Federal government boosts digital strategy with mobile apps, security programs

By Chantal Tode

May 29, 2013

The White House is talking up a series of recent mobile initiatives designed to more efficiently and effectively connect Americans with government, including mobile security guidelines and a mobile application development program.

These developments reflect the growing role that mobile is playing in people?s lives and the government?s strategy to deliver information anywhere, anytime and on any device. The news was revealed by the White House on the year anniversary of the release of its Digital Government Strategy and is meant to build on that strategy.

A blog post introducing the mobile initiatives addressed how open government data that is publicly accessible in easy-to-use formats can fuel innovation and economic growth.

App development
One way that the government is embracing mobile is through the release of hundreds of APIs that can be used by private-sector developers to create new applications and services.

These APIs encompass government datasets such as home and business energy trends, real-time earthquake notifications around the world and the current weather on Mars transmitted from the Curiosity Rover.

 

To facilitate the creation of new apps, each government agency has released its own developer pages and Data.gov launched a government-wide API directory so these resources are easier to find and use.

These moves were further supported by President Obama?s recently executive order and open data policy making open and machine-readable the new default for government data.

The federal government also created the Mobile Application Development Program to help agencies launch mobile apps.

Mobile analytics
The government is also focused on optimizing federal Web sites for mobile devices and creating its own mobile apps to ensure government services are available to citizens on any device.

For example, the new USAJobs app from the Office of Personnel Management makes it easier for job seekers to search and apply for jobs with their mobile devices, and the SaferBus app from the Department of Transportation allows users to access a bus company?s safety performance record and file a complaint from their mobile devices.

 

In order to have insight into what information the public is looking for, where they are looking for it and if they are able to find it, the government has implemented a digital analytics program.

Centralizing the management of mobile devices used by government employees and strengthen the security of government?s mobile platforms is the focus of another series of developments, including the creation of a government-wide mobile and wireless contract program that acts as a ?family plan? for the federal government and which is expected to save taxpayers $300 million over the next five years.

A new Managed Mobility Program was also created at GSA.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York

Associate Editor Chantal Tode covers advertising, messaging, legal/privacy and database/CRM. Reach her at chantal@mobilemarketer.com.

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USPS rounds out mobile offerings with BlackBerry app

By Lauren Johnson

September 24, 2011

A screen shot of the USPS BlackBerry app

The United States Postal Service is furthering its claim to make its services available on every mobile platform with a BlackBerry application.

USPS? main goal is to put the most important features of a post office on consumers? mobile devices. The BlackBerry app joins the company's other mobile offerings, which include iPhone and Android apps and a mobile-optimized Web site.

"Anything that a customer can do in a post office should eventually be available on a mobile device,? said Joseph Adams, general manager of digital access at USPS, Washington.

Simple mail
The free USPS Mobile app is available in the BlackBerry App store.

The BlackBerry version marks the fourth app that the company has rolled out in the past two years.

With the app, consumers can use GPS to find the nearest post office location and access directions.

Users can also track and confirm packages and look up?ZIP codes.

?For BlackBerry?s user base, USPS makes sense, especially for the more business-drvien services,? Mr. Adams said.

 

Consumers can find nearby postal services on the BlackBerry app

According to Mr. Adams, both the BlackBerry and Android app will soon have similar, advanced features that are currently available on the iPhone version, including pricing information.

USPS claims that the most popular feature for on-the-go consumers is tracking a package, which is why it has rolled out the specific?function on all of its apps.

Let freedom ring
USPS? BlackBerry app is the most recent example of delivery systems seeing a need for a mobile presence.

Similarly, UPS recently rolled out a new service that lets consumers control their deliveries via alerts (see story).

Additionally, FedEx used a rich-media ad to highlight shipping for the company?s golf club service (see story).

By giving consumers increased access to mail and delivery services via mobile, companies are seeing a direct need from both consumers and feeling pressure to keep up in the industry with competitors.

In the coming months, USPS.com will be relaunching its Web site to include account tracking and history.

The new Web site features will also be rolled out across mobile so that consumers can see one place where?all their activity?is located.

Between mobile and Web initiatives, USPS hopes to provide an entirely digital shipping and?mailing experience because consumers increasingly want their daily errands ? such as running to the post office ? to be made simpler on mobile devices.

?By taking our services to mobile and digital, it provides the USPS the ability to serve consumers in a way they want to be served,? Mr. Adams said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York

Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer. Reach her at lauren@mobilemarketer.com.

