which for the Worklight and WebSphere Portal developer exam. Currently, he holds 11 active certifications and continues to update them as product versions progress and expire.
Handly sees a lot of value in the IBM Champion program and has remained an advocate of the program since it was created. An IBM Champion is defined as an individual who leads and mentors others in making the best use of IBM solutions and services. Champions are typically evangelists who run user groups, are active in the blog community, help others in online spaces such as Skype or StackOverflow, present at conferences, and generally participate in the broader IBM community. Some of the benefits you can receive as an IBM Champion include:
Going Mobile: The Prolifics Connect App
Before joining Prolifics Software Group last year, Handly led the team that developed the Prolifics Connect mobile app that is used to support activities at large IBM conferences such as Connect and Impact. This particular project included helping several members of the Prolifics team learn mobile app development with IBM Worklight and integrating the app with back-end systems such as IBM’s sessions data, Twitter, and our blog feeds. Handly is currently updating the app for iOS7 and the upcoming Impact conference in late April. Click here to see the full story of the app.
Client Success
When asked about a recent client engagement he is most proud of, Handly recounted the planning and implementation of IBM Connections Content Manager (CCM) at Mizuno. Handly explains, “We were able to take a lead from IBM, demonstrate how the solution helped solve specific business needs, and sell the software and implementation services. Mizuno became the first customer to install CCM, with Mike McReady standing by to download the software the minute that IBM released the eGA. Following from this success, the customer was so happy with the results that they joined us in an IBM webinar last September that has been seen by hundreds of people. New leads are still coming in for customers who saw that webinar and want to hear more about how they can get similar results with Prolifics”. To listen to a Webcast replay, click here.
Interested in Hearing More from Handly?
He was recently interviewed by Sandy Carter at IBM Connect 2014. At the start of the video, you can see the blazing yellow Mizuno shoes Handly is wearing.
Connect with Handly Today!
www.twitter.com/handly
www.linkedin.com/in/handlycameron
handly.cameron@prolifics.com
We recently caught up with Handly to learn more about his time at Prolifics and some of the exciting initiatives he has worked on.
Joining Prolifics
Handly joined the Prolifics team over two years ago, stating that he saw great potential to grow in the IBM space and was impressed with Prolifics’ depth and breadth of experience across the IBM portfolio.
Technical Expertise and Becoming an IBM Champion
Handly was named an IBM Champion for ICS in the first group of Champions in June 2011. Since then, he has been selected as an IBM Champion each year and has earned 43 IBM certifications. In fact, he even helped the IBM team write 3 certifications, the most recent of which for the Worklight and WebSphere Portal developer exam. Currently, he holds 11 active certifications and continues to update them as product versions progress and expire.
Handly sees a lot of value in the IBM Champion program and has remained an advocate of the program since it was created. An IBM Champion is defined as an individual who leads and mentors others in making the best use of IBM solutions and services. Champions are typically evangelists who run user groups, are active in the blog community, help others in online spaces such as Skype or StackOverflow, present at conferences, and generally participate in the broader IBM community. Some of the benefits you can receive as an IBM Champion include:
- Access to IBM Executives
- Opportunities to participate in community activities (i.e. Team Social and interviews at IBM Connect)
- Free invitation to the ICS Leadership Conference
Going Mobile: The Prolifics Connect App
Before joining Prolifics Software Group last year, Handly led the team that developed the Prolifics Connect mobile app that is used to support activities at large IBM conferences such as Connect and Impact. This particular project included helping several members of the Prolifics team learn mobile app development with IBM Worklight and integrating the app with back-end systems such as IBM’s sessions data, Twitter, and our blog feeds. Handly is currently updating the app for iOS7 and the upcoming Impact conference in late April. Click here to see the full story of the app.
Client Success
When asked about a recent client engagement he is most proud of, Handly recounted the planning and implementation of IBM Connections Content Manager (CCM) at Mizuno. Handly explains, “We were able to take a lead from IBM, demonstrate how the solution helped solve specific business needs, and sell the software and implementation services. Mizuno became the first customer to install CCM, with Mike McReady standing by to download the software the minute that IBM released the eGA. Following from this success, the customer was so happy with the results that they joined us in an IBM webinar last September that has been seen by hundreds of people. New leads are still coming in for customers who saw that webinar and want to hear more about how they can get similar results with Prolifics”. To listen to a Webcast replay, click here.
Interested in Hearing More from Handly?
He was recently interviewed by Sandy Carter at IBM Connect 2014. At the start of the video, you can see the blazing yellow Mizuno shoes Handly is wearing.
Connect with Handly Today!
www.twitter.com/handly
www.linkedin.com/in/handlycameron
handly.cameron@prolifics.com
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Handly Cameron is an Enterprise Architect in the IBM Software Group at Prolifics and an IBM Champion for IBM Collaboration Solutions. He has over 20 years of experience in enterprise collaboration and application development and loves to help companies leverage social and collaboration technologies to drive business value. Handly is the Leader of the Atlanta WebSphere Users Group, recently finished 5 years as the president of Agile Atlanta, and holds 25+ industry technical certifications. He blogs at http://handly.org and is on Twitter as @Handly.
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Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Prolifics and IBM's Digital Experience Software: Enhance, Extend and Enrich...
by Niral Jhaveri, Vice President, User Experience, Prolifics
Hopefully you got a chance to attend IBM’s recent digital experience launch. I know we’re excited about the evolution in IBM technology which will provide our customers even better ways to personalize content for their site visitors. It also excels in the analyzing and optimizing of site and campaign performance to drive desired results. For example, With IBM’s Digital Experience Software, we can further help our portal and collaboration customers develop and manage dynamic content and rich media while delivering multi-channel applications - providing the ultimate, optimized customer experience. Prolifics is dedicated to providing customers with solutions that promote collaboration, empower conversation and bring together communities. Leveraging IBM’s Digital Experience technology stack, Prolifics can assist companies:
Enhancing
Upgrade to IBM Digital Experience
Migrate systems from older versions to IBM Digital Experience
Extending
Multi-channel extension of applications to mobile and tablets
Extend business applications beyond conventional desktop
Creating a mobile strategy
Enriching
Conduct health checks on aging applications
Provide tuning to improve performance and improve application longevity
Check out our latest video to see Watch for more on how Prolifics empowers businesses with mobile, social & collaboration.
