Appforge Users - What are the Choices?

MobileDataforce has had dozens of calls from Appforge users looking for new and different options for mobile application development. We generally present them with the following options:

1. Use .NET to develop mobile applications and a mobile application platform


2. Use a "rapid application development solution for mobile environments" like MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform.

MobileDataforce® PointSync is a complete mobility platform, used to rapidly design, develop and deploy business critical mobile applications to the field force. The PointSync® Mobility Platform is an enterprise class solution architected to provide database centric applications with full bi-directional synchronization and security for use on handheld computers, Smart Phones, Tablet PCs and Laptops.

It really depends on if your interest is a cool IT development project, or if you simply want the mobile application done so you deploy and start using it. If your interest is really the completed project, not the development experience, then using the PointSync Mobility Platform is likely going to get you deployed in the field in a fraction of the time and with a lot less cost and effort.

If you would like a personal demonstration of the PointSync Mobility Platform click here.

Tools, Parts & Mobile Work Order Solutions on Handheld PDAs

We have had several requests recently to combine mobile work order solutions with inventory and asset tracking applications. This is not unusual, it just points out the fact that companies are recognizing a great deal of value from mobilizing business processes. Here is an example:

The company wants to track any employees that enter the stockroom where both inventory and tools are kept, and track anything that is removed by them. They would do this by matching the employee's ID cards, with the customer's work order and any inventory or tools that are used on the work order.

This solution would better control the use of tools and inventory, and ensure they are appropriately billed to the customer's work order. This system would provide the following ROI:

1. Reduce missing inventory
2. Bill the customer appropriately for inventory usage
3. Bill the customer appropriately for the use of tools
4. Track the tools and who has them (asset tracking)
5. Assign inventory and tools to an employee for accountability
6. Reduce the labor needed to manage inventory, billing, and assets
   

The Latest Information on Appforge

After losing over $24 million since 2001 Appforge closes and sells assets to Oracle. Here are a number of additional articles and blogs on the subject:

• http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=22038&hed=Oracle+Picks+Up+AppForge§or=Industries&subsector=Computing
• http://www.localtechwire.com/business/local_tech_wire/venture/story/1278877/
• http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/04/19/oracle_appforge/
• http://www.thealarmclock.com/mt/archives/2007/04/oracle_buys_ass.html
• http://mikeg.typepad.com/perceptions/2007/04/oracle_buys_ass.html
• http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2007/04/19/oracle_appforge/
• http://radiofreetooting.blogspot.com/2007/04/appforge-no-news-is-er-no-news.html

MobileDataforce invites former Appforge developers to consider the PointSync Mobility Platform for rapidly developing mobile applications.

Thoughts on the Business of Mobile Software Development

Software and IT Consultants that wish to offer general mobile software development services and mobile handheld solutions to a broad market have the following important business management questions to consider:

• how do you achieve economies of scale (get better and faster over time to increase profitability)
• how do you manage risks (from many new and custom development projects)
• how do you develop in-house expertise in a broad market with a large number of different business processes
• how do you develop all the appropriate technology skills necessary to deliver a wide variety of applications using different synchronization, security, integration, database, business process and connectivity options
• how do you develop a complete quality assurance plan for every new custom mobile software application (make sure you include this time in your proposal)
• how do you efficiently test and de-bug a large number of custom mobile applications
• how do you document how each customized software application works (make sure you include this time in your proposal)
• how do you maintain and support a wide variety of custom mobile software applications
• how do you keep your customer’s mobile software applications current with new versions of mobile operating systems and new handheld device technologies
• how do you integrate your custom mobile software applications with a large variety of different backend databases and database applications
• how do you do this all profitably

I have had many software and IT consultants contact me and say they have tried to develop a business targeting mobile software applications using Microsoft’s .NET development environment or other coding environments like Appforge, but it simply takes too long, and the cost is too high for the majority of their small to medium sized customers. They contacted me to ask if MobileDataforce has a solution that can address their business needs. The short answer is yes.

