Vendor Company Business Area Business Area - stanSAVI TECHNOL U.S. NATIONAL GUA police / army Defense & SecuritySERVICEPOWERGASFORCE gas maintenance gas maintenanceINTEGRATION Washington State Medicamedicine HealthcareGLOBAL TECHNTHE CHILDREN’S HO medicine HealthcareCIPHERLAB ASSOCIATED GROCERgrocery groceryINTERMEC POLICE OFFICERS IN police / army police / armyAIRWAVE WIRE FAIRFAX COUNTY PUeducation educationCALLXPRESS COMAG publishing publishingMOBILEACCESSTHE CHILDREN’S HO medicine Healthcare

Columbus Children’s Hosmedicine HealthcareGearworks Rotor Rooter local fleet tracking, local fleet tracking, Gearworks Pepsi Bottling local fleet tracking, local fleet tracking, Gearworks UPS Logistics local fleet tracking, local fleet tracking, ESRI Maui Police Department emergency / police emergency / policeTeleNav Diagnostic Labs, Glendalmedicine Healthcare

Container Store, Dallas, retailer of storage a retailer of storage aAuchan retailer retailer

collaborative proj U.K.’s Metro public transport public transportNJ Transit public transport public transport

x10DATA Corpora<no company given> Mobile ERP / CRM aMobile ERP / CRM aSavi Networks Maritime Logistics Innovlogistics logistics

Wessin Transport logistics logisticsOZ Alltel instant messaging instant messagingMobileLime, Boston,Ring Brothers marketpla grocery grocery

Empire District Electri electricity supply electricity supplyVeraNet Las Vegas Valley Water Dwater supply water supplySyclo Tube Lines (London Undpublic transport public transportSERVIGISTICS BLUE COAT SYSTEMSretailer? retailer?SAVI TECHNOL EMPREVI LTDA. logistics logistics TYNTEC SAGEM ORGA instant messaging w instant messaging wSCO Group Musco Foods food delivery food delivery

Capitol Hill / governmengovernment governmentCalifornia Home Energy electricity supply electricity supplyQuickoffice mobile office applic mobile office applicDROdio Real Estate real estate company real estate companyDirect Drive Services home and office heat home and office heatRocket Mobile mobile content comp mobile content compEntertainment and Devices division of MicrosoftProvidence Health Systemmedicine HealthcareWinchester Hospital, Bomedicine Healthcare

The AnyWare GroupAtlantic Health Science medicine HealthcareStevens Healthcare, Sno medicine Healthcare

EMERGIN (ClinicalMEDICAL CITY DALLmedicine HealthcareAdvanced Clinical BAYLOR COLLEGE OFmedicine Healthcare

Arctic Glacier distributor of ice and distributor of ice andMoblTech United Propane Gas, Kentucky

Sears Canada field services? field services?Toyota, Puerto Rico vehicle manufacturin vehicle manufacturinCity of North Las Vegas government governmentSybase (mobile) systems de (mobile) systems de<a German business consBusiness Consulting Business Consulting<a German sanitary serviSanitary Services Sanitary Services<a German company speciaSanitary Services & W Sanitary Services & W<a German company foundeWholesale and RetailinWholesale and Retailin<a German company assemSubsidiary of a Windo Subsidiary of a Windo<a “half-independent” subManufacturing of LineaManufacturing of Linea<a leading German supplierIT Services IT ServicesBell Canada (case study telecommunications telecommunicationsProgressive Insurance insurance insurance<generic article: automated, connected automated, connected

<generic article: Einsat building contractors wi building contractors wi<generic article: The “Mobility-M”-framework for Application of <generic article: Unders IT services with field t IT services with field t

iAnywhere Solutio Capital Network Services Corporate Cash Man Corporate Cash ManOneBridge Mobile PlCanadian Imperial Bank o Banking BankingOneBridge Mobile First American Bank Banking BankingOneBridge Mobile First Command financial managemenfinancial managemenRemoteWare by iAnLincoln Financial Distrib Banking BankingOpen Information Bank Boston, Bank One, CBanking BankingAfaria by iAnywhere Thrivent Financial for Luth Banking Banking

<see the listed / discus Financial services Financial servicesThomson Financial Financial services Financial servicesCantor Index Financial services Financial servicesFINEX Finanzforum AG Financial services Financial servicesSafeguard Properties Financial services Financial servicesUniCredit Group Financial services Financial servicesBlevins Insurance Group Financial services Financial servicesAllstate Canada Financial services Financial services

<generic article: Suitability of Mobile Communication Techniques for theBusiness Processes of Intervention Forces>

Russ Berrie and Company Sales (teddy bears aSales (teddy bears aIgnus Information BIC Chile (subsidiary of BIC CSales Sales

Hillarys (UK) Sales (domestic madSales (domestic madWolters Kluwer Health Sales (health-relatedSales (health-relatedCROSSMARK Sales (professional Sales (professional Acushnet Sales (golf equipmenSales (golf equipmen

Everypath, Inc. <50 new companies, all FortunSales: sales represe Sales: sales represeSprint packaged app<software / solutions offeri Financial ServicesFinancial ServicesEntellium First Rate Financial wholesale mortgwholesale mortgPyxis Mobile - As par IXIS Asset Management AdvFinancial ServicesFinancial ServicesDocuWare <four companies: Sigma, MFinancial Services a Financial Services aCarreker Corporati <premier clientele compr financial services financial servicesPyxis Mobile's mPl Pioneer Investment Man Investment ManagemInvestment ManagemPyxis Mobile's mPl Essex Corporation financial services financial servicesIBM's technology Sennheiser electronic KG audio & electronics audio & electronics Pyxis' mWholesaler Evergreen Investments, a d Banking BankingNokia Sampo Group Financial services Financial servicesNokia Erste Bank Financial services Financial servicesNokia Schretlen & Co N.V. Financial services Financial servicesNokia / IntelliSync Crédit Agricole Centre F Financial services Financial services

<generic article: Microso Financial services Financial services<general article: Companie<several given> <several given>

Sales Raptor by La <generic ad, no case studi Sales (any) Sales (any)<several articles at FORUM TO ADVANCE THE MOBILE EXPERIENC

Citrix <several case stufies> Financial services Financial servicesCitrix Dexia Bank Belgium Financial services Financial servicesCitrix ICICI Lombard General I Financial services Financial servicesCitrix SMBC (Sumitomo Mitsui BFinancial services Financial servicesCitrix NASTA Insurance CompaFinancial services Financial servicesCitrix Merrill Lynch Financial services Financial servicesCitrix Mahindra & Mahindra FinaFinancial services Financial servicesCitrix Irish Life & Permanent G Financial services Financial servicesCitrix IOOF Investment ManageFinancial services Financial servicesCitrix CommunityBanks Financial services Financial servicesCitrix CIB (an independent SoutFinancial services Financial servicesMicrosoft LandAmerica insurance services insurance servicesAXA Distributors, <a generic interview with f insurance services insurance servicesBancTec <ad> <generic software; most<generic software; most

<conference ad> <generic mobility> <generic mobility>DATEX Mobile Field <software ad; no customersMedia and InformationMedia and InformationTechExcel Customer<software ad; no customers<almost all areas liste <almost all areas listeWeb-based SAP R/3Celanese Chemicals- AmerChemicals/Energy Chemicals/Energy

City of Fairfax, Va. Government GovernmentCity of Painesville, Ohio, Government / Police Government / PoliceCity of Richmond, British Government GovernmentMiami-Dade Building Depa Government GovernmentNASA's Goddard Space FliGovernment Government

U.S. Army, Europe Government GovernmentOakwood Healthcare Inc. Healthcare HealthcareAvecra Oy Hospitality/Travel Hospitality/TravelProducers Lloyds Insuranc Insurance InsurancePRI Automation Inc. Manufacturing ManufacturingPfizer Inc. Pharmaceuticals PharmaceuticalsWesco Distribution Inc. Wholesale Wholesale

Maximize Enterprise<no companies given; "750CRM CRMSoftware: Epocrates <no companies given; EpocHealthcare Healthcare<several software d <no companies given - it's aHealthcare Healthcare

<generic article: The 4 M <generic> <generic>U.S. Army Government / Army Government / Army<3 generic articles on rugerized PPC's. No companies mentioned.>York County School DivisionTeaching / Public SchoTeaching / Public Scho

VANTRAX by AdeenSaddle River Platinum Movmoving companies moving companies<generic article & compari <programming> <programming>

Trimble Portland Government / Police Government / PolicePerseus MobileSurv Dolphin Quest entertainment / service entertainment / serviceRapid Data ManagemUnited States Marine Corp Government Government

<generic article on selecting the best mobile (not necessarily PPC-based) Alcohol & Gaming CommissiGovernment Government

Queensland schools (800 t education education4Smartphone Gemplus International sales salesAirport Information Falcon Environmental ServiCommunting / TravellingCommunting / Travellingin-house software usSilvano Ltd. Forest engineering / FoForest engineering / FoMS <a generic article on the <many> <many>

<an article on Always Avail <many> <many><two articles on the educat education education

MRI Graphing CalculChicago's Robert Morris Coeducation educationData Harvest Edgemont Junior-Senior Hieducation educationKrispy Kreme Route Krispy Kreme sales / delivery sales / delivery

NASA and NIH health / medicine health / medicineConstruction Manager by Fingertip Solutions Construction Construction

San Diego State University Government / Police Government / PoliceGovernment / Police Government / Police

Handmark's Handheld<oil mining companies; no Mining MiningTwo of them (of the manHealthcare Healthcare<an article on how the iss Healthcare Healthcare<a generic article on the Sales / CRM Sales / CRMRed Bull UK Sales Sales<generic article: security. Lists the available solutions for the PPC. Also <a generic article on realizing ROI with mobile technology><a generic article worth reading: Mobile strategies for corporate functions

<several police organizations listed: Hong Kong, New York police, Hamilton County (Tenn.) sheriff's deputies, Boston police, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota police, Phoenix Police, North Wales, UK police>

Consolidated Contractors Gas and Oil Constructi Gas and Oil Constructi<generic article: Mobile Enterprise Application Integration. Worth a read.>

Syware Visual CE Springfield, Illinois Fire D Government / Fire DepGovernment / Fire DepBuilding Safety Division of Government / Building Government / Building

Department of Defe two government offices Government GovernmentDepartment of Defe Army Black Hawk ProductioGovernment / Army Government / Army

http://www.mobileinfo.com/Handheld/case_studies.htm - pretty cool; too bad all the Palm-related links are dead and the once cool site hasn't been updated for 4 years

Info Source URL Hardware UsedRFID

CPT-8021 acoustic coupler

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/jan/art_jan07_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/jan/art_jan07_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/jan/art_jan07_5.shtml

Palm OS

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_2.shtml TeleNavTrack GPS solution

Symbol Technologies 3050 Intermec 720users' own, SMS-capable pusers' own, SMS-capable pTreo 700w

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_5.shtmlNextel/Motorola i355 handse

customers' SMS-capable moPanasonic Toughbook 18laptopsSymbol PPT8800 + Syclo

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/july/art_july06_5.shtml http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/july/art_july06_5.shtml http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/july/art_july06_5.shtml Treo smartphones + SCO G

BlackBerrySymbol MC50Symbian-based: Sony EricssMagellan Roadmate 760 oPalm OS: Sony Clié / Palm Motorola RAZRCingular 8125 / HTC Wizarusers' own Wi-Fi clientsVoIP: Vocera Communicati

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/dec/art_dec06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/dec/art_dec06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/dec/art_dec06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/dec/art_dec06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/dec/art_dec06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/jan/art_jan07_5.shtml

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/oct/art_oct06_3.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_2.shtml

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_3.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_3.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/sept/art_sept06_5.shtml

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/aug/art_aug06_1.shtml http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/aug/art_aug06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/aug/art_aug06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/aug/art_aug06_7.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/aug/art_aug06_7.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/july/art_july06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/july/art_july06_5.shtml

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/july/art_july06_10.shtml : http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_1.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_2.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_3.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_3.shtml

mobile route accounting solZebra mobile smart printersIntermec 761 + Extech’s S3500T, a 3-inch rugged thermal printer with Bluetooth and a built-in 3-track magnetic card reader

currently, notebooks only; read and send emails as well as to use Lotus NotesPocket PC without (!) mobileLaptops + constant mobile coNothing as yetNothing as yetNotebooks to keep the mobileNotebooks and PDA's (70%/3PDA'sPDA'sPDA's used both inside vendin

PDA'sPDA'sPDA'sany Web-enabled mobile devany Web client(Palm) PDA'sPDA's

http://www.ianywhere.com/success_stories/lincoln_financial.html PPC PDA'sweb-capable clients (here reNotebooksPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA's

http://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_3.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_5.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_6.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_6.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_6.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_6.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_6.shtmlhttp://www.mobileenterprisemag.com/issues/june/art_june06_8.shtmlhttp://www.culminatum.fi/content_files/germany.pdf http://www.culminatum.fi/content_files/germany.pdf http://www.culminatum.fi/content_files/germany.pdf http://www.culminatum.fi/content_files/germany.pdf http://www.culminatum.fi/content_files/germany.pdf http://www.culminatum.fi/content_files/germany.pdf http://www.culminatum.fi/content_files/germany.pdf http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Mobile-Technologie-braucht-neue-Geschaeftsprozesse.pdf http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Mobile-Technologie-braucht-neue-Geschaeftsprozesse.pdf ; case study 1http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Nutzen-und-Grenzen-des-Telemetrieeinsatzes-bei-Warenautomaten.pdf

http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Mobile-Business-Processes-of-Intervention-Forces.pdf http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Einsatz-mobiler-Kommunikationstechnologien-in-der-Baubranche.pdf http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/The-Mobility-M-framework.pdf http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Understanding-Effects-and-Determinants-of-Mobile-Support-Tools.pdf http://www.ianywhere.com/success_stories/cns.htmlhttp://www.ianywhere.com/success_stories/cibc_brief.html http://www.ianywhere.com/success_stories/first_american_brief.htmlhttp://www.ianywhere.com/success_stories/first_command_brief.html

http://www.ianywhere.com/success_stories/ois.html http://www.ianywhere.com/success_stories/thrivent.html http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/d/e/6de03681-fe0a-4d8e-b975-583003f838fd/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Financial%20Services_BDM.doc

PPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA'sPPC PDA's

http://www-304.ibm.com/jct09002c/isv/marketing/industrynetworks/health-"handheld devices"http://www.nextel.com/en/solutions/packaged_apps/finance.shtml For example RIM 6510/7510 ("Salesforce.com Wireless Edition")

PPC (Treo 700 )RIM<not mentioned; most probabl

http://www.mobileenterprise.org/case_studies/cs_awards_pioneer.pRIMRIM

RIMNokia 9300 & 9500 (SymbianNokia E-seriesNokia 9300 (Symbian S90)PPC PDA'sPPC PDA's (too)PPC PDA's (too)native Windows AND Web-base

http://www.fameforusers.org/

6,000 HP Compaq t5720 thinMay also be WM devices (albeBlackBerry at leastMay also be WM devices (albeMay also be WM devices (albe"All back-office staff use de

http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy. May also be WM devices (albeit not explicitly mentioned - no client hardware is given)May also be WM devices (albeHP thin devices and legacy PCs (but could alos be WM devices)May also be WM devices (albeWM: Verizon Wireless SamsPDA's and RIM'sPDAs, Smartphones and table

http://www.datexcorp.com/content/mfsmgtm.htm and http://mobileguid PPC, Palm, Linux, desktop WPPC / WinCE, desktop WindoWeb-capable handhelds (may aInternet phones, personal digiin-car PC"wireless handsets""wireless handsets"wireless devices, including t

http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/9/d396fc3b-816d-4518-b63e-7a1bb8d4d934/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Sales%20Force%20Automation_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/9/d396fc3b-816d-4518-b63e-7a1bb8d4d934/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Sales%20Force%20Automation_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/9/d396fc3b-816d-4518-b63e-7a1bb8d4d934/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Sales%20Force%20Automation_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/9/d396fc3b-816d-4518-b63e-7a1bb8d4d934/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Sales%20Force%20Automation_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/9/d396fc3b-816d-4518-b63e-7a1bb8d4d934/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Sales%20Force%20Automation_BDM.doc http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/9/d396fc3b-816d-4518-b63e-7a1bb8d4d934/Windows%20Mobile_Benefits%20of%20Windows%20Mobile%20Sales%20Force%20Automation_BDM.doc

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/062106-smart-phone.html http://www.financetech.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189500768 http://www.docuware.com/main.asp?sig=sol_ref&lan=en&loc=in http://www.ipass.com/pdfs/casestudy_carreker.pdf

http://www.mobileenterprise.org/case_studies/cs_awards_essex.pdf http://www-306.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/DUDL-665JXZ?OpenDocument&Site=software http://www.rim.net/news/partner/2004/pr-07_09_2004.shtml http://www.nokiaforbusiness.com/documents/CaseStudy_SampoGroup.pdf?doc=DL&ind=financial http://www.nokiaforbusiness.com/documents/CaseStudy_ErsteBank.pdf?doc=DL&ind=financial http://www.nokiaforbusiness.com/documents/CaseStudy_Schretlen_Mobilizes_Email_Access.pdf?doc=DL&ind=financial http://www.nokiaforbusiness.com/documents/CS_CreditAgricole_06AUG24.pdf?doc=DL&ind=financial https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/uc/docs/UCGFinancialFS.doc http://www.dbresearch.com/servlet/reweb2.ReWEB?rwkey=u22078243 http://www.lacrossesoftware.com/salesraptor.html

http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+Services http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=39367 http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=14312 http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=23262 http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=23652 http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=2683 http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=24558

http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=15207 http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=31780 http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=164405 http://whitepapers.silicon.com/0,39024759,60064773p-39000629q,00.htm?r=2 http://www.insurancetech.com/story/?articleID=190302814 http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/463775 http://www.iqpc.co.uk/binary-data/IQPC_CONFEVENT/pdf_file/8622.pdf

http://mobileguide.computerworld.com/cwmobile/ActivityServlet?ksAction=optInReq&solId=19923&pos=4&referer=SEARCH_RESULTS&trkpg=search_results_viewdetail http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html

PDA's

Palm OS (article dated back thttp://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,6405Palm OS (article dated back thttp://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.max.co.uk/v9pdfdatasheets/ME95-ForITExec-Security.pdf all mobile platformshttp://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/Feb07/threeexperts.aspx PPC

PPCmobile devices in generalPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPC (albeit MobileSurvey is muPPCmainly PPC; however, it also mentions cases when PPC's are NOT preferred (for example, physician reviewing X-rays using a telemedicine application)PPCPPCPPCPPC (Push Mail)PPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPC (Intermec's award-winninPPC (j567, 3800, 2210)PPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPC

http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,64050,00.html

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PPCPPCPPCPPCPPCPPC

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http://www.mobileinfo.com/Handheld/case_studies.htm - pretty cool; too bad all the Palm-related links are dead and the once cool site hasn't been updated for 4 years

Business driver

scheduling + monitoring mobile service engineers data collection to improve healthcarecentralizing + streamlining communicationsinventory information enquiring to eliminate the ordering of discontinued items and to streamline thequick data access (scans drivers’ licenses and displays information about the violation on the screen) and

quick access to messagespatient data lookup on any client device to make data acquisition much fasterto keep track of medical treatments in order to streamline accessmonitoring mobile workers to streamline business processesmonitoring mobile workers to streamline business processesmonitoring mobile workers to streamline business processesto track the locations of people calling in emergenciestrack 320 field techniciansmaking shopping easier for customersstreamlining inventory accesssupplying real-time, scheduled bus departure information to customerssupplying real-time info on service distruptions for customers to raise their loyalityrealtime data access to financial, sales, service and project management apps to streamline businessrealtime data accesslocating mobile agents, which, before, wasn't possible; localization information is in high demandinstant messagingalert & sale sending to customers to maximize money income; customer-loyalty systemsmapping on the field to see the outage displayed on a map, along with the relevant customer informmapping on the field + data transferwork orders need to be updated in real time, as opposed to several daysinventory reductionreal-time data(instant?) messagingstreamlining order placing, get rid of papersinstant messagingstreamlining data access to get rid of paperworkpresentations with handheld devices to avoid having to lugigng around heavy notebooksmaximize productivity from the roadmake an informed estimate on the spot, as opposed to othersstreamline cost report entering & collecting in order to avoid paperworkremote data (credit card etc) access to make business processes quickerletting patiens have free access to their data to make the hospital's functioning transparent allowing access to any patient info anywhere, anytime; allowing for Wi-Fi based VoIP

bidirectional transfer: data inquiry (download) & patient state uploading for increased effectivity

give clinicians speedier access to critical patient information for increased effectivity

eliminate duplicate billing, keep invoices organized and get payments in quicker

Intermec 761 + Extech’s S3500T, a 3-inch rugged thermal printer with Bluetooth and a built-in 3-track magnetic card readerhandheld devices for quicker data entry right when examining the vehiclesmake mailing documents / reports in the field much faster

currently, notebooks only; read and send emails as well as to use Lotus Notesstreamlining data entry in the field, avoiding double entrystreamlining on-site data entrystreamlining on-site data entry to eliminate the need for phone-based inquiries with central officestreamlining on-site data entry to eliminate the need for phone-based inquiries with central officestreamlining on-site data entry to eliminate the need for phone-based inquiries with central officestreamlining on-site data entry to eliminate the need for phone-based inquiries with central officeMaking on site access to the electronic catalog for the service personnell much easier and faster (

to make vending machines much more compatitive by always reporting the current, local inventory state to the

making process control much easier, centralized and realtime (see scenario 1); sending realtime feedback/rep

transferring client data to field technicians in a much easier way to improve productivity

giving customer access to the balance (only end customers are mentioned, NO reps)increase employee efficiency and productivity: remote PIM & other access for employeesincreased efficiency: remote PIM & other access for employees via synchronizing e-mail and PIM datahelp the reps keep track of customer information, their daily activities and product salesremote data access to produce reports that show their current holdings of various securities, bond remote data access for reps to allow for increased flexibility and face-time with members in their homes<see the case studies in separate records>

Increased Head-Office and Remote-Worker Productivity: Increase worker productivity

Reducing the costs of damage negotiating by 34% by elminating duplicated and unreliable data entries; greatly speeding up and streamlining the negotiation process thorugh the usage of on site mobile devices todirectly enter data on

http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Mobile-Business-Processes-of-Intervention-Forces.pdf

webizing in order to provide mobile access for client reps (!!!) and regular customers

Timely Remote Access to Market Data: To enhance customer service, to extende value of existing investment; to offer potential for increased revenueTimely Remote Access to Market Data: Implement delivery of prices and information to remote users; make sure traders are better informed of market conditions and can manage risk more effectively; increase customer base; result in a 100 percent increase in the number of trades made; allow for the quality of service that mirrors desktop trading Increased Head-Office and Remote-Worker Productivity: Reduce head-office administrative costs; reduce time to conclude a contract; increase salesIncreased Head-Office and Remote-Worker Productivity: Increase speed of inspection results to clients; reduce follow-up time; reduce time needed to customize and implement client questionnaires; reduce maintenance costs; reduce time to implement industry regulation changes

Remote Insurance Sales and Claims Applications: Improve mobile access; provide positive return on investment; improve remote sales force productivity; reduce IT costsRemote Insurance Sales and Claims Applications: Speed up settling up claims; Improve claim settlement accuracy; Increase customer satisfaction

Mobilizing salesFor example RIM 6510/7510 ("Salesforce.com Wireless Edition")

quick mobile CRM data accessconnect IXIS' retail sales team to real-time enterprise data<centralizing document mgmt; for example, with Mann, to get rid of having to send hard copies>provide VPN-like access to home network wherever GPRS / mobile connection isn't sufficient and field workers don't want to beg for an Internet connection at the company they're currently atdirect, mobile access to year-to-date sales, broker information and up-to-date product and customermobile access to the company's Salesforce.com CRM database in order to maximize the effectiveness opportunity transparency (a clear, uncluttered picture of current sales activities), faster and better-informed decisioremote access to vital sales, CRM and enterprise data from the Company's existing systems to field workersremote access to mail & corporate info while on the road, visiting corporate customeThe company considers the shortened response times to be a significant advantage -> make sure you areProvide quick email notification / access to deal with key customersto avoid major decisions' delayed and business opportunties slipping away because of lack of mobijust to mention one case: to provide the mobile worker access to experts at once to promptly answermobile employees can have direct access to up-to-date customer data and initiate processes without huge ROI thanks to quick access to for example product data / history not present locally

to quickly set up a true mobile bank office anywhere (on, for example, trade shows)bring sales and services to the homes and businesses of their clientsimplement “suitcase banking” -– the ability to provide financial services using any device, anywhere enable employees and agents to administer and present insurance services and products from anywProvide time and cost savings in Web-enabling applications; Provide centralized application dAmond other things, vehicle dealers also needed timely financing information to compete.

