Recent experience with open source - Wordpress - Ready for enterprise?

Recently I was involved in setting up an e-commerce platform which included a mobile interface for both smartphones and tablets. The team chose to go with one of the most common platforms for this purpose these days - Wordpress. Thereafter a set plugins were applied to enable the e-commerce functionality, the theme which included the mobile compatibility, multi language support, payment gateways and other bits and pieces. While the project is not enterprise scale, I still took in the experience to try to understand how far away Wordpress is from actually becoming a feasible choice for the enterprise. The end result of what we setup you can find at www.mocycl.com - check it out, it may prove to be the Christmas gift of the year.

Top 5 pitfalls to avoid deploying Enterprise Mobility Solutions - Episode 5

Release Management, it will make or break your global mobility solution

Mobile solutions are expected today to come with frequent updates, solution improvements and requested functionality. Especially if your particular solution is being built along an agile development methodology, clearly advocated in my previous article, don't assume your business know what they need in this brave new world - this is an interactive requirements cycle. This setup drives the needs for an accompanying Release Management (RM) methodology which allows for these frequent updates to take place. The topic I’m about to cover is really aimed at enterprise mobility solutions which are integrated with at least one back-end platform.

Top 5 pitfalls to avoid deploying Enterprise Mobility Solutions - Episode 4

Device independence promises more than it delivers

Have you been sold on the sales pitch that the solution you are about to buy is device independent? A single source code only needs to be maintained and will deploy seamlessly to all variety of devices it may encounter in your particular case.

The theory behind this setup is very attractive and I understand why it’s a common approach by solution providers to take especially at design time and when forecasting the solution run-costs. However here is one where the devil is in the details.

Top 5 pitfalls to avoid deploying Enterprise Mobility Solutions - Episode 3

Mobility and mobile data are less mature than big data, probably because it's much harder

One of the most attractive crossroads with mobility is big data and analytics. The idea of making decision-enabling data available where and when needed in an easily consumable format. This opportunity lies at the heart of what many corporations today intend to exploit in order to drive productivity or smarter and more timely decisions at all levels of the organization. There are probably limitless permutations of this opportunity but to name a few we are talking about.

Top 5 pitfalls to avoid deploying Enterprise Mobility Solutions - Episode 2

Are you about to embark on a large scale Enterprise Mobility deployment? Have you already run into your first headache in this immature market? Is mobility and big data a core topic for your business strategy these days to attempt to unlock further productivity? In this series of articles I am going to explore the common pitfalls I have seen companies run into while embarking on these innovative solution deployments, no matter if you deploy well-known brand names like SAP SMP or Accenture CAS or a custom made app.

The Enterprise Mobility Solutions fever is rolling out across the world's large industries like a wildfire. Executives experience and personally use sexy new mobile devices which are currently flooding the market and therefore have a personal reference to at least the hardware and user experience described when the consulting companies or enterprise architects move in with a sales pitch. While the objectives of these projects and programs are often well intended and will truly bring productivity if carried out correctly, there are a couple of very common foundational mistakes which companies commit over and over again as they try to engage in the age of user friendly mobile solutions and devices. This series of articles is all about the most common mistakes typically done in such projects and what attitude program managers and sponsors should have to best steer clear of them.

Why a mobile device strategy is unlikely to last?

The mobile device market today moves at an incredible speed. The market leader and its technologies just five years ago have today been made completely obsolete and the trend is expected to continue at an ever increasing pace. This article goes beyond the considerations of a single deployment project and relates mostly to the long term strategic choices a corporation has to make in today’s mobile device market.

Halt mobile device turnover rate by placing trust in the individual

A common question I have found especially during mobility deployment project is how support of the mobile devices will be managed and especially how to link up the device provider and its external support framework with an expected rate of device turnover from software failure, broken hardware or shelling. This in turn lead to extensive discussions on guaranteed SLAs for device repair or replacement by the provider and what levels of spare devices should be held and especially by whom - the provider or the customer organization. Finally this whole story is written down within a mobile device support model, including a view of the customer and provider responsibilities and of course one or several contracts detailing out the finances and items like guaranteed time windows when a particular version of a device must be available for shipment. 

Top 5 pitfalls to avoid deploying Enterprise Mobility Solutions - Episode 1

Are you about to embark on a large scale Enterprise Mobility deployment? Have you already run into your first headache in this immature market? Is mobility and big data a core topic for your business strategy these days to attempt to unlock further productivity? In this series of articles I am going to explore the common pitfalls I have seen companies run into while embarking on these innovative solution deployments, no matter if you deploy well-known brand names like SAP SMP or Accenture CAS or a custom made app.

The Enterprise Mobility Solutions fever is rolling out across the world's large industries like a wildfire. Executives experience and personally use sexy new mobile devices which are currently flooding the market and therefore have a personal reference to at least the hardware and user experience described when the consulting companies or enterprise architects move in with a sales pitch. While the objectives of these projects and programs are often well intended and will truly bring productivity if carried out correctly, there are a couple of very common foundational mistakes which companies commit over and over again as they try to engage in the age of user friendly mobile solutions and devices. This series of articles is all about the most common mistakes typically done in such projects and what attitude program managers and sponsors should have to best steer clear of them.

Don't assume your business know what they need in this brave new world - this is an interactive requirements cycle

This pitfall may sound like an old truth about Enterprise Solutions in general, however there is a reason it's even more accurate for Enterprise Mobility. The mobility industry is now decades old and so are the Enterprise Solutions lead by the core ERPs. However just recently the mobile devices have become sexy enough to attract a mainstream audience (yes, the Apple Newton in the 90s was well intended but did not quite hit the spot) and the Enterprise Solutions have moved in to harvest the benefits. In addition you have the Big Data movement which is also adding to the vortex. The combination is an industry which is experimental and quite immature – not that any solution provider will admit to this fact.