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Texas Dept. of Transportation enlists mobile to discourage drinking and driving

By Chantal Tode

October 18, 2012

The RideFinder mobile site

The Texas Department of Transportation is leveraging text messaging and the mobile Web in a new campaign to deter college-age adults from driving under the influence of alcohol.

The ?Who?s Driving Tonight?? campaign includes a mobile site where users can find a variety of transportation options based on their location, including cab numbers, limo companies and bus routes. Signs on college campuses and in other locations encourage college-age adults to text a keyword to a short code for a link to site.

?Our target audience is tethered to their cell phones--they don?t leave home without them,? said Kenna Williams, s enior associate and interactive supervisor at Sherry Matthews?Advocacy Marketing , Austin, TX.

?Mobile marketing gives TxDOT the opportunity to connect with young adults while they are drinking and at a critical point of decision,? she said.

?We wanted to empower this at-risk audience to makes smart choices by making it easy to find a sober ride.?

Sober rides
Young adults are often the worst offenders when it comes to drinking and driving. At the same, these consumers are among the heaviest users of mobile phones, so building a safe rides campaign around mobile makes a lot of sense.

The Texas Department of Transportation enlisted 3Seventy and Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing to create the campaign, which is focused on deterring this audience from drinking and driving by promoting the importance of planning a sober ride.

The RideFinder mobile site, soberrides.org, is being promoted via online ads, mobile ads, social media outreach, SMS text messaging, and out-of-home media on college campuses and in bars.

 

On the site, users can find location-based transportation options, including cab numbers, limo companies, bus routes, and even pedicabs.

The campaign to promote the RideFinder site launched Labor Day weekend and goes through the first of November. It will be followed up with another campaign during Spring Break.

Location-based ride options
The RideFinder site asks users to key in their location or, if they do not know where they are, it uses location-based technology to find where they are. It then provides a list of the four or five closest cab and limousine companies as well as pedicabs that they can call for a ride. Users can click to call any of these numbers.

The site also pulls a user?s list of contacts so they can easily click to call a friend to ask for a ride.

If the user would prefer to use a bus, the site automatically populates Google Maps based on their location so they can see bus routes, the nearest stops and the bus schedule.

During the first month of the campaign, 6,200 users were served a safe ride after going to the site.

?This is a great example of a mobile campaign that reaches college students on the go and in a time of potential need,? said Carrie Chitsey, CEO of 3Seventy, Austin, TX.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York

Associate Editor Chantal Tode covers advertising, messaging, legal/privacy and database/CRM. Reach her at chantal@mobilemarketer.com.

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Military.com increases pay-per-click landing-page conversions via mobile site

By Lauren Johnson

July 29, 2011

A screen shot of Military.com's mobile site

Military.com increased its pay-per-click landing page conversions by 70 percent after adding mobile-optimized pages.

The company worked with SiteSpect to create mobile-optimized pages for some of its most popular features. Miltary.com has also recently gained new insight into understanding how their users digest email with the company Return Path.

?Military.com was tasked with making their site better for end users, part of which is optimizing a site and understanding that more people are coming through mobile sites,? said Eric Hansen, CEO of SiteSpect, Boston.

?Military.com has people active in the field with phones and mobile devices already, so being able to reach them through mobile platforms is almost a necessity,? he said.
?
Military.com is owned by Monster Worldwide and gives military members and families information about programs, benefits and other service-related content. Military.com has more than 10 million subscribers.

Opt for mobile
According to Mr. Hansen, SiteSpect?s work in general sees 6?10 percent or more of a Web site?s users coming via mobile.

SiteSpect created mobile-optimized pages for some of Military.com?s most popular content, including search features, programs and service articles.

Additionally, the company increased mobile conversions by 56 percent.

?Of course figuring out ways to help users? experience on mobile is hard because of the screen size and what the device is capable of, but it?s important for companies to always keep the end user in mind,? Mr. Hansen said.

Tracking users
Military.com started working with Return Path in July 2010 when they realized they needed more insight into how their users were getting information.

?We didn?t have any insight into how our newsletters and campaigns were being read by our users,? said Kirk Gray, emarketing specialist at Military.com, San Francisco.

?We needed to look at our already existent technology and figure out new ways to get our information out to our mobile users,? he said.

?When we went through our data after using Return Path?s analytics, we found surprising mobile numbers.?

In July 2010, Military.com had a 13.2 percent mobile readership. After boosting their mobile presence, the company saw a 99 percent year-to-year change, resulting in the current 26.3 percent of users who read email on their mobile devices in July 2011.