May also be WM devices (albeit not explicitly mentioned - no client hardware is given)fast, secure access to the company’s custom Imaging Workflow applications, Microsoft® Office 2003 and Outlook, Caseware, Telerate and the ASIC Dige

HP thin devices and legacy PCs (but could alos be WM devices)Among other things, provide instant data access to brokersTo be able to quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate tran

increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates and decrease processing cost

streamline processes and improve productivity in the field, completing jobs more efficiently and quickly, and sstreamline processes and improve productivity in the field, completing jobs more efficiently and quicklyto grealy speed up business processfree up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitormake it possible for officers to spend more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperworkprioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attentiongreatly reduce time needed to receive county inspection resultsto be able to send out emergency alerts to staff

Reducing the Sales Cycle: Increase sales staff productivity; Improve customer service ; Improve shipping and product turnaround times ; Improve accuracy of data capture ; Reduce communications costsReducing the Sales Cycle: Improve productivity; Reduce sales cycle time; Reduce operating costs; Improve customer service; Increase sales data reliabilityReplacing Paper-based Processes: Reduce data entry; Increase annual sales; Improve customer satisfaction; Result in cost savingsReplacing Paper-based Processes: Improve customer service; Increase productivity; Increase salesTimely Analysis and Reporting of Data: Improve customer access to sales data; Reduce time to resolve on-site issues; Increase manufacturer and retailer revenuesTimely Analysis and Reporting of Data: Reduce order processing time; Reduce inventory staff; Improve customer service; Realize return on investment

http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+Services

Provide life insurance agents real-time capabilities for quoting, underwriting status and contact management; also, give paramedical examiners the chance of using BlackBerry devices with Bluetooth pens and specialized forms to electronically capture and validate insurance application and exam forms in real time.

monitor supply shipments and troop movements to help trackingfaster access to patient data. This translates into faster treatment, since clinicians can access information frprovide much better control over sales and material costset agents access real-time pricing data from just about anywherelet clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their oget rid of reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every stepenable contractors at job sites to order from the company's 75,000-item catalog using a handheld wireless dgive remote / mobile staff access to sales / customer infohelp route and track nursing aides; notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules; via PPC-based vide

make it possible to collect, preserve, and distribute blood as quickly and accurately as possible in order to pr

increase motivation and achievements of at-risk studentsenable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently

by moving to electronic ticketing to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by thprovide access to timely feedbacksimplify the collection and communication of vital information between field areas (in this case, disaster zo

mainly PPC; however, it also mentions cases when PPC's are NOT preferred (for example, physician reviewing X-rays using a telemedicine application)to get rid of the slow, error-prone liquor license inspection reports

streamline the busy and complex schedules of teachers; administer recordsto be able to keep working wherever he happens to be during his travelsto allow for collecting more data about wildlife than with the paper + centralized IT-based, old approachto avoid the need for hand-typing several hundreds of sheets filled with numbers and tree attributes into Acsee the cab (taxi) example: use positioning services in every cabs to be able to task the nearest cab to pick up the customer, and an SMS message can be sent to t

to provide students hands-on experience with a Windows-based calculatorto make for example school lab measurements much more personal and more real-lifeto get rid of paperwork and to streamline delivering goodsto automatize data collection (GPS, disease) instead of the much slowe / more error-prone paperwork-based oneto make contruction-related work tracking much easierto be able to locate an accident and wirelessly report an event back to the campus control center<various business drivers>To get rid of having to use paperwork ("gauge sheets") and faxing them to a clerk for entry into a coimprove the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems; reduce the reliato make sure the already-existing (and forthcoming) PDA's used by doctors comply with common security ruto be able to provide the customer the latest data and interact with the databases back at the office to incrlink the marketing staff in the field with head office departments in Londonto make sure the way you store information regarding human people is safestreamlining data entry and remote task assignment

get rid of the problems caused by paper-and-pencil data collection & speed up the process

make fire safety inspection much easier / fasterstreamline inspecting of building safety streamline inventory managementsave time and result in a reduction in travel

Official Description Remarksmobile handheld readers to each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territoriesschedule its 300 mobile service engineers and monitor their territoriescollect health plan data and provide the Washington State Medical Education and Research Foundation with reports on doctors and patient care in an effort to improve healthcare800 wireless access points to centralize voicemail, conferencing and other communications featureseliminate the ordering of discontinued items and to streamline the stores’ overall ordering processscans drivers’ licenses and displays information about the violation on the screen. Once the ticket is signed, it is stored on the computer and automatically downloaded into the city court system’s databaseoperate a wireless network with more than 7,000 access points. The district is the first to use a new feature that lets network engineers and administrators see wireless network usage data from a secure portalaccess to voice, fax and email messages in one inbox and can retrieve them by telephone, wireless device or computerwill enable caregivers to review medical records on a wireless laptop or look at patient data on a PDA or Tablet PC. Wireless services and applications will be delivered over a single, unified platformThe residents received Palm PDAs to keep track of medical procedures they performed on young patients. The Palms were also loaded with medical calculators, a book reader and a pharmaceutical formulary providing bedside access to drug interaction data. And finally, the Palms were synchronized with desktop databases (initially via a cradle ) through OneBridge, a mobile infrastructure platform originally owned by Extended Systems and now a part of Sybase’s iAnywhere. The use of OneBridge allowed for quick user authentication and the loading of several applications at once using executable files.involve a hosted Internet/monitoring component and mapping software to pinpoint the location of mobile workersinvolve a hosted Internet/monitoring component and mapping software to pinpoint the location of mobile workersinvolve a hosted Internet/monitoring component and mapping software to pinpoint the location of mobile workersallows dispatchers to track the locations of people calling in emergencies from cell phones in extremely remote locations, such as at sea or in remote hiking and camping areas. “The system is essentially a GIS-driven, local-based service,” says Bill Madeiros, GIS manager of the Maui County department of management. “The x,y coordinate data comes from the cell phone’s GPS and gives the 911 dispatcher a location,”track 320 field technicians who collect 14,000 medical samples daily across a 200 square mile area. Dispatchers use the solution to track technicians’ locations and improve response times to customers. The company claims that technician productivity has doubled, shaving 400 hours from overtime budgets every month.Customers register a credit card at the front counter and are given a Symbol Technologies 3050 rugged handheld; when they see an item they like, they scan it with the handheld and place it in their cart. Upon completing their shopping, shoppers simply return the device and their full shopping cart to the front counter. Transaction data is transmitted via Wi-Fi to the POS system, which tallies orders and executes transactions using credit card numbers on file. Orders are then delivered to shoppers’ doors, for a fee of $15enhanced item availability. Previously, stock clerks checked and recorded inventory using batch data collection terminals. Data was subsequently downloaded and used to generate new orders, a process that took about nine hours per day. Currently, clerks and store managers employ the handhelds to check inventory and recent orders, perform real-time order adjustments after checking sales activity and delivery schedules, and send order changes directly to the warehouse. Replenishment has reportedly become more responsive and accurate, and order entry time has been reduced to two hours.supplies real-time, scheduled bus departure information to customerstransmits customized text messages to roughly 38,000 commuters via mobile phone, alerting them of service disruptions and delays of 15 minutes or more on requested lines; also invested in an upcoming project that will allow passengers to access real-time train information via an internal XML data feed linked to arrival and departure signage inside the transit stationusers can access financial, sales, service and project management apps in real-time via Verizon’s EV-DO broadband networkenable terminal operators and their customers to obtain real-time data on RFID tags at other ports connected to Savi Networks worldwideinexpensive mobile locator technology that rivals the accuracy of bigger competitors—including the multi-billion dollar proprietary systems of FedEx and UPSthe Brew-based solution will provide Alltel’s wireless customers with graphics-rich instant messaging using AOL’s AIM service and Yahoo! Messenger in a mobile format closely mirroring the PC experiencecustomer-loyalty systems that retailers can use to send customers information alerts, cost-saving offers and other incentives designed to increase business and develop a closer buyer-seller relationship. The company’s Mobile Rewards technology was recently adopted by Ring Brothers marketplace, a family-owned grocery chain in Cape Cod. Customers sign up for the Ring Brothers mobile program at one of the chain’s stores and provide the grocer with their cell phone number. The chain then works with MobileLime to channel incentives to these customers and has even staged a weekly drawing for a $100 gift card. responding to power outages … Linemen use Panasonic’s Toughbook 18 to see the outage displayed on a map, along with the relevant customer information.Using laptops with VeraNet software and built-in GPS receivers, LVVWD crews track their locations on a map in conjunction with pipe locations and transmit data to and from the field via Verizon’s EV-DO networkenables technicians to access information and offers managers a complete view of asset performance. Work orders are now updated in real time, says Capes, “whereas before, it could be days and days. It’s about improving our process. We had the opportunity to engineer it from the bottom up, rather than the top down, and by reengineering the process we were able to take, in some instances, 11 manual steps out of it. So for example, to prep a train before would take 13 steps. Today, there are only two tasks involved. So we’ve reduced considerably the amount of time we’re handling paperwork.” for its Service Parts Management solution. The Servigistics solution will become part of Blue Coat’s core infrastructure, which will support the company’s growing service business and help reduce inventory.leverages real-time data from active RFID technologiesTynTec will send Sagem Orga’s OTA service via SMS text messaging using its enterprise SMS platform, ensuring rapid and reliable deliveryuntil recently, reps used paper and pens to record customer orders. The difficulty we were having was that after taking an order, a rep would have to call a customer service rep back at the corporate office and transmit the order verbally, and the sales rep would write it down. NOW: complete entire orders directly on their Treo smartphonesBlackBerry wireless handhelds are so ubiquitous among legislators on Capitol Hill that when the service was threatened with a shutdown as a result of a recent patent dispute, the scuttlebutt turned to talk of a government interventionBefore we implemented [the mobile solution], 95 percent of our business was paper based,” says Tom Hamilton, executive director of CHEERS. Under the old system, raters would log into a Web-based registry, download the information they needed to inspect a property, print the information, go to the site, perform the inspection, collect the data on paper forms, return to their office, re-enter the online registry and type in all the inspection information for the site they had just visited. Errors were commonplace, as was wasted time.PowerPoint presentationsmaximize productivity from the road; not only driving clients around but in negotiating contracts and shepherding them through the closing process. Clients don’t need me to be a taxi serviceWhere other contractors typically check out a job and then send a quote later (which Emmitt points out is rarely a true cost), he goes into the home prepared to enter all the information into QuickBooks and make an informed estimate on the spot. From his handheld he can track inventory and even schedule the job. He then prints the estimate to his Canon portable photo printer via infrared. can input costs with simple dropdown menus (like the cost of the taxi while in the taxi), and when he finishes a trip the application automatically emails him the completed reportaccess his credit card info, check into his hotel and do just about everythingOur wireless strategy is to make our functioning transparent, so patients have immediate access to their records and other medical informationAnything available on a desktop computer at a nurse’s station we wanted to be available mobile as well to a nurse or physician; Bedside Medication Verification (BMV) ; wireless voice over IP devices that allow hands-free communications between healthcare workers

mobile computers to get information on the disease, chat with other participants in the program and enter vital blood test results that can automatically be channeled to doctors patient-tracking system that involves handhelds in the field with EMS providers; used to enter patient data, such as their photo, vital signs, medical acuity information, any treatment that occurs, etc., and that information is then sent in real time over cellular connectivity to the hospital ER, where it pops up on a flatscreen monitora more streamlined means of communication for hospital staff and to give clinicians speedier access to critical patient information. The Clinical Safety System receives patient alarms and other event notifications, which are then dispatched directly to the appropriate nurse’s wireless phone.to electronically capture clinical trial dataThe compact printers are wireless, Bluetooth-equipped, rugged enough to survive winters in Canada and summers in Texas, and offer signature capture printing. Arctic Glacier customers now sign the screen of the driver’s mobile computer, and the driver then prints a 4-inch receipt that also serves as the customer’s invoice. The company reports that the new system has helped eliminate duplicate billing, keeps invoices organized and gets payments in quicker. Subsequently, orders are now processed and printed more quickly, which has allowed drivers to make about three more stops per day. Corporate-wide during peak summer seasons, that works out to an additional 1,800 stops per day.Previously, drivers handwrote receipts, but now, we’re printing out invoices that explain how many gallons they received, the price of it, the tank serial number, the customer number, our plant information, the time of the delivery—all of that is on there.

inspect vehicles for damages during shipping, identify VIN numbers and attach a Fleet Management System label to each vehicle. The labels contain the VIN, any damages information and help the workers to group the vehicles for transport to their final destination“In the past,” he says, “if you didn’t have access to mobile printing technology, what you’d have to do is: go out, inspect the property, take detailed notes, go back to an office location and create a notice, send a copy via certified mail and then come back out to the property sometime later and post the notification onto the property itself. With the printer I’m using now, I’m able to post multi-page notices right on the property instantlySQL Anywhere and M-Business Anywhere, two of our iAnywhere solutions, provide always-available access to data, whether users have a live connection to a network or not.

dated back to 2004; therefore, it may not be topical any longer!. The report is also available at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Expectations-and-Perspectives-for-Mobile-Business-Processes.pdfmost of all middle-sized assignments are supporsee as above

see as abovesee as above

PROBLEM: way of communicating via mobile phone is at tsee as abovesee as abovesee as above

no real, tangible case studies / real-life examples, just some "rule of thumbs" as far as mobilizing intervention forces (police, fire fighters etc.) is concerned. However, it contains several usable, practical ideas of how PDA's and other mobile devices can be used in situations like these.PROBLEM: Die Kommunikation und Informationsbeschaffunfirst, it explains what RFID is; then, it lists three scenarios. The first (section 4.2, Process Management / Control) involves task list pushing via GPRS to a mobile PDA. These to-do tasks must be closed on the PDA - or, alternatively, an estimated deadline needs to be entered by the mobile user. This user input / changes will, then, be synched back (realtime) to the corporate ERP server. This all greatly speeds up keeping tracks of tasks and centrally processing them. (Also see the Business drivers for an explanation of the two other cases!)

a very short paper on the framework to mutually compare the advantages of mobile devices in the enterprise world (ERP). No REAL comparisons or case studies are available, though. THE full article is published in German only ("Einsatz mobiler Technologie zur Unterstützung von Geschäftsprozessen") at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Einsatz-mobiler-Technologie-zur-Unterstuetzung-von-Geschaeftsprozessen.pdfConclusion: Our research combines usability and processan article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.The channel needed to enable retail banking customers to retrieve and view account balances, transfer funds, pay bills and view account histories and recent transactions. The criteria also included in-house and full platform control from a secure location behind the bank's firewall and existing security infrastructure, as well as seamless integration with CIBC’s existing online retail banking system.First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.Business Challenge: First Command implemented a Citrix-based solution to centralize the management and distribution of core business and financial planning applications, but needed a compatible solution to synchronize e-mail and PIM data via mobile handheld devices used by sales associates in the field. Almost 300 mobile devices are currently deployed, with the number increasing. SOLUTION: First Command implemented OneBridge Mobile Groupware, which enables the First Command mobile representatives to access and synchronize with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system to update e-mail as well as calendars, contact lists and other PIM and groupware data.The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.Using Information Manager, pension funds, corporatiseveral banks listed as customers!!!!Each of Thrivent's 1,850 representatives is equipped with a laptop to allow increased flexibility and face-time with members in their homes. All of the organization's insurance application and service forms are electronic and are located on the laptops. By having mobile devices, Thrivent representatives are able to be in the field serving their customers, strengthening trust and building one-on-one relationships-two important factors in the insurance industry."This white paper describes how Windows Mobile poweGoogle: banking financial representative sales remote mobile access

Two of the eight field employees are currently testing a Windows-based solution that runs on their laptops using GPRS as transmitting technology. The employees access the internal ERP system via a browser on a terminal server. As there is no local installation and synchroniza tion, there is no off-line use of the system. This industry-specific solution enables the sales field employees to create and process an order on site, obviating the need for paper. Previously, the order was created using paper forms and voice communication, and it had to be retyped by an employee in the office – an error-prone activity resulting in loss of time. Other functions that can now be performed out of office are queries about availability and the processing of complaints. The software provides the employees with the appropriate forms and templates. The savings brought by the new solution have not yet been calculated, but the contact person feels that the field employees are now able to both save time and paper work. One of the two test persons is said to be enthusiastic about the solution, the other one is less excited at the moment. A PDA-based solution has also been discussed and tested by the field employees. This device was, however, not taken into use because the field employees found it to be a “toy” and did not take it seriously.

PROBLEM: Eight field employees work in the sales department. They are segmented into geographical regions and their responsibility includes the contact to customers and the submission of offers. The only way of communication with the company headquarters is via mobile phone. There is no data transmission or direct access to the central databases. The amount of communication via telephone constitutes the core problem for the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales forces. The office staff operates at full capacity and there is a need of new employees if the company keeps growing. 25% of the phone calls originate from the field staff requiring information on the availability of products and customer-specific price calculations. The lack of information exchange between employees in the field and the office staff is the cause of peculiar side effects: Some customers receive offers from the field staff and afterwards they contact the office staff as well, who has no information about the actions of the field employees, for a second offer. Thus competition is generated within the sales department which results in an embarrassing situation for the company itself and leads to financial losses and a further need of coordination via mobile phone between field and office staff. SOLUTIONS:

The company has three different software solutions in use that enable remote access to the company network. Two of them are provided by the internal IT department of the mother company. Through these applications, the employees can access the network device-independently. The consulting engineers currently use laptops in order to demonstrate the product to the customers. The transmission technology used for this traffic is GPRS provided by Vodafone, and the costs generated through the data transmission are, according to the company, accept able. The consulting engineers use various types of software, including email and terminal clients. They download the up-to-date presentations from the server to their mobile working stations. The testing of machines (e.g. modal analysis, magnetic effects) often requires extensive computing power that can only be delivered by the company’s computing center in Munich. In these cases the engineers access the calculations and solutions via GPRS and a terminal server application. All this communication is secured by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). The sales people mostly use an Outlook email client in their work. They also need to use presentations when meeting with clients. In addition, there is an SAP application for the PDAs, which some employees use, but this way of working has not really been a great success among the employees. The administration considers it to be better to have one common device for all employees, in this case a laptop. In addition to PCs and notebooks, the company also provides their customers with access to the electronic catalogues through mobile end devices. The access is enabled through a browser. The typical users of this service are the clients’ mobile technicians that are respon sible for repairs and services of the machines on the field. The proportion between the usage of notebooks and PDAs in the mobile access is about 70:30. To extend its know-how in the mobile end device area, the company has acquired a smaller company specialized in this area. The mobile usage of the system may be further increased in the future through an extension of the system with an interface to an ordering system (with automatic or manual dealer selection) and by assigning a logistics service for order delivery.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

for end users: created Mobile Alert, a subscription service that delivers timely financial market information to users of Pocket PCs running Windows Mobile softwarefor end users: Cantor Index saw the potential for wireless technology, but it had to deliver a quality of information as high as that available online, deliver timely prices to end users, and enable users to transact immediately.ISSUE / PROBLEM: Receiving timely changes to customer appointment times and other information is often a problem for sales representatives on the road. If data is received too late, or is incorrect or incomplete, losses may arise. ISSUE / PROBLEM: The company wanted to speed the assignment and completion of property inspections and results, and reduce the follow-up questions between Safeguard staff and inspectors. ISSUE / PROBLEM: The UniCredit Group was formed after a series of mergers. Different IT systems in place at each of the group’s constituent companies limited the ability of workers to collaborate and work remotely. ISSUE / PROBLEM: Blevins outsourced its IT needs to consultants who did a poor job building the company’s network and configuring its software. It needed a solution to resolve the resulting security and mobile access issues.ISSUE / PROBLEM: Allstate Canada wanted to improve the settlement process by eliminating the need for claims adjusters and contractors to take notes by hand at the loss site.

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.<see the page for a complete software list> several mobile applications; note that they offer software solutions for many other fields too (see the "Select an Industry" drop-down list at the top)the reps can move quickly via a thumb wheel"Mortgage broker banking on smart-phone app""MWholesaler allows our team to drive business by making it easy to get all the critical information on top producers throughout their territory." an example: Mann Mortgage: "Hard copy loan applicationsfour case studies; NOT PDA-oriented

provide VPN-like access to home network wherever GPRS / mobile connection isn't sufficient and field workers don't want to beg for an Internet connection at the company they're currently atThrough mPlatform, Pioneer's wholesalers can accessalso see http://www.mobileenterprise.org/members_studies.php for several similar financial services-based reports; some (for example, Scudder Distributors, BMW Financial Services Ltd., 2004 Mobile Impact Award Winner, Banca Serfin (this has already been elaborated on above!), Belarusbank) require a www.mobileenterprise.org accountIn an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

The firm's sales force is spread across the United States, creating a challenge for wholesalers to be connected with client and corporate information in the field. Evergreen chose mWholesaler to bridge the communication gap by complementing existing technology and internal sales resources with better access to sales statistics and reporting tools for sales managers.source of all Nokia-related business stories: http://www.nokia-knowledgecenter.com/?elqPURLPage=162 ; see the page for many more case studies of different industry categories

Note that the article at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/mar04/PocketPCPride.aspx also discusses Push Mail - but it's pretty old and relates only to WM2003 (as opposed to PPC2k2)

lists current MS technologies; a very good read. No Over the last few years there has been a steady ris field staff (power and water industries), agents, bro

see http://www.lacrossesoftware.com/salesraptorROI.pdf for some very good examples of in what way ROI can become a reality

Most of the case studies don't explicitly mention PDA-based usage; still, as thee is a dedicated Citrix client for Windows Mobile, some? many? of the solutions are possible to realize using PDA's tooThe standardized and centralized desktop can even bCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesNot only are ICICI Lombard’s offices dispersed gCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesSuitcase banking is about responding to the needs oCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+Servicesinsurance companies need an efficient technology sCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesProvide time and cost savings in Web-enabling appliCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesAs a non-banking finance company, Mahindra Finance’Citrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+Services“Workforce mobility is important to us, as it means Citrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+Services

fast, secure access to the company’s custom Imaging Workflow applications, Microsoft® Office 2003 and Outlook, Caseware, Telerate and the ASIC DigeCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesNo special mobile uses are mentioned; however, this maCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesFaster access to information using Presentation Citrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesWith Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology."Life insurance agents historically have carried laptops, but we see a shift toward wireless PDAs with real-time capabilities for quoting, underwriting status and contact management. Further examples include paramedical examiners using BlackBerry devices with Bluetooth pens and specialized forms to electronically capture and validate insurance application and exam forms in real time."eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

much as this is a plain confernece ad, it contains a lot of buzzwords and enterprises utilizing mobility; therefore, it may be worth checking it outAlso see http://mobileguide.computerworld.com/search/keyword/cwmobile/Palm%20Remote/Palm%20Remote for a lot of other software solutions; Datex has several other mobility-related products as well

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

ISSUE / PROBLEM: The company’s mobility solution had become old and unsupported. The organization needed a new solution that provides sales representatives with access to detailed product information to enable them to order items more efficiently from the field.ISSUE / PROBLEM: Sixty percent of sales orders were processed manually. BIC Chile wanted a mobile computing solution for sales representatives to optimize the sales order generation process and improve the collection process. ISSUE / PROBLEM: Manual order capture and processing led to inaccurate information and further chasing of orders and payment queries.ISSUE / PROBLEM: Wolters Kluwer Health wanted to replace paper-based inventory and ordering processes with automated technology that would allow sales representatives to focus more on sales activities.ISSUE / PROBLEM: CROSSMARK wanted to upgrade a laptop computer–based in-house application developed to speed communications with its field.ISSUE / PROBLEM: An antiquated, paper-based order entry system for the company’s sales force in North America had become inefficient, inaccurate, and costly, necessitating a new wireless solution.

Lotus & CRM mobile access; RESULTS: Business decisions are more informed; Business opportunities are more defined ; Sales teams can react more quickly to changing customer needs

PROBLEM: Many of the company’s 11,000-plus employees spend most of their time on the road, visiting corporate customers and calling on potential new accounts. Until recently, Sampo’s staff relied on laptops when they needed information or access to email from a customer site. However, because many companies don’t allow outside computers to connect to their networks, Sampo staff often couldn’t retrieve the information until after the customer meeting. Laptops were also awkward to use during meeting breaks or in airports, which are ideal times to check email. PROBLEM: Erste Bank has a widely spread branch network, so electronic communication via email is of great importance. For some time now, Erste Bank has facilitated mobile access to email, calendar entries, and contact details for employees whose positions demand frequent travelling. The company considers the shortened response times to be a significant advantage. Erste Bank had been using business devices with different operating systems, which frequently resulted in loss of information when aligning PCs and mobile devices.PROBLEM: The company serves comparatively few, yet highly demanding customers, personalized consulting and an uncompromising service orientation are crucial—also for the senior managers who maintain very close contacts to their key customers. This includes responding as rapidly as possible to customer requests— which is why the decision was made in 2005 to provide the senior management with mobile access to their email, phonebook and calendarPROBLEM: Crédit Agricole had two critical needs. The first need was to improve their mobile executives’ desire to increase responsiveness towards various operations managers and key client accounts. Major decisions were being delayed and business opportunties were slipping away. Equally important was the need for their auditors to be able to access key documents—forms, customer reports, investor files, and so on—whilst working remotely at customer sites. Given the sensitive nature of the data, reliability was a critical issue in addition to finding a solution that would require minimal technical expertise to use. Office Communicator 2007: When a customer has a question, the employee is able to initiate a conversation with a specialist or expert, regardless of their location, and quickly gather information to help answer customer questions promptly. With this communication model, customer service representatives have access to tax experts, insurance advisors, product specialists and others with high-value expertise, right at their fingertips. This increases customer service at the point of interaction, and helps companies sell more products and services. Federation capabilities of Office Communicator 2007 allow advisors to IM directly with customers using security-enhanced consumer IM services such as MSN®, AOL or Yahoo! In addition, Exchange Server 2007 facilitates mobile access to e-mail for employees, so that they can respond to customer questions about their accounts in a timely manner, even while traveling.

http://www.fameforusers.org/market_dev/market_trends.html ("MOBILE MARKET DEVELOPMENTS : MOBILE MARKET TRENDS") not really recommended: just some (not many) mobility-related news headlines

Your field professionals have more face-to-face contact with your customers than anyone. It is therefore crucial for your entire field force to work in both wireless and disconnected environments, ensuring they have the latest, most accurate information available to provide the highest levels of service possible. Datex_EX MFSM is a robust field service software solution that provides real-time, direct connectivity to field professionals. Using a state-of-the-art mobile framework, Datex EX_MFSM is designed to address ROI while providing maximum flexibility in order to extend and configure the solution to fit the specific needs of your business. / / In the field, Datex EX_MFSM provides critical customer and job information to the technician for each service call and gives him an easy way to update the job status (e.g., en route, onsite, completed, etc.). By allowing service professionals to access this information in real time, they are able to increase first-time fix rates and improve customer satisfaction. At the dispatch center, schedules are automatically adjusted using the field updates and dispatchers are able to proactively monitor and manage changes. Has the technician completed the job early? The dispatcher can instantly assign him a new job. Running late? Move the next job to someone else. / / Pre-Built Components / Unlike other mobile solutions, Datex EX_MFSM is easily adapted to perfectly suit your organization’s requirements. Our mobile computing solutions are made up of pre-defined and pre-built components that we combine and extend with custom features to meet your unique needs both now and in the future. / / Streamlined Process / With Datex_EX MFSM, you can streamline processes and improve productivity in the field, completing jobs more efficiently and quickly, and shortening the billing cycle.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.Oakwood Healthcare guarantees all incoming patients also see Winchester Hospital, BostonAvecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.This crop-insurance provider is using handhelds and the Internet to let agents access real-time pricing data from just about anywhere. Producers has invested just under $100,000 in the project, which brings agents data at the "point of need," says Larry Latham, company treasurer and project leader. / One big benefit: better and faster decision-making. "You never know what the weather is going to do, and making a decision too late because the coverage and cost information was not available could spell disaster," says Benson Latham, Producers' vice president of marketing.In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.Practicality and ease of use were the key goals of this $4 billion electrical parts distributor's wireless project, which enables contractors at job sites to order from the company's 75,000-item catalog using a handheld wireless device. / Investment in the real-time field ordering system has been modest, primarily because Wesco piggybacked the system on its $2 million Web infrastructure. The payback: greater mind share and improved satisfaction among Wesco's construction company customers, which account for more than $1 billion in sales annually.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.a MUST for a complete list of related solutions!a generic, introductory, non-area-specific article on myths (Wireless connectivity is not secure / Wireless coverage is not yet ubiquitous enough to support a mobile workforce / Mobility is expensive / Mobility can be hard to set up, support, and manage).

As the wars rage on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army is experiencing a huge demand for blood to treat soldiers injured on the battlefield. Due to the highly perishable nature of some blood products, with as little as a five-day shelf life, it is imperative that the Army's medical and supply soldiers collect, preserve, and distribute blood as quickly and accurately as possible in order to preserve the viability of every last drop. This urgency holds true throughout the blood supply chain, from donor centers in the United States to field blood bank units in the Middle East.three nice overviews of current rugged PPC's. Note that there's another article on mobile (also rugged) printers at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/mar04/PrintingSoln.aspx

Thanks to innovative leadership and extraordinary teacher efforts and creativity over the past three years, data demonstrates that Pocket PCs contribute much to increase motivation and achievements of at-risk students. Despite hour-long bus rides every day, students' attendance rates increased significantly, failing grades nearly disappeared, grade point averages shot up for almost every student, and the school earned full state and federal accreditation. As York River Academy of Technology and its faculty continue their school-wide efforts to serve as a model for integrating Pocket PCs and high school learning, only one thing is certain for the local community and students: it is now far more difficult for students to sit glassy-eyed and bored in school.A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

a generic article & comparison of all database software available for Windows MobileIn a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

mainly PPC; however, it also mentions cases when PPC's are NOT preferred (for example, physician reviewing X-rays using a telemedicine application) generic article on selecting the best mobile (not necessarily PPC-based) solution for your needs / enterprise; definitely worth a read (Who are your user groups? What geographic areas do your user groups cover? In what type of environments will the wireless devices be used? How secure do your communications need to be? What applications would you like to have in the field? What type of data are you accessing and entering? Do you need to access and react to data in real time? What are your long-term mobile goals? What are your organization's financial limitations?)

an article on kiosk mode & quickly configuring (cloning) a PPC with PortNexus DealerPortTeachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."More importantly, Bebic is "always on." His Smartphone receives e-mail, contacts and calendar information over-the-air, so he's able to keep working wherever he happens to be during his travels. "I now have the flexibility to only take my phone, know it will work in whatever country I am in, and know that my contacts, calendar and e-mail follow me wherever I am, saving me an incredible amount of time: that translates into money in my business."

see the cab (taxi) example: use positioning services in every cabs to be able to task the nearest cab to pick up the customer, and an SMS message can be sent to ta generic article on the MS MapPoint Location Service and the Mobile Locator software with some (fictional) real-world enterprise usage examples - worth a read

worth checking out for some real-world examples of PPC-based education-related appsThe effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."to automatize data collection (GPS, disease) instead of the much slowe / more error-prone paperwork-based one

see links at the bottom of the articleOil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.Our client for this project was Red Bull UK, the British arm of the worldwide energy drinks company. As part of its marketing campaign Red Bull employs teams of field-based staff to promote their product at events around the UK. In the spring of 2002 they made the decision to significantly expand this workforce, making the existing manual and paper-based processes inadequate for the expected level of information flow between head office and the field. // We were given the brief to develop a mobile application that would link the marketing staff in the field with head office departments in London.

definitely worth reading

PROBLEM / ISSUE: In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

PROBLEM: Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / PROBLEM: This left us with the daunting task of hand-typing 600 sheets filled with numbers and tree attributes into Access or Excel. We had to do this ourselves because of the tight requirements from our customer; we couldn't simply hire a typist. What made the data entry task even bigger was that, with paper forms, poor handwriting was a huge headache. Weeks after the fact (and without the person who created the initial tally sheet available), we had to decipher every last number and note.