Hopefully you got a chance to attend IBM’s recent digital experience launch. I know we’re excited about the evolution in IBM technology which will provide our customers even better ways to personalize content for their site visitors. It also excels in the analyzing and optimizing of site and campaign performance to drive desired results. For example, With IBM’s Digital Experience Software, we can further help our portal and collaboration customers develop and manage dynamic content and rich media while delivering multi-channel applications - providing the ultimate, optimized customer experience. Prolifics is dedicated to providing customers with solutions that promote collaboration, empower conversation and bring together communities. Leveraging IBM’s Digital Experience technology stack, Prolifics can assist companies:
Enhancing
Upgrade to IBM Digital Experience
Migrate systems from older versions to IBM Digital Experience
Extending
Multi-channel extension of applications to mobile and tablets
Extend business applications beyond conventional desktop
Creating a mobile strategy
Enriching
Conduct health checks on aging applications
Provide tuning to improve performance and improve application longevity
Check out our latest video to see Watch for more on how Prolifics empowers businesses with mobile, social & collaboration.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
IBM Connect Session Summary - BP 407 Portal at the Speed of Light: Techniques for IBM Worklight Integration
I recently presented a session at Connect 2013 with Handly Cameron titled: Portal at the Speed of Light: Techniques for IBM Worklight Integration. This session focused on discussing various techniques for integrating IBM WebSphere Portal with IBM Worklight. IBM unveiled Portal 8.0.0.1 and a new feature pack for Web Experience Factory, which took mobile landscape to a different level. In Portal, we have responsive themes Out of the Box with CTC4 templates and in Web Experience Factory we have a Camera builder that integrates with Worklight. Our techniques discussed during the session were inline with these new developments in the Portal space.
Let us take a step back and look at what we discussed during the session. We started off with a quick introduction to Multichannel Applications and Worklight. We then discussed various questions that current IT decision makers have in mind before zeroing in on an approach. And then, we presented our five techniques namely:
The message that was conveyed through out the session was loud and clear. Portal could be used Standalone to cater to multichannel devices; Same applies to IBM Worklight. Each of them has their own place depending on the business requirements. The other three approaches talk about inter-play between Portal, WCM and other Backend systems with Worklight. We explained scenarios and presented code snippets where such integration would make sense. Most of the questions at the end were focused on this topic.
To summarize - If anyone is heavily invested in WebSphere Portal, then migrating to 8.0.0.1 and employing Responsive Design helps tremendously in targeting multi-channel devices seamlessly. Responsive Themes are available Out of the Box and personalized content could be created to target users more closely. In addition to that, IBM entitlement provides 2 additional licenses for Worklight if the application talks directly to Portal. This would be a nice way to use that entitlement to create mobile applications from Portal targeting multichannel devices. Alternatively, if WebSphere Portal is not in the mix, IBM Worklight could present a promising solution standalone delivering enterprise capabilities across devices.
To access our presentation from IBM Connect, please click here: Portal at the Speed of Light: Techniques for IBM Worklight Integration.
As an IBM Champion for IBM Collaboration Solutions, I was also interviewed on my work with Worklight, Portal and Mobile. To watch the interview, click here or below.
Find out more about Prolifics' week at IBM Connect here: Prolifics @ IBM Connect.
To learn more about Prolifics, please visit www.prolifics.com.
If you would like to talk about this presentation in depth, please connect with me in one of the following ways!
Twitter: @LaksSundar
LinkedIn: Laks Sundararajan
Email: Laks Sundararajan
Let us take a step back and look at what we discussed during the session. We started off with a quick introduction to Multichannel Applications and Worklight. We then discussed various questions that current IT decision makers have in mind before zeroing in on an approach. And then, we presented our five techniques namely:
- Standalone Portal – Responsive Web Design
- Standalone Worklight
- Using Portal to host application pages
- Personalized Content driven by WCM
- Integration with Backend Systems
The message that was conveyed through out the session was loud and clear. Portal could be used Standalone to cater to multichannel devices; Same applies to IBM Worklight. Each of them has their own place depending on the business requirements. The other three approaches talk about inter-play between Portal, WCM and other Backend systems with Worklight. We explained scenarios and presented code snippets where such integration would make sense. Most of the questions at the end were focused on this topic.
To summarize - If anyone is heavily invested in WebSphere Portal, then migrating to 8.0.0.1 and employing Responsive Design helps tremendously in targeting multi-channel devices seamlessly. Responsive Themes are available Out of the Box and personalized content could be created to target users more closely. In addition to that, IBM entitlement provides 2 additional licenses for Worklight if the application talks directly to Portal. This would be a nice way to use that entitlement to create mobile applications from Portal targeting multichannel devices. Alternatively, if WebSphere Portal is not in the mix, IBM Worklight could present a promising solution standalone delivering enterprise capabilities across devices.
To access our presentation from IBM Connect, please click here: Portal at the Speed of Light: Techniques for IBM Worklight Integration.
As an IBM Champion for IBM Collaboration Solutions, I was also interviewed on my work with Worklight, Portal and Mobile. To watch the interview, click here or below.
Find out more about Prolifics' week at IBM Connect here: Prolifics @ IBM Connect.
To learn more about Prolifics, please visit www.prolifics.com.
If you would like to talk about this presentation in depth, please connect with me in one of the following ways!
Twitter: @LaksSundar
LinkedIn: Laks Sundararajan
Email: Laks Sundararajan
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect at Prolifics, an IBM Champion for Collaboration Solutions and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led implementations of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Tivoli. He holds a Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Prolifics Thought Leaders Named IBM Champions in 2013!
The IBM Champion program recognizes innovative thought leaders in the technical community. An IBM Champion is an IT professional, business leader, developer, or educator who influences and mentors others to help them make best use of IBM software, solutions, and services.
Meet Prolifics' 2013 IBM Champions!
