InterACT2Go, Mobile App and Designer for Sales and Service from CRMantra.

Fully integrated with Salesforce and Siebel.

http://www.interact2go.com/

InterACT2Go

Mobilize your Sales and Service 

Fully integrated with Salesforce and Siebel

The Mobile App Development Platform Decision

The Mobile App Development Platform Decision:
Cross-compiled vs Hybrid vs Native

The objective of this report is to help developers and companies decide on the best platform for building mobile apps. This report is based on a compilation of research, market trends and ratings from different sources as well as our technical evaluations on various cross-platform tools for building mobile applications available in the market.

There were two drivers within our company leading to the work in this report.

1. Keeping Current with the Latest Trends: Need to keep abreast of the latest trends and technologies mobile app development, and hence the best platform to develop our mobile apps.
2. Rationalize the Development Cost: Given that we develop web-based apps, server-side apps, and mobile apps, it was becoming difficult to manage the diverse set of technology skills required within our development team.  The number of skills each developer needs to master as well as the number of developers required to manage different apps was fast becoming unsustainable.

Switching app development platform is expensive and often entails re-developing some of the existing apps.  The decision on which platform to use for developing mobile apps could be affected by the other types of applications and technologies used within the company.  This report focuses on the mobile app development platform options. 

After performing individual comparisons between different Hybrid development platforms, and selecting the top few, an overlying comparison table was made comparing 3 different mobile development approaches - Hybrid, Cross-Compiled and Native. This table compared cross-compiled platform tools such as Apache Flex/ActionScript, Ionic, React Native, Appcelerator Titanium, Xamarin, and Native Android/iOS development tools on various metrics such as Ease of Development, Learning Curve, Time-to-market, Device Access, Performance, User Experience, Development Cost, Access to features and Future Scope.

Each platform option was scored on each metric, with a lower number signifying a better score. These scores were based off of different comparison research reports done which highlighted specific aspects of a certain cross-platform tool on similar metrics.  The report contains scores that are subjective assessments made by us. Other experts in this area could arrive at different rankings and conclusions.  At the very least, we hope readers would get a good idea on different factors to consider in picking their mobile app development platform.

Read more about InterACT2Go - Our Mobility Platform 

InterACT2Go from CRMantra

To download the full report, including our final recommendations, please fill in your details below.

Siebel Mobile - The Trials and Tribulations of going mobile...

Siebel Mobile - The Trials and Tribulations of going mobile...

In the last blog, we took a look at the Siebel Open UI and asked what was the business case. There were some interesting comments left on the blog, as well as on the LinkedIn Siebel/Fusion group that I posted it to.

I'm still waiting for that killer reason to switch to Open UI, so feel free to go back and take a read and let me know your thoughts…

Today I'm going to focus on Siebel Mobile (AKA Siebel Open UI for Mobile) 

Some key information:

• Part of the Siebel Open UI 'framework'
• Officially called Siebel Mobile Connected and Siebel Mobile Disconnected.  (not to be confused with Siebel Wireless, Siebel Handheld or Siebel Mobile Web client !)
• Siebel Mobile Connected is available in 8.1.1.10 for new installs (or if you were quick off the mark with 8.1.1.9 to try out Open UI then you will need to install the Fix Pack to take it up to 8.1.1.10)
• Siebel Mobile Disconnected, whilst described in the various Siebel documentation, this is not yet available and I've not been able to get any dates on when it might be released.
• Siebel Mobile (Both versions) are browser based "WebApp" solutions, with a 'native look and feel' - but they are not native apps.
• The Multi Device - HTML5 based UI is rendered by Oracle's jQuery Mobile, so that's a new tool for the IT team to get to grips with.
• It is a separate licensable product from Oracle, so whilst Open UI is a free upgrade, Siebel Mobile (though based on the Open UI Framework) is not.  Prices look to be $575 per named user, but time to speak with your Oracle Rep! 

Siebel Mobile - Accounts page on the iPad

Mobile is such a large focus for many organisations at the moment, with it seems budget, to focus on new mobile solutions for Sales and Service.  

Why ?  I've asked that question to all of the Siebel customers who have approached us, and I normally get one of the following answers;

• "We want to have a 'one-visit' Quote or Order"  
• "We need to increase sales/service teams' productivity"
• "We need an easy-to-use app with a seamless process."
• "We need GPS/Camera/Maps/Voice-Recording/eMail/Phone/SMS* integration"   (*Delete as appropriate!)

Based on this, the requirements are normally along these lines..., 

• Mobile App with 'Disconnected' functionality, to enable the Sales/Service Rep to work in area's with no Wifi/3G  or were restrictions exist.
• Streamlining the processes and focusing on key aspect of usability and UX, whilst giving the user control of the UI.
• Providing mash-up capabilities, pulling data and information from disparate corporate systems and services.

