Recognizing that a smart meter installation is an opportunity to have a meaningful face-to-face connection with customers, E.ON evaluated its customer service strategy as a key part of its smart meter roll-out. Selecting the ETAdirect solution suite from TOA Technologies will allow E.ON to deliver a differentiated customer experience while simultaneously benefiting from the following:

• Using information about how individual employees carry out their work, E.ON will be able to predict with a high degree of accuracy when appointments will happen and how long they will take.
• E.ON will be able to communicate accurate appointment status information to customers throughout the appointment process, providing reminders beforehand and empowering customers to provide feedback, including the ability to reschedule appointments if necessary.
• E.ON will increase its smart meter technician teams during the mass roll-out stage, and fully leverage the capabilities of ETAdirect to efficiently schedule and manage a multi-skilled workforce.

“With the roll-out of smart meters across Europe, utility field service operations have an enormous opportunity to reconnect with their customer base in a way that builds long-term loyalty and trust. The mandate to replace all meters in Europe by 2020 is a catalyst for the utilities industry to rethink the way they run their field operation businesses,” said Yuval Brisker, co-founder and CEO of TOA Technologies.

“What companies like E.ON found is that every customer is special, and every smart meter technician is unique. Thus, every appointment should be predicted, created and scheduled with the uniqueness of the individual customer and employee in mind. Empowered with this approach, E.ON will join TOA’s existing worldwide base of customers from utility, retail and insurance companies to cable and telecoms providers, who are all focused on improving field service efficiencies and reducing costs, all while enhancing the customer experience,” said Brisker.

Chris Lovatt, head of field operations at E.ON, said: “We want to install eight million smart meters in our customers’ homes by the end of 2019 to help put them in control of their energy use. We can only do this if we have our customers’ trust and support. So we’ll continue to work to find innovative solutions that help make the process of installing smart meters as easy and convenient as we can for our customers through partnerships such as this one with TOA Technologies.”

To read the full article written by Fred Donovan from FierceMobile IT then please click on the article link below.

To read the full article written by Nathan Eddy from eWeek then please click on the article link below.

“Mobelisk began last year by launching a completely locked-down, fully-integrated enterprise tablet in conjunction with Verizon as a part of the ‘Blank Slate’ program,” explained Mobelisk CEO Dennis Hamann. “We found there is no one-size-fits all solution for enterprise tablets because enterprise customers demand a tablet that can do something specific or targeted to their industry. A custom-built, fully-integrated tablet was clearly not meeting the need so we went back to the drawing board, and what we have developed is a revolutionary way to look at the business tablet market. It is a customizable, modular solution we are calling the MoGo Chimera.”

As the tablet industry grows, businesses are facing the dilemma of how to leverage this momentum and integrate these products into their corporate IT infrastructure to better serve their customers and enhance productivity. Many businesses need specialized functions not available in consumer tablets, features such as bar code scanning, contactless payment systems or receipt printing. Fully-integrated, specialized enterprise tablets in the market today always force businesses to make huge compromises as they run much older operating systems, offer limited options for accessories, and are hampered with features and specs that quickly become antiquated in the face of newer, higher volume consumer tablets.

“The key to our solution is the propriety transposer layer (Patent Pending). This layer is custom designed to flexibly integrate with each specific seven- to eight-inch tablet on the market, like the iPad Mini, Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7”, and Samsung Note 8. This way it doesn’t matter where the buttons or access ports are on the tablet because they will be electronically accessed and controlled,” continued Hamann. “MoGo Chimera’s rugged, durable shell then surrounds the transposer layer. The shell allows companies to choose from a variety of end caps to fit their specific needs, and it can be customized with a company’s colors or logo for consistent branding.”

While the MoGo Chimera can be customized to fit individual company needs, the case features several standard key functions to help upgrade consumer tablets for enterprise use, including enhanced durability, extended battery life and device security. The smart case includes its own 4000mAh battery which doubles the life of a consumer tablet to ensure it stays powered for ten hours of heavy usage. In addition, the smart case features enhanced durability with sealed electronics to meet both Mil Std 810g and IP54 standards for enhanced shock, water and dust protection. This ensures that a tablet can be dropped from a height of 1 meter onto a concrete floor on any side with no damage and can operate in less forgiving environments both inside and outdoors. Additionally, the smart case features hardware security that puts the end caps through an authentication process when initializing. Lastly, the device can be locked down using an outside software platform to ensure employees have access to encryption standards and internal IT systems.

As the name suggests, the MoGo Chimera is completely customizable. Companies start by choosing the tablet “engine” — the seven- to eight-inch consumer tablet that best meets their needs, whether it is an Apple, Android, or eventually a Windows device, and across solutions that can range from simple WiFi access to full-blown 4G LTE devices. Companies then choose end caps from a selection of ten specialized solutions, each offering a specific function used by companies in many different industries. MoGo Chimera end caps include features such as 1D and 2D barcode scanners, magnetic card readers (read-only and read/write), biometric ID scanners, contactless payment systems such as EMV/NFC (Europay, Mastercard & Visa/Near Field Communication), RFID reader, chip and pin payment systems, and a receipt printer. All MoGo Chimera smart cases are assembled according to the user company’s design specifications in an Arizona facility.

