DoubleDutch are described on CrunchBase as “the category leader for geo-social productivity apps for the enterprise. DoubleDutch HYVE is a suite of social, location-aware mobile apps designed to help organizations become more transparent, data-driven, and productive.” Read their full CrunchBase profile here.
Please tell us a bit about Double Dutch, how you’re using mobile to ‘change the way that people work’ and the different products in your suite.
We think the world is rapidly becoming “mobile first” – and that the primary way people will consume, share, and even publish content will be via their mobile device. This shift towards mobile is well under way on the consumer side, and the workplace is not far behind.
The app that we are most excited about is something we are calling a CRM replacement. It basically rethinks what a CRM is capable of when armed with all the contextual information that a smartphone provides. We will be formally taking the wraps off this product in mid October.
You’ve worked with some fantastic clients like Cisco, Adobe and TED, can you tell us a bit about each of those projects?
Yes, we are lucky to have amazing, early adopter clients that are willing to try things that haven’t been done before. TED has been a joy to work with and has been very aggressive in trying experimental features like geofencing (for a Wikipedia article on geofencing, click here). Cisco is using our software both within their events group, as well as with their Asia PAC sales group and is really pushing the envelope in mobile sales apps. Adobe has done a lot of neat things with game mechanics using our platform in the context of a conference to enable networking. HP is another one of our customers who has been extremely innovative.
The initial buzz around smartphones has largely been based around consumers. What is your view of how mobile is going to change business?
Consumers are called employees during the day. It’s the same people, and those people are more and more using the same smartphones at work that they do at home. We feel that this whole Consumerization of IT movement is being driven by people who are coming to expect a certain level of user experience based on their use of consumer apps and devices, and aren’t finding the same quality at work. This is an opportunity for companies like us, and a risk for the incumbents.
What are the most innovative uses of mobile in business that you have come across?
Geofencing for CRM. Stay tuned.
What three bits of advice would you give large brands on incorporating mobile into their business?
1) Start from scratch – don’t just port your website. 2) Think hard about choosing Native over HTML5, if mobile is a crucial differentiator for you. Native end user experience is better. 3) Take cues from the best mobile, consumer apps.
What is 2012 going to bring for Double Dutch?
Growth! We are seeing 40-50% quarter over quarter growth, and 2012 will be about scaling our small scrappy team, into a larger, scrappy team.
What has been the most exciting mobile development in 2011?
The stunning collapse of BlackBerry, and the stunning rise of Android.
Find out more at www.doubledutch.me or @DoubleDutch
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