Mountain View, CA October 1, 2002 MGE UPS Systems, a supplier of uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), is going mobile, adopting solution provider Xora's EnterpriseOne Mobility Platform to "mobilize" enterprise applications for its field service organization.
Using this solution, MGE's field service engineers (FSEs) are now able to access and update customer and service request information on 2-way Motorola Timeport pagers running on the Skytel network. In addition, the solution allows FSEs to view and submit field service reports, service request information and data sheets in a cohesive Web view using the document management feature built into Xora solution.
Xora says its mobility platform, combined with its Mobility Connector for Clarify, will allow MGE's field service engineers to receive notices of new service requests and access customer information, parts inventory and other service information directly from the field.
Potential benefits from implementing the Xora solution include improvements in field and call center productivity; increased quality and speed of communication between the field, headquarters and customers; and reduced response, repair, billing and invoicing turnaround time.
In moving to better automate its field service processes, MGE is joining the ranks of companies planning for the growth of this segment of its workforce. According to the research firm International Data Corporation, half an enterprise's workforce will be mobile by 2006 and spending as much as 20 percent of their time away from the office.
Meanwhile, these same companies are trying to get more out of their investments in enterprise applications. "The problem is that these applications are not designed to accommodate mobile users who are disconnected from their data at the point of customer interaction, when that data is most important," said Ananth Rani, vice president of products and services for Xora.
Moving to a mobile enterprise platform is one option for "future-proofing" a company's investment in those enterprise apps, Rani suggested.
For more information on solutions for the service and support chain, see "In the Field and All Grown Up," the Net Best Thing column in the June/July 2002 of iSource Business.
Using this solution, MGE's field service engineers (FSEs) are now able to access and update customer and service request information on 2-way Motorola Timeport pagers running on the Skytel network. In addition, the solution allows FSEs to view and submit field service reports, service request information and data sheets in a cohesive Web view using the document management feature built into Xora solution.
Xora says its mobility platform, combined with its Mobility Connector for Clarify, will allow MGE's field service engineers to receive notices of new service requests and access customer information, parts inventory and other service information directly from the field.
Potential benefits from implementing the Xora solution include improvements in field and call center productivity; increased quality and speed of communication between the field, headquarters and customers; and reduced response, repair, billing and invoicing turnaround time.
In moving to better automate its field service processes, MGE is joining the ranks of companies planning for the growth of this segment of its workforce. According to the research firm International Data Corporation, half an enterprise's workforce will be mobile by 2006 and spending as much as 20 percent of their time away from the office.
Meanwhile, these same companies are trying to get more out of their investments in enterprise applications. "The problem is that these applications are not designed to accommodate mobile users who are disconnected from their data at the point of customer interaction, when that data is most important," said Ananth Rani, vice president of products and services for Xora.
Moving to a mobile enterprise platform is one option for "future-proofing" a company's investment in those enterprise apps, Rani suggested.
For more information on solutions for the service and support chain, see "In the Field and All Grown Up," the Net Best Thing column in the June/July 2002 of iSource Business.