Military.com also found that the iPhone was the top performer and device used for opening email with 81.3 percent of mobile readers using the device.

?We keep seeing reports on how Android is catching up with mobile users, but we still see an overwhelming number of Apple users, whether it?s on the iPhone or iPad,? Mr. Gray said.

Mr. Gray also credits the increase in mobile readers with the company?s demographic of on-the-go service men.

Military.com is now revamping their newsletter templates and looking for new ways to engage with users, which might include expanding the company?s discounts for service men on geo-located platforms.

?Mobile wasn?t at the top of our list last year as a priority but it is this year,? Mr. Gray said.

Final Take

Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York

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Mobile will play pivotal role in 2012 political campaigns

By Lauren Johnson

January 10, 2012

A string of Obama's recent SMS program

In the 2008 presidential elections, President Obama?s campaign was applauded by mobile marketers for its use of SMS and mobile Web. But with an increase in consumer adoption and more companies incorporating mobile in the past three years, how will political candidates use the channel in the upcoming 2012 elections?

Text messaging is still the most effective way for political candidates to reach a broad group of consumers, but video, applications and advertising will also play an important part in the 2012 elections. Additionally, political candidates will need to combine their mobile efforts with other marketing channels including social media, broadcast and Web for 2012.

?Voters will demand more with real-time engagement in the 2012 elections, whether it is breaking news, polling information or an insider perspective from the campaign,? said Scott Goodstein, CEO of Revolution Messaging, Washington.

?Mobile is growing up and the fad is wearing off with people that want real-time information via their devices,? he said.

Multichannel campaign
Mobile is slated to take over a bigger part of ad dollars for political candidates in 2012 after marketers saw the impact that mobile had in 2008.

However, now marketers have access to other channels that were not as widespread in 2008.

?Whether it is through in-app, MMS, a mobile landing page or a YouTube clip, the ability to watch a video through mobile makes a direct connection between candidates and voters,? Mr. Goodstein said.

Video is a key component to a political campaigns with debates and speeches, making mobile a natural extension for candidates for voters to visually see candidates while on the go.

Mr. Goodstein, who worked on Obama?s election campaign, says that the campaign wanted to use more video in 2008 but was held back with technology advances.

For example, smartphone penetration has increased dramatically since the last presidential election and has created larger data plans and better video quality for consumers.

In addition to video, applications will also play a more strategic role in political campaigns this year.

Mobile campaigns are expected to especially use more location-based services that tie political messages to real-world places where voters can do something to support a candidate.

From getting contact information, finding supporters or locating a nearby voter stations, apps can help political marketers target a large group of voters and make a campaign more tailored for specific voters to help educate them.

Mobile apps can also be used to help drive donations by political candidates.

For example, Calyp, which is a loyalty and rewards app, is currently being by used by Republican candidate Rick Perry to let users donate via the app. Users can also share Rick Perry content with their friends and family via social media.

?A mobile political campaign is not just about short text messages anymore,? said Andrew Levi, founder/CEO of Calyp, Dallas.

?Mobile needs to be used as part of a full, creative campaign with interactive videos and social media to target a mass number of consumers,? he said.

Here is the in-app endorsement that Rick Perry is using on the Calyp app

Talk via text
Despite the rapid growth in smartphone ownership, SMS reigns as the channel with the broadest reach, which is especially important for political candidates looking to reach a mass amount of voters.

However with the increased use of mobile marketing, consumers expect more when opting into a SMS program and candidates will need to make sure their text message programs use mobile more strategically in the 2012 elections.

?With political campaigns, you are talking about trying to market to people in mid-America with a higher percentage of SMS usage,? said Derek Johnson, CEO of Tatango, Seattle.

Tatango has worked on the SMS programs of Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and Washington State Senator Patty Brown and believes that SMS is beyond the stages of being a vessel for communicating.

 

Obama's text messages lead users to a mobile Web site where they can donate and buy merchandise

Consumers are familiar with mobile Web and therefore expect to get a message with a direct way for them to act on.

For example, Obama?s most recent text messages include links to mobile Web sites where users can donate and learn about upcoming campaign events.

MMS can also help political candidates bolster their campaigns.

?The key to text-message marketing is getting people engaged and having the opportunity to provide a rich media experience that gathers voters? attentions and grabs a piece of emotional ground for them,? said Steven Gray, CEO of iLoop, San Jose, CA.