“These first 10 end caps will only be the beginning. We are in discussion with many other companies now that have asked us to design specific end caps for them – which we can do quickly and cost-effectively. We are seeing truly creative solutions being conceived by our enterprise customers ranging from enhanced hardware security to even using gamification on the tablet for field training applications,” commented Hamann. “The MoGo Chimera is going to continually evolve as we work with channel partners and their enterprise customer base. We don’t pretend to know all the end caps that we may end up designing but have architected the system to allow maximum flexibility. That is the uniqueness of this system.”

In collaboration with specialist transport and timesheet management software providers, Cognito also provided an entire new back office system for the management of staff time and attendance and processing of fare evasion and other enforcement cases. The new solution allows managers to have full visibility of staff activity and performance, which adds an additional level of security to lone workers and ensures employees are paid in-line with hours worked, annual leave taken and any overtime.

TfL Bus Operations
For the Bus Operations division, the solution provides better visibility of assets and safety risks across the bus network, resulting in identifying and reporting hazards as well as initiating quicker repairs and maintenance. This has led to a safer environment for passengers, as well as more accurate data recording and greater information availability for reporting in real-time. These enhancements have provided TfL with the ability to improve asset management capabilities and benefit from a centralised coordination of bus stands/stops maintenance patrols. Bus Operations are looking at using the system to assist in providing passengers with improved real-time information in the event of road closures, events or unplanned incidents.

TfL Bus Enforcement
Within the Bus Enforcement division, Cognito’s solution has helped eliminate paperwork, improving the process of recording fare evading passenger details. As a result the process is more accurate, less labour intensive and quicker. This means there are fewer disturbances to the majority of passengers who travel having paid their fare. The improved process has resulted in a reduction in the length of time taken to bring offenders to justice.

“We have worked with Cognito for over 15 years so when we needed to replace our previous system against tight timescales, we were confident in their ability to work with O2 not just to deliver on time but also to provide a solution which better supported our field and office workers,” said Nick Owen at Transport for London.

Nick also comments, “The benefits have been immediately visible for example; we can now deal with instances of alleged fare evasion more quickly and effectively. This benefits not only those involved, but also other passengers who see the potential for their journeys to be disrupted reduced.”

“We were delighted to provide Transport for London with a replacement system which upgraded the previous mobile workforce solution as well as deploying new back office systems. With London’s transport system in the spotlight during last summer’s busy events schedule, it’s more important than ever that organisations are supported by technology that enables them to provide exceptional customer service, it’s great to see TfL leading the way on this issue,” said Jonathan Chevallier, Strategic Development Director at Cognito.

Cognito’s replacement of TfL’s back-end system was completed in collaboration with O2, ITAL and Crown and has resulted in TfL exploring roll out of the solution for the London Underground as a future project.

Built by the global leader in mobility management, small businesses benefit from AirWatch Professional through an easy-to-use central management console and a cost-effective pricing model. AirWatch Professional enables administrators to remotely manage mobile devices across multiple mobile operating systems (Apple iOS, Android, Symbian, Windows Phone and Windows Phone 8) and is available in 15 languages. AirWatch Professional is deployed in the cloud with minimal cost and set-up.

With AirWatch Professional, small businesses are able to easily and quickly:

* Activate devices through simple enrolment process (SMS or e-mail)
* Define company-wide mobile device settings
* Set up passcode, e-mail and WiFi profiles
* Track GPS location
* Find, lock and wipe stolen or lost devices
* View device and user information
* Monitor all devices 24/7/365

“AirWatch Professional is specifically designed for small businesses that require simplicity and ease-of-use to operate efficiently and effectively,” says John Marshall, CEO and president, AirWatch. “While providing the most advanced and innovative feature set for enterprises, we also recognise the challenges small businesses face with mobility management.”

Companies can take advantage of AirWatch Professional for only €1 per device per month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee under a 12-month minimum subscription. AirWatch Professional users are able to effortlessly upgrade to the full AirWatch EMM platform.

Specifically, Infosys has cooperated with SAP on development of the SAP® Retail Execution mobile application version 3.0. The application powers the work Infosys does for CPG companies, along with their merchandisers and promotions planners. It streamlines sales forces by providing data via user-friendly mobile devices, instead of cumbersome laptops and user interfaces. The applications also provide critical business insights that help grow sales and more efficiently perform in-store activities like surveys, audits, order taking, promotion compliance and other functions. Infosys is continuing this cooperation on development of future versions of SAP Retail Execution.

The Infosys mobility practice has more than 2,600 core professionals and vast experience in developing and deploying mobile solutions across various industry verticals. Infosys will showcase its capabilities for SAP Retail Execution and the SAP HANA® platform in booth 139 at the SAPPHIRE® NOW conference, being held in Orlando, Florida, May 14 16, 2013.

Rajesh Murthy, Global Head of SAP practice, Infosys: “SAP Retail Execution helps CPG companies boost return on brand and promotion investments by increasing promotional compliance and monitoring the success of new products. Our partnership with SAP creates new opportunities for organizations to maximize the data their systems generate, which improves the speed and confidence of their decision-making.”

To read the full article written by James Niccolai from Computerworld then please click on the article link below.

To read the full article written by Max Smolaks from Tech Week Europe then please click on the article link below.