Sept/Oct 2004

The inexorable rise of Java-based smartphones as replacements for PDAs or other mobile devices is reflected in the latest development from field service specialist MDSI, which has just ported its Advantex workforce management solution to the Nokia 6600 imaging phone.

The company says this means that technicians and engineers can manage their job logistics using just their phone as the mobile device - logging in to the Advantex application, downloading their work orders, and then driving straight to their assignments.

The core functionality of the Advantex mobile application client is said to have been retained, allowing field technicians to manage work orders, send completion data back to the server and update status in real time.

Meanwhile, MDSI has announced what it calls an Advantex in a Box initiative, which it says effectively makes Advantex a 'shrink-wrapped' product, with benefits of lower total cost of ownership, lower deployment risk and simplified upgrades.

 

Customers can install an industry template directly from a CD and use Compose to configure Advantex. Initial deployment is treated as the first stage in a 'perpetual lifecycle', and customers do their own upgrades to the latest version on a regular basis.

These developments were on show at the Service Management Europe event in September.