PROBLEM: After work began, I noticed that the way contractors worked was frequently very inefficient because they managed almost all of their business with a notepad and a cell-phone. Being a software engineer for quite some time, I began documenting scenarios that occurred. After observing the work routine, I realized that a tool could be developed that could alleviate the pain of construction, from the perspective of both the construction company and the homeowner. Granted, some of the things that occurred could have been avoided with such a tool and some not, but in any case I thought my personal experience was trumpeting the need for such tools in the construction industry.

What can Microsoft do to help improve healthcare? // One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

Mandates for security / / Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available!Data collection: / / Mobile solutions offer a number of savings and efficiencies, but perhaps the most important deals with how data is collected. In most instances, a mobile solution replaces a paper process. But regardless of how data is collected and stored—on paper or electronically—the data collection is usually the result of some action, such as performing an inspection or replacing a part. In the pen and paper "clipboard" model, this data is then passed along to a data entry clerk whose job it is to enter it into a central system which typically includes billing and inventory databases. / / The problems inherent in this paper-based model are painfully familiar to those who operate this way. As the information that comes from the field is often handwritten, mistakes are inevitably made reading and inputting it at the central office. This becomes an issue for organizations such as the City of Jacksonville's Building Inspection Division, which does 800 to 1000 inspections per day. Thomas H. Goldsbury, Jacksonville's Chief Building Official, says, "When the inspectors would handwrite their results, it wouldn't get put in correctly—either the clerk could misread what they wrote or maybe there was a data entry error." / / Data entry error is not unusual though. "Most companies experience a manual data entry error rate of 5 percent ... I think that's conservative. It's probably more like 10 to 20 percent," says Mike Rioux, President of IDEA (Industry Data Exchange Association). / / Communications / / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / / tangible benefit from SFA. Instead of filling out paper-based order forms, the orders can be entered directly into a handheld device. Complete catalogs with current inventory levels and head-to-head product comparisons can be viewed on the handheld or output to a projector. Features such as customer trend analysis, dynamic pricing, delivery estimates, and manufacturing process integration can also significantly increase profitability by increasing customer satisfaction while simultaneously enhancing sales cycle efficiency. Sales technique effectiveness data and individual productivity rates can be collected and analyzed for overall sales process improvement.

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

PROBLEM: Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history.1. Existing System Evaluation. / / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

PROBLEM: At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

Article (publish) date

collect health plan data and provide the Washington State Medical Education and Research Foundation with reports on doctors and patient care in an effort to improve healthcare

scans drivers’ licenses and displays information about the violation on the screen. Once the ticket is signed, it is stored on the computer and automatically downloaded into the city court system’s databaseoperate a wireless network with more than 7,000 access points. The district is the first to use a new feature that lets network engineers and administrators see wireless network usage data from a secure portalaccess to voice, fax and email messages in one inbox and can retrieve them by telephone, wireless device or computerwill enable caregivers to review medical records on a wireless laptop or look at patient data on a PDA or Tablet PC. Wireless services and applications will be delivered over a single, unified platformThe residents received Palm PDAs to keep track of medical procedures they performed on young patients. The Palms were also loaded with medical calculators, a book reader and a pharmaceutical formulary providing bedside access to drug interaction data. And finally, the Palms were synchronized with desktop databases (initially via a cradle ) through OneBridge, a mobile infrastructure platform originally owned by Extended Systems and now a part of Sybase’s iAnywhere. The use of OneBridge allowed for quick user authentication and the loading of several applications at once using executable files.involve a hosted Internet/monitoring component and mapping software to pinpoint the location of mobile workersinvolve a hosted Internet/monitoring component and mapping software to pinpoint the location of mobile workersinvolve a hosted Internet/monitoring component and mapping software to pinpoint the location of mobile workersallows dispatchers to track the locations of people calling in emergencies from cell phones in extremely remote locations, such as at sea or in remote hiking and camping areas. “The system is essentially a GIS-driven, local-based service,” says Bill Madeiros, GIS manager of the Maui County department of management. “The x,y coordinate data comes from the cell phone’s GPS and gives the 911 dispatcher a location,”track 320 field technicians who collect 14,000 medical samples daily across a 200 square mile area. Dispatchers use the solution to track technicians’ locations and improve response times to customers. The company claims that technician productivity has doubled, shaving 400 hours from overtime budgets every month.Customers register a credit card at the front counter and are given a Symbol Technologies 3050 rugged handheld; when they see an item they like, they scan it with the handheld and place it in their cart. Upon completing their shopping, shoppers simply return the device and their full shopping cart to the front counter. Transaction data is transmitted via Wi-Fi to the POS system, which tallies orders and executes transactions using credit card numbers on file. Orders are then delivered to shoppers’ doors, for a fee of $15enhanced item availability. Previously, stock clerks checked and recorded inventory using batch data collection terminals. Data was subsequently downloaded and used to generate new orders, a process that took about nine hours per day. Currently, clerks and store managers employ the handhelds to check inventory and recent orders, perform real-time order adjustments after checking sales activity and delivery schedules, and send order changes directly to the warehouse. Replenishment has reportedly become more responsive and accurate, and order entry time has been reduced to two hours.

transmits customized text messages to roughly 38,000 commuters via mobile phone, alerting them of service disruptions and delays of 15 minutes or more on requested lines; also invested in an upcoming project that will allow passengers to access real-time train information via an internal XML data feed linked to arrival and departure signage inside the transit stationusers can access financial, sales, service and project management apps in real-time via Verizon’s EV-DO broadband networkenable terminal operators and their customers to obtain real-time data on RFID tags at other ports connected to Savi Networks worldwideinexpensive mobile locator technology that rivals the accuracy of bigger competitors—including the multi-billion dollar proprietary systems of FedEx and UPSthe Brew-based solution will provide Alltel’s wireless customers with graphics-rich instant messaging using AOL’s AIM service and Yahoo! Messenger in a mobile format closely mirroring the PC experiencecustomer-loyalty systems that retailers can use to send customers information alerts, cost-saving offers and other incentives designed to increase business and develop a closer buyer-seller relationship. The company’s Mobile Rewards technology was recently adopted by Ring Brothers marketplace, a family-owned grocery chain in Cape Cod. Customers sign up for the Ring Brothers mobile program at one of the chain’s stores and provide the grocer with their cell phone number. The chain then works with MobileLime to channel incentives to these customers and has even staged a weekly drawing for a $100 gift card. responding to power outages … Linemen use Panasonic’s Toughbook 18 to see the outage displayed on a map, along with the relevant customer information.Using laptops with VeraNet software and built-in GPS receivers, LVVWD crews track their locations on a map in conjunction with pipe locations and transmit data to and from the field via Verizon’s EV-DO networkenables technicians to access information and offers managers a complete view of asset performance. Work orders are now updated in real time, says Capes, “whereas before, it could be days and days. It’s about improving our process. We had the opportunity to engineer it from the bottom up, rather than the top down, and by reengineering the process we were able to take, in some instances, 11 manual steps out of it. So for example, to prep a train before would take 13 steps. Today, there are only two tasks involved. So we’ve reduced considerably the amount of time we’re handling paperwork.” for its Service Parts Management solution. The Servigistics solution will become part of Blue Coat’s core infrastructure, which will support the company’s growing service business and help reduce inventory.

TynTec will send Sagem Orga’s OTA service via SMS text messaging using its enterprise SMS platform, ensuring rapid and reliable deliveryuntil recently, reps used paper and pens to record customer orders. The difficulty we were having was that after taking an order, a rep would have to call a customer service rep back at the corporate office and transmit the order verbally, and the sales rep would write it down. NOW: complete entire orders directly on their Treo smartphonesBlackBerry wireless handhelds are so ubiquitous among legislators on Capitol Hill that when the service was threatened with a shutdown as a result of a recent patent dispute, the scuttlebutt turned to talk of a government interventionBefore we implemented [the mobile solution], 95 percent of our business was paper based,” says Tom Hamilton, executive director of CHEERS. Under the old system, raters would log into a Web-based registry, download the information they needed to inspect a property, print the information, go to the site, perform the inspection, collect the data on paper forms, return to their office, re-enter the online registry and type in all the inspection information for the site they had just visited. Errors were commonplace, as was wasted time.

maximize productivity from the road; not only driving clients around but in negotiating contracts and shepherding them through the closing process. Clients don’t need me to be a taxi serviceWhere other contractors typically check out a job and then send a quote later (which Emmitt points out is rarely a true cost), he goes into the home prepared to enter all the information into QuickBooks and make an informed estimate on the spot. From his handheld he can track inventory and even schedule the job. He then prints the estimate to his Canon portable photo printer via infrared. can input costs with simple dropdown menus (like the cost of the taxi while in the taxi), and when he finishes a trip the application automatically emails him the completed report

Our wireless strategy is to make our functioning transparent, so patients have immediate access to their records and other medical informationAnything available on a desktop computer at a nurse’s station we wanted to be available mobile as well to a nurse or physician; Bedside Medication Verification (BMV) ; wireless voice over IP devices that allow hands-free communications between healthcare workers

mobile computers to get information on the disease, chat with other participants in the program and enter vital blood test results that can automatically be channeled to doctors patient-tracking system that involves handhelds in the field with EMS providers; used to enter patient data, such as their photo, vital signs, medical acuity information, any treatment that occurs, etc., and that information is then sent in real time over cellular connectivity to the hospital ER, where it pops up on a flatscreen monitora more streamlined means of communication for hospital staff and to give clinicians speedier access to critical patient information. The Clinical Safety System receives patient alarms and other event notifications, which are then dispatched directly to the appropriate nurse’s wireless phone.

The compact printers are wireless, Bluetooth-equipped, rugged enough to survive winters in Canada and summers in Texas, and offer signature capture printing. Arctic Glacier customers now sign the screen of the driver’s mobile computer, and the driver then prints a 4-inch receipt that also serves as the customer’s invoice. The company reports that the new system has helped eliminate duplicate billing, keeps invoices organized and gets payments in quicker. Subsequently, orders are now processed and printed more quickly, which has allowed drivers to make about three more stops per day. Corporate-wide during peak summer seasons, that works out to an additional 1,800 stops per day.Previously, drivers handwrote receipts, but now, we’re printing out invoices that explain how many gallons they received, the price of it, the tank serial number, the customer number, our plant information, the time of the delivery—all of that is on there.

inspect vehicles for damages during shipping, identify VIN numbers and attach a Fleet Management System label to each vehicle. The labels contain the VIN, any damages information and help the workers to group the vehicles for transport to their final destination“In the past,” he says, “if you didn’t have access to mobile printing technology, what you’d have to do is: go out, inspect the property, take detailed notes, go back to an office location and create a notice, send a copy via certified mail and then come back out to the property sometime later and post the notification onto the property itself. With the printer I’m using now, I’m able to post multi-page notices right on the property instantlySQL Anywhere and M-Business Anywhere, two of our iAnywhere solutions, provide always-available access to data, whether users have a live connection to a network or not.

dated back to 2004; therefore, it may not be topical any longer!. The report is also available at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Expectations-and-Perspectives-for-Mobile-Business-Processes.pdf

no real, tangible case studies / real-life examples, just some "rule of thumbs" as far as mobilizing intervention forces (police, fire fighters etc.) is concerned. However, it contains several usable, practical ideas of how PDA's and other mobile devices can be used in situations like these.first, it explains what RFID is; then, it lists three scenarios. The first (section 4.2, Process Management / Control) involves task list pushing via GPRS to a mobile PDA. These to-do tasks must be closed on the PDA - or, alternatively, an estimated deadline needs to be entered by the mobile user. This user input / changes will, then, be synched back (realtime) to the corporate ERP server. This all greatly speeds up keeping tracks of tasks and centrally processing them. (Also see the Business drivers for an explanation of the two other cases!)a very short paper on the framework to mutually compare the advantages of mobile devices in the enterprise world (ERP). No REAL comparisons or case studies are available, though. THE full article is published in German only ("Einsatz mobiler Technologie zur Unterstützung von Geschäftsprozessen") at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Einsatz-mobiler-Technologie-zur-Unterstuetzung-von-Geschaeftsprozessen.pdfan article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.The channel needed to enable retail banking customers to retrieve and view account balances, transfer funds, pay bills and view account histories and recent transactions. The criteria also included in-house and full platform control from a secure location behind the bank's firewall and existing security infrastructure, as well as seamless integration with CIBC’s existing online retail banking system.First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.Business Challenge: First Command implemented a Citrix-based solution to centralize the management and distribution of core business and financial planning applications, but needed a compatible solution to synchronize e-mail and PIM data via mobile handheld devices used by sales associates in the field. Almost 300 mobile devices are currently deployed, with the number increasing. SOLUTION: First Command implemented OneBridge Mobile Groupware, which enables the First Command mobile representatives to access and synchronize with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system to update e-mail as well as calendars, contact lists and other PIM and groupware data.The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Each of Thrivent's 1,850 representatives is equipped with a laptop to allow increased flexibility and face-time with members in their homes. All of the organization's insurance application and service forms are electronic and are located on the laptops. By having mobile devices, Thrivent representatives are able to be in the field serving their customers, strengthening trust and building one-on-one relationships-two important factors in the insurance industry.Google: banking financial representative sales remote mobile access

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

: created Mobile Alert, a subscription service that delivers timely financial market information to users of Pocket PCs running Windows Mobile software: Cantor Index saw the potential for wireless technology, but it had to deliver a quality of information as high as that available online, deliver timely prices to end users, and enable users to transact immediately.

: Receiving timely changes to customer appointment times and other information is often a problem for sales representatives on the road. If data is received too late, or is incorrect or incomplete, losses may arise. SOLUTIONThe company wanted to speed the assignment and completion of property inspections and results, and reduce the follow-up questions between Safeguard staff and inspectors. SOLUTION: Safeguard replaced a desktop solution with one based on the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework running on Pocket PCs with Windows Mobile 2003 software. RESULTS: Inspection results sent to clients 21 percent faster; Follow-up time reduced by 65 percent; Client questionnaires customized and implemented within hours; Maintenance reduction estimated at U.S.$160,000 annually; Reduced time to implement industry regulation changesThe UniCredit Group was formed after a series of mergers. Different IT systems in place at each of the group’s constituent companies limited the ability of workers to collaborate and work remotely. Blevins outsourced its IT needs to consultants who did a poor job building the company’s network and configuring its software. It needed a solution to resolve the resulting security and mobile access issues.Allstate Canada wanted to improve the settlement process by eliminating the need for claims adjusters and contractors to take notes by hand at the loss site. SOLUTION: Allstate Canada selected Symbility Solutions to provide a mobile claims solution for Windows Mobile devices.

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.several mobile applications; note that they offer software solutions for many other fields too (see the "Select an Industry" drop-down list at the top)

"MWholesaler allows our team to drive business by making it easy to get all the critical information on top producers throughout their territory."

also see http://www.mobileenterprise.org/members_studies.php for several similar financial services-based reports; some (for example, Scudder Distributors, BMW Financial Services Ltd., 2004 Mobile Impact Award Winner, Banca Serfin (this has already been elaborated on above!), Belarusbank) require a www.mobileenterprise.org accountIn an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

The firm's sales force is spread across the United States, creating a challenge for wholesalers to be connected with client and corporate information in the field. Evergreen chose mWholesaler to bridge the communication gap by complementing existing technology and internal sales resources with better access to sales statistics and reporting tools for sales managers.source of all Nokia-related business stories: http://www.nokia-knowledgecenter.com/?elqPURLPage=162 ; see the page for many more case studies of different industry categories

Note that the article at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/mar04/PocketPCPride.aspx also discusses Push Mail - but it's pretty old and relates only to WM2003 (as opposed to PPC2k2)

Mar-07Jun-06

see http://www.lacrossesoftware.com/salesraptorROI.pdf for some very good examples of in what way ROI can become a reality

Most of the case studies don't explicitly mention PDA-based usage; still, as thee is a dedicated Citrix client for Windows Mobile, some? many? of the solutions are possible to realize using PDA's tooCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+ServicesCitrix case studies: http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/industryList.asp?storyIndustry=Financial+Services

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology."Life insurance agents historically have carried laptops, but we see a shift toward wireless PDAs with real-time capabilities for quoting, underwriting status and contact management. Further examples include paramedical examiners using BlackBerry devices with Bluetooth pens and specialized forms to electronically capture and validate insurance application and exam forms in real time."eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

much as this is a plain confernece ad, it contains a lot of buzzwords and enterprises utilizing mobility; therefore, it may be worth checking it outAlso see http://mobileguide.computerworld.com/search/keyword/cwmobile/Palm%20Remote/Palm%20Remote for a lot of other software solutions; Datex has several other mobility-related products as well

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

The company’s mobility solution had become old and unsupported. The organization needed a new solution that provides sales representatives with access to detailed product information to enable them to order items more efficiently from the field.Sixty percent of sales orders were processed manually. BIC Chile wanted a mobile computing solution for sales representatives to optimize the sales order generation process and improve the collection process. Manual order capture and processing led to inaccurate information and further chasing of orders and payment queries. SOLUTION: Microsoft partner Fujitsu Services developed a mobile application called Sales Advisor Mobilisation. It is based on Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition, running on personal digital assistants.Wolters Kluwer Health wanted to replace paper-based inventory and ordering processes with automated technology that would allow sales representatives to focus more on sales activities. SOLUTION: A Windows Mobile powered sales solution built on the Microsoft .NET Framework allows sales representatives to look up account, contact, product, and order history information, as well as place orders, on their Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs. CROSSMARK wanted to upgrade a laptop computer–based in-house application developed to speed communications with its field. SOLUTION: The company deployed about 1,000 HP iPAQ Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs, some equipped with wireless modems for remote transmissions. An antiquated, paper-based order entry system for the company’s sales force in North America had become inefficient, inaccurate, and costly, necessitating a new wireless solution. SOLUTION: The company deployed mobile devices running Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Phone Edition, linked to order entry and inventory systems running Microsoft SQL Server with .NET software.

: Business decisions are more informed; Business opportunities are more defined ; Sales teams can react more quickly to changing customer needs

: Erste Bank has a widely spread branch network, so electronic communication via email is of great importance. For some time now, Erste Bank has facilitated mobile access to email, calendar entries, and contact details for employees whose positions demand frequent travelling. The company considers the shortened response times to be a significant advantage. Erste Bank had been using business devices with different operating systems, which frequently resulted in loss of information when aligning PCs and mobile devices.

Crédit Agricole had two critical needs. The first need was to improve their mobile executives’ desire to increase responsiveness towards various operations managers and key client accounts. Major decisions were being delayed and business opportunties were slipping away. Equally important was the need for their auditors to be able to access key documents—forms, customer reports, investor files, and so on—whilst working remotely at customer sites. Given the sensitive nature of the data, reliability was a critical issue in addition to finding a solution that would require minimal technical expertise to use.

http://www.fameforusers.org/market_dev/market_trends.html ("MOBILE MARKET DEVELOPMENTS : MOBILE MARKET TRENDS") not really recommended: just some (not many) mobility-related news headlines

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.This crop-insurance provider is using handhelds and the Internet to let agents access real-time pricing data from just about anywhere. Producers has invested just under $100,000 in the project, which brings agents data at the "point of need," says Larry Latham, company treasurer and project leader. / One big benefit: better and faster decision-making. "You never know what the weather is going to do, and making a decision too late because the coverage and cost information was not available could spell disaster," says Benson Latham, Producers' vice president of marketing.In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.Practicality and ease of use were the key goals of this $4 billion electrical parts distributor's wireless project, which enables contractors at job sites to order from the company's 75,000-item catalog using a handheld wireless device. / Investment in the real-time field ordering system has been modest, primarily because Wesco piggybacked the system on its $2 million Web infrastructure. The payback: greater mind share and improved satisfaction among Wesco's construction company customers, which account for more than $1 billion in sales annually.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

a generic, introductory, non-area-specific article on myths (Wireless connectivity is not secure / Wireless coverage is not yet ubiquitous enough to support a mobile workforce / Mobility is expensive / Mobility can be hard to set up, support, and manage).As the wars rage on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army is experiencing a huge demand for blood to treat soldiers injured on the battlefield. Due to the highly perishable nature of some blood products, with as little as a five-day shelf life, it is imperative that the Army's medical and supply soldiers collect, preserve, and distribute blood as quickly and accurately as possible in order to preserve the viability of every last drop. This urgency holds true throughout the blood supply chain, from donor centers in the United States to field blood bank units in the Middle East.

three nice overviews of current rugged PPC's. Note that there's another article on mobile (also rugged) printers at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/mar04/PrintingSoln.aspxThanks to innovative leadership and extraordinary teacher efforts and creativity over the past three years, data demonstrates that Pocket PCs contribute much to increase motivation and achievements of at-risk students. Despite hour-long bus rides every day, students' attendance rates increased significantly, failing grades nearly disappeared, grade point averages shot up for almost every student, and the school earned full state and federal accreditation. As York River Academy of Technology and its faculty continue their school-wide efforts to serve as a model for integrating Pocket PCs and high school learning, only one thing is certain for the local community and students: it is now far more difficult for students to sit glassy-eyed and bored in school.A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

a generic article & comparison of all database software available for Windows MobileIn a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

generic article on selecting the best mobile (not necessarily PPC-based) solution for your needs / enterprise; definitely worth a read (Who are your user groups? What geographic areas do your user groups cover? In what type of environments will the wireless devices be used? How secure do your communications need to be? What applications would you like to have in the field? What type of data are you accessing and entering? Do you need to access and react to data in real time? What are your long-term mobile goals? What are your organization's financial limitations?)

an article on kiosk mode & quickly configuring (cloning) a PPC with PortNexus DealerPortTeachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."More importantly, Bebic is "always on." His Smartphone receives e-mail, contacts and calendar information over-the-air, so he's able to keep working wherever he happens to be during his travels. "I now have the flexibility to only take my phone, know it will work in whatever country I am in, and know that my contacts, calendar and e-mail follow me wherever I am, saving me an incredible amount of time: that translates into money in my business."

a generic article on the MS MapPoint Location Service and the Mobile Locator software with some (fictional) real-world enterprise usage examples - worth a read

worth checking out for some real-world examples of PPC-based education-related appsThe effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.Our client for this project was Red Bull UK, the British arm of the worldwide energy drinks company. As part of its marketing campaign Red Bull employs teams of field-based staff to promote their product at events around the UK. In the spring of 2002 they made the decision to significantly expand this workforce, making the existing manual and paper-based processes inadequate for the expected level of information flow between head office and the field. // We were given the brief to develop a mobile application that would link the marketing staff in the field with head office departments in London.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / This left us with the daunting task of hand-typing 600 sheets filled with numbers and tree attributes into Access or Excel. We had to do this ourselves because of the tight requirements from our customer; we couldn't simply hire a typist. What made the data entry task even bigger was that, with paper forms, poor handwriting was a huge headache. Weeks after the fact (and without the person who created the initial tally sheet available), we had to decipher every last number and note.

After work began, I noticed that the way contractors worked was frequently very inefficient because they managed almost all of their business with a notepad and a cell-phone. Being a software engineer for quite some time, I began documenting scenarios that occurred. After observing the work routine, I realized that a tool could be developed that could alleviate the pain of construction, from the perspective of both the construction company and the homeowner. Granted, some of the things that occurred could have been avoided with such a tool and some not, but in any case I thought my personal experience was trumpeting the need for such tools in the construction industry.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / /

tangible benefit from SFA. Instead of filling out paper-based order forms, the orders can be entered directly into a handheld device. Complete catalogs with current inventory levels and head-to-head product comparisons can be viewed on the handheld or output to a projector. Features such as customer trend analysis, dynamic pricing, delivery estimates, and manufacturing process integration can also significantly increase profitability by increasing customer satisfaction while simultaneously enhancing sales cycle efficiency. Sales technique effectiveness data and individual productivity rates can be collected and analyzed for overall sales process improvement.

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

The residents received Palm PDAs to keep track of medical procedures they performed on young patients. The Palms were also loaded with medical calculators, a book reader and a pharmaceutical formulary providing bedside access to drug interaction data. And finally, the Palms were synchronized with desktop databases (initially via a cradle ) through OneBridge, a mobile infrastructure platform originally owned by Extended Systems and now a part of Sybase’s iAnywhere. The use of OneBridge allowed for quick user authentication and the loading of several applications at once using executable files.

allows dispatchers to track the locations of people calling in emergencies from cell phones in extremely remote locations, such as at sea or in remote hiking and camping areas. “The system is essentially a GIS-driven, local-based service,” says Bill Madeiros, GIS manager of the Maui County department of management. “The x,y coordinate data comes from the cell phone’s GPS and gives the 911 dispatcher a location,”track 320 field technicians who collect 14,000 medical samples daily across a 200 square mile area. Dispatchers use the solution to track technicians’ locations and improve response times to customers. The company claims that technician productivity has doubled, shaving 400 hours from overtime budgets every month.Customers register a credit card at the front counter and are given a Symbol Technologies 3050 rugged handheld; when they see an item they like, they scan it with the handheld and place it in their cart. Upon completing their shopping, shoppers simply return the device and their full shopping cart to the front counter. Transaction data is transmitted via Wi-Fi to the POS system, which tallies orders and executes transactions using credit card numbers on file. Orders are then delivered to shoppers’ doors, for a fee of $15enhanced item availability. Previously, stock clerks checked and recorded inventory using batch data collection terminals. Data was subsequently downloaded and used to generate new orders, a process that took about nine hours per day. Currently, clerks and store managers employ the handhelds to check inventory and recent orders, perform real-time order adjustments after checking sales activity and delivery schedules, and send order changes directly to the warehouse. Replenishment has reportedly become more responsive and accurate, and order entry time has been reduced to two hours.

transmits customized text messages to roughly 38,000 commuters via mobile phone, alerting them of service disruptions and delays of 15 minutes or more on requested lines; also invested in an upcoming project that will allow passengers to access real-time train information via an internal XML data feed linked to arrival and departure signage inside the transit station

the Brew-based solution will provide Alltel’s wireless customers with graphics-rich instant messaging using AOL’s AIM service and Yahoo! Messenger in a mobile format closely mirroring the PC experiencecustomer-loyalty systems that retailers can use to send customers information alerts, cost-saving offers and other incentives designed to increase business and develop a closer buyer-seller relationship. The company’s Mobile Rewards technology was recently adopted by Ring Brothers marketplace, a family-owned grocery chain in Cape Cod. Customers sign up for the Ring Brothers mobile program at one of the chain’s stores and provide the grocer with their cell phone number. The chain then works with MobileLime to channel incentives to these customers and has even staged a weekly drawing for a $100 gift card.