Text message programs can also be effectively used to interact with voters at events and build a mobile database.

?Mobile is a phenomenal tool for citizens to speak out about issues they are passionate about,? said Amanda Moskowitz, general manager of?Mobile Commons, New York.

?For political candidates, mobile messaging is a powerful way to grow a base of supporters from their media and events," she said.

"Candidates can then affect important outcomes through mobile messaging with these groups,?such as?rallying people for more local events, motivating them to get out the vote, prompting a donation and many other forms of effective engagement."

?Target audience
Another big area of mobile growth for 2012 will be in mobile advertising, specifically with geotargeting.

Location-based mobile advertising lets candidates target voters in areas that they might need an extra push, such as battleground states.

For example, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachman recently used geotargeted ads at the Minnesota State Fair that educated users on a proposed tax increase on food found inside the state fair.

Voters can expect to see similar mobile initiatives from political candidates in 2012 looking to drive a specific, targeted message to a group of consumers by location.

?Geo-targeting is the magic bullet for political campaigns because it enables them to focus their ad spending only in the markets where there is heated competition,??said Alistair Goodman, CEO of?Placecast,?San Francisco.?

?We can expect to see a number of new uses of mobile technology - from geo-triggered alerts when a candidate is speaking in the area to social services connecting like-minded campaign supporters when they are near each other,? he said.

?Political campaigns are consistently at the leading edge of using new digital marketing tools for reaching their audiences and spending on mobile this time around will be both substantial and highly valuable.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York

Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer. Reach her at lauren@mobilemarketer.com.

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US Army expands commitment to potential recruits via mobile app, site

By Rimma Kats

March 2, 2011

The United States Army is extending its commitment to engage potential recruits via an iPhone application and mobile-optimized site.

The Army Strong Stories iPhone application and mobile site let users share their own Army Strong story, post comments and learn more about Army service and the careers available. The application is available?as a?free download in Apple?s App Store.

?With more than 600 soldier bloggers contributing to Army Strong Stories, many of them active duty, it was a natural next step to provide them with portable access to the site so they can share their stories, pictures and videos at anytime from anywhere,? said Bruce Jasurda, chief marketing officer of U.S. Army Accessions Command, Louiseville, KY.

?The U.S. Army remains committed to providing a transparent view of soldiers? daily lives and this mobile program helps enhance that transparency,? he said.

?Furthermore, the Army Strong Stories iPhone app and mobile Web site offer visitors portable access to new ArmyStrongStories.com content and features and enable them to ask questions, leave comments, and post new stories."

The U.S. Army Accessions Command, a subordinate command of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, meets the human resource needs of the Army by transforming volunteers into officers, warrant officers, and enlisted soldiers.

Army strong
Users can access the mobile site by entering http://m.armystrongstories.com on their mobile browsers.
Via the application and mobile site, users can upload written content, photos and videos.

Additionally, users can access information about the army and connect to its official Web site.

?The iPhone app is a pilot program to enable our bloggers to tell their stories easily with mobile technology, and the army is always evaluating additional mobile platforms to gauge program expansion,? Mr. Jasurda said. ?We are getting word out about this initiative through a variety of means.

?Through ongoing engagement and communication with our network of soldier bloggers, we notified them of this new tool so they can download and try it out,? he said. ?This was a request they made and we're excited to meet that request.

?We are also sharing the news through various internal, army communications channels, and conducting media and social media outreach to spread the word.?

 

Users can read blog posts

 

Users can read a soldier's particular blog

In addition, users can read posts from their favorite bloggers, comment on the posts and share stories on Facebook and Twitter.

?Given mobile adoption, use and interest, it is definitely an area of focus for the army,? Mr. Jasurda said. ?There are some other mobile programs in development that army will look to launch over the course of the coming months.??

Final Take
Here is a demo of the application

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When developing mobile enterprise apps, should you go native?

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Can mobile technologies transform the in-store checkout process?

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Smartphones and other mobile technologies are already transforming many aspects of the in-store shopping experience. Is mobile-enabled checkout an idea whose time has come?

For retailers working to implement an effective mobile strategy, the potential impact of mobile technologies is so vast that it can be hard to know where to begin. One option is to start at the end by using mobile technologies to help reinvent the checkout process. For example, one consumer electronics retailer designed their stores without traditional point-of-sale registers and queues; instead they equipped their associates with mobile devices designed to process checkout, accept payments and email electronic receipts to customers, right there on the sales floor.

