Connectivity to Multiple Mobile Apps and Traditional Software Stacks Served through Enterprise Connectivity Solutions

We all know that both software providers offer mobile apps for their software and third-party providers offer their version of apps to fill th same function and purpose. An interesting article on the presence of these competitors was published recently, "SAP for Mobile: The Trouble with Enterprise Mobility."

The article published on SAP's website is clearly biased against standarized mobile solutions:

No enterprise system operates in a vacuum. With a very small number of exceptions, most corporate jobs require users to interact with multiple business systems, and often ones that are provided by completely different vendors. In such a case, a standardized mobile solution is rarely the answer. Rather, a toolset or mobile platform becomes necessary to pull the pieces together. The alternative is multiple off-the-shelf or native applications, with multiple support staff, requiring multiple training sessions, and multiple overhead line items - you get the picture.

Regardless of whether organizations opt for apps from the software provider or they enlist third-parties for apps, very few organization will have a software stack with apps from the same software provider. This inherently creates a need for connectivity, often times in the form of a platform.

There is no clear winner for every kind of software need a business has. The key to extracting the most use and value from software and apps is using a platform with mobile capabilities to deliver software, apps and data across the enterprise. That kind of innovation represents the next-generation data management sought after today.

Megan Feil, June 1, 2012