Using laptops with VeraNet software and built-in GPS receivers, LVVWD crews track their locations on a map in conjunction with pipe locations and transmit data to and from the field via Verizon’s EV-DO networkenables technicians to access information and offers managers a complete view of asset performance. Work orders are now updated in real time, says Capes, “whereas before, it could be days and days. It’s about improving our process. We had the opportunity to engineer it from the bottom up, rather than the top down, and by reengineering the process we were able to take, in some instances, 11 manual steps out of it. So for example, to prep a train before would take 13 steps. Today, there are only two tasks involved. So we’ve reduced considerably the amount of time we’re handling paperwork.” for its Service Parts Management solution. The Servigistics solution will become part of Blue Coat’s core infrastructure, which will support the company’s growing service business and help reduce inventory.

until recently, reps used paper and pens to record customer orders. The difficulty we were having was that after taking an order, a rep would have to call a customer service rep back at the corporate office and transmit the order verbally, and the sales rep would write it down. NOW: complete entire orders directly on their Treo smartphonesBlackBerry wireless handhelds are so ubiquitous among legislators on Capitol Hill that when the service was threatened with a shutdown as a result of a recent patent dispute, the scuttlebutt turned to talk of a government interventionBefore we implemented [the mobile solution], 95 percent of our business was paper based,” says Tom Hamilton, executive director of CHEERS. Under the old system, raters would log into a Web-based registry, download the information they needed to inspect a property, print the information, go to the site, perform the inspection, collect the data on paper forms, return to their office, re-enter the online registry and type in all the inspection information for the site they had just visited. Errors were commonplace, as was wasted time.

Where other contractors typically check out a job and then send a quote later (which Emmitt points out is rarely a true cost), he goes into the home prepared to enter all the information into QuickBooks and make an informed estimate on the spot. From his handheld he can track inventory and even schedule the job. He then prints the estimate to his Canon portable photo printer via infrared.

Anything available on a desktop computer at a nurse’s station we wanted to be available mobile as well to a nurse or physician; Bedside Medication Verification (BMV) ; wireless voice over IP devices that allow hands-free communications between healthcare workers

patient-tracking system that involves handhelds in the field with EMS providers; used to enter patient data, such as their photo, vital signs, medical acuity information, any treatment that occurs, etc., and that information is then sent in real time over cellular connectivity to the hospital ER, where it pops up on a flatscreen monitora more streamlined means of communication for hospital staff and to give clinicians speedier access to critical patient information. The Clinical Safety System receives patient alarms and other event notifications, which are then dispatched directly to the appropriate nurse’s wireless phone.

The compact printers are wireless, Bluetooth-equipped, rugged enough to survive winters in Canada and summers in Texas, and offer signature capture printing. Arctic Glacier customers now sign the screen of the driver’s mobile computer, and the driver then prints a 4-inch receipt that also serves as the customer’s invoice. The company reports that the new system has helped eliminate duplicate billing, keeps invoices organized and gets payments in quicker. Subsequently, orders are now processed and printed more quickly, which has allowed drivers to make about three more stops per day. Corporate-wide during peak summer seasons, that works out to an additional 1,800 stops per day.Previously, drivers handwrote receipts, but now, we’re printing out invoices that explain how many gallons they received, the price of it, the tank serial number, the customer number, our plant information, the time of the delivery—all of that is on there.

inspect vehicles for damages during shipping, identify VIN numbers and attach a Fleet Management System label to each vehicle. The labels contain the VIN, any damages information and help the workers to group the vehicles for transport to their final destination“In the past,” he says, “if you didn’t have access to mobile printing technology, what you’d have to do is: go out, inspect the property, take detailed notes, go back to an office location and create a notice, send a copy via certified mail and then come back out to the property sometime later and post the notification onto the property itself. With the printer I’m using now, I’m able to post multi-page notices right on the property instantly

dated back to 2004; therefore, it may not be topical any longer!. The report is also available at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Expectations-and-Perspectives-for-Mobile-Business-Processes.pdf

no real, tangible case studies / real-life examples, just some "rule of thumbs" as far as mobilizing intervention forces (police, fire fighters etc.) is concerned. However, it contains several usable, practical ideas of how PDA's and other mobile devices can be used in situations like these.first, it explains what RFID is; then, it lists three scenarios. The first (section 4.2, Process Management / Control) involves task list pushing via GPRS to a mobile PDA. These to-do tasks must be closed on the PDA - or, alternatively, an estimated deadline needs to be entered by the mobile user. This user input / changes will, then, be synched back (realtime) to the corporate ERP server. This all greatly speeds up keeping tracks of tasks and centrally processing them. (Also see the Business drivers for an explanation of the two other cases!)a very short paper on the framework to mutually compare the advantages of mobile devices in the enterprise world (ERP). No REAL comparisons or case studies are available, though. THE full article is published in German only ("Einsatz mobiler Technologie zur Unterstützung von Geschäftsprozessen") at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Einsatz-mobiler-Technologie-zur-Unterstuetzung-von-Geschaeftsprozessen.pdfan article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.The channel needed to enable retail banking customers to retrieve and view account balances, transfer funds, pay bills and view account histories and recent transactions. The criteria also included in-house and full platform control from a secure location behind the bank's firewall and existing security infrastructure, as well as seamless integration with CIBC’s existing online retail banking system.First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.Business Challenge: First Command implemented a Citrix-based solution to centralize the management and distribution of core business and financial planning applications, but needed a compatible solution to synchronize e-mail and PIM data via mobile handheld devices used by sales associates in the field. Almost 300 mobile devices are currently deployed, with the number increasing. SOLUTION: First Command implemented OneBridge Mobile Groupware, which enables the First Command mobile representatives to access and synchronize with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system to update e-mail as well as calendars, contact lists and other PIM and groupware data.The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Each of Thrivent's 1,850 representatives is equipped with a laptop to allow increased flexibility and face-time with members in their homes. All of the organization's insurance application and service forms are electronic and are located on the laptops. By having mobile devices, Thrivent representatives are able to be in the field serving their customers, strengthening trust and building one-on-one relationships-two important factors in the insurance industry.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

: Receiving timely changes to customer appointment times and other information is often a problem for sales representatives on the road. If data is received too late, or is incorrect or incomplete, losses may arise. SOLUTION: The company deployed a mobile wireless solution based on Microsoft® Mobile Information Server 2002 to enable FINEX users to access timely information while away from the office. SOLUTION: Safeguard replaced a desktop solution with one based on the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework running on Pocket PCs with Windows Mobile 2003 software. RESULTS: Inspection results sent to clients 21 percent faster; Follow-up time reduced by 65 percent; Client questionnaires customized and implemented within hours; Maintenance reduction estimated at U.S.$160,000 annually; Reduced time to implement industry regulation changes

The UniCredit Group was formed after a series of mergers. Different IT systems in place at each of the group’s constituent companies limited the ability of workers to collaborate and work remotely. SOLUTION: UniCredit standardized its messaging infrastructure on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. This provides centralized management for more than 50,000 mailboxes and new opportunities for mobile employees working with Windows Mobile powered devices. RESULTS: Increased worker productivity; Increased IT efficiency; Improved responsiveness to market changes; Reduced complexity; Improved scalabilityBlevins outsourced its IT needs to consultants who did a poor job building the company’s network and configuring its software. It needed a solution to resolve the resulting security and mobile access issues. SOLUTION: Blevins enlisted Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner Interprom to deploy Windows Mobile powered devices, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.

Allstate Canada selected Symbility Solutions to provide a mobile claims solution for Windows Mobile devices. RESULTS: Claims are settled up to six times faster; Improved claim settlement accuracy; Increased customer satisfaction

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.

also see http://www.mobileenterprise.org/members_studies.php for several similar financial services-based reports; some (for example, Scudder Distributors, BMW Financial Services Ltd., 2004 Mobile Impact Award Winner, Banca Serfin (this has already been elaborated on above!), Belarusbank) require a www.mobileenterprise.org accountIn an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

The firm's sales force is spread across the United States, creating a challenge for wholesalers to be connected with client and corporate information in the field. Evergreen chose mWholesaler to bridge the communication gap by complementing existing technology and internal sales resources with better access to sales statistics and reporting tools for sales managers.source of all Nokia-related business stories: http://www.nokia-knowledgecenter.com/?elqPURLPage=162 ; see the page for many more case studies of different industry categories

Note that the article at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/mar04/PocketPCPride.aspx also discusses Push Mail - but it's pretty old and relates only to WM2003 (as opposed to PPC2k2)

Most of the case studies don't explicitly mention PDA-based usage; still, as thee is a dedicated Citrix client for Windows Mobile, some? many? of the solutions are possible to realize using PDA's too

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology."Life insurance agents historically have carried laptops, but we see a shift toward wireless PDAs with real-time capabilities for quoting, underwriting status and contact management. Further examples include paramedical examiners using BlackBerry devices with Bluetooth pens and specialized forms to electronically capture and validate insurance application and exam forms in real time."eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

Also see http://mobileguide.computerworld.com/search/keyword/cwmobile/Palm%20Remote/Palm%20Remote for a lot of other software solutions; Datex has several other mobility-related products as wellCustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

The company’s mobility solution had become old and unsupported. The organization needed a new solution that provides sales representatives with access to detailed product information to enable them to order items more efficiently from the field. SOLUTION: Russ Berrie rolled out Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC and Aspin MiniSell mobile sales force automation software. The solution calls up accurate product and customer information from back-office systems, and guides the user through the order process quickly and easily.Sixty percent of sales orders were processed manually. BIC Chile wanted a mobile computing solution for sales representatives to optimize the sales order generation process and improve the collection process. SOLUTION: BIC Chile deployed a sales order application on Pocket PCs running Windows Mobile 2003 that synchronizes with a Microsoft® SQL Server™ database running on the Windows Server® 2003 operating system.

Microsoft partner Fujitsu Services developed a mobile application called Sales Advisor Mobilisation. It is based on Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition, running on personal digital assistants. SOLUTION: A Windows Mobile powered sales solution built on the Microsoft .NET Framework allows sales representatives to look up account, contact, product, and order history information, as well as place orders, on their Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs.

The company deployed about 1,000 HP iPAQ Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs, some equipped with wireless modems for remote transmissions. RESULTS: Improved customer access to sales data; Reduced time to resolve on-site issues; Increased manufacturer and retailer revenues SOLUTION: The company deployed mobile devices running Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Phone Edition, linked to order entry and inventory systems running Microsoft SQL Server with .NET software.

: Erste Bank has a widely spread branch network, so electronic communication via email is of great importance. For some time now, Erste Bank has facilitated mobile access to email, calendar entries, and contact details for employees whose positions demand frequent travelling. The company considers the shortened response times to be a significant advantage. Erste Bank had been using business devices with different operating systems, which frequently resulted in loss of information when aligning PCs and mobile devices.

Crédit Agricole had two critical needs. The first need was to improve their mobile executives’ desire to increase responsiveness towards various operations managers and key client accounts. Major decisions were being delayed and business opportunties were slipping away. Equally important was the need for their auditors to be able to access key documents—forms, customer reports, investor files, and so on—whilst working remotely at customer sites. Given the sensitive nature of the data, reliability was a critical issue in addition to finding a solution that would require minimal technical expertise to use.

http://www.fameforusers.org/market_dev/market_trends.html ("MOBILE MARKET DEVELOPMENTS : MOBILE MARKET TRENDS") not really recommended: just some (not many) mobility-related news headlines

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.This crop-insurance provider is using handhelds and the Internet to let agents access real-time pricing data from just about anywhere. Producers has invested just under $100,000 in the project, which brings agents data at the "point of need," says Larry Latham, company treasurer and project leader. / One big benefit: better and faster decision-making. "You never know what the weather is going to do, and making a decision too late because the coverage and cost information was not available could spell disaster," says Benson Latham, Producers' vice president of marketing.In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.Practicality and ease of use were the key goals of this $4 billion electrical parts distributor's wireless project, which enables contractors at job sites to order from the company's 75,000-item catalog using a handheld wireless device. / Investment in the real-time field ordering system has been modest, primarily because Wesco piggybacked the system on its $2 million Web infrastructure. The payback: greater mind share and improved satisfaction among Wesco's construction company customers, which account for more than $1 billion in sales annually.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

a generic, introductory, non-area-specific article on myths (Wireless connectivity is not secure / Wireless coverage is not yet ubiquitous enough to support a mobile workforce / Mobility is expensive / Mobility can be hard to set up, support, and manage).As the wars rage on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army is experiencing a huge demand for blood to treat soldiers injured on the battlefield. Due to the highly perishable nature of some blood products, with as little as a five-day shelf life, it is imperative that the Army's medical and supply soldiers collect, preserve, and distribute blood as quickly and accurately as possible in order to preserve the viability of every last drop. This urgency holds true throughout the blood supply chain, from donor centers in the United States to field blood bank units in the Middle East.

three nice overviews of current rugged PPC's. Note that there's another article on mobile (also rugged) printers at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/mar04/PrintingSoln.aspxThanks to innovative leadership and extraordinary teacher efforts and creativity over the past three years, data demonstrates that Pocket PCs contribute much to increase motivation and achievements of at-risk students. Despite hour-long bus rides every day, students' attendance rates increased significantly, failing grades nearly disappeared, grade point averages shot up for almost every student, and the school earned full state and federal accreditation. As York River Academy of Technology and its faculty continue their school-wide efforts to serve as a model for integrating Pocket PCs and high school learning, only one thing is certain for the local community and students: it is now far more difficult for students to sit glassy-eyed and bored in school.A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

generic article on selecting the best mobile (not necessarily PPC-based) solution for your needs / enterprise; definitely worth a read (Who are your user groups? What geographic areas do your user groups cover? In what type of environments will the wireless devices be used? How secure do your communications need to be? What applications would you like to have in the field? What type of data are you accessing and entering? Do you need to access and react to data in real time? What are your long-term mobile goals? What are your organization's financial limitations?)

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."More importantly, Bebic is "always on." His Smartphone receives e-mail, contacts and calendar information over-the-air, so he's able to keep working wherever he happens to be during his travels. "I now have the flexibility to only take my phone, know it will work in whatever country I am in, and know that my contacts, calendar and e-mail follow me wherever I am, saving me an incredible amount of time: that translates into money in my business."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.Our client for this project was Red Bull UK, the British arm of the worldwide energy drinks company. As part of its marketing campaign Red Bull employs teams of field-based staff to promote their product at events around the UK. In the spring of 2002 they made the decision to significantly expand this workforce, making the existing manual and paper-based processes inadequate for the expected level of information flow between head office and the field. // We were given the brief to develop a mobile application that would link the marketing staff in the field with head office departments in London.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / This left us with the daunting task of hand-typing 600 sheets filled with numbers and tree attributes into Access or Excel. We had to do this ourselves because of the tight requirements from our customer; we couldn't simply hire a typist. What made the data entry task even bigger was that, with paper forms, poor handwriting was a huge headache. Weeks after the fact (and without the person who created the initial tally sheet available), we had to decipher every last number and note.

After work began, I noticed that the way contractors worked was frequently very inefficient because they managed almost all of their business with a notepad and a cell-phone. Being a software engineer for quite some time, I began documenting scenarios that occurred. After observing the work routine, I realized that a tool could be developed that could alleviate the pain of construction, from the perspective of both the construction company and the homeowner. Granted, some of the things that occurred could have been avoided with such a tool and some not, but in any case I thought my personal experience was trumpeting the need for such tools in the construction industry.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / /

tangible benefit from SFA. Instead of filling out paper-based order forms, the orders can be entered directly into a handheld device. Complete catalogs with current inventory levels and head-to-head product comparisons can be viewed on the handheld or output to a projector. Features such as customer trend analysis, dynamic pricing, delivery estimates, and manufacturing process integration can also significantly increase profitability by increasing customer satisfaction while simultaneously enhancing sales cycle efficiency. Sales technique effectiveness data and individual productivity rates can be collected and analyzed for overall sales process improvement.

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

The residents received Palm PDAs to keep track of medical procedures they performed on young patients. The Palms were also loaded with medical calculators, a book reader and a pharmaceutical formulary providing bedside access to drug interaction data. And finally, the Palms were synchronized with desktop databases (initially via a cradle ) through OneBridge, a mobile infrastructure platform originally owned by Extended Systems and now a part of Sybase’s iAnywhere. The use of OneBridge allowed for quick user authentication and the loading of several applications at once using executable files.

allows dispatchers to track the locations of people calling in emergencies from cell phones in extremely remote locations, such as at sea or in remote hiking and camping areas. “The system is essentially a GIS-driven, local-based service,” says Bill Madeiros, GIS manager of the Maui County department of management. “The x,y coordinate data comes from the cell phone’s GPS and gives the 911 dispatcher a location,”track 320 field technicians who collect 14,000 medical samples daily across a 200 square mile area. Dispatchers use the solution to track technicians’ locations and improve response times to customers. The company claims that technician productivity has doubled, shaving 400 hours from overtime budgets every month.Customers register a credit card at the front counter and are given a Symbol Technologies 3050 rugged handheld; when they see an item they like, they scan it with the handheld and place it in their cart. Upon completing their shopping, shoppers simply return the device and their full shopping cart to the front counter. Transaction data is transmitted via Wi-Fi to the POS system, which tallies orders and executes transactions using credit card numbers on file. Orders are then delivered to shoppers’ doors, for a fee of $15enhanced item availability. Previously, stock clerks checked and recorded inventory using batch data collection terminals. Data was subsequently downloaded and used to generate new orders, a process that took about nine hours per day. Currently, clerks and store managers employ the handhelds to check inventory and recent orders, perform real-time order adjustments after checking sales activity and delivery schedules, and send order changes directly to the warehouse. Replenishment has reportedly become more responsive and accurate, and order entry time has been reduced to two hours.

transmits customized text messages to roughly 38,000 commuters via mobile phone, alerting them of service disruptions and delays of 15 minutes or more on requested lines; also invested in an upcoming project that will allow passengers to access real-time train information via an internal XML data feed linked to arrival and departure signage inside the transit station

customer-loyalty systems that retailers can use to send customers information alerts, cost-saving offers and other incentives designed to increase business and develop a closer buyer-seller relationship. The company’s Mobile Rewards technology was recently adopted by Ring Brothers marketplace, a family-owned grocery chain in Cape Cod. Customers sign up for the Ring Brothers mobile program at one of the chain’s stores and provide the grocer with their cell phone number. The chain then works with MobileLime to channel incentives to these customers and has even staged a weekly drawing for a $100 gift card.

enables technicians to access information and offers managers a complete view of asset performance. Work orders are now updated in real time, says Capes, “whereas before, it could be days and days. It’s about improving our process. We had the opportunity to engineer it from the bottom up, rather than the top down, and by reengineering the process we were able to take, in some instances, 11 manual steps out of it. So for example, to prep a train before would take 13 steps. Today, there are only two tasks involved. So we’ve reduced considerably the amount of time we’re handling paperwork.”

until recently, reps used paper and pens to record customer orders. The difficulty we were having was that after taking an order, a rep would have to call a customer service rep back at the corporate office and transmit the order verbally, and the sales rep would write it down. NOW: complete entire orders directly on their Treo smartphones

Before we implemented [the mobile solution], 95 percent of our business was paper based,” says Tom Hamilton, executive director of CHEERS. Under the old system, raters would log into a Web-based registry, download the information they needed to inspect a property, print the information, go to the site, perform the inspection, collect the data on paper forms, return to their office, re-enter the online registry and type in all the inspection information for the site they had just visited. Errors were commonplace, as was wasted time.

Where other contractors typically check out a job and then send a quote later (which Emmitt points out is rarely a true cost), he goes into the home prepared to enter all the information into QuickBooks and make an informed estimate on the spot. From his handheld he can track inventory and even schedule the job. He then prints the estimate to his Canon portable photo printer via infrared.

patient-tracking system that involves handhelds in the field with EMS providers; used to enter patient data, such as their photo, vital signs, medical acuity information, any treatment that occurs, etc., and that information is then sent in real time over cellular connectivity to the hospital ER, where it pops up on a flatscreen monitor

The compact printers are wireless, Bluetooth-equipped, rugged enough to survive winters in Canada and summers in Texas, and offer signature capture printing. Arctic Glacier customers now sign the screen of the driver’s mobile computer, and the driver then prints a 4-inch receipt that also serves as the customer’s invoice. The company reports that the new system has helped eliminate duplicate billing, keeps invoices organized and gets payments in quicker. Subsequently, orders are now processed and printed more quickly, which has allowed drivers to make about three more stops per day. Corporate-wide during peak summer seasons, that works out to an additional 1,800 stops per day.

“In the past,” he says, “if you didn’t have access to mobile printing technology, what you’d have to do is: go out, inspect the property, take detailed notes, go back to an office location and create a notice, send a copy via certified mail and then come back out to the property sometime later and post the notification onto the property itself. With the printer I’m using now, I’m able to post multi-page notices right on the property instantly

no real, tangible case studies / real-life examples, just some "rule of thumbs" as far as mobilizing intervention forces (police, fire fighters etc.) is concerned. However, it contains several usable, practical ideas of how PDA's and other mobile devices can be used in situations like these.first, it explains what RFID is; then, it lists three scenarios. The first (section 4.2, Process Management / Control) involves task list pushing via GPRS to a mobile PDA. These to-do tasks must be closed on the PDA - or, alternatively, an estimated deadline needs to be entered by the mobile user. This user input / changes will, then, be synched back (realtime) to the corporate ERP server. This all greatly speeds up keeping tracks of tasks and centrally processing them. (Also see the Business drivers for an explanation of the two other cases!)a very short paper on the framework to mutually compare the advantages of mobile devices in the enterprise world (ERP). No REAL comparisons or case studies are available, though. THE full article is published in German only ("Einsatz mobiler Technologie zur Unterstützung von Geschäftsprozessen") at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Einsatz-mobiler-Technologie-zur-Unterstuetzung-von-Geschaeftsprozessen.pdfan article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.The channel needed to enable retail banking customers to retrieve and view account balances, transfer funds, pay bills and view account histories and recent transactions. The criteria also included in-house and full platform control from a secure location behind the bank's firewall and existing security infrastructure, as well as seamless integration with CIBC’s existing online retail banking system.First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.Business Challenge: First Command implemented a Citrix-based solution to centralize the management and distribution of core business and financial planning applications, but needed a compatible solution to synchronize e-mail and PIM data via mobile handheld devices used by sales associates in the field. Almost 300 mobile devices are currently deployed, with the number increasing. SOLUTION: First Command implemented OneBridge Mobile Groupware, which enables the First Command mobile representatives to access and synchronize with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system to update e-mail as well as calendars, contact lists and other PIM and groupware data.The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Each of Thrivent's 1,850 representatives is equipped with a laptop to allow increased flexibility and face-time with members in their homes. All of the organization's insurance application and service forms are electronic and are located on the laptops. By having mobile devices, Thrivent representatives are able to be in the field serving their customers, strengthening trust and building one-on-one relationships-two important factors in the insurance industry.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

: The company deployed a mobile wireless solution based on Microsoft® Mobile Information Server 2002 to enable FINEX users to access timely information while away from the office. RESULTS: Reduced head-office administrative costs; Time to conclude a contract reduced by half an hour; Sales increased 7 percentSafeguard replaced a desktop solution with one based on the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework running on Pocket PCs with Windows Mobile 2003 software. RESULTS: Inspection results sent to clients 21 percent faster; Follow-up time reduced by 65 percent; Client questionnaires customized and implemented within hours; Maintenance reduction estimated at U.S.$160,000 annually; Reduced time to implement industry regulation changes

UniCredit standardized its messaging infrastructure on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. This provides centralized management for more than 50,000 mailboxes and new opportunities for mobile employees working with Windows Mobile powered devices. RESULTS: Increased worker productivity; Increased IT efficiency; Improved responsiveness to market changes; Reduced complexity; Improved scalabilityBlevins enlisted Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner Interprom to deploy Windows Mobile powered devices, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.

RESULTS: Claims are settled up to six times faster; Improved claim settlement accuracy; Increased customer satisfaction

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.

also see http://www.mobileenterprise.org/members_studies.php for several similar financial services-based reports; some (for example, Scudder Distributors, BMW Financial Services Ltd., 2004 Mobile Impact Award Winner, Banca Serfin (this has already been elaborated on above!), Belarusbank) require a www.mobileenterprise.org accountIn an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

The firm's sales force is spread across the United States, creating a challenge for wholesalers to be connected with client and corporate information in the field. Evergreen chose mWholesaler to bridge the communication gap by complementing existing technology and internal sales resources with better access to sales statistics and reporting tools for sales managers.

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology."Life insurance agents historically have carried laptops, but we see a shift toward wireless PDAs with real-time capabilities for quoting, underwriting status and contact management. Further examples include paramedical examiners using BlackBerry devices with Bluetooth pens and specialized forms to electronically capture and validate insurance application and exam forms in real time."eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Russ Berrie rolled out Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC and Aspin MiniSell mobile sales force automation software. The solution calls up accurate product and customer information from back-office systems, and guides the user through the order process quickly and easily.BIC Chile deployed a sales order application on Pocket PCs running Windows Mobile 2003 that synchronizes with a Microsoft® SQL Server™ database running on the Windows Server® 2003 operating system.

Microsoft partner Fujitsu Services developed a mobile application called Sales Advisor Mobilisation. It is based on Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition, running on personal digital assistants. RESULTS: Reduced data entry; Increase annual sales by £1.1 million (U.S.$2.05 million); Improved customer satisfaction; Predicted cost savings of £250,000 (U.S.$467,571) a year SOLUTION: A Windows Mobile powered sales solution built on the Microsoft .NET Framework allows sales representatives to look up account, contact, product, and order history information, as well as place orders, on their Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs.

RESULTS: Improved customer access to sales data; Reduced time to resolve on-site issues; Increased manufacturer and retailer revenuesThe company deployed mobile devices running Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Phone Edition, linked to order entry and inventory systems running Microsoft SQL Server with .NET software. RESULTS: Reduced order processing time from weeks to minutes; Reduced inventory staff from six individuals to one; Improved customer service; Realized return on investment within 18 months

: Erste Bank has a widely spread branch network, so electronic communication via email is of great importance. For some time now, Erste Bank has facilitated mobile access to email, calendar entries, and contact details for employees whose positions demand frequent travelling. The company considers the shortened response times to be a significant advantage. Erste Bank had been using business devices with different operating systems, which frequently resulted in loss of information when aligning PCs and mobile devices.

Crédit Agricole had two critical needs. The first need was to improve their mobile executives’ desire to increase responsiveness towards various operations managers and key client accounts. Major decisions were being delayed and business opportunties were slipping away. Equally important was the need for their auditors to be able to access key documents—forms, customer reports, investor files, and so on—whilst working remotely at customer sites. Given the sensitive nature of the data, reliability was a critical issue in addition to finding a solution that would require minimal technical expertise to use.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.This crop-insurance provider is using handhelds and the Internet to let agents access real-time pricing data from just about anywhere. Producers has invested just under $100,000 in the project, which brings agents data at the "point of need," says Larry Latham, company treasurer and project leader. / One big benefit: better and faster decision-making. "You never know what the weather is going to do, and making a decision too late because the coverage and cost information was not available could spell disaster," says Benson Latham, Producers' vice president of marketing.In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.Practicality and ease of use were the key goals of this $4 billion electrical parts distributor's wireless project, which enables contractors at job sites to order from the company's 75,000-item catalog using a handheld wireless device. / Investment in the real-time field ordering system has been modest, primarily because Wesco piggybacked the system on its $2 million Web infrastructure. The payback: greater mind share and improved satisfaction among Wesco's construction company customers, which account for more than $1 billion in sales annually.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

As the wars rage on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army is experiencing a huge demand for blood to treat soldiers injured on the battlefield. Due to the highly perishable nature of some blood products, with as little as a five-day shelf life, it is imperative that the Army's medical and supply soldiers collect, preserve, and distribute blood as quickly and accurately as possible in order to preserve the viability of every last drop. This urgency holds true throughout the blood supply chain, from donor centers in the United States to field blood bank units in the Middle East.

