Nov/Dec 2004

Still not sure whether your mobile workers would be more productive with a fat-client or thin-client application? Well, the goalposts may have moved. Sharon Clancy learns about zero-client technology

Real-time communication is now widely accepted as a key that enables any organisation in a time-critical business to transform its business processes. Whether you're involved in deliveries, operations control, management in building services, telcos or utilities, it can be fundamental.

Yet software vendors have still to catch up with this new reality - that's the view of Martin Taylor, managing director of Impact Applications. "With GPRS coverage now at 98 per cent, today's robust network infrastructure supports always-on communication. While businesses are now demanding mobile solutions that can be deployed easily to deliver real-time communication with field-based staff, software vendors are still stuck in yesteryear, offering thin client solutions that offer intermittent communication and demand costly deployment and upgrades."

In case you haven't picked up on the terminology, a "thin client" mobile application is one where most of the heavyweight processing goes on at the server end, and much of the data is probably stored there as well. The mobile device may have a relatively modest specification, and needs to have a constant link back to base in order to do its job. By contrast, a "fat client" is a mobile device with most of the requisite software and data on board (and hence not requiring a constant comms link).

 

Taylor has no time for the argument that organisations need fat clients because they can't risk the 2 per cent of the time when the network might not be available. "This excuse plays well to an audience of IT directors, but cuts little ice with senior managers, who will be happy to take the benefits of real-time mobile communication over occasional lapses in network coverage every time."

Impact Applications was established in 2000 as an informal spin-out from the University of Wolverhampton, and was originally a developer of Web site content management systems. Now it is pioneering e-business solutions for the Web, and for back-office and mobile workforces. It already has tried-and-test applications for field sales and service management and operations control in buildings management, but stresses that the underlying technology is very customisable. Companies buy a licence for anything from 10 to 1,000 users.

Taylor passionately believes zero-client technology is the future. "There is no need for any client-side software, no complicated synchronisation, no expensive implementation or upgrade costs. Using a standard Web browser, the user connects directly to the server - just as in the days of the dumb terminal."

He concedes that not every business will feel confident to invest in a solution that leaves mobile workers completely in the dark should network congestion or failure occur. As a result, they may opt for the traditional thin client approach, or what Taylor calls "nearly-now" or "sometime soon" software.

Redeveloping legacy software to adapt to the always-on environment is clearly a challenge, admits Taylor, and one which cannot be solved simply by slapping a Web browser on to existing thin client solutions. "But in an always-on world, providing zero client solutions to businesses that are low-cost and easy-maintenance, and deliver real-time communications, can provide that business-critical five-, ten- or fifteen-minute head start and can make the difference between winning and losing business, making or breaking a service level agreement."

Taylor thinks zero-client will also help overcome much of the corporate resistance to mobile computing, especially among small and medium-sized businesses. "Many organisations have eschewed the technology, perceiving the cost of implementation and ongoing maintenance as far outweighing the potential benefits."

With no client-side software, implementation is simple and workers require just a user name and password to get access. "There is no problematic synchronisation of information between client and server and, critically, there is no expensive upgrade process."

Users can be given standard mobile devices, too he points out. If no data is held on the device, there is little danger of business or customer-sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. The connection between mobile Web browser and server is completely secure, thanks to SSL.

This real time information can be shared with customers via the Web - significantly enhancing the relationship and reducing the administrative overheads associated with the customer update process.

'An extension of our IT department': Northern Gas

Northern Gas provides central heating systems and replacement boilers to businesses and consumers in the West Midlands. The automation of previously manual systems and processes is underpinning the company's future growth and business success.

The Impact-FSM system has enabled Northern Gas to reduce its time from initial sales enquiry to installation by 20 per cent, and the overall cost of sale by 10 per cent. It provides end-to-end management of the organisation's key business processes, delivering sales process automation, client management, stock control, estimating and scheduling, health and safety, job management and invoicing through a Web-based application that is accessible from the office, at home and on the road.

Managing director Nadeem Ahmad says: "Impact Applications is like an extension of our IT department. They work closely with us to enhance the software continually and maximise the business benefits. They talk our language, and really understand our business, resulting in information technology which has underpinned our growth and substantially improved profitability and customer satisfaction."

'A critical head's start': Response Maintenance and Building Service

Wolverhampton-based Response Maintenance and Building Services provides emergency-response building services to local authorities, housing associations and insurance groups. It offers a 24-hour year-round building and repair service, using 40 high-quality tradesmen to cover all associated trades within a fifty-mile radius of Wolverhampton.

The Impact system sits at the core of a £100,000 business-wide re-engineering process that has doubled profitability within a year of going live. "The system is providing us with a critical five-, ten- or fifteen-minute head start, which is resulting in significant competitive advantage and financial benefit," says managing director Andrew Cornaby.

"We are a rapid-response business, so it's crucial to have a back-office system which allows us to offer industry-leading response times. Until last year we were struggling with the complexities of having four different IT systems for different yet integrated business processes. We had a complex paper trail, forcing us to duplicate data entries manually."

The Impact solution provides end-to-end management of key business processes, delivering client management, stock control, estimating and scheduling, health and safety, job management, and invoicing through a Web-based application accessible from the office, at home and on the road. Response Maintenance's 36 service engineers use ruggedised handheld PDAs to access the system, and customers can view filtered data via an integrated Web site.

The system has so far delivered significant bottom-line savings. The company reports that emergency response times are up by 25 per cent, field service operational efficiency is up 15 per cent, stock waste has fallen 50 per cent and job estimates are 50 per cent more accurate. All this has reduced administrative overheads, maximising stock control and reducing engineer downtime.

Phase four, which is due to go live in early 2005, will give engineers the ability to take digital photographs for insurance assessment purposes, and send SMS alerts to customers when field engineers are en route to a job, supplying names (including contact details) and the estimated arrival time.

"The Impact system fundamentally underpins our entire way of doing business today," says Andrew Cornaby. "It is so user-friendly that my field engineers - one of whom can't even programme his own video player - have wholly bought into the solution."