In another example, a fast food chain has created a mobile app that allows customers to place an order and pay with a credit card while standing in line, or before even arriving at the restaurant.

In addition, several retailers and restaurant chains have already equipped their stores with near field communications (NFC) terminals, which allow customers to pay by simply waving their credit card in front of the device. With the advent of NFC-enabled phones, this technology could have the potential to change the checkout process as we know it.

Does mobile checkout present a real opportunity for retailers to save money and keep up with changing customer expectations? Or is it too early to tell whether the benefits will outweigh the risks? 

Here’s the debate:

Save big money.
The traditional checkout process can be labor-intensive and takes up a lot of space. Mobile technologies could help you to reduce costs and reallocate staff and floor space to increase service levels and sell more products.Cut your losses.
A new approach to checkout might increase the risk of payment fraud and theft. Will the savings outweigh the risks?Give customers what they want.
Customers accustomed to one-click checkout at their favorite online stores are becoming less and less willing to wait in line at a traditional cash register. Convenient checkout can make people more likely to buy – and less likely to take their business elsewhere.Resist change.
High-tech checkout might appeal to young people and early adopters; but many customers are fine with the traditional approach and may not want to change. Also, customers without smartphones might feel discriminated against.Kick the credit card habit.
Transforming the checkout process may create an opportunity to introduce new forms of electronic payment – helping to reduce the big bite that the credit card companies take.Mobile-based payments? Don’t count on it.
Creating a viable alternative to credit cards can be a major challenge with a lot of moving parts. For the foreseeable future, the checkout process will likely still revolve around customers paying with cash, checks and credit cards.Work backwards.
The trick to solving a complex maze is to start at the end and work backwards. When reinventing the in-store shopping experience, it may be smart to begin with the checkout process, which is well understood and can offer immediate and compelling benefits.Follow fast.
Mobile technologies and the shopping experience of the future are unfolding at a dizzying pace. Instead of investing a lot of time and money trying to hit a fast-moving target, it might make sense to consider waiting for things to slow down.

Kasey Lobaugh, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Direct to Consumer and Multichannel Retail Leader

There’s a saying that people tend to overestimate the effects of technology in the short run, but underestimate them in the long run.1

Mobile technology is already changing the way people shop at retail stores and the race is just getting started. In my view, companies with a physical retail presence should start looking for new and innovative ways to exploit mobile technology in an effort to improve the checkout process and the overall customer experience.

If associates and customers can process checkout from mobile devices, the implications for the checkout process as we know it could be enormous. By forgoing the traditional process, retailers could potentially realize significant labor savings, reallocate valuable square footage and even capture savings from credit card interchange fees.

Mobile technology can decrease costs by reducing the need for dedicated clerks and checkout lines. At the same time, it can boost sales by allowing stores to reallocate staff and floor space to value-added selling – and by helping to deliver an improved customer experience. Even a small shift away from the traditional process could have significant benefits.

But thinking about the opportunities in vague, abstract terms may not be enough. In order to capture the benefits and stay ahead of the pack, companies should consider establishing dedicated teams that are explicitly responsible for helping to deliver innovations that make sense for the business. People, processes and technology should be aligned to make the transition to mobile-enabled checkout as smooth as possible. And to make mobile transactions easier, retailers should consider installing or enhancing Wi-Fi to provide customers and associates with better connectivity within the store’s four walls.

Given the pace of change in this space, it might be tempting to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. However, companies that wait for things to slow down may find themselves waiting forever as their competitors – and their customers’ expectations – rapidly vanish over the horizon.

Philip L. Asmundson, Vice Chairman and U.S. Media & Entertainment and Telecom Leader, Deloitte LLP

Mobile payments are ripe with potential to offer convenience to consumers, new growth avenues to mobile carriers, differentiation to financial institutions and loyal customers to retailers. However, the mobile payment ecosystem in the United States will likely remain underdeveloped for the foreseeable future. Developing a vibrant mobile payments ecosystem that lets consumers use their mobile devices to pay for goods and services is no easy task. Industry players are upbeat, but the challenges are daunting.

Senior executives from across the mobile payment value chain—including retailers, application providers, wireless carriers, telecom equipment providers and financial institutions—are optimistic about the growth potential of mobile commerce in the U.S. According to a recent Deloitte survey,2 these executives predict that in 2012, nearly 65 million mobile subscribers will use their devices to pay for a range of retail goods.
With many other countries far ahead of the U.S. in this area, what’s the holdup? The Deloitte survey suggests the challenges include a lack of consumer knowledge, a dearth of demand, competing platforms and the absence of revenue-sharing agreements between critical players in the value chain.