Thanks to innovative leadership and extraordinary teacher efforts and creativity over the past three years, data demonstrates that Pocket PCs contribute much to increase motivation and achievements of at-risk students. Despite hour-long bus rides every day, students' attendance rates increased significantly, failing grades nearly disappeared, grade point averages shot up for almost every student, and the school earned full state and federal accreditation. As York River Academy of Technology and its faculty continue their school-wide efforts to serve as a model for integrating Pocket PCs and high school learning, only one thing is certain for the local community and students: it is now far more difficult for students to sit glassy-eyed and bored in school.A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

generic article on selecting the best mobile (not necessarily PPC-based) solution for your needs / enterprise; definitely worth a read (Who are your user groups? What geographic areas do your user groups cover? In what type of environments will the wireless devices be used? How secure do your communications need to be? What applications would you like to have in the field? What type of data are you accessing and entering? Do you need to access and react to data in real time? What are your long-term mobile goals? What are your organization's financial limitations?)

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."More importantly, Bebic is "always on." His Smartphone receives e-mail, contacts and calendar information over-the-air, so he's able to keep working wherever he happens to be during his travels. "I now have the flexibility to only take my phone, know it will work in whatever country I am in, and know that my contacts, calendar and e-mail follow me wherever I am, saving me an incredible amount of time: that translates into money in my business."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.Our client for this project was Red Bull UK, the British arm of the worldwide energy drinks company. As part of its marketing campaign Red Bull employs teams of field-based staff to promote their product at events around the UK. In the spring of 2002 they made the decision to significantly expand this workforce, making the existing manual and paper-based processes inadequate for the expected level of information flow between head office and the field. // We were given the brief to develop a mobile application that would link the marketing staff in the field with head office departments in London.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / This left us with the daunting task of hand-typing 600 sheets filled with numbers and tree attributes into Access or Excel. We had to do this ourselves because of the tight requirements from our customer; we couldn't simply hire a typist. What made the data entry task even bigger was that, with paper forms, poor handwriting was a huge headache. Weeks after the fact (and without the person who created the initial tally sheet available), we had to decipher every last number and note.

After work began, I noticed that the way contractors worked was frequently very inefficient because they managed almost all of their business with a notepad and a cell-phone. Being a software engineer for quite some time, I began documenting scenarios that occurred. After observing the work routine, I realized that a tool could be developed that could alleviate the pain of construction, from the perspective of both the construction company and the homeowner. Granted, some of the things that occurred could have been avoided with such a tool and some not, but in any case I thought my personal experience was trumpeting the need for such tools in the construction industry.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / /

tangible benefit from SFA. Instead of filling out paper-based order forms, the orders can be entered directly into a handheld device. Complete catalogs with current inventory levels and head-to-head product comparisons can be viewed on the handheld or output to a projector. Features such as customer trend analysis, dynamic pricing, delivery estimates, and manufacturing process integration can also significantly increase profitability by increasing customer satisfaction while simultaneously enhancing sales cycle efficiency. Sales technique effectiveness data and individual productivity rates can be collected and analyzed for overall sales process improvement.

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

The residents received Palm PDAs to keep track of medical procedures they performed on young patients. The Palms were also loaded with medical calculators, a book reader and a pharmaceutical formulary providing bedside access to drug interaction data. And finally, the Palms were synchronized with desktop databases (initially via a cradle ) through OneBridge, a mobile infrastructure platform originally owned by Extended Systems and now a part of Sybase’s iAnywhere. The use of OneBridge allowed for quick user authentication and the loading of several applications at once using executable files.

allows dispatchers to track the locations of people calling in emergencies from cell phones in extremely remote locations, such as at sea or in remote hiking and camping areas. “The system is essentially a GIS-driven, local-based service,” says Bill Madeiros, GIS manager of the Maui County department of management. “The x,y coordinate data comes from the cell phone’s GPS and gives the 911 dispatcher a location,”

Customers register a credit card at the front counter and are given a Symbol Technologies 3050 rugged handheld; when they see an item they like, they scan it with the handheld and place it in their cart. Upon completing their shopping, shoppers simply return the device and their full shopping cart to the front counter. Transaction data is transmitted via Wi-Fi to the POS system, which tallies orders and executes transactions using credit card numbers on file. Orders are then delivered to shoppers’ doors, for a fee of $15enhanced item availability. Previously, stock clerks checked and recorded inventory using batch data collection terminals. Data was subsequently downloaded and used to generate new orders, a process that took about nine hours per day. Currently, clerks and store managers employ the handhelds to check inventory and recent orders, perform real-time order adjustments after checking sales activity and delivery schedules, and send order changes directly to the warehouse. Replenishment has reportedly become more responsive and accurate, and order entry time has been reduced to two hours.

customer-loyalty systems that retailers can use to send customers information alerts, cost-saving offers and other incentives designed to increase business and develop a closer buyer-seller relationship. The company’s Mobile Rewards technology was recently adopted by Ring Brothers marketplace, a family-owned grocery chain in Cape Cod. Customers sign up for the Ring Brothers mobile program at one of the chain’s stores and provide the grocer with their cell phone number. The chain then works with MobileLime to channel incentives to these customers and has even staged a weekly drawing for a $100 gift card.

enables technicians to access information and offers managers a complete view of asset performance. Work orders are now updated in real time, says Capes, “whereas before, it could be days and days. It’s about improving our process. We had the opportunity to engineer it from the bottom up, rather than the top down, and by reengineering the process we were able to take, in some instances, 11 manual steps out of it. So for example, to prep a train before would take 13 steps. Today, there are only two tasks involved. So we’ve reduced considerably the amount of time we’re handling paperwork.”

Before we implemented [the mobile solution], 95 percent of our business was paper based,” says Tom Hamilton, executive director of CHEERS. Under the old system, raters would log into a Web-based registry, download the information they needed to inspect a property, print the information, go to the site, perform the inspection, collect the data on paper forms, return to their office, re-enter the online registry and type in all the inspection information for the site they had just visited. Errors were commonplace, as was wasted time.

The compact printers are wireless, Bluetooth-equipped, rugged enough to survive winters in Canada and summers in Texas, and offer signature capture printing. Arctic Glacier customers now sign the screen of the driver’s mobile computer, and the driver then prints a 4-inch receipt that also serves as the customer’s invoice. The company reports that the new system has helped eliminate duplicate billing, keeps invoices organized and gets payments in quicker. Subsequently, orders are now processed and printed more quickly, which has allowed drivers to make about three more stops per day. Corporate-wide during peak summer seasons, that works out to an additional 1,800 stops per day.

“In the past,” he says, “if you didn’t have access to mobile printing technology, what you’d have to do is: go out, inspect the property, take detailed notes, go back to an office location and create a notice, send a copy via certified mail and then come back out to the property sometime later and post the notification onto the property itself. With the printer I’m using now, I’m able to post multi-page notices right on the property instantly

first, it explains what RFID is; then, it lists three scenarios. The first (section 4.2, Process Management / Control) involves task list pushing via GPRS to a mobile PDA. These to-do tasks must be closed on the PDA - or, alternatively, an estimated deadline needs to be entered by the mobile user. This user input / changes will, then, be synched back (realtime) to the corporate ERP server. This all greatly speeds up keeping tracks of tasks and centrally processing them. (Also see the Business drivers for an explanation of the two other cases!)a very short paper on the framework to mutually compare the advantages of mobile devices in the enterprise world (ERP). No REAL comparisons or case studies are available, though. THE full article is published in German only ("Einsatz mobiler Technologie zur Unterstützung von Geschäftsprozessen") at http://www.wi-mobile.de/fileadmin/Papers/MBP/Einsatz-mobiler-Technologie-zur-Unterstuetzung-von-Geschaeftsprozessen.pdfan article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.Business Challenge: First Command implemented a Citrix-based solution to centralize the management and distribution of core business and financial planning applications, but needed a compatible solution to synchronize e-mail and PIM data via mobile handheld devices used by sales associates in the field. Almost 300 mobile devices are currently deployed, with the number increasing. SOLUTION: First Command implemented OneBridge Mobile Groupware, which enables the First Command mobile representatives to access and synchronize with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system to update e-mail as well as calendars, contact lists and other PIM and groupware data.The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Each of Thrivent's 1,850 representatives is equipped with a laptop to allow increased flexibility and face-time with members in their homes. All of the organization's insurance application and service forms are electronic and are located on the laptops. By having mobile devices, Thrivent representatives are able to be in the field serving their customers, strengthening trust and building one-on-one relationships-two important factors in the insurance industry.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

: Reduced head-office administrative costs; Time to conclude a contract reduced by half an hour; Sales increased 7 percentSafeguard replaced a desktop solution with one based on the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework running on Pocket PCs with Windows Mobile 2003 software. RESULTS: Inspection results sent to clients 21 percent faster; Follow-up time reduced by 65 percent; Client questionnaires customized and implemented within hours; Maintenance reduction estimated at U.S.$160,000 annually; Reduced time to implement industry regulation changes

UniCredit standardized its messaging infrastructure on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. This provides centralized management for more than 50,000 mailboxes and new opportunities for mobile employees working with Windows Mobile powered devices. RESULTS: Increased worker productivity; Increased IT efficiency; Improved responsiveness to market changes; Reduced complexity; Improved scalabilityBlevins enlisted Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner Interprom to deploy Windows Mobile powered devices, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. RESULTS: Improved mobile access; Return on investment of more than U.S.$126,000; Improved remote sales force productivity; Reduced IT costs

: Claims are settled up to six times faster; Improved claim settlement accuracy; Increased customer satisfaction

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Russ Berrie rolled out Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC and Aspin MiniSell mobile sales force automation software. The solution calls up accurate product and customer information from back-office systems, and guides the user through the order process quickly and easily.BIC Chile deployed a sales order application on Pocket PCs running Windows Mobile 2003 that synchronizes with a Microsoft® SQL Server™ database running on the Windows Server® 2003 operating system. RESULTS: Improved productivity; Reduced sales cycle time from five days to minutes; Reduced operating costs 15–20 percent; Improved customer service; Increased sales data reliability

: Reduced data entry; Increase annual sales by £1.1 million (U.S.$2.05 million); Improved customer satisfaction; Predicted cost savings of £250,000 (U.S.$467,571) a year SOLUTION: A Windows Mobile powered sales solution built on the Microsoft .NET Framework allows sales representatives to look up account, contact, product, and order history information, as well as place orders, on their Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs. RESULTS: Improved customer service; Increased productivity; Increased sales

: Improved customer access to sales data; Reduced time to resolve on-site issues; Increased manufacturer and retailer revenues: Reduced order processing time from weeks to minutes; Reduced inventory staff from six individuals to one; Improved customer service; Realized return on investment within 18 months

: Erste Bank has a widely spread branch network, so electronic communication via email is of great importance. For some time now, Erste Bank has facilitated mobile access to email, calendar entries, and contact details for employees whose positions demand frequent travelling. The company considers the shortened response times to be a significant advantage. Erste Bank had been using business devices with different operating systems, which frequently resulted in loss of information when aligning PCs and mobile devices. SOLUTION:

Crédit Agricole had two critical needs. The first need was to improve their mobile executives’ desire to increase responsiveness towards various operations managers and key client accounts. Major decisions were being delayed and business opportunties were slipping away. Equally important was the need for their auditors to be able to access key documents—forms, customer reports, investor files, and so on—whilst working remotely at customer sites. Given the sensitive nature of the data, reliability was a critical issue in addition to finding a solution that would require minimal technical expertise to use.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.This crop-insurance provider is using handhelds and the Internet to let agents access real-time pricing data from just about anywhere. Producers has invested just under $100,000 in the project, which brings agents data at the "point of need," says Larry Latham, company treasurer and project leader. / One big benefit: better and faster decision-making. "You never know what the weather is going to do, and making a decision too late because the coverage and cost information was not available could spell disaster," says Benson Latham, Producers' vice president of marketing.In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.Practicality and ease of use were the key goals of this $4 billion electrical parts distributor's wireless project, which enables contractors at job sites to order from the company's 75,000-item catalog using a handheld wireless device. / Investment in the real-time field ordering system has been modest, primarily because Wesco piggybacked the system on its $2 million Web infrastructure. The payback: greater mind share and improved satisfaction among Wesco's construction company customers, which account for more than $1 billion in sales annually.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

As the wars rage on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army is experiencing a huge demand for blood to treat soldiers injured on the battlefield. Due to the highly perishable nature of some blood products, with as little as a five-day shelf life, it is imperative that the Army's medical and supply soldiers collect, preserve, and distribute blood as quickly and accurately as possible in order to preserve the viability of every last drop. This urgency holds true throughout the blood supply chain, from donor centers in the United States to field blood bank units in the Middle East.

Thanks to innovative leadership and extraordinary teacher efforts and creativity over the past three years, data demonstrates that Pocket PCs contribute much to increase motivation and achievements of at-risk students. Despite hour-long bus rides every day, students' attendance rates increased significantly, failing grades nearly disappeared, grade point averages shot up for almost every student, and the school earned full state and federal accreditation. As York River Academy of Technology and its faculty continue their school-wide efforts to serve as a model for integrating Pocket PCs and high school learning, only one thing is certain for the local community and students: it is now far more difficult for students to sit glassy-eyed and bored in school.A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

generic article on selecting the best mobile (not necessarily PPC-based) solution for your needs / enterprise; definitely worth a read (Who are your user groups? What geographic areas do your user groups cover? In what type of environments will the wireless devices be used? How secure do your communications need to be? What applications would you like to have in the field? What type of data are you accessing and entering? Do you need to access and react to data in real time? What are your long-term mobile goals? What are your organization's financial limitations?)

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."More importantly, Bebic is "always on." His Smartphone receives e-mail, contacts and calendar information over-the-air, so he's able to keep working wherever he happens to be during his travels. "I now have the flexibility to only take my phone, know it will work in whatever country I am in, and know that my contacts, calendar and e-mail follow me wherever I am, saving me an incredible amount of time: that translates into money in my business."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.Our client for this project was Red Bull UK, the British arm of the worldwide energy drinks company. As part of its marketing campaign Red Bull employs teams of field-based staff to promote their product at events around the UK. In the spring of 2002 they made the decision to significantly expand this workforce, making the existing manual and paper-based processes inadequate for the expected level of information flow between head office and the field. // We were given the brief to develop a mobile application that would link the marketing staff in the field with head office departments in London.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / This left us with the daunting task of hand-typing 600 sheets filled with numbers and tree attributes into Access or Excel. We had to do this ourselves because of the tight requirements from our customer; we couldn't simply hire a typist. What made the data entry task even bigger was that, with paper forms, poor handwriting was a huge headache. Weeks after the fact (and without the person who created the initial tally sheet available), we had to decipher every last number and note. SOLUTION: PPC's RESULTS:

After work began, I noticed that the way contractors worked was frequently very inefficient because they managed almost all of their business with a notepad and a cell-phone. Being a software engineer for quite some time, I began documenting scenarios that occurred. After observing the work routine, I realized that a tool could be developed that could alleviate the pain of construction, from the perspective of both the construction company and the homeowner. Granted, some of the things that occurred could have been avoided with such a tool and some not, but in any case I thought my personal experience was trumpeting the need for such tools in the construction industry.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / /

tangible benefit from SFA. Instead of filling out paper-based order forms, the orders can be entered directly into a handheld device. Complete catalogs with current inventory levels and head-to-head product comparisons can be viewed on the handheld or output to a projector. Features such as customer trend analysis, dynamic pricing, delivery estimates, and manufacturing process integration can also significantly increase profitability by increasing customer satisfaction while simultaneously enhancing sales cycle efficiency. Sales technique effectiveness data and individual productivity rates can be collected and analyzed for overall sales process improvement.

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

The residents received Palm PDAs to keep track of medical procedures they performed on young patients. The Palms were also loaded with medical calculators, a book reader and a pharmaceutical formulary providing bedside access to drug interaction data. And finally, the Palms were synchronized with desktop databases (initially via a cradle ) through OneBridge, a mobile infrastructure platform originally owned by Extended Systems and now a part of Sybase’s iAnywhere. The use of OneBridge allowed for quick user authentication and the loading of several applications at once using executable files.

enhanced item availability. Previously, stock clerks checked and recorded inventory using batch data collection terminals. Data was subsequently downloaded and used to generate new orders, a process that took about nine hours per day. Currently, clerks and store managers employ the handhelds to check inventory and recent orders, perform real-time order adjustments after checking sales activity and delivery schedules, and send order changes directly to the warehouse. Replenishment has reportedly become more responsive and accurate, and order entry time has been reduced to two hours.

customer-loyalty systems that retailers can use to send customers information alerts, cost-saving offers and other incentives designed to increase business and develop a closer buyer-seller relationship. The company’s Mobile Rewards technology was recently adopted by Ring Brothers marketplace, a family-owned grocery chain in Cape Cod. Customers sign up for the Ring Brothers mobile program at one of the chain’s stores and provide the grocer with their cell phone number. The chain then works with MobileLime to channel incentives to these customers and has even staged a weekly drawing for a $100 gift card.

enables technicians to access information and offers managers a complete view of asset performance. Work orders are now updated in real time, says Capes, “whereas before, it could be days and days. It’s about improving our process. We had the opportunity to engineer it from the bottom up, rather than the top down, and by reengineering the process we were able to take, in some instances, 11 manual steps out of it. So for example, to prep a train before would take 13 steps. Today, there are only two tasks involved. So we’ve reduced considerably the amount of time we’re handling paperwork.”

Before we implemented [the mobile solution], 95 percent of our business was paper based,” says Tom Hamilton, executive director of CHEERS. Under the old system, raters would log into a Web-based registry, download the information they needed to inspect a property, print the information, go to the site, perform the inspection, collect the data on paper forms, return to their office, re-enter the online registry and type in all the inspection information for the site they had just visited. Errors were commonplace, as was wasted time.

The compact printers are wireless, Bluetooth-equipped, rugged enough to survive winters in Canada and summers in Texas, and offer signature capture printing. Arctic Glacier customers now sign the screen of the driver’s mobile computer, and the driver then prints a 4-inch receipt that also serves as the customer’s invoice. The company reports that the new system has helped eliminate duplicate billing, keeps invoices organized and gets payments in quicker. Subsequently, orders are now processed and printed more quickly, which has allowed drivers to make about three more stops per day. Corporate-wide during peak summer seasons, that works out to an additional 1,800 stops per day.

first, it explains what RFID is; then, it lists three scenarios. The first (section 4.2, Process Management / Control) involves task list pushing via GPRS to a mobile PDA. These to-do tasks must be closed on the PDA - or, alternatively, an estimated deadline needs to be entered by the mobile user. This user input / changes will, then, be synched back (realtime) to the corporate ERP server. This all greatly speeds up keeping tracks of tasks and centrally processing them. (Also see the Business drivers for an explanation of the two other cases!)

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.Business Challenge: First Command implemented a Citrix-based solution to centralize the management and distribution of core business and financial planning applications, but needed a compatible solution to synchronize e-mail and PIM data via mobile handheld devices used by sales associates in the field. Almost 300 mobile devices are currently deployed, with the number increasing. SOLUTION: First Command implemented OneBridge Mobile Groupware, which enables the First Command mobile representatives to access and synchronize with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system to update e-mail as well as calendars, contact lists and other PIM and groupware data.The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

Safeguard replaced a desktop solution with one based on the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework running on Pocket PCs with Windows Mobile 2003 software. RESULTS: Inspection results sent to clients 21 percent faster; Follow-up time reduced by 65 percent; Client questionnaires customized and implemented within hours; Maintenance reduction estimated at U.S.$160,000 annually; Reduced time to implement industry regulation changesUniCredit standardized its messaging infrastructure on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. This provides centralized management for more than 50,000 mailboxes and new opportunities for mobile employees working with Windows Mobile powered devices. RESULTS: Increased worker productivity; Increased IT efficiency; Improved responsiveness to market changes; Reduced complexity; Improved scalability

: Improved mobile access; Return on investment of more than U.S.$126,000; Improved remote sales force productivity; Reduced IT costs

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Russ Berrie rolled out Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC and Aspin MiniSell mobile sales force automation software. The solution calls up accurate product and customer information from back-office systems, and guides the user through the order process quickly and easily. RESULTS: Increased sales staff productivity; Improved customer service ; Improved shipping and product turnaround times ; Improved accuracy of data capture ; Reduced communications costs: Improved productivity; Reduced sales cycle time from five days to minutes; Reduced operating costs 15–20 percent; Improved customer service; Increased sales data reliability

: Reduced order processing time from weeks to minutes; Reduced inventory staff from six individuals to one; Improved customer service; Realized return on investment within 18 months

SOLUTION: Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

Crédit Agricole had two critical needs. The first need was to improve their mobile executives’ desire to increase responsiveness towards various operations managers and key client accounts. Major decisions were being delayed and business opportunties were slipping away. Equally important was the need for their auditors to be able to access key documents—forms, customer reports, investor files, and so on—whilst working remotely at customer sites. Given the sensitive nature of the data, reliability was a critical issue in addition to finding a solution that would require minimal technical expertise to use.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.This crop-insurance provider is using handhelds and the Internet to let agents access real-time pricing data from just about anywhere. Producers has invested just under $100,000 in the project, which brings agents data at the "point of need," says Larry Latham, company treasurer and project leader. / One big benefit: better and faster decision-making. "You never know what the weather is going to do, and making a decision too late because the coverage and cost information was not available could spell disaster," says Benson Latham, Producers' vice president of marketing.In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.Practicality and ease of use were the key goals of this $4 billion electrical parts distributor's wireless project, which enables contractors at job sites to order from the company's 75,000-item catalog using a handheld wireless device. / Investment in the real-time field ordering system has been modest, primarily because Wesco piggybacked the system on its $2 million Web infrastructure. The payback: greater mind share and improved satisfaction among Wesco's construction company customers, which account for more than $1 billion in sales annually.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

As the wars rage on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army is experiencing a huge demand for blood to treat soldiers injured on the battlefield. Due to the highly perishable nature of some blood products, with as little as a five-day shelf life, it is imperative that the Army's medical and supply soldiers collect, preserve, and distribute blood as quickly and accurately as possible in order to preserve the viability of every last drop. This urgency holds true throughout the blood supply chain, from donor centers in the United States to field blood bank units in the Middle East.

Thanks to innovative leadership and extraordinary teacher efforts and creativity over the past three years, data demonstrates that Pocket PCs contribute much to increase motivation and achievements of at-risk students. Despite hour-long bus rides every day, students' attendance rates increased significantly, failing grades nearly disappeared, grade point averages shot up for almost every student, and the school earned full state and federal accreditation. As York River Academy of Technology and its faculty continue their school-wide efforts to serve as a model for integrating Pocket PCs and high school learning, only one thing is certain for the local community and students: it is now far more difficult for students to sit glassy-eyed and bored in school.A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

generic article on selecting the best mobile (not necessarily PPC-based) solution for your needs / enterprise; definitely worth a read (Who are your user groups? What geographic areas do your user groups cover? In what type of environments will the wireless devices be used? How secure do your communications need to be? What applications would you like to have in the field? What type of data are you accessing and entering? Do you need to access and react to data in real time? What are your long-term mobile goals? What are your organization's financial limitations?)

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.Our client for this project was Red Bull UK, the British arm of the worldwide energy drinks company. As part of its marketing campaign Red Bull employs teams of field-based staff to promote their product at events around the UK. In the spring of 2002 they made the decision to significantly expand this workforce, making the existing manual and paper-based processes inadequate for the expected level of information flow between head office and the field. // We were given the brief to develop a mobile application that would link the marketing staff in the field with head office departments in London.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / SOLUTION: PPC's RESULTS: Our tests have been successful; we've saved endless hours of data entry, and improved the accuracy of the information we submit to the firms that hire us. We've had to improvise to protect our non-rugged devices in the field from the elements and from the rough terrain in which they're used. We've also been pleased at how inexperienced workers with minimal education have been able to learn and use the Pocket PCs and the software we've developed for them. Overall, we've found that with a little care and some careful software development, the Pocket PC can revolutionize forestry work amidst the wilds of Colombia.

After work began, I noticed that the way contractors worked was frequently very inefficient because they managed almost all of their business with a notepad and a cell-phone. Being a software engineer for quite some time, I began documenting scenarios that occurred. After observing the work routine, I realized that a tool could be developed that could alleviate the pain of construction, from the perspective of both the construction company and the homeowner. Granted, some of the things that occurred could have been avoided with such a tool and some not, but in any case I thought my personal experience was trumpeting the need for such tools in the construction industry.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / /

tangible benefit from SFA. Instead of filling out paper-based order forms, the orders can be entered directly into a handheld device. Complete catalogs with current inventory levels and head-to-head product comparisons can be viewed on the handheld or output to a projector. Features such as customer trend analysis, dynamic pricing, delivery estimates, and manufacturing process integration can also significantly increase profitability by increasing customer satisfaction while simultaneously enhancing sales cycle efficiency. Sales technique effectiveness data and individual productivity rates can be collected and analyzed for overall sales process improvement.

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

The compact printers are wireless, Bluetooth-equipped, rugged enough to survive winters in Canada and summers in Texas, and offer signature capture printing. Arctic Glacier customers now sign the screen of the driver’s mobile computer, and the driver then prints a 4-inch receipt that also serves as the customer’s invoice. The company reports that the new system has helped eliminate duplicate billing, keeps invoices organized and gets payments in quicker. Subsequently, orders are now processed and printed more quickly, which has allowed drivers to make about three more stops per day. Corporate-wide during peak summer seasons, that works out to an additional 1,800 stops per day.

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.Business Challenge: First Command implemented a Citrix-based solution to centralize the management and distribution of core business and financial planning applications, but needed a compatible solution to synchronize e-mail and PIM data via mobile handheld devices used by sales associates in the field. Almost 300 mobile devices are currently deployed, with the number increasing. SOLUTION: First Command implemented OneBridge Mobile Groupware, which enables the First Command mobile representatives to access and synchronize with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system to update e-mail as well as calendars, contact lists and other PIM and groupware data.The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

Safeguard replaced a desktop solution with one based on the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework running on Pocket PCs with Windows Mobile 2003 software. RESULTS: Inspection results sent to clients 21 percent faster; Follow-up time reduced by 65 percent; Client questionnaires customized and implemented within hours; Maintenance reduction estimated at U.S.$160,000 annually; Reduced time to implement industry regulation changesUniCredit standardized its messaging infrastructure on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. This provides centralized management for more than 50,000 mailboxes and new opportunities for mobile employees working with Windows Mobile powered devices. RESULTS: Increased worker productivity; Increased IT efficiency; Improved responsiveness to market changes; Reduced complexity; Improved scalability

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

: Increased sales staff productivity; Improved customer service ; Improved shipping and product turnaround times ; Improved accuracy of data capture ; Reduced communications costs

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

Crédit Agricole had two critical needs. The first need was to improve their mobile executives’ desire to increase responsiveness towards various operations managers and key client accounts. Major decisions were being delayed and business opportunties were slipping away. Equally important was the need for their auditors to be able to access key documents—forms, customer reports, investor files, and so on—whilst working remotely at customer sites. Given the sensitive nature of the data, reliability was a critical issue in addition to finding a solution that would require minimal technical expertise to use. SOLUTION: Crédit Agricole deployed Intellisync Email Accelerator and Intellisync Device Management to over 100 executives with Pocket PC devices, and more than 200 auditors with laptops.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

Thanks to innovative leadership and extraordinary teacher efforts and creativity over the past three years, data demonstrates that Pocket PCs contribute much to increase motivation and achievements of at-risk students. Despite hour-long bus rides every day, students' attendance rates increased significantly, failing grades nearly disappeared, grade point averages shot up for almost every student, and the school earned full state and federal accreditation. As York River Academy of Technology and its faculty continue their school-wide efforts to serve as a model for integrating Pocket PCs and high school learning, only one thing is certain for the local community and students: it is now far more difficult for students to sit glassy-eyed and bored in school.A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / Our tests have been successful; we've saved endless hours of data entry, and improved the accuracy of the information we submit to the firms that hire us. We've had to improvise to protect our non-rugged devices in the field from the elements and from the rough terrain in which they're used. We've also been pleased at how inexperienced workers with minimal education have been able to learn and use the Pocket PCs and the software we've developed for them. Overall, we've found that with a little care and some careful software development, the Pocket PC can revolutionize forestry work amidst the wilds of Colombia.

