Re/code is reporting that SAP and Apple are teaming up to integrate iOS into their corporate ERP business management software. Now THAT’S what I’m talking about.
The workplace is flooded with employees carrying iPhones and iPads to work, but the corporate software systems are currently walled off. It seems like we are so close to achieving information critical mass, like a man dying of thirst who can see water water on the other side of a glass wall. We all have these powerful mobile devices, but no one is able to use them to tap into the ERP.
People don't want to be tied to their desktop in the workplace any more than you want to wait until you get home to check your Facebook feed. Especially in a manufacturing environment where department managers may spend more than half of their time out on the plant floor. They don’t want to walk back to their desk to enter forecast data for their department in the next month. They don’t want to drive back to their office to handle system issues. Integrating iOS into the ERP is what we’re all waiting for.
In the business world, data is power. A huge advantage will be gained by whoever is first to start allowing employees to harness the power of their phones to update inventory figures, communicate real-time forecast data with their co-workers, or review their production work orders after each order is done as opposed to once a week or month.
One characteristic of well run companies is discipline. It’s not enough to have smart people who can think of brilliant methods and procedures. The corporate culture has to be one that is disciplined enough to follow through on valuable reporting. Any barrier to maintaining timely recordkeeping needs to be identified and removed. Forcing your employees to be sitting at their desk to add valuable information to the system is a huge barrier. A company’s ERP is its nervous system, and the fact that most ERP systems are incompatible with today’s mobile computers is ridiculous.
I had written about how tablet computers are much easier to use in a warehouse than laptops only a few weeks ago. This deal with SAP is exactly what I was envisioning. Sooner or later, much if not most corporate business will be done on mobile devices, and the laptop will fall further down in sales. It’ll happen because these mobile devices are simply the superior tool for the job and corporations are always looking to enhance productivity.
Apple seems to believe that this shift is going to occur. It could be why Tim Cook is perpetually optimistic when questioned about the iPad’s falling fortunes. If he has inside knowledge of more deals like the one with SAP coupled with advancements in iOS that haven’t been unveiled yet, there could be good reason for his optimism.
People don't want to be tied to their desktop in the workplace any more than you want to wait until you get home to check your Facebook feed. Especially in a manufacturing environment where department managers may spend more than half of their time out on the plant floor. They don’t want to walk back to their desk to enter forecast data for their department in the next month. They don’t want to drive back to their office to handle system issues. Integrating iOS into the ERP is what we’re all waiting for.
In the business world, data is power. A huge advantage will be gained by whoever is first to start allowing employees to harness the power of their phones to update inventory figures, communicate real-time forecast data with their co-workers, or review their production work orders after each order is done as opposed to once a week or month.
One characteristic of well run companies is discipline. It’s not enough to have smart people who can think of brilliant methods and procedures. The corporate culture has to be one that is disciplined enough to follow through on valuable reporting. Any barrier to maintaining timely recordkeeping needs to be identified and removed. Forcing your employees to be sitting at their desk to add valuable information to the system is a huge barrier. A company’s ERP is its nervous system, and the fact that most ERP systems are incompatible with today’s mobile computers is ridiculous.
I had written about how tablet computers are much easier to use in a warehouse than laptops only a few weeks ago. This deal with SAP is exactly what I was envisioning. Sooner or later, much if not most corporate business will be done on mobile devices, and the laptop will fall further down in sales. It’ll happen because these mobile devices are simply the superior tool for the job and corporations are always looking to enhance productivity.
Apple seems to believe that this shift is going to occur. It could be why Tim Cook is perpetually optimistic when questioned about the iPad’s falling fortunes. If he has inside knowledge of more deals like the one with SAP coupled with advancements in iOS that haven’t been unveiled yet, there could be good reason for his optimism.
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