Prolifics is proud to announce that 15 of our thought leaders have been recognized as IBM Champions for 2013. Prolifics has long demonstrated technology leadership through deep skills, a proven methodology, and high customer marks. Our technical staff has consistently developed innovative and creative solutions for Prolifics' clients and has dedicated themselves to rigorous and ongoing training - raising the bar and bringing thought leadership to the entire industry. Many of Prolifics' Champions selected by IBM have been published in several trade journals and often speak at conferences. Additionally, their custom-solutions implemented for customers worldwide have been honored with several awards.
Congratulations to all of our IBM Champions!
Handly Cameron - ICS
Laks Sundararajan - ICS
Alex Ivkin - Security
Dan Kern - Tivoli
Greg Hodgkinson - Rational
AJ Aronoff - WebSphere
Steve Fraser - WebSphere
Leland Irwin - WebSphere
Eric Markowitz - WebSphere
Vladimir Serebryany - WebSphere
Ashraf Souleiman - WebSphere
Prithvi Srinivasan - WebSphere
Neha Dhawale - WebSphere
Arup Datta - WebSphere
Rajiv Ramachandran - WebSphere
To learn more about our IBM Champions, visit: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/champion/
For more information about Prolifics, visit: www.prolifics.com
Meet Prolifics' 2013 IBM Champions!
Prolifics is proud to announce that 15 of our thought leaders have been recognized as IBM Champions for 2013. Prolifics has long demonstrated technology leadership through deep skills, a proven methodology, and high customer marks. Our technical staff has consistently developed innovative and creative solutions for Prolifics' clients and has dedicated themselves to rigorous and ongoing training - raising the bar and bringing thought leadership to the entire industry. Many of Prolifics' Champions selected by IBM have been published in several trade journals and often speak at conferences. Additionally, their custom-solutions implemented for customers worldwide have been honored with several awards.
Congratulations to all of our IBM Champions!
Handly Cameron - ICS
Laks Sundararajan - ICS
Alex Ivkin - Security
Dan Kern - Tivoli
Greg Hodgkinson - Rational
AJ Aronoff - WebSphere
Steve Fraser - WebSphere
Leland Irwin - WebSphere
Eric Markowitz - WebSphere
Vladimir Serebryany - WebSphere
Ashraf Souleiman - WebSphere
Prithvi Srinivasan - WebSphere
Neha Dhawale - WebSphere
Arup Datta - WebSphere
Rajiv Ramachandran - WebSphere
To learn more about our IBM Champions, visit: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/champion/
For more information about Prolifics, visit: www.prolifics.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Prolifics Mobile and Portal Demos at IBM Connect
Attending IBM Connect? Prolifics will be showcasing demos of IBM Worklight, IBM WebSphere Portal, IBM Web Content Manager, IBM Connections and more! Get a preview into these demos by visiting our YouTube page for IBM Connect.
Tweet
Interested in scheduling a one-on-one session with a Prolifics expert to walk through these demos? Email solutions@prolifics.com today to schedule a session at IBM Connect!
To learn more about Prolifics at IBM Connect, visit: www.prolifics.com/connect-2013.htm
Tweet
Interested in scheduling a one-on-one session with a Prolifics expert to walk through these demos? Email solutions@prolifics.com today to schedule a session at IBM Connect!
To learn more about Prolifics at IBM Connect, visit: www.prolifics.com/connect-2013.htm
Monday, January 14, 2013
Portal at the Speed of Light: Techniques for Worklight integration at IBM Connect
IBM Connect 2013 is now less than two weeks away! This is my eighth visit to the conference, but the first time as a full session speaker. Along with my colleague and fellow IBM Champion, Laks Sundararajan, I will be presenting on Wednesday morning about techniques for using IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Worklight together to build mobile applications.
Here is our agenda:
You can visit the IBM Connect conference site to connect with us and add the session to your schedule: http://www.socialbizonline.com
Session Details:
Title: BP407: Portal at the Speed of Light: Techniques for IBM Worklight Integration
Date & Time: Jan 30, 10:00am - 11:00am
Location: Dolphin S. Hem III
Abstract: In this session, you'll learn techniques for extending your IBM Websphere Portal to mobile applications across iOS and Android devices. Experts from our User Experience team will demonstrate how to easily build IBM Worklight applications that integrate with personalization and web content features provided by Portal. You'll see how to use tools such as IBM Web Experience Factory and IBM Web Content Manager and how to leverage capabilities such as Portlet Services and mobile themes to develop a mobile application running on IBM Worklight in both online and offline modes. At the end of this session, you will be ready to take advantage of the IBM Worklight entitlement provided by IBM to take your Portal to the mobile world!
Prolifics is a Bronze Sponsor at IBM Connect 2013 and will be showcasing our solutions and offerings at Booth #C18-19. To see what else Prolifics has planned for the conference, please visit: www.prolifics.com/connect-2013.htm.
If you would like to meet me at Connect or set up a one-on-one workshop session with a Prolifics subject matter expert, please reach out in one of the following ways:
Tweet @Handly
Tweet @Prolifics
Email solutions@prolifics.com
Handly Cameron is an IBM Champion and a Technology Manager leading Mobile and Social solutions at Prolifics. He has 20 years of experience in enterprise collaboration and application development and loves to help companies leverage social and collaboration technologies to drive business value. Handly is the leader of the Atlanta WebSphere Users Group, recently finished 5 years as the president of Agile Atlanta, and holds 25+ industry technical certifications. He blogs at http://handly.org and is on Twitter as @Handly.
Here is our agenda:
 |
| IBM Worklight Portal Servers Diagram |
- The need for multi-channel applications
- A quick overview of Worklight
- When to use just use Portal or Worklight by themselves
- How to build hybrid apps using Portal and Worklight together
- Use WCM to let your business authors drive application content
- Leveraging Cast Iron and WebSphere MQ
- Best Practices Speed Round
You can visit the IBM Connect conference site to connect with us and add the session to your schedule: http://www.socialbizonline.com
Session Details:
Title: BP407: Portal at the Speed of Light: Techniques for IBM Worklight Integration
Date & Time: Jan 30, 10:00am - 11:00am
Location: Dolphin S. Hem III
Abstract: In this session, you'll learn techniques for extending your IBM Websphere Portal to mobile applications across iOS and Android devices. Experts from our User Experience team will demonstrate how to easily build IBM Worklight applications that integrate with personalization and web content features provided by Portal. You'll see how to use tools such as IBM Web Experience Factory and IBM Web Content Manager and how to leverage capabilities such as Portlet Services and mobile themes to develop a mobile application running on IBM Worklight in both online and offline modes. At the end of this session, you will be ready to take advantage of the IBM Worklight entitlement provided by IBM to take your Portal to the mobile world!
