This document discusses CommonTime's mDesign solution for independent software vendors (ISVs) to develop and deploy mobile applications. mDesign allows ISVs to quickly create cross-platform enterprise mobile applications at a lower cost than native development. It features templates for common business processes and integration capabilities. mDesign gives ISVs a competitive advantage by reducing development costs and time to market while allowing them to deliver complex, customized mobile solutions.

1. mDesign for ISVs
CommonTime mDesign
for Independent Software Vendors
Design, develop, deploy and manage
dynamic enterprise mobile applications
quickly and cost effectively.
The Challenge
Many independent software vendors (ISVs), IT consultancies and value
added resellers (VARs) are seeing an increasing demand to extend their
existing business solutions onto mobile devices. This demand is being
driven by the rapidly growing enterprise mobile applications market, more
powerful devices and evolving platforms.
ISVs face considerable challenges in such changeable and disruptive
conditions. Products and solutions need to be delivered quickly to
capitalize on opportunities, customers require more complex solutions
that operate on a number of mobile platforms, and lower development
costs are needed to maintain margins.
Offering mobile applications and In order to gain a competitive advantage, ISVs must meet the challenges
solutions in partnership with of mobility by creating cross platform mobile solutions quickly and cost
effectively, without compromising functionality.
CommonTime can deliver many
CommonTime’s partner offering provides ISVs with significant
business benefits for ISVs, including: opportunities to deliver own branded enterprise mobile applications and
solutions.
• Reduced development costs
• Increased speed to market “After trialing several enterprise mobility
• Improved professional services solutions within the Gartner Quadrant, we
• Increased profitability
• Extended intellectual property reach
found that CommonTime mDesign was the
• Improved customer experience most comprehensive and cost effective.”
• More business opportunities Andy Noble - Managing Director, Mobile Data Force Australia
• Enhanced corporate image
The Solution - CommonTime mDesign
CommonTime mDesign is a powerful yet simple to use enterprise
mobility solution, which provides independent software vendors with
multiple mobile application capabilities. mDesign allows for the rapid
design, development, deployment and management of cross platform
enterprise mobile applications. These fully integrated applications can be
created at a fraction of the time and cost of native development methods.
mDesign features an intuitive application building process, using a library
of customizable business process templates. This allows for the rapid
prototyping and development of applications and significantly reduces
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2. mDesign for ISVs
time to market. Added functionality also allows complex applications to be custom built Gain a competitive edge
from the ground up where required.
with CommonTime:
As new devices are released and customer requirements change, our compatibility grows
with you. mDesign allows your investment to be future proofed by providing you with the
• Increase profitability by
ability to deliver cross platform applications.
winning enterprise wide
The solution provides full application deployment and a range of flexible back office mobile projects with
integration options, as well as incorporating device management, software provisioning and margins designed to
data security capabilities as standard.
increase the bottom line.
Advanced Functionality for Technical Personnel
• Improve professional
mDesign also includes features that allow more comprehensive solutions to be built from
services revenue by
the ground up where required. These include:
utilising CommonTime’s
Hierarchical Process Relationships industry recognised
mDesign allows you to link multiple processes within an application using a full inheritance mobile development
model. framework and device
• Smaller, more manageable processes can be created and reused. management platform.
• Data can be easily passed between parent and child processes in both directions.
• Win more business
• A process launcher can be designed to interact with these processes. by offering an end to
end suite of integrated
enterprise mobile
software solutions
designed for specific
industries that can be
used across the business.
• Extend the reach of your
intellectual property
across multiple mobile
platforms.
• Significantly reduce
development costs
compared to native
development methods.
Open Integration Model
• Shorten the time it
The mDesign integration plugin allows connection to commonly used enterprise takes to deliver mobile
applications and ODBC data sources, such as:
solutions to market.
• MS-SQL Server
• MySQL • Receive expert assistance
through direct access to
• Oracle
field resources from the
• Progress CommonTime sales,
• PostgreSQL consulting, marketing and
• Many others.
support teams.
The plugin also allows web services integration, batch file processing and custom API
integration.
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3. mDesign for ISVs
Product Extensibility
• Styling can be customized within mDesign to change the look and feel of your application, employing widely used
technologies such as HTML5, JavaScript and CSS.