After work began, I noticed that the way contractors worked was frequently very inefficient because they managed almost all of their business with a notepad and a cell-phone. Being a software engineer for quite some time, I began documenting scenarios that occurred. After observing the work routine, I realized that a tool could be developed that could alleviate the pain of construction, from the perspective of both the construction company and the homeowner. Granted, some of the things that occurred could have been avoided with such a tool and some not, but in any case I thought my personal experience was trumpeting the need for such tools in the construction industry. SOLUTION: The goal was simply to provide a tool to allow both contractors and homeowners to keep track of the items and tasks pertaining to a particular project (Fig. 2). First, it seemed that the product would only track names and phone numbers of contractors while relating them to the deliverables that each of them were responsible for (Fig. 3). But then we changed the design to include multiple projects as well so that these deliverables could be prioritized across all projects.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / /

tangible benefit from SFA. Instead of filling out paper-based order forms, the orders can be entered directly into a handheld device. Complete catalogs with current inventory levels and head-to-head product comparisons can be viewed on the handheld or output to a projector. Features such as customer trend analysis, dynamic pricing, delivery estimates, and manufacturing process integration can also significantly increase profitability by increasing customer satisfaction while simultaneously enhancing sales cycle efficiency. Sales technique effectiveness data and individual productivity rates can be collected and analyzed for overall sales process improvement.

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync, LandAmerica employees are able to access their e-mail virtually anywhere, at any time, with compact Verizon Wireless Samsung i700 devices running Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC Phone Edition. ActiveSync helps users make sure that their mobile devices are synchronized with their desktop PC inboxes. The devices help LandAmerica employees quickly respond to their customers’ needs for title insurance and other real estate transaction services. The upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, running on Windows Server 2003, and Office Outlook 2003, also boosted productivity for remote and branch office employees, who now have faster access to e-mail because of Microsoft caching and compression technology.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.The Police Department in Painesville, Ohio, recently launched a wireless project that lets officers use an in-car PC to complete incident reports and check state records from the road. The result: Officers are spending more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. / / The project employs radio frequency technologies to transmit state driving license and criminal record information to the cruisers. It also uses high-speed spreadspectrum technology to transmit officers' reports from patrol cars to headquarters. Officers generate reports using a custom application loaded into their cars' PCs and upload them when returning to the station. / / Sgt. David R. Luhta estimates that the extra time Painesville's force now spends in the field is equal to adding two or three officers to its 34-member patrol staff.A variety of wireless handsets provides Richmond city crews anywhere-access to a proprietary database that contains information about the city's flood defense systems. The database, which itself receives wireless data from transmitters installed on 180 city water pumps, temperature sensors and water-level monitors, tracks variables such as pump performance, street temperatures and water and sewage levels. / / The ability to query the database from the field allows mobile city crews to prioritize system maintenance tasks according to problem areas requiring the most immediate attention. The database can also "push" critical information. If it detects that a neighborhood's water or sewage height has reached a dangerous level, for example, it can transmit an alert to wireless handsets, allowing safety crews to respond faster. Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

Crédit Agricole deployed Intellisync Email Accelerator and Intellisync Device Management to over 100 executives with Pocket PC devices, and more than 200 auditors with laptops.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / Our tests have been successful; we've saved endless hours of data entry, and improved the accuracy of the information we submit to the firms that hire us. We've had to improvise to protect our non-rugged devices in the field from the elements and from the rough terrain in which they're used. We've also been pleased at how inexperienced workers with minimal education have been able to learn and use the Pocket PCs and the software we've developed for them. Overall, we've found that with a little care and some careful software development, the Pocket PC can revolutionize forestry work amidst the wilds of Colombia.

The goal was simply to provide a tool to allow both contractors and homeowners to keep track of the items and tasks pertaining to a particular project (Fig. 2). First, it seemed that the product would only track names and phone numbers of contractors while relating them to the deliverables that each of them were responsible for (Fig. 3). But then we changed the design to include multiple projects as well so that these deliverables could be prioritized across all projects.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / From e-mail and text messaging to data streaming and wireless Voice over IP (VoIP), many business scenarios can see productivity or efficiency enhancements from handheld wireless communications technology. Service technicians and system administrators can be notified of a particular issue or technical malfunction and have the opportunity to respond immediately with a resolution. Resource usage and status levels can automatically be streamed automatically to individuals who need that information. Individuals can communicate back and forth regarding just about anything. As far as communications are concerned, the imagination is truly the only limitation. There are some usability issues in the short term, but they will be resolved. / / Customer Relationship Management (CRM) / / CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / / Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

First American Bank selected OneBridge Mobile Groupware to enable its branch managers to synchronize PIM data, e-mail, electronic memos and notes using a central server. The bank’s IT department is also able to push new applications or data, such as a spreadsheet of emergency contacts, to a branch location or manager, where it can be viewed, evaluated and uploaded to a PDA. First American Bank has realized increased employee efficiency and productivity. The IT staff is able to deploy and troubleshoot applications for Palm PDA devices much easier and faster from a central location, allowing the team to address other IT issues for the bank. Branch managers rely on their PDAs to record notes and create memos about potential and current clients, which are then synchronized with the Lotus Domino system for refinement and distribution.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

Mobile workers like MTA because it's easy to use, and the handheld devices are easy to carry to customer locations. And, if a customer wants to place an order right on the spot, the sales representatives can check supply and tell the customer when and where to expect delivery. Everypath customers who sell medical technology use MTA to get life-saving devices like pacemakers and coronary stents to patients in time. Consumer goods companies use MTA to track inventory and move it seamlessly from manufacturing plant to retail outlet. And manufacturers use MTA to dispatch their repair people to the right place at the right time, and feed them the information they need to get the repair job done right. The industry networks are currently available to ISV companies with applications that serve customers in these industries: banking; financial services; government; healthcare and life sciences; insurance; retail; and telecommunications . Everypath, now a participant in the healthcare and life sciences network, plans to participate in others as well.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidentsCustomer calls to the chemical maker used to trigger something like a relay race. Sales reps would respond by calling a home-office customer service representative who had network access. After retrieving the necessary product information, the home office would call back the sales rep, who would then call back the customer. The process took anywhere from four hours to a full day. / / Now, salespeople use handhelds linked to a Web-based SAP R/3 system to get real-time information and deliver it to customers on the spot. Celanese expects to see a rise in customer satisfaction as a result of the fast response times and one-on-one service, says William Schmitt , director of business enablement at Celanese, a division of Frankfurt, Germany-based Celanese AG. The company also expects to add other wireless capabilities and launch a pilot system in Europe and Asia.The Transportation Department in Fairfax, Va., is looking to cut waiting times and boost ridership on public buses by using a wireless system that delivers real-time bus arrival and departure times to transit stops. / / Twelve transit buses equipped with Global Positioning System and automated vehicle location systems transmit up-to-the-minute location and schedule information that passengers can view from a variety of display devices, including Internet phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and bus-stop monitors. Fairfax Transportation Director Alex Verzosa says that the system, powered by NextBus, will free up phone support employees, who frequently field bus schedule calls, and let transit managers monitor driver performance. / / The city also plans to use the system to collect route data that can be used to make future service improvements.

Thanks to the recent wireless efforts of the Building Department of Miami-Dade County, Fla., building contractors can now access county inspection results in as little as 10 minutes instead of two days. The expedited results process translates into money- and time-savings for contractors and, the building department hopes, more construction investments within the county. / / The streamlined results process came after the building department outfitted its field inspectors with wireless handsets. While still in the field, inspectors can now directly submit their findings to central servers for immediate publication on both the department's Web site and a voice response system. The process eliminates the need for permit clerks to enter inspection results from hard copy into computers, which saves time and frees clerks to perform other permit-related functions.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

Crédit Agricole deployed Intellisync Email Accelerator and Intellisync Device Management to over 100 executives with Pocket PC devices, and more than 200 auditors with laptops.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."Pfizer's 150-year-old, eight-floor plant in Brooklyn houses manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations. It also contains an arsenal of wireless technologies for paperless manufacturing. / / Thirty-five RF antennas support the wireless transfer of process, inventory and other information from a variety of wireless Palm and bar-code scanning devices. These systems once required reams of paper along with data entry clerks to log nearly every step. Now, wireless applications monitor manufacturing progress in real time, optimize the use of equipment and manage inventory available to the manufacturing line. Information is also available on an intranet or via wireless to managers. / / Thomas J. Cala, team leader of enterprise systems at Pfizer, says reducing human data entry requirements alone has saved Pfizer Brooklyn millions of dollars.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

Typically, when an airplane jet engine is damaged, an airline can expect to shell out an average of $1,000,000 (considering down time, parts replacements, maintenance fees, and a substitute airplane for the displaced passengers). For this reason, many major airports employ staff or contractors whose sole purpose is to deter birds and mammals away from the critical flight areas around the airport. These areas include the runway and approach/departure corridors. In order for these people to do their job effectively, they need to know which species they are dealing with, when that species shows up, why they do, and what techniques work best to disperse them. Not only must they have an in-depth knowledge of wildlife control, they must record everything they see and be able to retrieve that data in order to analyze it and take the necessary corrective steps. / / / RESULTS: / / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /Our tests have been successful; we've saved endless hours of data entry, and improved the accuracy of the information we submit to the firms that hire us. We've had to improvise to protect our non-rugged devices in the field from the elements and from the rough terrain in which they're used. We've also been pleased at how inexperienced workers with minimal education have been able to learn and use the Pocket PCs and the software we've developed for them. Overall, we've found that with a little care and some careful software development, the Pocket PC can revolutionize forestry work amidst the wilds of Colombia.

The goal was simply to provide a tool to allow both contractors and homeowners to keep track of the items and tasks pertaining to a particular project (Fig. 2). First, it seemed that the product would only track names and phone numbers of contractors while relating them to the deliverables that each of them were responsible for (Fig. 3). But then we changed the design to include multiple projects as well so that these deliverables could be prioritized across all projects.

// One way to reduce costs in healthcare is to improve the level of automation and integration within today's healthcare systems. For example, the average hospital runs more than 150 distinct systems, of which very few are capable of working together to share key information necessary for improved patient care and better operational efficiency. Add to this the need to communicate claim information on a patient with the outside systems from insurance organizations and the issues are compounded. Microsoft, in conjunction with our healthcare partners, believes that by leveraging the data within these systems to be exposed as a non-proprietary format (i.e., XML), both the people who deliver healthcare and those who receive it will gain access to any information, at any time, and on any smart device, thus leading to a dramatic increase in the quality of healthcare. // What other areas of healthcare do you see where Microsoft could drive improvements?The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

Consolidated Contractors is a major contracting company involved in numerous gas and oil construction projects in remote locations around the world, including the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. One of the major issues facing our project construction teams in a pipeline project is total traceability of pipes. In a 500-mile pipeline construction, you have approximately 75,000 pipes that have to be received on the construction site, tested for damages during shipping, repaired if such damages occur, moved from store to store depending on location of work on pipeline, and then issued to construction. Traceability means that we need to keep track of each pipe from the point when it is delivered on-site to the point where it is put in its final place in the pipeline, including all movement history. / / Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / /

At that time, all of the requests for building inspections were taken over the phone and put into a paper scheduling log by the office technicians, who would then make copies of the log and give them to the five building inspectors every morning. The inspectors visited each construction site on their inspection log throughout the day. They had no information other than what was on the piece of paper: builder's name, job site address, and the type of inspection called for. / / When the inspector found items on the job site that needed to be corrected, he or she would write it down on a correction list and leave a copy with the builder. The builder would fix the problems and then call for a re-inspection. When the inspector returned, the builder was required to have the old paper correction list on the job site for re-inspection. / / Lots of inefficiencies... / / This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /Our tests have been successful; we've saved endless hours of data entry, and improved the accuracy of the information we submit to the firms that hire us. We've had to improvise to protect our non-rugged devices in the field from the elements and from the rough terrain in which they're used. We've also been pleased at how inexperienced workers with minimal education have been able to learn and use the Pocket PCs and the software we've developed for them. Overall, we've found that with a little care and some careful software development, the Pocket PC can revolutionize forestry work amidst the wilds of Colombia.

The goal was simply to provide a tool to allow both contractors and homeowners to keep track of the items and tasks pertaining to a particular project (Fig. 2). First, it seemed that the product would only track names and phone numbers of contractors while relating them to the deliverables that each of them were responsible for (Fig. 3). But then we changed the design to include multiple projects as well so that these deliverables could be prioritized across all projects.

What other areas of healthcare do you see where Microsoft could drive improvements? // Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal regulations regarding the privacy and security of patient data, as well as standardized formats for exchanging electronic information. Healthcare organizations were required to be in compliance on privacy regulations by April 2003 and must comply with common, security rules by April 2005. These deadlines have been posing a unique challenge to the healthcare industry, in which unregulated PDAs are being used by doctors in great numbers. / / Although mobile computing technology has been adopted quickly in the healthcare industry, handheld devices have mostly remained personal devices, unsupported by the institutions. While most institutions have implemented only what is blatantly required, this mandatory technological revamp is the perfect opportunity to implement and deploy mobile solutions that can truly impact long-term efficiency, productivity, and the quality of the healthcare services they provide. / / High usage of PDAs in healthcare /

/ Security mandates are common in different local, state, and federal laws, as well as in internal initiatives. Some examples: / If your company is located in the state of California, California's Security Breach Notice Law requires your company to notify any Californians whose personal information was located in a database that has been breached.* In the financial industry, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act mandates insuring the security and confidentiality of customer records and information.* In the health care industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) deals with many corporate security issues including IT data information, storage, audits, and protection.* A CEO may mandate protection for trade secrets kept in a database on the SD card of a Pocket PC device. * A new corporate mandate may be issued after an internal audit reveals that Pocket PC access to the company network is saved in a profile for anyone to use.* / The threats are real, but solutions are available! / CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

/ Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. / The first thing to recognize when evaluating your existing systems is that not all systems need to be extended to mobile platforms. Heretical as it might be to suggest in this publication, certain users may simply get no advantage out of going mobile. Or perhaps a specific mobile application is not usable or even feasible. You need to look at the business process and usage scenario that is "wrapped around" your systems and determine whether location is even a potential value-added factor. Is the system working with data that is either collected or viewed on paper, and would eliminating the paper process be beneficial? Look for specific needs and inefficiencies. For instance, if the potential user is wearing thick gloves you probably could not successfully implement a system with complex user interface or navigation architecture. Finally, you need to make a bottom-line judgment about whether a potential mobile system would provide an overall positive impact on the business. / / 2. Common Functionality Identification. /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The effect of the new technology on Clark's teaching style has been dramatic. Previously he used up to a third of his class time just explaining how to work the calculator and guiding students step by step through complicated keystrokes. Now he focuses entirely on how to work the problems: he's free to engage students in what he calls "discovery learning." In some cases, he's able to cover a concept twice as quickly as it would have taken in the past. / Clark says that MRI Graphing Calculator and Pocket PCs have sharpened the focus of his teaching. "Just the fact that a handheld computer displays colors is huge," he notes, "especially when you are working with a problem that involves plotting and comparing multiple equations. With MRI Graphing Calculator, every equation or curve you graph can be given a different color. This makes it so much easier to work through problems with my class. With the TI-83 I would constantly have to keep pointing to the different curves over and over again and telling my students which was which."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /Our tests have been successful; we've saved endless hours of data entry, and improved the accuracy of the information we submit to the firms that hire us. We've had to improvise to protect our non-rugged devices in the field from the elements and from the rough terrain in which they're used. We've also been pleased at how inexperienced workers with minimal education have been able to learn and use the Pocket PCs and the software we've developed for them. Overall, we've found that with a little care and some careful software development, the Pocket PC can revolutionize forestry work amidst the wilds of Colombia.

The goal was simply to provide a tool to allow both contractors and homeowners to keep track of the items and tasks pertaining to a particular project (Fig. 2). First, it seemed that the product would only track names and phone numbers of contractors while relating them to the deliverables that each of them were responsible for (Fig. 3). But then we changed the design to include multiple projects as well so that these deliverables could be prioritized across all projects.

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // High usage of PDAs in healthcare / / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

/ Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. 2. Common Functionality Identification. / / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

In an effort to maximize the effectiveness of Essex Corporation's field sales division, they required a more streamlined data access solution. Their previous mobile strategy included the use of laptops to access the company's Salesforce.com CRM database-a process that was slow, required access to dial-up connection and did little to ease on-the-spot decision-making or timely reporting. Essex turned to mWholesaler from Pyxis Mobile - a Salesforce.com partner solution specifically designed to boost the productivity of mobile sales people in the financial services industry by connecting them to critical CRM data. Essex wholesalers gained a channel back to their organization, closing several gaps that once existed in their communications and reporting. Wholesalers are now spending less time on administrative tasks such as filling out reports on the success of sales meetings. They also are having better interaction with their internal counterparts on the sales desk and have improved the company's competitiveness. The senior managers are now regularly using virtually instant reporting that gives them a more frequent, more current picture of how products are selling.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room. / The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Krispy Kreme operates over 140 company stores that are independent of its franchise locations. In addition to serving walk-in customers, these company stores prepare doughnuts to be sold at other retail outlets. Route drivers operating from the company stores make daily doughnut deliveries to supermarkets, convenience stores, service stations, and other retail locations. Mobile computers, printers, and route management software are being rolled out to all the company stores primarily to streamline end-of-day processing and back-office operations. The system-custom software developed by Velocitor teamed with Intermec's award-winning 740 Color mobile computers and PW40 mobile printers-also saves time for route drivers and improves efficiency at customer sites. / / "We are admittedly a late adopter of handheld technology," Hood said. "We were not going to implement handheld computers until the technology was mature and stable enough for us to be able to support them with a small IT staff. We needed the system to be as fault-tolerant as paper. Unless maybe you break your pencil, paper is not going to fail in the field. Paper doesn't run out of batteries or stop working because a system goes down. It's great for disaster recovery."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /Our tests have been successful; we've saved endless hours of data entry, and improved the accuracy of the information we submit to the firms that hire us. We've had to improvise to protect our non-rugged devices in the field from the elements and from the rough terrain in which they're used. We've also been pleased at how inexperienced workers with minimal education have been able to learn and use the Pocket PCs and the software we've developed for them. Overall, we've found that with a little care and some careful software development, the Pocket PC can revolutionize forestry work amidst the wilds of Colombia.

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

/ Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

eFIRST Mobile offers a robust, efficient and secure method to capture, process and approve consumer applications remotely. Credit and consumer goods providers can now increase the volume of applications processed, cut application rejection rates in half and decrease processing costs more than 25 percent. / Using mobile devices, such as PDAs, Smartphones and tablet PCs, sales representatives electronically capture consumer goods and credit applications in busy airport terminals, shopping centers and on trade show floors. The eFIRST Mobile service utilizes a template to record all applicant details (optionally including photographs and signatures), which are fully encrypted and securely transmitted wirelessly to the BancTec Managed Services operation. Each application is processed in real-time using multiple data checks, including address, bank account validation and credit scoring. The system can tailor the product offering based on the client’s credit score or notify the sales representative of any issues relating to the client's application while the applicant is still present. / “The eFIRST Mobile service allows BancTec to support complex financial applications in the field and administer the application process significantly faster. Providers gain intimacy with clients where they are most likely to make an immediate purchase decision.”

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

Avecra Oy, the catering services provider for Finland's national railway, uses a year-old wireless system to transmit real-time sales and inventory data between moving railway dining cars and its central computer. Onboard mobile devices, such as handheld PDAs used by waiters, are equipped with Espoo, Finland-based NetSeal Technologies' RoamMate software. This software continually searches for connection points to the Internet as trains make their way along their routes. When a connection point is found, real-time inventory and other data is securely transmitted to Avecra's headquarters-based server. The wireless system has reduced time and labor costs and enables near-real-time updates to accounting records and quick response to changing inventory needs. Based on data transmitted from the restaurant cars, Avecra can replenish quick-selling menu selections at intermediate stations. / "So far as we know, we are the first to implement this kind of system in this kind of environment," says Matti Saari, Avecra's financial manager. He says the company expects to see a positive financial return on its $180,610 investment in the wireless project within two to five years. At this point, Saari says, Avecra has gotten much better control over its sales and material costs.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

/ Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

In a mid-size city like Portland, OR., police officers write about 130,000 tickets a year. The 45 officers working in the traffic division write more than half of that total: that works out to an average of 10-15 tickets a day for each of them. Until late 2005, officers wrote conventional paper tickets that need to be gathered up and sent over to the courts in a big envelope, then entered manually into the courts' computer systems. Office staff at police headquarters hand collated the tickets for a monthly tally of citations issued, but there was no searchable database to find specific citation information. / / That's all changing as Portland moves to electronic ticketing. The department recently completed a pilot program testing mobile citation-writing software and a Trimble Recon rugged handheld computer equipped with Bluetooth and GPRS wireless cards. The traffic division's 45 officers are now writing electronic tickets on the handhelds, and as funding is available, the Portland Police Bureau will expand the system to include other divisions. / / The new system is designed to save time, both when the ticket is written and when it's processed by the courts. Just as important, it increases accuracy, reduces paperwork, and gives the Bureau aggregate information on citations it can use to deploy officers to areas where accidents and violations occur most frequently.At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

In the previous system, inspectors were given a paper assignment sheet every two weeks. From this they would prioritize their work and schedule inspections. They then conducted inspections of bars and restaurants, plus events covered under a "Special Occasion Permit." Afterwards they would submit paper inspection reports to their regional offices all over the Province of Ontario, which in turn would send them to the head office in Toronto, where data entry clerks would enter them into a database on an IBM AS/400. / / The inefficiency of this system was particularly noticeable with regards to licensing inspections, which are conducted prior to the issuance of a new liquor license: David Baxter, manager of Liquor Sales Licensing said, "Liquor license inspection reports were a paper-based form system. These were pre-printed and the liquor inspector filled them out by hand when conducting a liquor inspection. These were then routed by snail-mail from all our regional offices to the head office and then finally to us. This often resulted in slow delivery and illegible details on some forms. Sometimes the forms were delivered to the wrong license officer and had to be re-routed. The whole process slowed down the issuance of a license, and when a liquor license applicant's business depends on becoming a licensee and opening their business, every day counts." / / SOLUTION: The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

/ Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Bell Canada ist der führende Anbieter von Telekommunikationslösungen für Privat- und Geschäftskunden in Kanada. Zu den angebotenen Produkten und Dienstleistungen zählen Sprach- und Datenübertragung, Internetzugang (ISP) und B2B EC-Lösungen. Die rund 4000 Servicetechniker von Bell Canada bearbeiten Service Calls typischerweise vor Ort beim Kunden. Dabei muss ein Techniker nach erfolgreicher Fehlersuche und Diagnose aus über 55 000 lagernden Ersatzteilen für Baugruppen wie Modems, Telefonanlagen und Anschlussdosen die jeweils benötigten Teile identifizieren und bestellen. Wegen der immer kürzer werdenden Technologiezyklen erweitert sich der Stamm an Ersatzteilen stetig, weshalb es keinen Katalog in gedruckter Form gibt. Die Suche nach passenden Ersatzteilen erforderte je Servicetechniker zwischen 30 und 120 Minuten pro Arbeitstag. Ausgehend von dieser Situation entschied sich Bell Canada für die Einführung einer Mobile Procurement Lösung, die sich optimal in das bestehende Anwendungssystem integrieren lassen sollte. Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden alle Servicetechniker mit mobilen Endgeräten ausgestattet, welche den Zugriff auf den vollständigen aktuellen Ersatzteilkatalog, durch Offline-Synchronisation auch von Orten ohne Zugang zu Datennetzen, ermöglichen. Dabei folgen neue Geschäftsprozesse den Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologie. Die Techniker suchen nun vor Ort mit Ersatzteilnummer oder Schlüsselwort nach der passenden Komponente und können beispielsweise Abbildungen, Verfügbarkeiten und Preise einsehen, um dann anhand eines Warenkorbes eine Bestellung mit entsprechenden Lieferdaten und -anschriften auszulösen. Überschreitet eine Ersatzteilbestellung den Verfügungsrahmen des Servicetechnikers, löst dies automatisch einen Prozess zur Bestätigung durch einen Vorgesetzten aus. Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

The U.S. Army, Europe (Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics) employs an advanced, wireless Automatic Identification Technologies (AIT) Network to track critical parts and supplies in transit to operations in and around Europe. AIT uses a combination of automated RF and satellite-tracking technologies to monitor supply shipments and troop movements between Germany and the Balkans. / / The system publishes the asset location information it gathers through a secure Internet feed to managers in charge of distributing and deploying assets to field operations, such as the security forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project supports a long-term U.S. Armed Forces commitment to enhance the efficiency of global supply chains through improved logistics operations. / / "The AIT Network is presently recognized as the most extensive RF identification and satellite- tracking network system in the free world in terms of investment in commercial hardware and software, and the yearly support costs in Europe and the U.S.," says AIT Branch Chief Thomas F. Young. / / Prior to AIT RF and satellite-tracking programs, the military managed supply shipments within individual organizations. Now, under a unified tracking system, service organizations have better information on inventory in the pipeline. / / For example, a commander in Kosovo can "see" where in the supply pipeline in-bound helicopter rotor blades are and doesn't have to do a panic reordering because he lost sight of the shipment.

In February 2000, PRI licensed Generation21 software to build its Web-based e-volution Training and Performance Support System. It provides employees with information on everything from routine system maintenance to mission-critical equipment error recovery. / / Subsequently, PRI conducted a wireless test project that provided 30 employees with wireless Palm access to the system using Web-clipping technology. Although employees realized an immediate benefit in reduced data access times, the test revealed that workers could use richer access to multimedia information. So PRI implemented full-featured PC tablets that could easily work with video, graphics and sound via add-on wireless networking cards. The end result frees employees from network tethers and presents higher-quality system information in less time and without the need for hard-copy reference materials. / / The system is used internally, but PRI expects to offer a similar capability to its external customers early next year. The system will let clients perform maintenance and repair, parts management and other tasks from anywhere within their own sites. / / "Manufacturing plants can stretch as much as a mile long," says Peter Parsons, director of PRI's product knowledge and learning systems. "If we offer wireless support systems to our external clients, they could roam their entire site to manage equipment without needing cumbersome, strategically placed network connections."

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Oil field automation is a common method of data collection for high-production oil or gas wells. However, many oil fields in the United States have been producing for 50 to 100 years, and a well may yield just 5–10 barrels of oil per day. At such levels, economics preclude the installation of expensive automated field data capture systems. / / Manual field data capture typically involves a field operator driving from well site to well site and writing well temperatures, pressures, and other pertinent information on a piece of paper known as a "gauge sheet," then faxing it to a clerk for entry into a computer. Data quality is marginal, and it can take from one day to several weeks for the information to become available to production engineers, who are responsible for maintaining production levels and ensuring well uptime. Potential problem identification is delayed, and resolution may be too late, which leads to deferred or lost production. / / Recent improvements in Pocket PC technology enable the field operators to enter data directly into an electronic form and then synchronize with an engineering database through cellular or wireless systems. When real-time information captured on a Pocket PC is brought into an engineering relational database where historic field information is readily available, the surveillance engineer can further discover production performance variances and use other analytical tools to understand the issues and quickly recommend remedial action.

