What are the practical requirements for a mobile CRM solution? What does your field force demand - and expect? How do you mobilize large quantities of CRM data, offline, and maintain performance? How do you deal with the inevitable variety of device platforms in the field? The practical challenges of meeting employee expectations in relation to performance and availability are explored in this session, which draws on a decade of mobile CRM solution development and operation. Examples of a specific SugarCRM solution on several mobile platforms are shown to demonstrate best practice in action.
Presented by Chris Hall, Commercial Director, LogicAppeal, at sugarCon 2011
3. Mobile Credentials 12-years mobile solutions experience Device specific development Palm Windows Mobile Device agnostic development Rhodes All on-line/off-line solutions using synchronisation “Mobile”
4. The Cloud A provider's offering of abstracted Internet services is often called "The Cloud”. Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. RhoLogic operates a Private Cloud to deliver RhoLogic Mobile for SugarCRM as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
5. Requirements Based on mainstream requirements from field staff or management during 12 years of mobile development and operation What is the need and what does that mean?
6. Field Force Requirements Need Solution Availability and speed of operation Off-line access. Provides for improved device interaction and counters Internet absence in regional areas, inside buildings, etc. Off-line data volumes CRM’s can contain significant data volumes. Challenges exist to achieve device performance when managing and retrieving data and initial data load. Not all employees have the same device. We need to accommodate choice (BYOD), ideally from a single code base. Mix of devices (BYOD) Customisation Create a single application that adapts in real-time, with a single code base, to both Studio and Module Builder customisation. Total solution therefore is a combination of on-line/off-line operation, capable of handling high volumes, running on several device types, with a dynamic, adaptable framework using a single code base.
7. Solution Requirements Customization implies metadata. There is no point knowing what to show if we don’t know how to show it. Offline implies local data. Local data has to get there/be maintained. 1Gb of data is tough on Blackberry with a 2.8 Mb browser limit. Cross-platform and single code base implies standards. Browser is the key. Browser rendering handles device interpretation.
8. Architecture Requirements Private Cloud, Multiple Tenants Suitable for clients that have small numbers of users and cannot justify their own private environment. Synchronization platform is hosted. This connects to each client’s SugarCRM instance. Devices in turn connect to the synchronization server. Sync Private Cloud, Single Tenant Suitable for clients that have larger numbers of users or have a security requirement/desire to be segregated. Synchronization platform can be hosted or on premise. Connection as per multi tenant example. Sync
9. Development Requirements Major cross-platform development frameworks. Tools such as these required to develop using a single code base. Rhomobileonly framework to offer synchronization.
10. Comparison How do 3 mainstream solutions compare in terms of requirements demanded by the field force. Where are the differences? How do the mainstream solutions compare?