So where does that leave Siebel Mobile ?  I don't want to be too controversial but I see a few issues.

1. The only version available is Siebel Mobile Connected, so straightaway there is an issue for customers that want/need to implement a disconnected solution
2. Its Siebel centric, meaning that positioning it as way to consolidate a number of systems and provide a common front-end isn't going to work – The data is going to have to be in Siebel (or through Siebel).
3. The User has no way to control or prioritise what they see on the UI.  Users will always needs a degree of personalisation to improve the User Experience and increase the adoption rates.
4. You have to be on Siebel 8.1.1.10, and having done this internally ourselves, this is not a trivial matter – it is pretty much a full scale upgrade, with Schema changes and new functionality to implement and test  – An  x.x.x.1 version increase doesn't quite convey the scope of the upgrade, it's not to be taken lightly!  
5. Though many Siebel Admin's are keen to try out Siebel Mobile, it is not free and has to be licensed from Oracle, so additional licenses and an increase in Annual Maintenance fees will be on the cards.
6. Siebel Mobile Disconnected is architected to be a browser-based "WebApp".  As a result, all the offline data will be stored using browser-based local storage. Browser-based storage on iOS is currently limited to 5MB per domain (Other browsers vary).  For many CRM users who would like to access thousands of accounts, contacts, leads, activities, etc., this amount of storage is just not enough.

If you are going down this path please let us know your experiences, and feel free to correct me on any of the above points !

Read more about our Mobility Platform on our website.

If you want to discuss your mobile requirements and how we can provide a solution for you then please get in touch.  david.moorman@crmantra.com  www.CRMantra.com

InterAct2Go from CRMantra

Thought I would quickly post up details of our new 'Ad' on youtube for InterAct2Go.
Take a look, would welcome your comments.

click here for the full screen version > http://youtu.be/ptWx8ir5cPs

Any questions, then feel free to get in touch
More details of our full Mobility Platform are on our website.

david.moorman@crmantra.com  
www.crmantra.com

Mobilize your workforce. Now!

Mobilize your workforce. Now!

Whether it is Field Sales or Field Service or Retail PoS or Self Service, everyone today wants to go mobile and stay mobile.

The trend is there and pressure is increasing in organisations to find the right solution.  A simple search of the Apple App store or Google Play for Android , will bring up dozens of "CRM" apps, "Sales" apps, "Service" apps but how are organisations going to tailor these to there specific needs, as well as have them running and integrated within the existing IT landscape?  99% of these apps have not addressed that issue.

We believe that this makes the mobile solutions from CRMantra unique.  We have designed our applications on the premise that these will have to be tailored to the needs of the business as well as integrated in to one (and probably more) back end systems.

By providing the Front end app, the back-end integration and the development framework organisations are able to quickly and easily configure and deploy these mobile solutions.

Based on extensive feedback from our customers, (it has basically been designed by Reps for Reps),  it is focused on three design area's that we see as critical to success.

> 360° View – Always see the information that is important to you.

> Seamless Sales Process – CRM is just one of the apps sales reps use.  Seamless sales process that   mashes up data across multiple enterprise applications and services at your fingertips.

> Full-time information access – Connected, disconnected or a combination of both

I've included a few screenshots below which give some idea of the scope and appearance of the applications.

InterAct2Go comes with over 150 pre-built integrations

• Enterprise apps:  Siebel, Salesforce.com,  CRM On Demand, Fusion CRM, OBIEE, atg, Oracle eBusiness Suite, etc.
• Social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter; 
• Application services: Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Mapquest, Credit Check, Tax Calculation, Address Check, Credit card authorization
• Device Functions: camera, GPS, audio and video recording

If you'd like to see a full demo or get more information on how we are achieving success for our customers then please get in touch.  

More details of our full Mobility Platform are on our website.

 david.moorman@crmantra.com

CPQ for Oracle Sales Cloud ASAP

CPQ for Oracle Sales Cloud ASAP

...or in other words - we are able to provide a Quoting (Configure, Price, Quote) solution for Oracle's Sales Cloud.  And we're not talking futures, it's is available now!

So if it's the only thing holding you back from moving forward with a CPQ project then get in touch.  We have the perfect complimentary solution, including Configurator and Pricing that we are certain will tick all the boxes.

If you're an Oracle Sales Rep and you are being asked for Quoting/CPQ for Sales Cloud then get in touch - we have a great solution, we can demo it now and get your opportunity moving !!

We are at OpenWorld this week, so get in touch if you want to meet up to discuss this further, or stop by our Session CON9551- Monday 3.15PM at the Palace Hotel - Twin Peaks South

See out Website for the full details of our CPQ Solutions

David.moorman@crmantra.com