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

/ Each pipe carries a barcode that uniquely identifies it. Using this unique number, material control officers use paper forms to record traceability information about each pipe. Information recorded on the paper forms is later fed by a group of data entry operators into the back end material management system. / / With tens of thousands of items to be tracked, the process soon becomes unmanageable. Errors abound at all levels. Material control officers (MCOs) make mistakes or use bad handwriting when entering information on their paper forms; data entry operators make mistakes reading paper forms and entering that information into computers. SOLUTION / ROI: The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Eine Analyse der Kostenstruktur US-amerikanischer Kfz-Versicherer ergibt, dass nach Branchenstatistiken rund 34% der Einnahmen aus Kfz-Versicherungspolicen als Kosten für die Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldungen anfallen. Häufig versuchen Versicherungsunternehmen, die Ausgaben für die Schadensregulierung selbst zu senken, was oft zu verlängerten Verhandlungsphasen und Konflikten zwischen Kunden und Versicherer führt. Progressive Insurance entschied sich statt dessen für die Einführung mobiler Technologie bei der Bearbeitung der Schadensmeldungen zu senken. Der bisherige Prozess begann mit der Schadensmeldung durch einen Kunden über Telefon, Fax oder E-Mail. Die Meldung wurde daraufhin einem Sachbearbeiter zugeordnet, welcher für die Durchführung von Interviews mit den beteiligten Personen, die Untersuchung der beteiligten Fahrzeuge und die weiteren Vorgänge zur Schadensregulierung verantwortlich war. Die fehlende Verfügbarkeit aller relevanten Informationen führte dabei zu Verzögerungen und inkonsistenten Entscheidungen. Progressive führte hierfür einen neuen Prozess ein, der mobile Technologien einsetzt, um einen kontinuierlichen Informationsfluss zwischen Kunden, der zentralen Datenbank und den an der Abarbeitung der Schadensmeldung beteiligten Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Der Sachbearbeiter ist nun grundsätzlich mobil und arbeitet vor Ort beim Kunden. Nach Zuordnung einer Schadensmeldung erhält er die Schadensnummer sowie Details zu Police und Schaden auf sein mobiles Endgerät. Dadurch kann er nun vor Ort die bis zu 20 Schritte einer kompletten Schadensregulierung vornehmen: angefangen beim Ausfüllen der Schadensmeldung, der Durchführung von Interviews mit den Beteiligten, der Identifikation der zu ersetzenden Teile, bis hin zur Schätzung des Reparaturaufwands und anschließenden Zahlung an den Kunden. Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.Now, with RDMS software and the rugged Pocket PCs, Marine engineers were able to deploy throughout the battered region to electronically collect critical data with exact GPS coordinates and immediately transmit it back to the VNOC from the device using a satellite phone. The customized software included reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements, among others. Once recorded in the unit, the data could be uploaded by connecting the device to a satellite phone with a lightweight cable, then using a touch-screen to send the information directly to the operation center, either immediately or intermittently throughout the day. / / Back in the VNOC, the consistent flow of data could be easily compiled into graphs, charts or any number of reports, then overlaid on a map and satellite imagery using the correct GPS coordinates from the field. Within moments, decision-makers could securely view a complete spatial representation of a geographic area, including a comprehensive overview of the status of roads, bridges, shelters, transportation needs and other critical data. / / Based upon the information received, teams in the office could begin laying the groundwork for rebuilding a disaster-stricken region almost immediately. With instant and reliable access to information in the field, people at headquarters could begin to identify how to get aid, materials and services to the field quickly and more efficiently, as well as how much and which kinds of material would be needed to begin rebuilding critical structures.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.We are currently designing a product that utilizes 2D tags, Pocket PCs, and Bluetooth for the Army Black Hawk Production and Fielding team. This team is responsible for the actual delivery, or fielding, of new Black Hawk helicopters to Army and National Guard units on a regular schedule. The assets management this team is concerned with managing are not the actual helicopters, but the equipment—winches, tool sets, brackets, and so on—assigned to the receiving unit in support of the aircraft. The printed hand receipts can be two inches thick and are currently printed in multiple copies. Upon delivery the team takes the printed hand receipts to the unit and they compare them against the actual delivered assets—one itemand one page at a time. / / Our proposed solution is to create software for them to print the hand receipt books, with 2D tags to be generated automatically for each asset item. This set of assets can and does change from unit to unit based on the configuration of the aircraft. Matching 2D tags will be placed on the actual physical asset items to be delivered. / / Prior to actual physical inventory the 2D tags will be scanned from the hand receipt book and will be captured by the Pocket PC. Then each asset 2D tag will be scanned at the unit. The Pocket PC will have an electronic version of the printed hand receipt with embedded 2D tag data. Missing items and items not on the inventory will be flagged for review; the balance will be flagged as delivered. The Production and Fielding team estimates that the time saved as well as the reduction in travel will produce an immediate positive return on the investment.

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ CRM is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for almost any type of horizontal enterprise software, but for our purposes we will define it as any system that can be used to enhance the relationship with the customer. The most common mobile CRM systems are merely extensions of an existing CRM system through a handheld interface. This could include customer records, communication logs, ongoing requirements, buying trends, or any other type of customer-related data imaginable. Those systems can often provide a relatively significant ROI simply because they are usually fairly inexpensive to implement and deploy. But the most innovative mobile CRM systems are those that leverage features that are impossible to implement in a non-handheld application. Examples include on-site customer survey collection, barcode scanning for product/customer look-up, and mobile productivity trending and analysis. / / Field Force Automation (FFA) /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."PROBLEM: When Patty Cook arrived at CNS to become Chief Technology and Chief Operating Officer, she found an organization that was successful, but that could be even more successful and profitable if it replaced its two legacy systems with a Web-enabled transaction processing and clearing system. Key requirements included scalability and low maintenance. "Suffice it to say," explains Cook, "that the existing legacy systems were difficult to administer and reconcile. It took 15 people to run and maintain them. Additionally, they were not Web-enabled, which put us at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the level of customer service we could offer our clients and our ability to attract new clients." SOLUTION: According to NetVision Global CTO Nadeem Shafi, the GlobalCash platform was developed and implemented using an n-tier, modular approach. It was designed to support multiple sales channels, products and services and product service providers. "With GlobalCash, CNS clients, intermediaries and client representatives can place trades over the Internet as well as view account status and positions," he explains. "Trades are executed with straight through processing, replacing the need for any other clearing services. Custody, Compliance, Cashiering, Reconciliation/Audit and information and tracking modules support increased efficiencies in back-office operations and consolidated client activity analysis and reporting. The system's functionality also includes statement/confirmation generation, presentation and mailing." The openness of the system also made it easy to build in support for CNS' existing MOCA (Management of Cash Account) application, which allows CNS clients to attach a checking account or debit card to their money market portfolio.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

CustomerWise (formerly TechExcel ServiceWise) is a completely integrated Customer Support and Help Desk software solution, combining the power of the Web and wireless technology with sophisticated client/server applications. ServiceWise is a comprehensive solution for today’s demanding Customer Support and Help Desk organizations. With its scalable architecture, ServiceWise combines a set of client/server and Internet/Intranet applications to deliver a fully integrated customer support solution. ; ; Utilizing the same OWL (Open Workflow Lifecycle) modeling technology from TechExcel’s DevTrack, CustomerWise allows technical support teams to define a flexible and effective workflow process for resolving customer call and technical support issues. Problem description, work description, progress status, and other properties of are dynamically tracked and managed to ensure every call issue is properly assigned and quickly resolved.; ; CustomerWise enables customers to be fully involved in the process of resolving a customer call from the beginning. A customer can submit an issue by phone or via the Internet using the browser-based ServiceWise Web, check issue status, get all the related information about an issue in progress, and undertake a conversation with technical support staff online.; ; CustomerWise offers both client/server and Internet/Intranet (ServiceWise Web) customer issue management solutions. Both ServiceWise and ServiceWise Web can be used at the same time with concurrent access support and issue synchronization. ServiceWise is ideal for large, centralized teams such as a corporate service center, whereas CustomerWise Web is more suitable for distributed team members who work at home or a remote site.; ; FEATURES: - Incident Tracking and Resolution - Define and manage your complete customer support process, from tracking to workflow and process automation, all customized to meet your unique business requirements. ; - Knowledge Management - Compile and search a comprehensive product support knowledge base, including indexed documents, files, and Web links, with definable access for customers. ; - Sophisticated Workflow - Automatically assign new incidents to the most appropriate person based on their skills and workload, then trigger automatic notification and re-assignment when incidents are overdue. ; - Multiple Automated Notification Options - Automatically notify any support team member by email, pager, or cell phone, when selected events occur based on definable criteria. ; - Built-in Reports and Analysis - Easily analyze problem trends and track support team performance metrics. ; - Customizable Customer Web Portal - Provide your customers with a powerful Web interface to submit and manage incidents, to search the knowledge base, and to have interactive Web conversations with the support team. ; - Lifecycle Model Support with an open workflow (OWL) architecture - tracking the history of incidents from creation to closure; - Extensive knowledge builder - publish knowledge topics for customer-resolved incidents ; - Customer contact manager ; - Fully customizable user interface ; - Incident tracking processes include escalation, copying, and linking ; - New Incidents are automatically routed to the most appropriate support engineer based on their technical skills and current workload. ; - Support engineers can also now be notified automatically when they have overdue or stagnant incidents, and incidents can be automatically escalated and re-assigned to other team members based on the automatic routing criteria. ; - Full text and keyword searching of knowledge base(s) for faster issue resolution ; - Fully dynamic and customizable reports and graphics ; - Automatic e-mail notification with user specified triggers ; - Easy-to-use Administrator for project setup and configuration ; - CustomerWise Web - supports advanced features of its client/server version with an intuitive and LAN-like user interface ; - CustomerWise Download Manager allows you to create professional Web sites for your company's evaluation software, product patches, and other documents. Download Manager tracks and manages customer and contact information and records all download events, allowing download events be linked with tech-support incidents

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Emergency Response System (SERS) employs advanced automation, expert systems and software agents to monitor the performance of satellites worth $50 million to $100 million. / / When the system identifies potential faults or emergencies, it sends detailed wireless alerts to the most appropriate personnel and facilitates remote interaction among their wireless devices, including two-way pagers, Internet phones and PDAs. / / From its start in 1996, SERS's main aim has been to "reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations without increasing the risk of losing the spacecraft or reducing the throughput of scientific data," says Julie Breed, branch head at the center. Prior to the automated monitoring, satellite mission control was typically an expensive enterprise, requiring eight or nine engineers to take turns monitoring around-the-clock. Now, it requires only a single engineer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday. / / That saves thousands of hours of labor on each mission. The project, Breed says, "has already paid for itself many times over." / / The first SERS mission, TRACE, which has been operating for more than three years, shows that the system can reliably handle its load. To monitor the health and safety of TRACE, the system uses a combination of networks to examine more than 5,000 satellite parameters six or seven times each day. / / Recent analysis of SERS logs shows that the system has alerted on-call staff to 3,300 potential problems, only 12 of which were serious enough to force a return to base. / / Another half-dozen new satellite missions have committed to SERS upon launch. According to Breed, "A mission now has to justify why it would not use a system like SERS."

Erste Bank’s IT infrastructure is based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, which allows comprehensive and varied tasks such as email, appointment management, and address book creation. Microsoft’s ActiveSync programme aligns mobile devices with the PC, without incurring additional licence fees or the need for additional software to be installed on business devices or workstation computers. Erste Bank chose Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 devices from the new Nokia Eseries. Both devices support Microsoft ActiveSync. “In Nokia Eseries, we found high performance devices that provide our employees with the functions they need for their daily work. The devices can be preconfigured at no great expense and are ready for use immediately,” explains Karl Exler, member of Erste Bank’s “Group IT” service unit. Nokia E61 is a flexible device for business use at Erste Bank. With its slim design and full keyboard, it is fully geared for the mobile use of email functions, supporting multiple email clients such as Intellisync Mobile Suite from Nokia, SEVEN Always-On Mail, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Whilst on the move, Erste Bank employees can display email file attachments, unpack zipped files, and edit text, tables, and presentations. Employees can even send and receive email during a telephone conversation with a customer.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

Field Force Automation (FFA) / / Nearly every company that has critical, paper-based mobile processes could benefit from Field Force Automation. For the purpose of this article, we will define FFA as any system that deals with corporate data in a mobile environment by performing Field Data Access, Field Data Analysis, or Field Data Collection. It is very likely that more than half of all successful, ROI-generating enterprise handheld deployments could be considered Field Force Automation systems. FFA is hands-down the current "killer app" of enterprise mobile computing. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ Nearly every company that has critical, paper-based mobile processes could benefit from Field Force Automation. For the purpose of this article, we will define FFA as any system that deals with corporate data in a mobile environment by performing Field Data Access, Field Data Analysis, or Field Data Collection. It is very likely that more than half of all successful, ROI-generating enterprise handheld deployments could be considered Field Force Automation systems. FFA is hands-down the current "killer app" of enterprise mobile computing. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

One of our customers is a government office that maintains a large inventory of computers, servers, racks, routers, monitors, and much more. Prior to the advent of KIMS, this office maintained the inventory on paper lists generated from an Excel spreadsheet. When inventory was being done, the individual checking the equipment would actually take a printout to each location and manually read the numbers printed on standard barcodes that were attached to each piece of equipment. Then he would check these numbers against the printed spreadsheet and make changes in ink, if necessary. When completed, the changed data was keyed back into the Excel spreadsheet. They never used a barcode reader! / / Another of our customers, also a government office, managed its inventory in a similar manner, except it did so throughout the world. The inventory management job is tremendous, as it includes notebook computers and network infrastructure on aircraft carriers, the equipment on server farms in a number of locations, and computers and other equipment located in a number of different offices throughout the United States. Until recently, all this was done manually. / / Using KIMS, the operation of both of these inventories was streamlined and the accuracy was improved. First, we put all of the data from the original barcodes into a database, and new 2D tags were placed on all the items. Then, in the next inventory, the inventory takers used an HP iPAQ 5455 Bluetooth- enabled Pocket PC and a Bluetooth-enabled scanner from CodeCorp (see Fig. 2) to scan the 2D tags. The record for that item would then appear on the screen of the Pocket PC, and any blanks would be filled in and the record saved. This provided a vital cross-reference to the original barcode-based inventory. For records with or without barcodes, the field for the 2D tag became the key field.

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Ein Zukunftsszenario könnte wie folgt aussehen: Vending-Automaten sind in Gruppen zusammengefasst, die drahtlos lokal (z.B. über WLAN oder DECT) miteinander vernetzt sind. Ein Automat fungiert dabei als Master und ruft die Daten der Slaves in regelmäßigen Abständen ab bzw. erhält im Bedarfsfall Meldungen von diesen. Fülltechniker dokumentieren das Befüllen von Automaten, indem sie den Barcode der Füllprodukte sowie denjenigen des Automaten (mit den Eigenschaften wie Schlüsselnummer, Verrechnungsnummer etc.) mittels Barcodescanner am PDA einlesen. Als letzter Automat der Tour wird der Master befüllt und alle gesammelten Befülldaten werden mittels Bluetooth auf dessen Telemetriemodul übertragen, das die Informationen für eigene Zwecke speichert sowie an die Operating-Zentrale übermittelt, wo sie im Warenwirtschaftssystem weiterverarbeitet werden. Ein Bedarf wird am einzelnen Gerät oder am Master sofort erkennt und proaktiv an die Zentrale gemeldet, wo der Bedarf direkt in die Route eines Automaten-Technikers (bei Störung) bzw. Fülltechnikers (bei Auslösung Mindestbestand) eingeplant wird. Ist dieser bereits unterwegs, erhält er eine Routenänderung auf dem PDA angezeigt. Routen werden automatisch zusammengestellt und dynamisch optimiert, bei Ressourcenknappheit kann der Bedarf der einzelnen Automaten priorisiert werden (z.B. nach dem Erwartungswert des Umsatzausfalls oder der Vertragsgestaltung mit dem Standortgeber). Der simple Einsatz von Telemetriemodulen zur Senkung der Operating-Kosten ermöglicht Verbesserungen in gewissem Umfang. Die Verwendung mobiler Technologie ermöglicht jedoch darüber hinaus völlig neue, digitalisierte Geschäftsprozesse. Erste Ansätze wurden in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt. Dabei ist es möglich, bei einem überschaubaren Return on Investment entscheidende Verbesserungen an mehreren Ecken des „magischen Dreiecks“ aus Kosten, Zeit und Qualität zu erzielen. Im zunehmend schwieriger werdenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Umfeld wird das Beherrschen mobiler Geschäftsprozesse hierdurch für die Unternehmen der Vending-Branche zu einer entscheidenden Herausforderung im Wettbewerb.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// Beyond the ability to integrate disparate system information, the ability to reduce the reliance on paper-based forms offers the single biggest area for improvement in healthcare. Approximately 70% of healthcare transactions today are paper-based, resulting in high administrative costs and difficulty accessing critical patient information at the time of care. In addition to the costs of manually filling out and storing all this paperwork, the process is prone to errors. Automating the process using electronic forms offers a number of advantages: Pre-populated forms are faster to complete, saving time for caregivers to see a greater number of patients; limited data entry fields on e-forms yield higher quality information; personnel normally on staff who transcribe this information into an organization's system(s) can be eliminated or redirected. Some healthcare industry analysts believe the $90 billion the healthcare industry currently spends in administrative costs could be slashed to $5 billion or less by moving from paper-based systems. // Can you share with us where these platforms have driven significant improvements in healthcare? / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ Nearly every company that has critical, paper-based mobile processes could benefit from Field Force Automation. For the purpose of this article, we will define FFA as any system that deals with corporate data in a mobile environment by performing Field Data Access, Field Data Analysis, or Field Data Collection. It is very likely that more than half of all successful, ROI-generating enterprise handheld deployments could be considered Field Force Automation systems. FFA is hands-down the current "killer app" of enterprise mobile computing. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / /

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

Can you share with us where these platforms have driven significant improvements in healthcare? // There are many success stories, but two come to mind. The first would be / The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently published the results of a survey in which 72 percent of responding medical practices had at least one physician who had used mobile computing for business purposes. These numbers demonstrate a very high usage rate within the healthcare industry but, unlike most other enterprise technologies, PDAs have often been brought into the workplace by the workers themselves. This has allowed for a very widespread, rapid adoption of the technology, but has not allowed any time for the healthcare organizations to adjust. In the meantime, HIPAA compliance efforts have drained budgets and manpower that would normally be used to help with this adjustment. That has caused many organizations to simply ignore mobile computers for now. While that may be a legitimate option for some, the prevalence of the technology within their own organization requires that the issues created by PDAs are immediately addressed in order to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

/ Nearly every company that has critical, paper-based mobile processes could benefit from Field Force Automation. For the purpose of this article, we will define FFA as any system that deals with corporate data in a mobile environment by performing Field Data Access, Field Data Analysis, or Field Data Collection. It is very likely that more than half of all successful, ROI-generating enterprise handheld deployments could be considered Field Force Automation systems. FFA is hands-down the current "killer app" of enterprise mobile computing. / /

One organization making the switch is the Springfield, Illinois Fire Department, which is moving to handhelds for its fire safety inspections. The City of Springfield has about 6000 commercial buildings and 2000 multi-family dwellings (3 units or more) which are inspected annually for violations of fire safety codes or city ordinances. If violations are found, the building or residential unit must be reinspected within 30 days. / / The process has proven faster and easier than when traditional paper-based forms were used, allowing inspectors to work more efficiently. Once standard information such as building address, owner, and phone number has been tapped in, it will only need to be verified—rather than reentered—for future inspections. This saves time for inspectors and eliminates errors that can occur when reentering data or trying to decipher illegible handwriting. / / But the new system is about more than just convenience—it also adds a new dimension for managing and analyzing information. For example, with all inspection details on his iPAQ, Putnam doesn't have to call the office to have someone look up a file or make a return trip himself. All fire safety inspections for the past ten years are stored in 24 four-drawer file cabinets at department headquarters. Until now, inspectors or clerical staff had to search manually for inspection reports. Sifting through paper records to find needed information could take hours. It was even worse if documents were misfiled. / / The iPAQ can also store an Excel spreadsheet containing all the code violations of the BOCA Fire Prevention Code, along with explanations. If a business owner or landlord has a question, the inspector can immediately access a description of the violation and explain what it means, rather than going out to the car for the manual. Another advantage is flexible, immediate access to inspection details based on a wide variety of search criteria—by date, address, type of business, type of violation, and any other relevant categories. As a result, he is now able to obtain information that previously was impossible or highly impractical to collate because of the time required to hunt through paper files.

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / /

/ This process was inefficient in a number of ways: / When builders called in to schedule inspections, the addresses were often recorded incorrectly in the paper inspection scheduling log, causing the inspectors to waste time in finding the right location. / The builders had a hard time reading the writing of some of the inspectors on the correction lists. / The inspector might not find the old paper correction list at the job site and therefore would not be able to do the inspection, causing a delay in the construction process. The builder then would have to get a copy of the old correction list to the job site and call for another re-inspection. / The inspectors had to carry around a large clipboard to write on at each inspection. / At the end of the day, the inspector would bring his/her inspection corrections for each job site to the office technician. The technician would then enter the corrections into the computer the next work day. / If a builder was not on the job site during an inspection, he would call in and ask if the inspection had passed or failed. If the inspection had failed he would often ask to have all the corrections read to him over the phone, but the office staff wouldn't be able to give him that information because it was with the inspector in the field until the end of the day. / / SOLUTION: We designed the system to get all the information on each inspection from our inspection database on the city's mainframe computer. An inspector now goes on a job site with access to all the information that is required for that inspection on the iPAQ. The builder no longer needs to keep a copy of the old paper correction list on the job site because the inspector can pull up that information on the iPAQ. The inspectors no longer need to carry clipboards; they input the corrections into the small, easy-to-carry iPAQs and send it back over the Internet to our server at the city (Fig. 2). The office technician no longer has to input that data into the system, which frees up her valuable time. / / / Each inspector, when finished with an inspection, uses the IrDA on the iPAQ to print a copy of the corrections to an IrDA-equipped Pentax PocketJet 200 printer. The builder now has a printout correction list and the bad handwriting problem is solved. / / All of the inspection data is now real-time and we have provided a Web site where the builder can go to see if an inspection has passed or failed and, if it failed, to see the correction items. This eliminates the 24-hour lag time we used to have when corrections lists were not entered until the day following an inspection. This has also freed up time from answering builders' questions over the phone.

an article about benchmarking; no real case studies. It, however, presents a usable scenario of greatly enhancing the productivity of field IT technicians; see "II. CHALLENGE": "The examined company is an IT service provider with 48 employees, 37 of these are service technicians. The company provides IT support to 15 corporate customers. Support limitations and cost are determined by a service level agreement (SLA) with each individual customer (e.g., a response time of at most 6 hours for 90% of occurring requests). Technicians start their working day with a list of current service calls which they receive via mail or ad-hoc telephone calls from the back office. These jobs are prioritized according to the SLAs. Urgent service calls are manually prioritized. If an urgent call comes in during the day, the back office staff has to call out to the field technicians and hope one of them can come back to pick up the paper-based service order. Otherwise, the service order cannot be addressed properly until the next business day. In very urgent cases the technicians would visit a customer without the service order documents and make some informal notes concerning work and driving time as well as used spare parts on a sheet of paper. This is problematic as neither the error description nor the effort and cost for the repair are precisely noted. An additional problem could occur if the notes get lost. Even if not, data quality is often poor through redundant data entry and post-job retrieval of order data. Mobile technology application enables immediate information transmission from the dispatcher’s desk to the field technician’s mobile device (e.g., PDA). There will be no difference between regular calls (planned service calls) and urgent calls. A typical process, supported by mobile applications, consists of three major steps: (a) transmission of service orders, (b) execution of the tasks at the customer, and (c) transmission of performance data (driving, - and work time, used spare parts) to the back office after job completion. This process eliminates multiple data entries and paper handling. Furthermore, overall request duration, including invoicing and work load in the back office decreases. Moreover, the mobile solution could decrease errors caused by redundant data entry, media breaks and calls in the back office."

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Today's wireless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications provide a solution-the ability to access customer information anytime, anywhere-ensuring that a sale is never delayed because of limited access to critical data. By making CRM applications available via wireless devices, sales teams have been able to realize improved time efficiency and improve business processes that contribute to the success of the organization. The heightened response rate that results from having these applications at the fingertips of the sales team allows them to respond immediately to customers and to other business-related inquiries on the go. / / Wireless extends the functionality of CRM beyond the desktop to places where it is not convenient or in some cases not possible for sales people to be connected to a network. When they're away from their desks and not near a phone jack, CRM is of little value to them without a wireless component. For this reason, companies considering CRM solutions view wireless as an indispensable feature. Now, the car, the meeting room, the airport, and the restaurant are all examples of the virtual office-places where salespeople are turning their down-time into productive time, which translates into improved effectiveness and increased profits. / / If a customer asks for pricing during a meeting, the sales person can retrieve pricing information and e-mail it so it's in the customer's inbox before he even gets back to his desk. If the client is ready for a proposal, the rep can set the proposal-generation process in motion immediately to get it in front of the customer before a competitor has a chance to. And, by the nature of today's corporate culture, it's often critical that executives have up-to-the-minute access to accurate sales pipeline and forecasting data. / / For example: It's the last day of the quarter, and Steve has been working on a deal that's on the verge of closing. The customer wants a 30 percent discount and Steve needs to get approval from his manager. The manager needs to have real-time status updates on his pipeline to know if he needs to approve the discount to make his numbers for the quarter or if he can tell Steve to push off the deal by a week and offer a 20 percent discount instead.