One solution could be an open federation alliance, which would allow players from different industries to rally around a common vision and use mutually beneficial business models to realize the full potential of mobile payments. In this scenario, mobile carriers, financial institutions, retailers, handset makers, chipmakers, application providers and a host of others would come together on a standardized platform. A trusted third-party manager would play the pivotal role of coordinator and integrator.

Can it be done? Building trust, cooperation and a common set of standards will be challenging. But the rewards—to consumers, retailers, telecom companies and associated organizations—may be well worth the struggle.

Pat Conroy, Vice Chairman and U.S. Consumer Products Leader, Deloitte LLP

The in-store checkout process feels like much more than a simple payment transaction from a consumer’s perspective. It is the culmination of dozens of decisions, careful calculations and often impulsive actions. To many shoppers, the checkout represents a report card on their shopping performance: Did they forget anything? What meals will they be able to prepare during the week? How much did they save via coupons, promotions, or their shopper loyalty card? Did they purchase the right mix of products (e.g., small package size vs. bulk, national brands vs. store brands)? And, are they within budget?

While mobile technologies will indubitably play a role in the payment process, the smile, frown, or look of indifference on a shopper’s face during checkout at the register or self-service kiosk is the manifestation of thousands of steps in the store aisles. The checkout transaction is merely one small part of the beginning-to-end shopping process – and its potential to transform the in-store consumer experience with mobile checkout can only be seen in a broader shopping context. Consequently, I see mobile-enabled shopping as an opportunity for consumer product companies and retailers to give consumers what they want at checkout – a smile on their face. To do that, it means focusing on helping consumers along each of those thousand steps before checkout, including meal planning, shopping lists, loyalty program, product and price comparison, coupons and promotions and navigating the store. Think of mobile-enabled shopping as “whispering in the ear of the time-starved consumer” with helpful advice. Retailers (online and traditional), payment companies, third-party application providers and consumer product companies are building out mobile-shopping functionality along each step of the shopping process including payment, but the winners will provide cohesive shopping platforms that support the consumer with pre-store planning, in-store experience and post-purchase interactions. To truly shift the consumer’s mindset on mobile-enabled in-store checkout requires transforming each shopping step before and after checkout.

1 Amara’s Law; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Amara
2 Cell me the money: Unlocking the value in the mobile payment ecosystem, Deloitte Research, 2011

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The Mobile Banking Bandwagon

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The mobile revolution: Is your IT department up to the challenge?

Until recently, many CIOs and their development teams have been trying to meet user expectations around mobile by layering mobile functionality on top of existing systems – the “veneering” of PC-era solutions deployed to mobile devices, delivered by their traditional development teams using established methodologies. But, as increasingly advanced mobile technologies, sophisticated user expectations and innovative usages continue to emerge, could utilizing traditional IT approaches – and skill sets – cause companies to miss out on the mobile revolution?

Many organizations are struggling for break-through wins that leverage the potential of today’s smartphones and tablets. Especially for enterprise-facing initiatives, “good enough” user experiences built around incremental use cases have often led to departmental experimentation, perpetual pilots and visions anchored closer to email, calendaring and conference room scheduling than positively disrupting operating and business models. Not to mention, the mobile revolution is about far more than touch screens and tablets. Soon, the word “mobile” may likely be synonymous with ambient devices, wearable computers and highly tuned sensors, among other futuristic tools. As they try to harness the potential of existing mobile technologies and prepare for what’s next, many CIOs find themselves at a crossroads: Should they continue to focus on mobile enablement of existing systems, and treat mobile as just another deployment channel? Or should they follow a risky and largely unproven path, which could require them to abandon traditional strategies and hire talent with the kind of mobile experience needed to create an agile, mobile-centric IT environment?

Explore all sides below by clicking on each button:

Bill Briggs, Global Lead, Deloitte Digital, and Deputy CTO, Deloitte Consulting LLP

The emergence of mobile is probably unlike any trend that you, as CIO, have encountered. The changes it can bring about in business, and the subsequent demands on IT, may require you to fundamentally rethink your delivery model. That doesn’t mean you should abandon current systems and methodologies. It may, however, lead you to assess how new skills and approaches could help the IT organization thrive in a new competitive landscape – and, in the process, help amplify IT’s position as helping to identify and harness innovative technologies to reshape the business.