In order to profitably develop customized mobile solutions for a large variety of business processes and/or industries, one must standardize as many of the design, development, deployment and support processes as possible. This goal is most easily accomplished by using a mobile software platform that provides these features in a configurable environment.

A mobile software platform enables your professional services organization to train on a standardized platform and to use a standardized methodology for rapidly developing and delivering custom solutions. With a common platform in use, the following benefits can be recognized:

• Many of the requirements that mobile projects have are already pre-built in the mobile software platform
• project estimates become increasingly accurate
• software developers can easily support each other's projects and mobile applications
• synchronization does not have to be developed, rather it is configured
• mobile application screens don't have to be developed, rather they are configured
• connectivity options don't have to be developed, rather they are configured
• handheld device support is configured, rather than developed
• mobile databases don't have to be developed, rather they are already included and only need configured
• common templates and functions can be re-used on many different applications
• technical support staff can easily de-bug and support new custom applications using visual de-buggers and management tools
• design standards and functions make screen creation quick and efficient
• application "clips" are reusable configurations and features that can be re-used on many different projects
• the function library has over 220 pre-built functions that save design and development time
• existing application templates can used and customized for multiple customer projects
• new versions of mobile solutions can be published to the mobile user from the server
• one set of code can work on Windows XP, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Tablet PC and multiple screen sizes

The bottom-line - a large variety of mobile applications can be rapidly designed, developed, deployed and supported profitably if they are produced using a mobile software platform like the PointSync Mobility Platform. To program or code a large variety of different and customized mobile applications using .NET or Appforge is simply too expensive and takes too much development time for the average small to medium sized business. Speed and efficiency is required to serve this market. Mobile applications should be configured for these clients, rather than programmed.

Here are a few articles that address these issues in more detail:

• http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2007/04/mobile-solution-warning.html
• http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2007/03/what-happens-after-mobile-deployment.html
• http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2007/01/mobile-platforms-for-enterprise.html
• http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/11/managing-mobile-software-deployments.html
• http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/10/mobile-software-platforms-and.html
• http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/12/mobiledataforce-launches-pointsync.html
• http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/11/mobile-software-platform-thoughts.html

AppForge sells assets; firm owes $1.8 million

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2007/04/16/newscolumn6.html?jst=pn_pn_lk

AppForge sells assets; firm owes $1.8 million

Atlanta Business Chronicle - April 13, 2007
by Justin Rubner

Details have emerged about the fate of software-maker AppForge Inc.
The company, which unexpectedly shut its doors in mid-March, has sold its assets to Atlanta-based Hays Financial Consulting LLC, a firm that manages distressed, insolvent and bankrupt companies. AppForge, which developed software for PDAs and other mobile devices, filed an "assignment for the benefit of creditors," a quasi-bankruptcy that assigns all assets to the management company with the intent of paying off creditors as quickly as possible so shareholders can get something as well.

Gartner on Appforge

This blog article is from Nick Jones and Michael King at Gartner:

http://blog.gartner.com/blog/comminn.php?itemid=2147

Gartner's advice - "...develop a contingency plan for what you'll do if AppForge ceases to be viable, and be prepared to activate that plan some time in the next three months."

MobileDataforce is here to help with contingency plans.

Appforge Discussion Group

I found this online discussion group on the subject of Appforge. It is mostly Appforge developers trying to determine what to do next, and how to activate their existing licenses when no one answers the phone at Appforge.

http://81.149.78.146/Appforge/default.asp

Ruggedized Digital Cameras With Integrated Windows CE

Two Technologies has an interesting product strategy with their Jett-Eye handheld computer. They have in effect created a ruggedized digital camera in the form of a handheld computer. Their product marketing emphasizes the camera features as its most distinctive component.

Take digital color pictures in the field. Capture data on the go. Seamlessly connect with the office. Simultaneously increase field service productivity, improve customer service, and turbo charge your profits—all while improving your customer relationships. This complex scenario is now made simple with the JETT•eye. It was designed to make all of this possible at an affordable price point.