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

// There are many success stories, but two come to mind. The first would be Temple University Health System where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped

/ Nearly every company that has critical, paper-based mobile processes could benefit from Field Force Automation. For the purpose of this article, we will define FFA as any system that deals with corporate data in a mobile environment by performing Field Data Access, Field Data Analysis, or Field Data Collection. It is very likely that more than half of all successful, ROI-generating enterprise handheld deployments could be considered Field Force Automation systems. FFA is hands-down the current "killer app" of enterprise mobile computing. / /

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / After you have decided that a specific existing system has the need for a mobile counterpart, you need to identify the functionalities and capabilities that should be shared between the two systems. Keep in mind that a vast majority of the feature set is not usually applicable or appropriate for a mobile usage environment. You can start by defining the fundamental capabilities of the two systems. The goals and purpose (and therefore fundamental capabilities) of the mobile system will not necessarily be the same as those of the existing system. Most likely they will be similar but probably not identical. You can then discover the greatest common denominators between the two systems and determine the practicality of specific common functions for mobile uses. Functionality such as complex data input or heavy graphics is probably not appropriate for mobile usage, and an alternative must be discovered if the function is of critical importance. Think "out of the box" as much as possible during this process, and question your premises, because false assumptions in this step will doom a mobile system to failure. For success, just focus on the big picture and be open-minded. / / 3. Mobile System Innovation. / / Once you've identified the system you intend to extend, as well as all of the common functionality between the existing system and new mobile system, you can proceed by discovering new functionality. The goal of this discovery process is basically the invention and engineering of new capability. It sounds difficult, but it really isn't if you understand the business and the available technology and if you are capable of thinking creatively. Start by leveraging mobile-specific technologies such as wireless connectivity. Would the elimination of wires while staying connected offer any new possibilities? What about touch-screen displays and natural input options such as ink and voice? Would new capabilities be possible with those technologies? How about location-based services? If the mobile application knew where the user was and what was in the geographical vicinity, would that be advantageous? Could the use of barcodes or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags offer beneficial tracking capabilities? How about various biometric technologies—not only for security implementations, but could they provide scientific, medical, or identification components with beneficial functionality? The key is to focus primarily on the business and system-related variables that are related to mobility. This is where the Return on Investment (ROI) for the entire solution is won or lost. / /

We designed the system to get all the information on each inspection from our inspection database on the city's mainframe computer. An inspector now goes on a job site with access to all the information that is required for that inspection on the iPAQ. The builder no longer needs to keep a copy of the old paper correction list on the job site because the inspector can pull up that information on the iPAQ. The inspectors no longer need to carry clipboards; they input the corrections into the small, easy-to-carry iPAQs and send it back over the Internet to our server at the city (Fig. 2). The office technician no longer has to input that data into the system, which frees up her valuable time. / / / Each inspector, when finished with an inspection, uses the IrDA on the iPAQ to print a copy of the corrections to an IrDA-equipped Pentax PocketJet 200 printer. The builder now has a printout correction list and the bad handwriting problem is solved. / / All of the inspection data is now real-time and we have provided a Web site where the builder can go to see if an inspection has passed or failed and, if it failed, to see the correction items. This eliminates the 24-hour lag time we used to have when corrections lists were not entered until the day following an inspection. This has also freed up time from answering builders' questions over the phone.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

Right now there are a number of providers offering products in the home healthcare space. One application helps route and track nursing aides. It notifies them of adjustments in their daily schedules. Provider ALK software adds a geo-tracking solution, "Breadcrumbs," that allows for route optimization for the navigation of these home health aides, plus the ability to fix their location at any given time. / / We also have providers offering in-context viewing of DVD-quality videos. For example, there's an application from IQMax for assisting physicians on their rounds. If they see a patient with a particular chronic illness, they can download in-context information onto their device, then view it in Windows Media Player. / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / With enhancements to the processor power, memory, RAM and Flash ROM, and by leveraging the high-speed networks with EV-DO and EDGE and HSDPA, healthcare practitioners will have the mobile tools they need whether they're on a GSM or a CDMA network. / / / We have video consultation capabilities that are coming soon. Right now, we have wound care applications that include taking pictures, working with 1.2 and 1.3 Megapixel cameras. Soon we'll see software that can handle 2 Megapixels and more. With the phones that will be coming out in the next year or so, we will have more video consultation capabilities: for instance, a cancer patient will be able to talk directly to their physician without having to come in to a hospital or clinic. / / References really are the key must-have mobile applications for physicians. In the future, we will see growth towards wireless applications that use client-server architectures. Healthcare providers will have client-based interfaces that give them access to extensive evidence-based reference information on the server side, with up-to-date searches, for example, of journals, and downloads of abstracts plus full-text information.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / /

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped

/ Nearly every company that has critical, paper-based mobile processes could benefit from Field Force Automation. For the purpose of this article, we will define FFA as any system that deals with corporate data in a mobile environment by performing Field Data Access, Field Data Analysis, or Field Data Collection. It is very likely that more than half of all successful, ROI-generating enterprise handheld deployments could be considered Field Force Automation systems. FFA is hands-down the current "killer app" of enterprise mobile computing. / / Field Data Access / / Many business processes require access to some form of corporate data. Currently that data might be accessed by looking at a piece of paper, browsing through a reference manual, or calling someone on a telephone. Self-serve, real-time dynamic data access from a Pocket PC in a mobile environment can be extremely beneficial if the data is constantly changing, or if it is often filtered or sorted. Corporate data, reference manuals, equipment service history, performance info, and various statistical values are all common usage scenarios for Field Data Access. / /

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / Once you've identified the system you intend to extend, as well as all of the common functionality between the existing system and new mobile system, you can proceed by discovering new functionality. The goal of this discovery process is basically the invention and engineering of new capability. It sounds difficult, but it really isn't if you understand the business and the available technology and if you are capable of thinking creatively. Start by leveraging mobile-specific technologies such as wireless connectivity. Would the elimination of wires while staying connected offer any new possibilities? What about touch-screen displays and natural input options such as ink and voice? Would new capabilities be possible with those technologies? How about location-based services? If the mobile application knew where the user was and what was in the geographical vicinity, would that be advantageous? Could the use of barcodes or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags offer beneficial tracking capabilities? How about various biometric technologies—not only for security implementations, but could they provide scientific, medical, or identification components with beneficial functionality? The key is to focus primarily on the business and system-related variables that are related to mobility. This is where the Return on Investment (ROI) for the entire solution is won or lost. / /

We designed the system to get all the information on each inspection from our inspection database on the city's mainframe computer. An inspector now goes on a job site with access to all the information that is required for that inspection on the iPAQ. The builder no longer needs to keep a copy of the old paper correction list on the job site because the inspector can pull up that information on the iPAQ. The inspectors no longer need to carry clipboards; they input the corrections into the small, easy-to-carry iPAQs and send it back over the Internet to our server at the city (Fig. 2). The office technician no longer has to input that data into the system, which frees up her valuable time. / / / Each inspector, when finished with an inspection, uses the IrDA on the iPAQ to print a copy of the corrections to an IrDA-equipped Pentax PocketJet 200 printer. The builder now has a printout correction list and the bad handwriting problem is solved. / / All of the inspection data is now real-time and we have provided a Web site where the builder can go to see if an inspection has passed or failed and, if it failed, to see the correction items. This eliminates the 24-hour lag time we used to have when corrections lists were not entered until the day following an inspection. This has also freed up time from answering builders' questions over the phone.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

The system would allow inspectors to create reports on their Pocket PC (running the Microsoft .NET compact framework, and Microsoft SQL Server CE), which they would carry with them. Because of the enterprise nature of the solution (it had to be usable by inspectors in rural as well as urban areas), a wireless reporting architecture was ruled out. Instead it was decided that inspectors would upload their reports once they return to their regional offices (via ActiveSync), or dial up to the server from any phone line. / / These inspection reports would then be uploaded to a central server (Microsoft SQL Server 2000), where they would be edited and approved. Once completed, they would be viewed by a manager, who would attach his/her own comments and decisions to the report. Once the manager finished the additions, the report would be uploaded to the original legacy database on the IBM AS400, which would continue to act as the data warehouse for all past and current compliance data. / / RESULTS: Implementation took place in December of 2003, and the response has been very positive from all those involved. "The most significant change of business process is that liquor inspectors are now in the field conducting investigations and inspections rather than being in their respective offices writing reports and accessing data through a database," said Detective Staff Sergeant Clint Hunter of the Ontario Provincial Police, LEIRS business manager. "LEIRS has increased productivity even through the training stage and initial implementation phase of the product. The number of submitted reports increased by 24% from the same period one year earlier."

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped

/ Many business processes require access to some form of corporate data. Currently that data might be accessed by looking at a piece of paper, browsing through a reference manual, or calling someone on a telephone. Self-serve, real-time dynamic data access from a Pocket PC in a mobile environment can be extremely beneficial if the data is constantly changing, or if it is often filtered or sorted. Corporate data, reference manuals, equipment service history, performance info, and various statistical values are all common usage scenarios for Field Data Access. / /

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / Once you've identified the system you intend to extend, as well as all of the common functionality between the existing system and new mobile system, you can proceed by discovering new functionality. The goal of this discovery process is basically the invention and engineering of new capability. It sounds difficult, but it really isn't if you understand the business and the available technology and if you are capable of thinking creatively. Start by leveraging mobile-specific technologies such as wireless connectivity. Would the elimination of wires while staying connected offer any new possibilities? What about touch-screen displays and natural input options such as ink and voice? Would new capabilities be possible with those technologies? How about location-based services? If the mobile application knew where the user was and what was in the geographical vicinity, would that be advantageous? Could the use of barcodes or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags offer beneficial tracking capabilities? How about various biometric technologies—not only for security implementations, but could they provide scientific, medical, or identification components with beneficial functionality? The key is to focus primarily on the business and system-related variables that are related to mobility. This is where the Return on Investment (ROI) for the entire solution is won or lost. / /

We designed the system to get all the information on each inspection from our inspection database on the city's mainframe computer. An inspector now goes on a job site with access to all the information that is required for that inspection on the iPAQ. The builder no longer needs to keep a copy of the old paper correction list on the job site because the inspector can pull up that information on the iPAQ. The inspectors no longer need to carry clipboards; they input the corrections into the small, easy-to-carry iPAQs and send it back over the Internet to our server at the city (Fig. 2). The office technician no longer has to input that data into the system, which frees up her valuable time. / / / Each inspector, when finished with an inspection, uses the IrDA on the iPAQ to print a copy of the corrections to an IrDA-equipped Pentax PocketJet 200 printer. The builder now has a printout correction list and the bad handwriting problem is solved. / / All of the inspection data is now real-time and we have provided a Web site where the builder can go to see if an inspection has passed or failed and, if it failed, to see the correction items. This eliminates the 24-hour lag time we used to have when corrections lists were not entered until the day following an inspection. This has also freed up time from answering builders' questions over the phone.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Implementation took place in December of 2003, and the response has been very positive from all those involved. "The most significant change of business process is that liquor inspectors are now in the field conducting investigations and inspections rather than being in their respective offices writing reports and accessing data through a database," said Detective Staff Sergeant Clint Hunter of the Ontario Provincial Police, LEIRS business manager. "LEIRS has increased productivity even through the training stage and initial implementation phase of the product. The number of submitted reports increased by 24% from the same period one year earlier."

/ / / This is where AIRMAN (http://www.winfieldsolutions...) comes in. It stands for "Airport Information Report Manager" and one of its primary functions is to store and analyze wildlife data. Running the program from a desktop is great for a manager, but proved less helpful for people in the field. Field employees had to record their daily activities on a sheet of paper and then transcribe all that data into their computer at the end of the day. For this reason, it seemed better to provide the users in the field with a mobile solution where they can record as they go and then sync the recorded information to a server later. / / / The first airport to use AIRMAN Mobile was Falcon Environmental Services Inc, the wildlife contractor at John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the first day of use, Falcon manager Stuart Rossell noticed an important difference: more data about wildlife was being collected. Observations which historically were never recorded due to the sheer volume of data they represented were now being counted. It was clear to him that the program had given mobile employees the tools they needed to do things better and still operate within their budgeted man hours. Additionally, eliminating paper cut out potential transcribing errors: not only was there more data, it was more accurate. / / Sharon Gordon, Wildlife Manager at Portland International Airport, said, "This has definitely streamlined the entire data collection process-plus it's increased the productivity of our wildlife technicians, allowing them to focus on patrolling the airport and taking timely action to ensure flight safety, rather than spending hours tediously entering data into the system". /

where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped

/ Many business processes require access to some form of corporate data. Currently that data might be accessed by looking at a piece of paper, browsing through a reference manual, or calling someone on a telephone. Self-serve, real-time dynamic data access from a Pocket PC in a mobile environment can be extremely beneficial if the data is constantly changing, or if it is often filtered or sorted. Corporate data, reference manuals, equipment service history, performance info, and various statistical values are all common usage scenarios for Field Data Access. / /

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / Once you've identified the system you intend to extend, as well as all of the common functionality between the existing system and new mobile system, you can proceed by discovering new functionality. The goal of this discovery process is basically the invention and engineering of new capability. It sounds difficult, but it really isn't if you understand the business and the available technology and if you are capable of thinking creatively. Start by leveraging mobile-specific technologies such as wireless connectivity. Would the elimination of wires while staying connected offer any new possibilities? What about touch-screen displays and natural input options such as ink and voice? Would new capabilities be possible with those technologies? How about location-based services? If the mobile application knew where the user was and what was in the geographical vicinity, would that be advantageous? Could the use of barcodes or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags offer beneficial tracking capabilities? How about various biometric technologies—not only for security implementations, but could they provide scientific, medical, or identification components with beneficial functionality? The key is to focus primarily on the business and system-related variables that are related to mobility. This is where the Return on Investment (ROI) for the entire solution is won or lost. / /

We designed the system to get all the information on each inspection from our inspection database on the city's mainframe computer. An inspector now goes on a job site with access to all the information that is required for that inspection on the iPAQ. The builder no longer needs to keep a copy of the old paper correction list on the job site because the inspector can pull up that information on the iPAQ. The inspectors no longer need to carry clipboards; they input the corrections into the small, easy-to-carry iPAQs and send it back over the Internet to our server at the city (Fig. 2). The office technician no longer has to input that data into the system, which frees up her valuable time. / / / Each inspector, when finished with an inspection, uses the IrDA on the iPAQ to print a copy of the corrections to an IrDA-equipped Pentax PocketJet 200 printer. The builder now has a printout correction list and the bad handwriting problem is solved. / / All of the inspection data is now real-time and we have provided a Web site where the builder can go to see if an inspection has passed or failed and, if it failed, to see the correction items. This eliminates the 24-hour lag time we used to have when corrections lists were not entered until the day following an inspection. This has also freed up time from answering builders' questions over the phone.

The company decided to mobilize their CRM application and created a proprietary version that would provide access to data and email from handheld devices to improve application usage. LFD researched and evaluated several solutions that would enable a mobile application, including Intellisync, Good Technologies, Microsoft and iAnywhere's OneBridge Mobile Data Suite.; ; Lincoln worked with iAnywhere's Professional Services Team to port the application to Pocket PC devices relying on OneBridge. The sales representatives found the solution more to their liking, but still not quite what they wanted. While many of them were happy to carry these mobile devices with them, they were frustrated by connection difficulties in many parts of the country and by battery life issues that often required the devices to be rebuilt. Moreover, they wanted email synchronization to be automatic, rather than a process they had to periodically initiate.; ; "Automatic synchronization was a big issue for wholesalers," recalls Joe Mancuso, AVP, Information and Data Architect at LFD. "They wanted real-time email. They didn't want to have to go after it; they just wanted it to be there. Battery life was also a big issue because if the battery died and they had to call our support team to have the device rebuilt, it was a real productivity killer. To address these issues, we decided to migrate the application from the Pocket PC platform to a BlackBerry platform. We knew we'd get better battery life and connectivity with BlackBerry devices. Our initial decision to use OneBridge afforded us the flexibility to change the device without making major changes to the middleware software. The fact that OneBridge could support multiple device types was appealing."; ; "I'd used Intellisync in the past," says Mancuso, "and knew it wasn't the right solution for our needs. We needed a solution that included the ability to synchronize mail and calendars and use the same sync engine with applications. Good Technologies and Microsoft weren't compatible with RIM. OneBridge, on the other hand, seemed like it could be implemented relatively quickly and would be very easy to extend into custom applications. And, of course, we knew it would enable us to automate our synchronization process."; ; Once LFD decided to deploy a BlackBerry CRM application with OneBridge, it created a proof of concept, which proved very successful. It took six months from the proof of concept to roll out to the company's external wholesalers.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Implementation took place in December of 2003, and the response has been very positive from all those involved. "The most significant change of business process is that liquor inspectors are now in the field conducting investigations and inspections rather than being in their respective offices writing reports and accessing data through a database," said Detective Staff Sergeant Clint Hunter of the Ontario Provincial Police, LEIRS business manager. "LEIRS has increased productivity even through the training stage and initial implementation phase of the product. The number of submitted reports increased by 24% from the same period one year earlier."

where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped

/ Many business processes require access to some form of corporate data. Currently that data might be accessed by looking at a piece of paper, browsing through a reference manual, or calling someone on a telephone. Self-serve, real-time dynamic data access from a Pocket PC in a mobile environment can be extremely beneficial if the data is constantly changing, or if it is often filtered or sorted. Corporate data, reference manuals, equipment service history, performance info, and various statistical values are all common usage scenarios for Field Data Access. / /

The return on investment is evident. Savings in time and in human resources have been obvious at all levels of the operation. / / Receiving an item used to take a few minutes as the MCO filled in the paper form. Now it only takes seconds to scan the barcode and check the preloaded data. The same applies to testing, repairing, or issuing an item. / / It now takes only a few seconds to synchronize hundreds of records between the handheld devices and the back office. It used to take days to enter the information manually from the paper forms. Also, fewer people are required as practically no human intervention is needed to move the data from the handheld devices to the back office systems. / / Errors are minimized both in the data collection phase and the data synchronization phase. In data collection, information is scanned and entered automatically with no manual entry of data. In synchronization, data is transferred automatically; there are no handwritten forms to read or decipher, and then manually enter into the back-office system. / / Management reports about inventory, material tracking, and damages/repairs are now prepared much more quickly and accurately. / Once you've identified the system you intend to extend, as well as all of the common functionality between the existing system and new mobile system, you can proceed by discovering new functionality. The goal of this discovery process is basically the invention and engineering of new capability. It sounds difficult, but it really isn't if you understand the business and the available technology and if you are capable of thinking creatively. Start by leveraging mobile-specific technologies such as wireless connectivity. Would the elimination of wires while staying connected offer any new possibilities? What about touch-screen displays and natural input options such as ink and voice? Would new capabilities be possible with those technologies? How about location-based services? If the mobile application knew where the user was and what was in the geographical vicinity, would that be advantageous? Could the use of barcodes or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags offer beneficial tracking capabilities? How about various biometric technologies—not only for security implementations, but could they provide scientific, medical, or identification components with beneficial functionality? The key is to focus primarily on the business and system-related variables that are related to mobility. This is where the Return on Investment (ROI) for the entire solution is won or lost. / /

We designed the system to get all the information on each inspection from our inspection database on the city's mainframe computer. An inspector now goes on a job site with access to all the information that is required for that inspection on the iPAQ. The builder no longer needs to keep a copy of the old paper correction list on the job site because the inspector can pull up that information on the iPAQ. The inspectors no longer need to carry clipboards; they input the corrections into the small, easy-to-carry iPAQs and send it back over the Internet to our server at the city (Fig. 2). The office technician no longer has to input that data into the system, which frees up her valuable time. / / / Each inspector, when finished with an inspection, uses the IrDA on the iPAQ to print a copy of the corrections to an IrDA-equipped Pentax PocketJet 200 printer. The builder now has a printout correction list and the bad handwriting problem is solved. / / All of the inspection data is now real-time and we have provided a Web site where the builder can go to see if an inspection has passed or failed and, if it failed, to see the correction items. This eliminates the 24-hour lag time we used to have when corrections lists were not entered until the day following an inspection. This has also freed up time from answering builders' questions over the phone.

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Implementation took place in December of 2003, and the response has been very positive from all those involved. "The most significant change of business process is that liquor inspectors are now in the field conducting investigations and inspections rather than being in their respective offices writing reports and accessing data through a database," said Detective Staff Sergeant Clint Hunter of the Ontario Provincial Police, LEIRS business manager. "LEIRS has increased productivity even through the training stage and initial implementation phase of the product. The number of submitted reports increased by 24% from the same period one year earlier."

where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped

/ Many business processes require access to some form of corporate data. Currently that data might be accessed by looking at a piece of paper, browsing through a reference manual, or calling someone on a telephone. Self-serve, real-time dynamic data access from a Pocket PC in a mobile environment can be extremely beneficial if the data is constantly changing, or if it is often filtered or sorted. Corporate data, reference manuals, equipment service history, performance info, and various statistical values are all common usage scenarios for Field Data Access. / /

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Implementation took place in December of 2003, and the response has been very positive from all those involved. "The most significant change of business process is that liquor inspectors are now in the field conducting investigations and inspections rather than being in their respective offices writing reports and accessing data through a database," said Detective Staff Sergeant Clint Hunter of the Ontario Provincial Police, LEIRS business manager. "LEIRS has increased productivity even through the training stage and initial implementation phase of the product. The number of submitted reports increased by 24% from the same period one year earlier."

where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped

/ Many business processes require access to some form of corporate data. Currently that data might be accessed by looking at a piece of paper, browsing through a reference manual, or calling someone on a telephone. Self-serve, real-time dynamic data access from a Pocket PC in a mobile environment can be extremely beneficial if the data is constantly changing, or if it is often filtered or sorted. Corporate data, reference manuals, equipment service history, performance info, and various statistical values are all common usage scenarios for Field Data Access. / / Field Data Analysis /

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Implementation took place in December of 2003, and the response has been very positive from all those involved. "The most significant change of business process is that liquor inspectors are now in the field conducting investigations and inspections rather than being in their respective offices writing reports and accessing data through a database," said Detective Staff Sergeant Clint Hunter of the Ontario Provincial Police, LEIRS business manager. "LEIRS has increased productivity even through the training stage and initial implementation phase of the product. The number of submitted reports increased by 24% from the same period one year earlier."

where Dr. Eric Mankin, Chief Medical Officer, leveraged the power of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device to significantly slow the rise of what had been a 20% annual increase in their pharmacy budget. The mobile platform allowed them to shift their physicians' generic drug utilization from 38% to 50% by providing health-plan prescription information at the time of care, saving pharmacy calls, authorization issues, and angry patients who are bearing an ever-increasing share of the cost of their drugs. In addition to saving millions in their pharmacy operations, Dr. Mankin utilized the improved patient care to negotiate a 10% reduction in Temple's malpractice premium. / The second example is how the Windows Mobile platform helped Aventis, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, drive significant business value. For every prescription sample that is left with a physician for his patients as part of the sales process, the FDA requires a signature. In the past this was accomplished by paper-based forms that presented similar challenges as I described earlier. Aventis developed an application for the Pocket PC, using two developers and the Visual Studio toolset, in only 4 weeks-half to a third of the time and resources other platforms would normally take. With their sales representatives enabled with Pocket PCs, a complete inventory of samples and physicians' signatures were captured electronically during the course of the day. This process improved sales representative productivity by over 160,000 more sales calls per year, but also resulted in a projected savings of $5 million in the first year.

/ Many business processes require access to some form of corporate data. Currently that data might be accessed by looking at a piece of paper, browsing through a reference manual, or calling someone on a telephone. Self-serve, real-time dynamic data access from a Pocket PC in a mobile environment can be extremely beneficial if the data is constantly changing, or if it is often filtered or sorted. Corporate data, reference manuals, equipment service history, performance info, and various statistical values are all common usage scenarios for Field Data Access. / / Field Data Analysis / / There are many situations where specific business logic and analysis must be performed on recently collected data, or on existing data with some recently introduced variables. Common examples include insurance claim assessment, property value appraisal, quality assurance inspection, random tolerance sampling, and scientific experimentation. Some of these scenarios have already begun to take advantage of mobile computing through laptop-based systems, but the scope and usability of those systems could be dramatically improved through migration to handheld-based systems. / /

At Dolphin Quest, customers have an experience they won't soon forget. They get to interact with dolphins in a pristine and enriched dolphin habitat at Dolphin Quest locations in Bermuda and Hawaii. / / To make sure that the dolphin experience lives up to - and exceeds - customers expectations, Dolphin Quest has always made customer feedback an important part of its programs and its organization. Guests were routinely surveyed in person or by phone, mail or e-mail. Dolphin Quests web site also gives customers the opportunity to tell Dolphin Quest and other potential guests what they thought of their own dolphin experience. / / However, the people at DQ realized that for organizations in the service and entertainment community - like Dolphin Quest - the timeliness of feedback is just as critical as the feedback itself. As time passes, guests and clients become less likely to be willing or able to offer precise and helpful comments. Recollections become hazy, moments blend together, and impressions are generalized into moderate enjoyments and mild annoyances. / / As with most of the service and entertainment community, Dolphin Quest needs the results from customer surveys available immediately. If customers are unhappy about a particular aspect of a service or experience, DQ needs to be able to act immediately to remedy perceived problems. If months pass before survey data is analyzed and available, this just doesn't fit the bill. / / We were looking for a solution that would give us access to the survey data quicker, but we also wanted to integrate handheld technology in order to gather data right after the guest had completed their dolphin experience, said Jason Price, Dolphin Quests Director of Sales and Marketing. In the past, we used paper surveys that were handed out after guests were finished with their dolphin experiences. These surveys were collected at each of our locations and mailed on a monthly basis to a company in California that put together a report. It would take several months for them to collect the data and analyze it for us. / / Not only did DQ want to get the best possible survey/feedback system in place; they also wanted it to have a cool technology twist. They analyzed the software available for handheld devices, and selected Perseus MobileSurvey. Once we met the folks at Perseus, tested their product and talked to some of their customers, we knew this was the technology for us, said Price. / / Being connected to customers is a key ingredient to success in any environment, especially for Dolphin Quest, whose product is an experience intended to evoke particular feelings for people, says Rich Nadler, co-founder and President of Perseus, creator of the MobileSurvey and SurveySolutions software. / / MobileSurvey enables users to create questionnaires using Perseus Development Corporations SurveySolutions word-processing interface, and then deploy them on Pocket PC, Palm, or Symbian-based handheld devices. Once respondents complete the survey, the data is dynamically collected and stored on the handheld device, and transferred to SurveySolutions through wireless or wire-based connectivity to be displayed instantly in tables or graphs. Results from Web, e-mail, and handheld surveys can all be transferred to an MS Access or SQL server-side database.

Teachers are using their devices to streamline their busy and complex schedules. Like many of his teaching colleagues, Chris Honan, of Upper Barron State School, uses a Pocket PC for a variety of administration activities. Hailing from a one-teacher school in a remote area of Queensland, Chris has turned his device into a diary, calendar, contacts database, notebook, street directory, dictaphone, remote control and network manager. / / "With the Pocket PC, I am now able to plan things more appropriately, as well as stay on task a lot more," he said. "The reminders help to notify what I should be doing, and when. They do this in the short, medium and long term. For example, I can set a reminder for five months away as the completion date for a project and then, working backwards, set reminders for each stage of the project. This ensures that my priorities are tight and I deal with things as required." / / Despite his initial reservations about using the device, Chris feels that his Pocket PC has become an invaluable management tool. / / "It has the last two years of my life contained within it," he said. "The move to an electronic device for managing my life was difficult. I had to let go of my paper diary. Changing my old mind-set was hard, but it happened as the potential of the device became apparent." / / / / Simone Coogan, of Kedron State School in Brisbane, is another ICT Explorer who affirms the Pocket PC as a great administrative tool. As a primary school teacher in a small metropolitan school with just nine teachers, Simone finds herself involved in a huge variety of activities. "The Pocket PC is saving a whole lot of time, particularly when it comes to things like taking meeting minutes and uploading them to the Internet," she said. "Now, my notes are in the same place, not in a separate clunky ring binder or filed mysteriously in an in-tray somewhere. The Pocket PC really has become my one-stop location for events, notes, files and ongoing tasks." / / While she initially found the concept of an electronic filing system a little daunting, Simone now embraces it. "The tricky thing with electronic folders is making sure that updated documents match the version of files one might also use at home," she said. "This has become less of an issue because I synch my Pocket PC notes with my home computer. I now keep student case notes on the device, so they are very easy to keep current and they are secure." / / A boon for student records / / The teachers are also finding Pocket PCs great for administering records. For this use, the department mandated strict security protocols: devices are protected with an eight-digit password system that locks up the device after three incorrect attempts. / / Dale MacGregor, of Park Ridge State School in Brisbane, is finding the electronic records on her device particularly useful for managing student behavior. Using her Pocket PC, the primary school teacher recently initiated a strategy of printing out notes, which she had made on her device, about challenging students. Dale records notes every day and then sends them home with the students so their parents can find out exactly what is being done by, and for, their children. Dale said this raised parents' awareness about their children's behavior at school. Many have been able to make significant changes because of the notes system. / / / / Other teachers are finding their Pocket PCs ideal for recording and reporting student grades. Through databases, the teachers maintain files on their students' academic progress without having to keep space-consuming hard copies. Like Dale, Celia Canning, of Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane, uses her device to inform parents how their children are faring at school. "When phoning parents, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, including rolls, homework records, and notes," she said. "I would feel lost without it."

Implementation took place in December of 2003, and the response has been very positive from all those involved. "The most significant change of business process is that liquor inspectors are now in the field conducting investigations and inspections rather than being in their respective offices writing reports and accessing data through a database," said Detective Staff Sergeant Clint Hunter of the Ontario Provincial Police, LEIRS business manager. "LEIRS has increased productivity even through the training stage and initial implementation phase of the product. The number of submitted reports increased by 24% from the same period one year earlier."

Aventis, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, drive significant business value. For every prescription sample that is left with a physician for his patients as part of the sales process, the FDA requires a signature. In the past this was accomplished by paper-based forms that presented similar challenges as I described earlier. Aventis developed an application for the Pocket PC, using two developers and the Visual Studio toolset, in only 4 weeks-half to a third of the time and resources other platforms would normally take. With their sales representatives enabled with Pocket PCs, a complete inventory of samples and physicians' signatures were captured electronically during the course of the day. This process improved sales representative productivity by over 160,000 more sales calls per year, but also resulted in a projected savings of $5 million in the first year.

/ There are many situations where specific business logic and analysis must be performed on recently collected data, or on existing data with some recently introduced variables. Common examples include insurance claim assessment, property value appraisal, quality assurance inspection, random tolerance sampling, and scientific experimentation. Some of these scenarios have already begun to take advantage of mobile computing through laptop-based systems, but the scope and usability of those systems could be dramatically improved through migration to handheld-based systems. / /