To develop mobile applications, IT should take a fresh approach. For example, you cannot take your existing order system and put it on a tablet: You will likely have to redesign its interface, and you’ll also have to make it user-friendly and intuitive. “But it’s just for my employees,” you might argue. “I don’t really care what they think about the interface.” Think again. In the new mobile world, if you develop solutions based on yesterday’s point-click-type motif to complete a simple function, employees may not use it. Understand the user, rethink how (and when) they’re interacting with the app, and take full advantage of the form factor. Touch-swipe-talk should be the focus, with a simple elegant design that surprises and delights end users. If your mobile application is designed for customer use, such design considerations are even more important.

Simply put, “good enough” is no longer sufficient. Handing your developers a book and telling them to learn a little bit about mobile is not going to cut it. We have entered the post-PC era, and leading organizations are quickly eclipsing “Mobile First,” where the mobile channel is considered for virtually every investment. We are now moving towards “Mobile Only,” where the more compelling solutions would not be possible without mobile. But mobile requires different talent, a different delivery approach, and a fundamentally different philosophy. Going forward, your development team should be creative and agile, and have experience in several mobile application architectures – native, responsive web, cross-platform tools. What’s more, developers need to work in a timely manner – users may not wait nine months for you to design, develop, test and launch a new application. And they may not know what they want – and need – until they start hands-on vetting and experimentation. IT should adopt a product management mindset – planning for multiple releases with feature enhancements at an uncomfortable pace.

This doesn’t mean that rigor and discipline should diminish. Nor does it mean that you should create some free-form mobile adjunct that operates outside the existing IT organization. What it does mean is that IT – its CIO, its talent, and its processes – should evolve. Build-out of a mobile center of excellence (COE) is growing, where minimum enterprise tools and standards can be defined for mobile – often teaming with a mobile-focused digital agency to help fulfill the business’ immediate demand for high quality mobile apps while helping the internal team gain skills and experience. Digital spend is originating outside of the CIO’s control, but as many initiatives may eventually be dependent on existing transactional systems, data and underlying services (think security) – they’ll have to be invited to the party at some point. Get in front, and offer a new and different approach for the brave new mobile world – and, in the process, help reinforce IT’s strategic importance to the business.

Something bigger is happening here; something that simply veneering is unlikely to address. Mobile is just one of many “postdigital” platforms – think analytics, the cloud, social, cyber security – that are driving historic change in both business and IT. Going forward, you should consider how each of these areas – and, importantly, their intersection – change your world if you hope to carry out IT’s new mission.

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McAfee Launches LiveSafe Cloud Security For PCs, Macs & Mobile Devices

McAfee today launched LiveSafe, a new cloud-enabled, crossplatform security service for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices, with extra identification and anti-theft features for Ultrabook notebook PC users. McAfee LiveSafe will start shipping on Ultrabooks from Dell on June 9, before hitting retail stores as a packaged product in July.

With the new LiveSafe, McAfee is stepping further beyond traditional "thick client" security software into the cloud-based scenario already embarked upon with McAfee All Access, said Gary Baker, McAfee's VP of global consumer marketing, in a briefing and demo for NotebookReview in New York City.

For an annual subscription fee, users will receive security services for unlimited numbers of Windows PCs (XP through Windows 8), Macs, and mobile devices. Although features vary according to device, McAfee is supporting Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Kindle Fire platforms.

Some 60 percent of consumers world own three or more Internet-enabled devices, according to McAfee's 2013 Digital Assets Survey, also released today. Davis also pointed to projections from Gartner of 203 million tablet shipments this year and 9.6% growth in the mobile phone market.

Specific services of McAfee LiveSafe include McAfee Personal Locker, McAfee SafeKey, and McAfee Anti-Theft, he said.

Some of the features available for PCs and Macs have become standard in McAfee software. These include antivirus, antispyware, and antiphishing protection; a two-way firewall; parental controls, and Web site ratings.

For smartphones and tablets, features of LiveSafe include antivirus safeguards, "locate, lock and wipe," data backup and restore, Web and app protection (Android only), and call and SMS filtering (Android and BlackBerry).

New Personal Locker Service

Through the new McAfee Personal Locker services, users can obtain encrypted storage for up to 1GB of highly sensitive documents, accessing the docs through a combination of face recognition, voice recognition, and PIN.

In a demo, Davis showed how you can access a doc from an iPhone. After you successfully enter a PIN, LiveSafe uses both face and voice recognition, amounting to three-factor authentication. LiveSafe asks you to read aloud randomly selected text passages to authenticate your voice. If your face or your voice is not a match for the biometic data enrolled in the system, you won't get in.