• ‘Custom’ questions can also be used to implement your own application features, as well as existing JavaScript function
libraries.
• mDesign scripting language provides a common cross platform scripting language, allowing the implementation of complex
business logic and functionality.
CommonTime mDesign - The Complete Enterprise Mobility Toolkit for ISVs
mDesign Studio mDesign Manager mDesign Client mDesign Server
Rapid Application Design & Application Deployment, Mobile Application Back End System
Development Environment Management & Full Execution Environment Integration
Version Control
HTML5
CSS3
JavaScript
e MDM
gement:
Field Service & Complete Mobile Windows Mobile SQL Server
Inspections Enterprise Symbian Domino
Survey & Data Capture Application Windows Phone 7 Oracle
Sales force Automation Complete Mobile iOS SAP
Retail & POS Enterprise Android Various CRM
Other Templates Application Blackberry Other
CommonTime MDM Security and Mobile Software Policies
Mobile Device Management Encryption VPN Distribution and Settings
Data Consumption
The mDesign DataList control allows efficient administration and presentation of data from back end data sources to end users.
Applying a style template to the DataList control gives you complete flexibility over its appearance.
mDesign DataSets allow fully offline data storage for local data lookup. DataSets can be used to drive processes and dynamically
populate questions such as droplists, radios, combos and checkboxes.
This allows you to dynamically change your choices using data created on the device, as well as use key information to drive on
tify Technology
demand loading of content from servers such as customer, Security and Encryption
contact and order data. Mobile VPN Software Distribution
Offline Operation
mDesign applications are capable of working in both offline and online modes. When disconnected from the mDesign Server,
mobile users still have access to locally stored data so they can continue working, whether that is looking up contact information or
searching part list information.
Device Integration
mDesign applications can make full use of native hardware capabilities. It is therefore possible to create applications that allow the
following:
• Barcode and QR code scanning
• Photo capture
• Signature capture
• Sketching
• GPS Location reporting
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4. mDesign for ISVs
Dynamic Presentation
mDesign allows you show or hide questions and controls according to answers given anywhere
in a process. Certain questions also allow you to dynamically change their display depending on
whether the question has been answered.
Presentation areas can be used to style data such as address information into blocks showing name,
address and phone numbers in a unified style. This styling can be saved and used as a template
whenever needed.
Data Layer
mDesign’s Calculated Answers allow you to compare data items, aggregate data and derive new
data items. mDesign allows the creation of composite data editors for group data editing, and
maplists to drive location based operations.
Partnership Options
CommonTime supports independent software vendors by providing technology that enhances
current capabilities and takes them into the mobile working environment. The technology enables
you to differentiate your products within a crowded market, extend the reach of your intellectual
property, and retain more customers.
You take mDesign Studio for free, with nothing to pay until you sell your first application.
You retain the IPR of any applications you develop, allowing you to easily extend the reach of
your intellectual property.
CommonTime allows ISVs to:
• White label mDesign, and sell it to your customers and clients as a complete enterprise mobility development toolkit. This
allows you to brand the solution as required and sell it at your chosen price. White labelling and selling mDesign as a whole
is ideal for those ISVs with clients who are further on in their mobility strategy and have multiple processes to mobilise.
• Create branded mobile applications using mDesign to sell off the peg or tailor for individual projects. This allows you to
retain the intellectual property and development functionality of mDesign inhouse. You can sell these applications at your
chosen price.
• Resell mDesign as a complete solution whilst supplying your own services, for which you will receive a margin. This approach
is suitable for services based ISVs with larger corporate or government bodies as customers.
To learn more about how you can use mDesign to add cross platform enterprise mobile
applications to your product offering and try mDesign for free, get in touch today.
Contact Us Why CommonTime
For more infotmation about CommonTime mDesign please visit our website Experienced in delivering high value business
www.commontime.com contact sales@commontime.com or call us on: mobility to the world’s leading organizations,
CommonTime is dedicated to providing
UK: +44 (0) 1332 542 028 independent software vendors with flexible,
USA: 866 706 0609 (toll-free) cost effective, mobile business solutions and
technology that can be used across your
customer base and target markets.
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