Prolifics is a Bronze Sponsor at IBM Connect 2013 and will be showcasing our solutions and offerings at Booth #C18-19. To see what else Prolifics has planned for the conference, please visit: www.prolifics.com/connect-2013.htm.
If you would like to meet me at Connect or set up a one-on-one workshop session with a Prolifics subject matter expert, please reach out in one of the following ways:
Tweet @Handly
Tweet @Prolifics
Email solutions@prolifics.com
Monday, January 7, 2013
BPM on the Go with IBM Worklight - Part 3
In the previous entry, we discussed how IBM Worklight addresses each of the 3 capabilities needed to achieve efficiencies for business process, namely:
BPM on the Go with IBM Worklight: Part 1
BPM on the Go with IBM Worklight: Part 2
Claim Process:
An Insurance company initiates a claim process and one of its specialists receives notifications on the phone regarding pending claims. Once the claims are downloaded to the mobile device, a claims specialist could be work on them in an offline (disconnected) mode. All changes are saved locally in an encrypted cache and downloaded claims could be worked on seamlessly. Once connection is re-established, claims processed locally are synced back to the server.
The process flow for the Claims Process is illustrated below:
A Worklight Mobile Application that demonstrates the Claim process is shown below:
This concludes the 3-part blog series on BPM On the Go with IBM Worklight. We started with capabilities that are needed to achieve efficiencies in business processes, looked at an in-depth detail on how IBM Worklight provides these capabilities and demonstrated the same with a real world example.
Have a question? Interested in a more in-depth look? Feel free to reach out to me:
Email: Laks Sundararajan
Tweet: @LaksSundar
Connect on LinkedIn: Laks Sundararajan
Also, I will be attending IBM Connect 2013 in Orlando at the end of January. If you are attending and would like to meet, I will be happy to schedule a meeting. Or stop by Prolifics' booth #C18-19 in the Solution Showcase to meet me and the rest of the Prolifics team.
For more information about Prolifics, please visit www.prolifics.com.
- Send prompt notifications as a process waits for decision
- Connect to processes on the move
- Access the decision data in a secure disconnected mode for review and approval
BPM on the Go with IBM Worklight: Part 1
BPM on the Go with IBM Worklight: Part 2
Claim Process:
An Insurance company initiates a claim process and one of its specialists receives notifications on the phone regarding pending claims. Once the claims are downloaded to the mobile device, a claims specialist could be work on them in an offline (disconnected) mode. All changes are saved locally in an encrypted cache and downloaded claims could be worked on seamlessly. Once connection is re-established, claims processed locally are synced back to the server.
The process flow for the Claims Process is illustrated below:
A Worklight Mobile Application that demonstrates the Claim process is shown below:
Have a question? Interested in a more in-depth look? Feel free to reach out to me:
Email: Laks Sundararajan
Tweet: @LaksSundar
Connect on LinkedIn: Laks Sundararajan
Also, I will be attending IBM Connect 2013 in Orlando at the end of January. If you are attending and would like to meet, I will be happy to schedule a meeting. Or stop by Prolifics' booth #C18-19 in the Solution Showcase to meet me and the rest of the Prolifics team.
For more information about Prolifics, please visit www.prolifics.com.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect at Prolifics, an IBM Champion for Collaboration Solutions and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led implementations of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Tivoli. He holds a Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
BPM on the Go with IBM Worklight - Part 2
In this part, we will look into how IBM Worklight addresses each of the 3 capabilities needed to achieve efficiencies for business process namely:
1. Send prompt notifications as a process waits for decision:
Today’s Businesses require prompt notifications for processes and IBM Worklight accomplishes the same through Unified Push Notifications API. The key here is that Worklight acts as a cross platform push notification service and allows developers on the back to just be concerned with the messaging and polling of your enterprise systems. Currently Worklight’s Unified Push Notification API supports iOS and Android with support for Blackberry and Windows Mobile coming soon.
2. Connect to processes on the move:
Connecting to processes on the move refers to providing multi-channel access to existing applications. IBM Worklight accomplishes the same by extending existing applications to Mobile World. It follows well-known phenomenon ‘Write once run everywhere’ and the ‘80/20 principal’ by providing a Hybrid approach to building Mobile applications. Worklight can help develop device independent HTML5 code that could be wrapped on top of Apache Cordova framework and deployed across Mobile platforms providing connectivity on the go to existing business processes and accelerating go-to market times by increasing productivity.
3. Access the decision data in a secure disconnected mode for review and approval:
Executives are on the move and they would like to have uninterrupted access to information. While it is theoretically impossible to have access to all information on the go, providing access to critical information in a disconnected mode will go a long way in improving process efficiencies. Worklight addresses Offline access by providing access to secure encrypted cache for storing information locally.
The latest version of Worklight went a step further and added embedded mobile database for offline data with robust encryption and data management abilities that include synchronization.
To learn more about IBM Worklight, please visit: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mobile/worklight/getting-started/
To conclude, we now have a fair idea of how IBM Worklight handles each of the capabilities required for achieving efficiencies in business processes. In the next part, we will take a real world example developed using IBM Worklight and walk-through each of the capabilities in detail.
Prolifics will be a sponsor at the upcoming IBM Connect conference, held January 27-31 in Orlando, FL. During this conference, we will be showcasing our end-to-end mobile development solutions and sharing some recent success stories. Want to meet our team? Stop by booth C18-19 in the Solution Showcase or reach out to solutions@prolifics.com. For more information, please visit www.prolifics.com.