Rugged True-Camera-System- 5.17 MP color CMOS Sensor (4MP processed)
• Camera System scans bar codes and processes digital images with autofocus and illumination

One no longer must settle for a 1.3 megapixel camera in a handheld PDA.

We at MobileDataforce get requirements weekly from companies asking for digital image integration within their mobile data collection applications. Projects involving asset management, conditional assessments, inspections, work orders, quality assurance and law enforcement and compliance often require as must data collection as possible. High resolution cameras just enhance this capability.

Appforge Selling Off Pieces

More reports and rumors on Appforge:

Appforge's website URL now re-directs to Oracle. Last week I heard that Appforge sold their customer list to a different software company, and now their website domain to Oracle?

If there were any kind of value in the Appforge business plan, it seems they would have kept the customer list and website domain together and sold them as a package. The customer list is a key asset and represents their marketing and sales efforts since 2001. Their web domain name is their key marketing real estate. Separating them seems to represent there was minimal value in the business. Anyone looking for used cubicles, desks, computers and chairs?

If this is true (I read it on the internet so it must be), they are truly selling the company in pieces rather than to a company looking to support the product line and customer base.

MobileDataforce is a mobile software solutions company that provides an alternative for Appforge customers.

Thanks for the news Arfur C!

Appforge Strategy vs Mobile Software Platform

Appforge provided software developers with pre-built code scripts, code libraries, and developer tools as opposed to MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform which is a "mobile software platform" for designing, developing and deploying data-centric mobile applications. What is the difference? The PointSync Mobility Platform comes with the following:

• Graphical development environment for designing and configuring mobile applications
• Embedded mobile databases
• Embedded synchronization database server
• Embedded synchronization technology
• Database integration manager
• Deployment manager
• User manager
• Application manager

With the PointSync Mobility Platform, you do not need additional third-party mobile databases, third-party development environments, third-party integration tools, third-party synchronization tools. All of these are included in the software platform.

I recognize that some Appforge developers prefer programming mobile solutions from scratch, but many companies simply want to get a powerful, proven mobile solution running in the field as fast as they can. So if getting a powerful, proven mobile application deployed in the field is your priority, I would encourage you to consider using an existing mobile software platform.

Here are a few additional articles that further discuss mobile software platforms:

http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2007/01/mobile-platforms-for-enterprise.html

http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/11/mobile-software-platform-thoughts.html

http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/11/managing-mobile-software-deployments.html

http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/10/mobile-software-platforms-and.html

More on Appforge's Demise

I had the chance to speak to another industry mobility expert yesterday about the recent demise of Appforge, and his opinion was that Appforge competed too closely with Microsoft and lost.

Appforge's original business plan seemed to assume that the business community would adopt the Palm and the Symbian operating systems in significant numbers, but that simply did not happen. Companies that were seeking to mobilize business solutions were using Windows Mobile or Windows CE operating systems. This left Appforge with only the Microsoft developer community as a sizable target market, and this community tended to stick with the Visual Studio and .NET development environment for programming tools.

Appforge found themselves competing head-to-head with Microsoft's VB .NET. At some point the VC funding stopped and Appforge failed to find a buyer. Now that they have shut the doors, rumor has it they are selling off the remaining company assets brick by brick.

MobileDataforce offers an alternative approach to mobile solution development. They develop RAD tools (rapid application development tools) for quickly designing, developing and deploying mobile solutions with minimal programming required. They target enterprises who are mobilizing their business processes on the Windows Mobile and Windows CE operating systems.

Appforge in Trouble

The internet is buzzing over reports that mobile software tools provider Appforge has closed its doors. MobileDataforce is in the same mobile software market as Appforge, but rather than focusing only on providing code and scripts for developers of mobile solutions, they make development easier and faster through rich graphical development environments that include mobile syncing, mobile databases, database integration and security.

Information on MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform (shown in the picture above) can be found here. 30-day trial versions are available upon request.