McAfee SafeKey, a feature first introduced in McAfee All Access, is designed to securely manage passwords and user names while also storing sensitive information like bank and credit card account numbers. In LiveSafe, it supports PCs, Macs, iOS, Android, and the Kindle Fire.

McAfee Anti-Theft offers capabilities for remotely locking and disabling devices, locating devices, and automatically encrypting and recovering data.

McAfee LiveSafe also takes advantage of antitheft and identity protection technologies built into 4th generation Intel core processors found in current Ultrabook models. "McAfee Anti-Theft works with all the Intel devices which support this technology. It is possible that a non-Ultrabook may support this technology [and] therefore McAfee Anti-Theft will work. McAfee Anti-Theft uses hardware features supported by Ultrabook," explained Yogesh Jain, group product manager at McAfee.

For multi-factor authentication, McAfee has combined Intel's IPT (Identification Protection Technology), a tamper-resistant hardware authentication mechanism, with face and voice recognition.

Users can also enroll their biometric credentials from an iOS or Android device, or from a non-Ultrabook device, "but in this case they need to provide PIN details," said Jain.

LiveSafe On the Way to All Ultrabooks, And As Packaged Product

Although Ultrabooks from Dell will be the first to ship with LifeSafe aboard, McAfee plans to gradually roll out the technology to Ultrabooks from all major manufacturers -- including Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Toshiba, and Fujitsu, for example -- by the end of this year, Davis told NotebookReview. "This will be an OEM by OEM decision," he elaborated.

McAfee, an Intel-owned software company, will co-merchandise LiveSafe with Intel through an "awareness program" in retail stores.

LiveSafe will also be available as a packaged product for $19.99 for a 12-month subscription when purchased with a new PC or tablet and $79.99 for a 12-month subscription for an existing PC or tablet.

The package sold at retail, though, will include an activation key only, without a CD, Davis said.

McAfee does not plan to sell LiveSafe direct over the Web, as it does with McAfee All Access, he told NotebookReview.

At some point, though, McAfee will probably "converge" the two products, he said.

All LiveSafe users will receive free technical support. Ultrabook users, though, will also be entitled to Premium Support. "McAfee LiveSafe customers receive free support for the life of their subscription. Support is delivered via phone, chat, email and online FAQs," said Jain. Premium support, on the other hand, "includes McAfee Security Advisor service, which offers Ultrabook users the added benefit of immediate answers to all of their security questions."

Davis told NotebookReview that McAfee has no plans at this time to integrate technology from Stonesoft into its long-time two-way firewall.

McAfee acquired firewall technology specialist Stonesoft last week. However, the acquisition was "more of a B2B play" aimed at buttressing McAfee's enterprise security products, Davis said.

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BlackBerry CEO Talks BB10, Future of Mobile Computing

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Easyjet app update brings mobile boarding passes and Passbook support

Easyjet app update brings mobile boarding passes and Passbook support | iMore.com Skip to main content Android BlackBerry iPhone / iPad Windows Phone webOS SIGN UP|LOG IN iMore Forums Apps Games Accessories Reviews How-To Podcasts Contests iPhone iPad mini iPad iPod touch Apple TV iOS iCloud iTunes Mac Hot: iPhone 5S Guides: iPhone buyers | iPad buyers | iOS users Free: Wallpaper | iPhone apps, games | iPad apps, games Shop Online Cases Chargers Screen protectors Headsets & More Free shipping on orders over $50 Easyjet app update brings mobile boarding passes and Passbook support By Richard Devine, Wednesday, May 1, 2013 a 5:24 am 0

Passbook enabled apps in the UK are still a rarity, but we can now add another one to the list. UK based low-cost airline, Easyjet, has updated their iPhone app bringing with it mobile boarding passes and Passbook support. This ties in with a new Easyjet initiative whereby all their airport check-in facilities are to be closed, and replaced by online check-in methods.

The mobile boarding passes are initially in a trial phase, with six airports -- those at Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nice, London Stansted and Southend -- taking part. Eventually this will likely increase pending a successful trial and the co-operation of the remainder of Easyjet's partner airports.

Online check-in can be done from within the app itself, or online, with a mobile boarding pass then downloading to your iPhone which you are able to add to Passbook. At present only one boarding pass is possible per device, though Easyjet does say that they're hoping to increase this very soon.

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