- Send prompt notifications as a process waits for decision
- Connect to processes on the move
- Access the decision data in a secure disconnected mode for review and approval
1. Send prompt notifications as a process waits for decision:
Today’s Businesses require prompt notifications for processes and IBM Worklight accomplishes the same through Unified Push Notifications API. The key here is that Worklight acts as a cross platform push notification service and allows developers on the back to just be concerned with the messaging and polling of your enterprise systems. Currently Worklight’s Unified Push Notification API supports iOS and Android with support for Blackberry and Windows Mobile coming soon.
2. Connect to processes on the move:
Connecting to processes on the move refers to providing multi-channel access to existing applications. IBM Worklight accomplishes the same by extending existing applications to Mobile World. It follows well-known phenomenon ‘Write once run everywhere’ and the ‘80/20 principal’ by providing a Hybrid approach to building Mobile applications. Worklight can help develop device independent HTML5 code that could be wrapped on top of Apache Cordova framework and deployed across Mobile platforms providing connectivity on the go to existing business processes and accelerating go-to market times by increasing productivity.
3. Access the decision data in a secure disconnected mode for review and approval:
Executives are on the move and they would like to have uninterrupted access to information. While it is theoretically impossible to have access to all information on the go, providing access to critical information in a disconnected mode will go a long way in improving process efficiencies. Worklight addresses Offline access by providing access to secure encrypted cache for storing information locally.
The latest version of Worklight went a step further and added embedded mobile database for offline data with robust encryption and data management abilities that include synchronization.
To learn more about IBM Worklight, please visit: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mobile/worklight/getting-started/
To conclude, we now have a fair idea of how IBM Worklight handles each of the capabilities required for achieving efficiencies in business processes. In the next part, we will take a real world example developed using IBM Worklight and walk-through each of the capabilities in detail.
Prolifics will be a sponsor at the upcoming IBM Connect conference, held January 27-31 in Orlando, FL. During this conference, we will be showcasing our end-to-end mobile development solutions and sharing some recent success stories. Want to meet our team? Stop by booth C18-19 in the Solution Showcase or reach out to solutions@prolifics.com. For more information, please visit www.prolifics.com.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect at Prolifics, an IBM Champion for Collaboration Solutions and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led implementations of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Tivoli. He holds a Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Monday, December 17, 2012
BPM on the Go with IBM Worklight - Part 1
Many enterprises have been making tremendous investments in the area of business process management. With human tasks forming a critical element of these business processes, providing required information in a timely and efficient manner is key to improving the overall process and making informed decisions.
However, in an increasingly mobile and geographically dispersed business world, people are constantly on the go. Extending your business processes to support mobile use helps to bridge this gap, providing seamless and efficient human interactions.
In this 3 part series, we will look at capabilities that are needed to achieve efficiencies in business processes, a mobile framework that addresses the capabilities and a real world example that illustrates the same.
The following capabilities are the key to achieve efficiencies in business processes:
Mobile has been growing exponentially over the past few years with Smartphones and Tablets overpowering Desktops for the first time ever in 2011. Given the projected growth rate , it is imperative that business processes are optimized for mobile devices and provide much needed capabilities like Notifications and Offline access in a seamless manner.
There are various solutions available for developing smartphone applications ranging from Native Development to Hybrid Apps to HTML 5 Sites. IBM’s answer to address the smartphone conundrum is IBM Worklight. Before we get into any details, let us take a quick look at IBM’s Enterprise Mobile Strategy.
IBM’s Enterprise Mobile Strategy to address today’s challenges is plain and simple:
To conclude, we understood the challenges facing current BPM landscape, capabilities needed to achieve efficiencies in business processes and IBM’s Mobile Strategy. In next part of this series, we will take a deep dive into IBM Worklight and understand how it addresses each of the required capabilities in detail.
Prolifics will be a sponsor at the upcoming IBM Connect conference, held January 27-31 in Orlando, FL. During this conference, we will be showcasing our end-to-end mobile development solutions and sharing some recent success stories. Want to meet our team? Stop by booth C18-19 in the Solution Showcase or reach out to solutions@prolifics.com. For more information, please visit www.prolifics.com.
However, in an increasingly mobile and geographically dispersed business world, people are constantly on the go. Extending your business processes to support mobile use helps to bridge this gap, providing seamless and efficient human interactions.
In this 3 part series, we will look at capabilities that are needed to achieve efficiencies in business processes, a mobile framework that addresses the capabilities and a real world example that illustrates the same.
The following capabilities are the key to achieve efficiencies in business processes:
- Send prompt notifications as a process waits for decision
- Connect to processes on the move
- Access the decision data in a secure disconnected mode for review and approval
Figure 1 - Efficient Business Process
Mobile has been growing exponentially over the past few years with Smartphones and Tablets overpowering Desktops for the first time ever in 2011. Given the projected growth rate , it is imperative that business processes are optimized for mobile devices and provide much needed capabilities like Notifications and Offline access in a seamless manner.
There are various solutions available for developing smartphone applications ranging from Native Development to Hybrid Apps to HTML 5 Sites. IBM’s answer to address the smartphone conundrum is IBM Worklight. Before we get into any details, let us take a quick look at IBM’s Enterprise Mobile Strategy.
IBM’s Enterprise Mobile Strategy to address today’s challenges is plain and simple:
IBM Worklight accomplishes each of the above strategies’ by providing a platform that seamlessly integrates with existing suite of products and opens new avenues to businesses.
To conclude, we understood the challenges facing current BPM landscape, capabilities needed to achieve efficiencies in business processes and IBM’s Mobile Strategy. In next part of this series, we will take a deep dive into IBM Worklight and understand how it addresses each of the required capabilities in detail.
Prolifics will be a sponsor at the upcoming IBM Connect conference, held January 27-31 in Orlando, FL. During this conference, we will be showcasing our end-to-end mobile development solutions and sharing some recent success stories. Want to meet our team? Stop by booth C18-19 in the Solution Showcase or reach out to solutions@prolifics.com. For more information, please visit www.prolifics.com.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect at Prolifics, an IBM Champion for Collaboration Solutions and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led implementations of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Tivoli. He holds a Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Social Business FutureCast hosted by Prolifics & IBM
Earlier this month, Prolifics' Handly Cameron participated in a Live Social Business FutureCast. The panelists discussed what the future will look like for midsized businesses who adapt to the agility of social business culture and practices.
