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Monday, March 12,=20 2007

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	New = applications for mobile workers

	Specialized=20 solutions bring optimum efficiency
	3/6/2007 = 2:12:00=20 PM
	by = Vawn=20 Himmelsbach

More small and mid-sized businesses are = turning=20 to mobile technology to boost productivity - but it's a = complex area=20 that requires specialized skill sets. According to a recent = online=20 survey by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, 69 per = cent of=20 Canadian businesses surveyed believe mobile technology is = helping=20 them better compete and 55 per cent are using mobile = technology in=20 key departments or across the entire = organization.

For Emerson Process Management, which = does=20 maintenance and repairs on Emerson products, mobile = technology has=20 helped to streamline its business processes. Field service=20 technicians travel from Vancouver Island to Saskatchewan to = handle=20 service request calls from customers in industries such as = oil and=20 gas and pulp and paper.

In the past when field service technicians went on-site = during=20 peak periods, they could be gone for weeks on end, says Reg = Buffet,=20 general manager of instrument and valve services with = Emerson=20 Process Management in Edmonton. Customers were provided with = paper=20 copies of the customer service report, which outlined what = the=20 technician worked on, what parts were installed and the = labour=20 rate.

The company invoices through a third-party sales channel, = but=20 invoices weren't sent out until the technicians got back to = the=20 office. So the company was faced with long delays in getting = information back to customers. "It was something that our = customers=20 asked for - to invoice quicker, get the information = quicker," says=20 Buffet. "Without something wireless, we didn't have a = solution." So=20 the company started considering its options.

Ottawa's TrueContext specializes in turning = paper forms=20 into electronic ones to help customers automate field sales, = field=20 service and field data collection, says Alvaro Pombo, the = company's=20 founder, executive chairman and president. These business = processes=20 all have the same 'pain point,' he says, which is capturing = the=20 right information in the field and translating that back to = a=20 central location.

Emerson rolled out an end-to-end solution delivered = through=20 Rogers using HP iPAQ hw6500 handhelds that run TrueContext = software.=20 It is hosted by HP on a per-user, per-month basis. "It is = targeted=20 to very specific, very well-defined business processes," = says Pombo.=20 Usually owners or managers are afraid of moving forward with = mobile=20 technology because they don't know what impact it will have = on=20 staff, he says, which is why it's important to test demo = units and=20 run trials.

Emerson ran trials with a couple of testing units before=20 committing to the technology. It also used the opportunity = to engage=20 employees. Now field service technicians can go on-site, = input=20 customer information directly into the handheld, have the = customer=20 sign off on it and e-mail the information back to the office = for=20 immediate processing. "We've started to process jobs within = a week,"=20 says Buffet. The mobile technology has been in place for the = past=20 six to seven months, and the company is considering = expanding the=20 number of units in the field since it has up to a dozen = technicians=20 that could be on different trips at various times.

It's becoming increasingly important for companies of all = sizes=20 to have a mobile strategy in place, because there are so = many=20 different aspects of a mobile business, says Tony Olvet,=20 vice-president of the communications practice with IDC = Canada, in=20 Toronto. These include the mobile devices, the = infrastructure to=20 support those devices, as well as mobile applications and=20 services.

But decision-making doesn't happen in a vacuum - = especially with=20 respect to SMBs that likely have a burning issue or = challenge=20 they're trying to address.

When evaluating a mobile application, SMBs should = consider the=20 convergence of wired with wireless, says Olvet, because = increasingly=20 providers will be helping customers bridge those two worlds. = Ask=20 your supplier, whether it's a VAR or service provider, to = tell you=20 about their roadmap and how they're going to ensure = consistency in=20 the user experience between the wired and wireless worlds. = Also,=20 what are the integration points - because you don't want to = end up=20 playing integrator. And you don't want to end up with = applications=20 that can't talk to each other.

Look for reference cases, says Olvet, and run pilots. = It's also=20 wise to consider different suppliers than you would for your = typical=20 IT requirements, because mobility involves a different skill = set.=20 Casting a slightly wider net - at least as you're getting = started -=20 could bring you a greater return in the long run.

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