Happy Halloween! The Mask of Mobile !

Happy Halloween!!! Have fun with Mobile!


3 great European Entrepreneurs improving lives with mobile, 3D printing and retail in the cloud!

SmartCamp season is in full swing in Europe this month, and I've got some great news I want to share with you!

Let's start in Warsaw, Poland!

Have you ever considered how convenient it would be to create a mobile app in under 24 hours? Kinetise has, and that's why they won the IBM SmartCamp Warsaw event!

Kinetise is a SaaS solution for rapid and easy creation of mobile applications for small business, a great fit for IBM MobileFirst!

Even the most complex and advanced applications can be built with Kinetise because their development engine supports a wide variety of functionality, including design freedom, 2-way communication with external servers, user authentication, and integration with various popular APIs. Follow them @Kinetise.

kinetise_logo

Next up is Berlin!

Tiramizoo won the SmartCamp Berlin event with their same-day delivery cloud solution!

Tiramizoo provides a same day delivery solution for local e-tailers and retailers, and it combines online- and offline-shopping while supporting every multi-channel concept.

With their Cloud-based solution, Tiramizoo is setting a new standard with the guarantee of a reliable, affordable and timely delivery from retail to the local customer. As a result, sales increase due to a better conversion rate and higher customer loyalty. It integrates the online shopping  with offline retail stores product availability to a real Smarter Commerce experience. The solution also considers optimal delivery routes and different vehicles, from e-bikes to trucks to reduce CO2 emission and traffic, which helps in building a smarter, and cleaner, planet! Follow them @tiramizoo.

tiramizoo2

And now on to London!

Andiamo won the SmartCamp London event with their ground-breaking 3D scanning and printing orthotics service for disabled children. SalesGossip took the People's Choice award.

Andiamo's goal is to provide high quality orthotics and reduce waiting times. Think about the positive impact that can have on the patients and their families! And talk about smarter healthcare! Their solution can dramatically improve healthcare services, reduces costs for heathcare providers and touches the lives of disabled children globally. Follow them at @AndiamoHQ.

What an impressive bunch of startups from across Europe! Congratulations to all our winners! I can't wait to see what happens at the SmartCamp Europe regional final!

andiamo

Helpful links:
Kinetise: https://www.kinetise.com/
Tiramizoo: https://www.tiramizoo.com/en
Andiamo: https://twitter.com/AndiamoHQ
SalesGossip: http://www.salesgossip.co.uk/


IBM and Xamarin: Value for the Mobile Developer Ecosystem

I just love it when we  can help developer with their Mobile Development!

What was announced!
Today,  Xamarin is announcing a partnership with IBM that expands Xamarin's enterprise mobile developer ecosystem by simplifying the development of native mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows devices to easily connect to enterprise data and systems through the IBM MobileFirst Platform. More than 750,000 developers use Xamarin to accelerate native app development for multiple platforms; with IBM's backend capabilities now those developers will have enterprise grade scale, security and management at their fingertips.

This collaboration will expand IBM's reach to C# and .NET developer communities.  This will help close the skills gap for software application developers by giving them the tools to quickly develop mobile apps.  With this collaboration, 6 million+ C# and  .NET developers will now have the tools at their fingertips to create both engaging user experiences and deliver secure mobile apps with speed and at enterprise scale.

The Facts:
According to Gartner, 70% of the mobile workforce will have a smartphone by 2016 and 90% of enterprises will have two or more device platforms to support. That's why it is so important for a mobile app solution to be able to scale!

Consider the challenge for today's developer; they have to meet the ever-increasing demand for secure, connected and sophisticated mobile apps. The relationship with Xamarin expands IBM's support for first class native development that allows millions of developers to focus more on innovation and driving business value through mobile!

This is GREAT for Developers!
Users in every category have an ever-expanding need to consume and contribute data via mobile devices.  Enterprises must build and manage high-performance apps with a device-optimized user experience that securely integrates into the enterprise environment.   The companies have created an enterprise mobile solution for C# developers that combines Xamarin’s fully native mobile development platform for iOS, Android and Windows Phone with the IBM Worklight platform for highly secure cloud-based data services.

The IBM MobileFirst Platform SDK and IBM MobileFirst Platform studio add-ons are available immediately at http://xamarin.com/ibm for the thousands of partners and millions of developers in the combined ecosystems of Xamarin and IBM.

Here's what Nat Friedman, CEO and co-founder of Xamarin, had to say:

"Together, Xamarin and IBM are creating an end-to-end foundation for developers to more effectively mobilize mission-critical enterprise data in their apps. The combined Xamarin and IBM solution gives millions of app developers a powerful enterprise mobile opportunity they have never had before."

xarmerin

I couldn't agree more! Xamarin and IBM developers will now have the tools to create engaging user experiences and deliver secure mobile apps with speed at enterprise scale!

To find out more about Xamarin, and to download the IBM MobileFirst Platform SDK and IBM MobileFirst Platform studio add-ons, go to  http://xamarin.com/ibm


Don't go it alone: Create partnerships to prepare for the future A Chat with Ray Wang!

Ray Wang is one of the most visionary guys I've spoken to.  So I caught up with him on the Business Tech Trend report.   And his advice:   Don't go it alone: Create partnerships to prepare for the future

Ray Wang, founder and chairman of Constellation Analytics, talked about this partnership idea during our launch of the Business Tech Trends webcast. He commented that what clients are looking for today are "system integrators, partners, and value-added resellers to co-innovate, co-create. They are looking for new ideas and the ability to transform."
Ray-Wang

Ray is absolutely right! Furthermore, we're on the horizon of a digital business disruption. This disruption is more than just technology and networks talking to each other, it means a fundamental shift in business models. Ray went on to list seven elements of the digital disruption, which you can listen to on the webcast!