The panelists shared their views on why a midsized business should adopt social business practices now to prepare for the new demands of business in the next year and in the next 5 years.
View the replay of the Social Business FutureCast below!
Be sure to follow the panelists and tweet any questions or comments!
Handly Cameron, Prolifics
Ed Brill, IBM
Laurie McCabe, SMB Group
Geoffrey Colon, Ogilvy & Mather
Luis Suarez, IBM
For more videos from IBM Midsize Business, visit the YouTube channel.
Looking for more information?
Visit IBM's Midsize Business Solutions website
Visit Prolifics' website
The panelists shared their views on why a midsized business should adopt social business practices now to prepare for the new demands of business in the next year and in the next 5 years.
View the replay of the Social Business FutureCast below!
Be sure to follow the panelists and tweet any questions or comments!
Handly Cameron, Prolifics
Ed Brill, IBM
Laurie McCabe, SMB Group
Geoffrey Colon, Ogilvy & Mather
Luis Suarez, IBM
For more videos from IBM Midsize Business, visit the YouTube channel.
Looking for more information?
Visit IBM's Midsize Business Solutions website
Visit Prolifics' website
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
IBM Worklight – Part 3: Best Practices
So far, we have looked into folder structure, logging device information, splash screen, Offline Mode, State Manager and Navigation. In this final part, we will look into callbacks, source control and finally put together all our learnings and come up with an InitPage.js that implements all Best practices discussed so far.
1) Callbacks:
Callbacks form an essential part of JavaScript and it is always a good practice to keep callbacks clean and simple. There is not much material on the Web about DOJO callbacks other than dojo.deferred. Here is a simple callback function in DOJO that can be used as an example:
The following function will initiate a callback i.e. call getCurrentLocation – wait for it to execute and then call drawMap with obtained value rather than proceeding asynchronously.
2) Source Control:
worklightServerRootURL in application-descriptor.xml needs to have a process in place to customize Worklight URL for each environment ${local.IPAddress} is pretty generic and may not work when environment is clustered.
iPhone and Android folders have nativeResources folder which is a great place to have all icons for the app. When checking in the project into Source Control, it is a best practice to check-in common folder (source code) and just nativeResources folder in iPhone, android and other devices if any (windows, blackberry). It is always a good practice to have native code generated every time on developer workstations and through build scripts from common code. If assets under js folder are modified there is an option to check them in as well but if an App is running the same codebase, the folders in blue are the ones that must be checked into Source Control.
application tag has an id field which should match mainFile name in application-descriptor.xml i.e. if the id says ‘hello’ mainFile should be hello.html
Altering the id field means changing the main file name as well. If they are not in sync, the App might have issues running on various platforms as native code is generated based on this assumption.
If dojo is employed, make sure the app.id in build-dojo.properties is the same as id in applicationtag
The above snippet would be the skeletal structure of main JavaScript for a Worklight Starter application. However, the actual implementation would have more controllers, variables and utility methods. This structure makes the Application versatile and easy to adapt to changes.
1) Callbacks:
Callbacks form an essential part of JavaScript and it is always a good practice to keep callbacks clean and simple. There is not much material on the Web about DOJO callbacks other than dojo.deferred. Here is a simple callback function in DOJO that can be used as an example:
The following function will initiate a callback i.e. call getCurrentLocation – wait for it to execute and then call drawMap with obtained value rather than proceeding asynchronously.
worklightServerRootURL in application-descriptor.xml needs to have a process in place to customize Worklight URL for each environment ${local.IPAddress} is pretty generic and may not work when environment is clustered.
iPhone and Android folders have nativeResources folder which is a great place to have all icons for the app. When checking in the project into Source Control, it is a best practice to check-in common folder (source code) and just nativeResources folder in iPhone, android and other devices if any (windows, blackberry). It is always a good practice to have native code generated every time on developer workstations and through build scripts from common code. If assets under js folder are modified there is an option to check them in as well but if an App is running the same codebase, the folders in blue are the ones that must be checked into Source Control.
If dojo is employed, make sure the app.id in build-dojo.properties is the same as id in application
Putting it All Together:
After implementing the best practices we talked about in the 3 part series, an InitPage.js looks like the following:
The above snippet would be the skeletal structure of main JavaScript for a Worklight Starter application. However, the actual implementation would have more controllers, variables and utility methods. This structure makes the Application versatile and easy to adapt to changes.
Conclusion:
I hope you have enjoyed this 3-part blog series on Worklight best practices. If you have any questions or would like more information, please email solutions@prolifics.com. For more information about Prolifics, please visit www.prolifics.com.
If you would like to connect with me, please add me on LinkedIn and follow me on Twitter! I would love to hear your thoughts on this series and your experiences with IBM Worklight.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect with Prolifics and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led the implementation of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management, Tivoli and Mashup’s. He holds Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
IBM Worklight – Part 2: Best Practices
In the initial part of the series, we focused on the folder structure, logging device information and splash screen. In this part, we dive deeper into core Worklight features and focus on Offline Mode, State Manager and Navigation. Let us get right to the subject.
1. Offline Mode/ Processing:
Even though Mobiles are supposed to have 24*7 connectivity; reality is different. Given that every Application should implement Offline Mode. To enable Offline Mode, modify body tag of InitPage.html as follows:
Now, implement doConnectionFailure() method inside InitPage.js
Additionally, have a global busy indicator that could be used across pages to show processing cycles. This will ensure in uniformity across applications.
Applications can then show/hide busy indicator as follows:
2) State Manager:
Mobile Applications need to manage state on client side. This could be achieved through a State Manager that intercepts each View and stores relevant information globally. A code sample that illustrates the same is shown below:
The following snippet is present in InitPage.html to define the view name.
3) Navigation:
Navigation is key part of Mobile Applications. Implementing a versatile framework is essential for a quality application. Content fragments should be isolated so that they can be sourced from external systems if needed. It is also a best practice to keep UI in small pieces as opposed to a single large HTML serving up the entire application.
