Oct/Nov 2006

A field service automation product called BT Mobile on Demand has been added to the portfolio of BT mobile solutions. It includes GPRS communication between field workers sand their base, management of software on their mobile devices, and planning and transmission of work schedules.

It's actually the product of a cooperative initiative by several suppliers. It is underpinned by Telepartner' Systems' ServiceNet mobile data platform, and is also supported by mobile hardware suppliers Panasonic and Symbol. Tracking specialist AMS is involved in the mobile location aspects.

BT is of course a relatively recent entrant into the mobile market in its present guise, but has been working hard to build up a full portfolio of services, which now also includes activities such as field force change management, optimisation and planning.

According to its general manager for field force automation, Paul Cleaver, BT Mobile on Demand "closes a gap that was preventing us from winning contracts." He adds: "BT has invested in Telepartner to enable them to provide an excellent product for our requirements."

An early customer for the new service is Northumbrian Water, which is already said to be benefiting from the combination of workforce management and asset tracking inherent in the system.