I suggest getting started on these three things:
1.  Pursue creative partnerships. Build partnerships that will help you create the next level of solutions.
2.  Increase analytics into your decision-making. Ray suggested that if 20% of your business isn't built on insight patterns by 2020, your enterprise won't survive. To start, register for the Watson Analytics Beta!  Watson Analytics Beta -> http://www.watsonanalytics.com
3.Re-imagine the hiring process. Your ideal candidate shouldn't be one that already fits the mold of your business. You need candidates that are considered outside of the box that will help re-imagine your business model.

Learn more here!  http://ibm.biz/biztechhuddle


9 Spokes and Tapit win at SmartCamp Down Under with Cloud and Analytics!

A huge congratulations to 9 Spokes and Tapit for being named the winner and people's choice winner, respectively, of the SmartCamp Sydney competition!

9 Spokes was the judges' choice with its integrated software dashboard. They select apps through a rigorous accreditation program and then make them available to the user through a dashboard environment. No more sifting through thousands of apps trying to find the best match for your industry. They've already located them for you, and made it easy to access!

9spokes_MG_5971

Also, they use the power of the cloud! You can access 9 Spokes and all your apps from any Internet connected device. Everything is at your finger tips!

Tapit's solution deploys, manages and analyses contactless technology, such as Near Field Communications tags, Beacons and QR codes. Using powerful Tapit visualization reporting, clients can easily make sense of how people are interacting with their Tapit-enabled infrastructure in real-time. Their solution provides an easy to use platform that instantly tells you how and where people are engaging with your content, as well as channel format and device.

With Tapit, it's easy to see how people are interacting with your Tapit-enabled infrastructure in real-time.

tapit_MG_5976

Great job to our winners and good show to the Sydney team!


Wumdrop's MOBILE solution delivers a victory at the Entrepreneur SmartCamp Cape Town!

Congratulations to Wumdrop for winning the SmartCamp Cape Town competition!

 

wumdrop

This year's event in Cape Town had 5 outstanding startups competing for the win. Each startup had very different and unique solutions that included scalable transactional monitoring, ecommerce store builder, mobile identity, and even a micro-radar so a bicyclist can track automobiles for increased safety. I'd say the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cape Town is producing some very creative startup solutions!

Wumdrop's mobile solution allows you to request shipping service at the click of a button. No more waiting in lines at the post office or shipping kiosk! What's so impressive about their solution is that it furthers the notion of mobile solutions making daily tasks easier and faster to complete. This is a great resource for business and personal use!

And a big shout out to Tech4Africa! SmartCamp Cape Town ran in partnership with Tech4Africa. Every time they are involved in a SmartCamp event, it is huge success for everyone! So THANK YOU to Tech4Africa!


London Welcomes Business Tech Trends! What are the European differences?

I will be in London this week for the Entrepreneur County event entitled "Follow the Entrepreneur!"with Julie Myers as well as spending a few days at Shoreditch ... especially highlighting some Europe differences of our Business Tech Trend Study.

So in prep for Europe, I wanted to know the specific differences that we were seeing in Europe! Here's the highlights! As a reference, European companies make up 47% of those who contributed to the study (primarily from UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia)

Differences:
Social adoption is lower in Europe:
64% of European enterprises have deployed social (vs. 70% of non-Europe enterprises)
Plans for increasing Big Data and Analytics investment are lower:
66% of European enterprises are planning to increase investment over next 2 years, vs. 75% non-Europe
Europeans report having the needed cloud skills needed:
63% Europe vs. 56% non-Europe
• European companies are less likely to be engaging academia and clients as a partner:
73% use for activities, vs. 81% of non-European enterprises

79% use clients for activities, vs. 84% of non-European enterprises

• They are less likely to use analytical insights in their decision making:
30% Europe vs. 43% non-Europe (vs. 7 in 10 Pacesetters)
• And Finally, European enterprises are less likely to report gaining major competitive advantage from their initiatives in these areas:

  • Mobile: 66% in Europe gain major comp. advantage (vs. 77% non-Europe)
  • Social: 63% in Europe (vs. 77% non-Europe)
  • BDA: 65% in Europe (vs. 82% non-Europe)
  • Cloud: 67% in Europe (vs. 82% non-Europe)

While here I found this cool app as well -- for seeing the sights ..not that I will get to this trip but it is a fascinating app!
Googling Around London

 

 

Googling Around London [Infographic] by the team at Cheapflights

 


Shhhh! The Top 3 Pacesetter Secrets Revealed!

View the IBM Tech Trends interactive dashboard
bit.ly/tt14dashboard

IBM Center for Applied Insights "Raising the game: The IBM Business Tech Trends Study"
ibm.com/ibmcai/biztechtrends

Learn more about being a Pacesetter
ibm.biz/IBMBTT14

BTT2_blog_final_v2_fullimage

CAN-DO Honolulu
can-do.honolulu.gove/apps

Biz Tech Trends App Jam
ibm.biz/biztechjam

IBM Watson Analytics
analyticszone.com

Bluemix Free Trial
ibm.biz/bmtrial

SoftLayer Free Trial
ibm.biz/softtrial