A sample snippet that implements recommended navigation framework in InitPage.html containing to 2 pages: demo1View.html and demo2View.html is shown below:
Now, demoView.html contains the following snippet to take the user back to InitPage.html. Note that mainView corresponds to view name in InitPage.html. For more details on views, refer to StateManager.
If the snippets are present in same page moveTo should be employed in both places. The above example is for navigating between fragments.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect with Prolifics and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led the implementation of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management, Tivoli and Mashup’s. He holds Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
1. Offline Mode/ Processing:
Even though Mobiles are supposed to have 24*7 connectivity; reality is different. Given that every Application should implement Offline Mode. To enable Offline Mode, modify body tag of InitPage.html as follows:
Now, implement doConnectionFailure() method inside InitPage.js
Additionally, have a global busy indicator that could be used across pages to show processing cycles. This will ensure in uniformity across applications.
Applications can then show/hide busy indicator as follows:
2) State Manager:
Mobile Applications need to manage state on client side. This could be achieved through a State Manager that intercepts each View and stores relevant information globally. A code sample that illustrates the same is shown below:
The following snippet is present in InitPage.html to define the view name.
3) Navigation:
Navigation is key part of Mobile Applications. Implementing a versatile framework is essential for a quality application. Content fragments should be isolated so that they can be sourced from external systems if needed. It is also a best practice to keep UI in small pieces as opposed to a single large HTML serving up the entire application.
A sample snippet that implements recommended navigation framework in InitPage.html containing to 2 pages: demo1View.html and demo2View.html is shown below:
Now, demoView.html contains the following snippet to take the user back to InitPage.html. Note that mainView corresponds to view name in InitPage.html. For more details on views, refer to StateManager.
If the snippets are present in same page moveTo should be employed in both places. The above example is for navigating between fragments.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect with Prolifics and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led the implementation of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management, Tivoli and Mashup’s. He holds Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Friday, September 21, 2012
IBM Worklight Series – Part 1: Best Practices
IBM Worklight provides an open, comprehensive and advanced mobile application platform for smartphones and tablets, helping organizations of all sizes to efficiently develop, connect, run and manage HTML5, hybrid and native applications.
Worklight Supports the following frameworks for developing HTML5 and Mobile Applications
Out of the above frameworks DOJO is widely used by IBM in their Portal and BPM suite of products and signifies IBM’s choice when it comes to RIA Frameworks.
In this 3 part series, we talk about Best Practices for developing Worklight based HTML5 and Mobile Applications in general. Note that some of them specific to DOJO Framework. However, parallels can be drawn and similar practices could be employed for Sencha and JQuery frameworks as well.
In the initial part, we focus on the folder structure, logging device information and splash screen.
1) Folder Structure:
Following is the recommended folder structure for Worklight Application (common folder)
Creating controllers and widgets folder under js folder helps in better organization of JavaScript assets as opposed to a single folder. Having a folder for html assets provides a clean structure and avoids them residing directly at root level.
When a Worklight built HTML5 Website or Mobile Application loads, InitPage.html or rather defined under application-descriptor.xml is invoked. A JavaScript file with same name InitPage.js contains necessary scripting information for the framework. Interactions between various components are shown below for better understanding. We will be discussing more on Web Framework in next couple of installments.
For the purposes of this discussion we call the as InitPage.html and main JavaScript file as InitPage.js. Normally, these are named as per Application created i.e. An Application with name ‘HelloWorldApp’ would have HelloWorldApp.html and HelloWorldApp.js as main HTML and JavaScript files.
2) Logging Device Information:
It is always a good practice to log device specific information for troubleshooting/ audits given the vast number of platforms and devices available today. This could be accomplished by calling the simple function below from a dojo listener in InitPage.js
3) Splash Screen/Text:
Mobile Applications have an initial splash screen that is displayed when an Application is launched. Following that, the initial page (in this case InitPage.html) is loaded. While the page is loaded, it might take a few seconds for framework libraries and CSS to load and user may experience a noticeable blip. To prevent this from happening, it is always a best practice to show some text/image when InitPage.html gets called for first loaded (call it as secondary splash screen/text). This is accomplished as follows:
Add the following snippet to InitPage.html
Add the following snippet to InitPage.js and call the function from dojo listener after page is loaded
In the second part of the series, we will be looking at some core features like Offline Mode, State Manager and Navigation.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect with Prolifics and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led the implementation of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management, Tivoli and Mashup’s. He holds Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Worklight Supports the following frameworks for developing HTML5 and Mobile Applications
- DOJO
- Sencha Touch
- JQuery
Out of the above frameworks DOJO is widely used by IBM in their Portal and BPM suite of products and signifies IBM’s choice when it comes to RIA Frameworks.
In this 3 part series, we talk about Best Practices for developing Worklight based HTML5 and Mobile Applications in general. Note that some of them specific to DOJO Framework. However, parallels can be drawn and similar practices could be employed for Sencha and JQuery frameworks as well.
In the initial part, we focus on the folder structure, logging device information and splash screen.
1) Folder Structure:
Following is the recommended folder structure for Worklight Application (common folder)
Creating controllers and widgets folder under js folder helps in better organization of JavaScript assets as opposed to a single folder. Having a folder for html assets provides a clean structure and avoids them residing directly at root level.
When a Worklight built HTML5 Website or Mobile Application loads, InitPage.html or rather
In the second part of the series, we will be looking at some core features like Offline Mode, State Manager and Navigation.
Laks Sundararajan is a Solution Architect with Prolifics and a key member of highly specialized team working on IBM WebSphere Portal, Content Management and Collaboration technologies. He has led the implementation of many global projects using IBM WebSphere Portal and has extensive background in design and development of enterprise portals. He specializes in providing Enterprise SOA solutions leveraging WebSphere Portal, Content Management, Tivoli and Mashup’s. He holds Masters in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Graduate Degree in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Importance of a Focused Mobile Strategy
For the past few years I have been speaking in several conferences about social and mobile solutions for organization for different industry verticals and I am surprised that I still get asked this question. “Does our organization need a dedicated and focused mobile strategy?” I have 2 words. Yes, Yes and Yes. Oh wait that’s 3!
Here is a sampling of stats:
1 billion of the world’s 4+ billion mobiles phones are now Smart Phones
Over 85% of new handsets will have Web access
Usage - What are mobile users doing:
95% send or receive text messages
65% access the internet on their mobile device
48% have accessed a social networking site on their phone
20% have purchased something or charitable donation their mobile phones
Social Impact
Over 1/3 of Facebook’s 600million + user base uses Facebook Mobile
Twitter has 165million users and 50% of them us Twitter Mobile
A whopping 200million + Youtube views occur on mobile devices per day
Not my research!! Women aged 35 - 54 are the most active group in mobile socialization
Traditionally we are used to accessing information via desktop and mobile web browser (more like WAP)
Then came the wonder of Apps. The app revolution got developers to build native apps using C# or objective C or vendor approved programming language.
But the tide is really riding on the app revolution where the next generation of apps are a combination of apps called Hybrid apps. Which is a combination of native code and open html framework.
The different kinds of apps presented great opportunity to exploit the ways developers can present their data. But it also presented a significant challenge. The need for a common toolset, which can provide a platform to develop these mobile apps and an overall strategy. Q1 2012 IBM acquired Worklight to enhance their mobile arsenal. Worklight, offers an open platform that helps speed the delivery of existing and new mobile applications to multiple devices. Essentially it gives a great platform to develop all service level mobile applications.
I wont go in details of the product but here is a quick overview of IBM Worklight
Worklight and iPad
While working for our customers on the mobile app development using the Worklight, a colleague of mine (@VishSinha) had to create to have Split view layout for tablets specifically iPad. There are several ways to achieve it but the need was to create a unified User Experience that is seamless if accessed via non-tablet devices. So he decided to use jquery mobile Split view plugin for IBM Worklight, to achieve the split view look and feel for iPad version of app. Here is a quick approach to it.
Two Panel Split View Layout
To build a two-panel layout, called menu (left navigational links) and main (contents) panels for iPad, there are two divs inside the body tag of the main App.html page. Menu div panel is mainly responsible for handling all the navigation links on the left hand side and main div panel is mainly for rendering/loading the contents on the right side of the screen once user clicks on the left side navigational links.
Here is a preview of the Prolifics homepage of the iPad Split View:
The HTML code for the menu div panel looks like this:
The point being, everyone knows mobility is very important but it is almost imperative to use a platform for development of mobile devices that can scalable and can support multiple formats of mobile applications.
Sources:
http://www.thefonestuff.com/news/10/Mobile-Phone-Facts-2011.html http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010/Summary-of-Findings.aspx
http://www.worklight.com
Niral Jhaveri is the VP of User Experience at Prolifics and has extensive expertise in the IBM Lotus, WebSphere and Rational family of products. He has played a key role at several strategic clients by providing technical leadership. Niral has an extensive background in the design and development of IBM WebSphere Portal, SOA and Web 2.0 applications with a proven track record of consulting and architecting solutions for several industry verticals like Finance, Retail, Insurance and Technology.
Here is a sampling of stats:
1 billion of the world’s 4+ billion mobiles phones are now Smart Phones
Over 85% of new handsets will have Web access
Usage - What are mobile users doing:
95% send or receive text messages
65% access the internet on their mobile device
48% have accessed a social networking site on their phone
20% have purchased something or charitable donation their mobile phones
Social Impact
Over 1/3 of Facebook’s 600million + user base uses Facebook Mobile
Twitter has 165million users and 50% of them us Twitter Mobile
A whopping 200million + Youtube views occur on mobile devices per day
Not my research!! Women aged 35 - 54 are the most active group in mobile socialization
Traditionally we are used to accessing information via desktop and mobile web browser (more like WAP)
Then came the wonder of Apps. The app revolution got developers to build native apps using C# or objective C or vendor approved programming language.
But the tide is really riding on the app revolution where the next generation of apps are a combination of apps called Hybrid apps. Which is a combination of native code and open html framework.
The different kinds of apps presented great opportunity to exploit the ways developers can present their data. But it also presented a significant challenge. The need for a common toolset, which can provide a platform to develop these mobile apps and an overall strategy. Q1 2012 IBM acquired Worklight to enhance their mobile arsenal. Worklight, offers an open platform that helps speed the delivery of existing and new mobile applications to multiple devices. Essentially it gives a great platform to develop all service level mobile applications.
I wont go in details of the product but here is a quick overview of IBM Worklight
While working for our customers on the mobile app development using the Worklight, a colleague of mine (@VishSinha) had to create to have Split view layout for tablets specifically iPad. There are several ways to achieve it but the need was to create a unified User Experience that is seamless if accessed via non-tablet devices. So he decided to use jquery mobile Split view plugin for IBM Worklight, to achieve the split view look and feel for iPad version of app. Here is a quick approach to it.
Two Panel Split View Layout
To build a two-panel layout, called menu (left navigational links) and main (contents) panels for iPad, there are two divs inside the body tag of the main App.html page. Menu div panel is mainly responsible for handling all the navigation links on the left hand side and main div panel is mainly for rendering/loading the contents on the right side of the screen once user clicks on the left side navigational links.
Here is a preview of the Prolifics homepage of the iPad Split View:
The HTML code for the menu div panel looks like this:
The point being, everyone knows mobility is very important but it is almost imperative to use a platform for development of mobile devices that can scalable and can support multiple formats of mobile applications.
Sources:
http://www.thefonestuff.com/news/10/Mobile-Phone-Facts-2011.html http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010/Summary-of-Findings.aspx
http://www.worklight.com
Niral Jhaveri is the VP of User Experience at Prolifics and has extensive expertise in the IBM Lotus, WebSphere and Rational family of products. He has played a key role at several strategic clients by providing technical leadership. Niral has an extensive background in the design and development of IBM WebSphere Portal, SOA and Web 2.0 applications with a proven track record of consulting and architecting solutions for several industry verticals like Finance, Retail, Insurance and Technology.
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