Case studies

IT provider ACES needed a solution that would help after-hours staff respond quickly to customers without having to find an Internet connection and receive disruptive pages. With Windows Mobile phones, the company greatly improved its response time and the quality of life of its on-call staff, as well as the ability to address issues before they became crises. Greater efficiency has improved ACES’s profitability.

IT infrastructure provider BMS Digital Solutions needed a way to help its field staff stay in better communication with customers while on the road, as well as receive and respond to critical information faster. Now equipped with Windows Mobile 6 phones, BMS staff are more responsive to customers, arriving at site visits armed with the very latest information.

As President and CEO of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kenneth Oplinger spends a majority of his time traveling, but found it difficult to be productive while on the road. In 2007, IT solutions provider Hardlines Company encouraged the Chamber to participate in the beta program for Windows Small Business Server 2008, which included using Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6 devices, and upgrading to the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Thanks to its Windows Mobile powered smartphones, the Chamber is using its newfound freedom to increase revenue and enhance productivity.

Using a mobile solution boosted this medical practice’s revenues by 20 percent while enhancing patient care. With a mobile version of their electronic health record (EHR) and practice management software, physicians can enter information from the hospital and access their schedules and patient information from home or elsewhere. Because the practice captures all relevant billing information, revenues have risen about 20 percent.

To keep ahead of its competition, IT provider Digital Systems & Solutions needed a tool that would help its field employees make the most of the technologies available to them. With Windows Mobile 5.0, the Microsoft Messaging and Security Feature Pack, and Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5, the company saw an opportunity to increase efficiency, promote innovation, and improve responsiveness to customer inquiries.

Hermelee and Geffin lawyers needed instant access to documents and other case information while in court or traveling. A solution combining Windows Mobile 6 with a legal application gives them timely information, helps increase efficiency, and boost their quality of service, as well as their billable hours.

The employees of Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) set up and travel to many meetings in order to help link businesses with minority suppliers. They needed a way to access their e-mail and collaborate while on the road that didn’t require a large infrastructure investment. MSDUK deployed a Microsoft Exchange Server hosted solution and Windows Mobile 6.0 smartphones. With this cost-efficient solution, staff can now conduct business anywhere.

To stay competitive, realtor Nicholas J. Humphreys (NJH) needed a more efficient way for employees to send and receive information while on the road, and to synchronize data between their smartphones and the office. With Windows Mobile 6, Windows Small Business Server, and Microsoft Exchange Server, NJH employees save time and communicate more efficiently. NJH is now at the cutting edge of technology in its market.

Realtor Kris Anderson, a team leader for RE/MAX Excalibur, scarcely had time during workdays to respond to e-mail messages, forcing her to work late many evenings. Paper-based documents also slowed her down. After switching to a Windows Mobile phone and Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services, Anderson moves fast, handling e-mail and transactions while on the go. Client referrals have increased, she is saving money, and she enjoys a better work-life balance.

Sinco gained a competitive advantage and cost savings with a solution that brought the financial data they needed to staff mobile phones. Now staff can access the information they need during investment negotiations, shortening a formerly laborious process and saving money on legal fees.

A pharmaceutical consultant with VCG & Associates, Randy Carpio needed a more effective way to respond to e-mail messages, access contact data, open documents, and communicate with clients and colleagues while traveling. Using a Windows Mobile smartphone and a hosted Microsoft Exchange Server solution, Carpio can now communicate quickly and efficiently wherever he is. Best of all, his clientele has increased by 50 percent.

Home care agencies play a vital role in the healthcare industry, with an increasing number of patients receiving treatment at home rather than in the hospital. Not only is home care more economical than hospitalization, but studies have shown that patients recover more quickly when cared for in the comfort of their own homes. One of the challenges faced by home healthcare agencies is the ability to exchange patient information between home care providers (nurses, therapists, and home health aides) and the agency office. Dallas, Texas-based Homecare Homebase developed a dynamic wireless solution using Windows Mobile software and devices manufactured by HTC, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Home care agencies using the solution report a reduction in IT and transportation costs, increases in cash flow, and simplified information exchange that helps improve patient care.

A boat racing championship generated new interest in their sport and saved money with a mobile GPS tracking system. The solution used Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping technology to locate boats’ position in real time, and provided significant savings compared to competing solutions.

Lee Company, a construction company based in Franklin, Tennessee, needed better communication while its staff worked at job sites. With Windows Essential Business Server 2008 and Windows Mobile phones, staff has easy access to mobile messaging. Lee Company also plans to give Windows Mobile phones installed with line-of-business solutions to field technicians and sales staff. It expects to improve business knowledge and productivity, and boost revenue.

Lithuania-based retailer Lietuvos Spauda needed to connect its chain of kiosks and convenience stores to the head office. Manual processes restricted efficient management and delayed stock replenishment. Working with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Etronika and mobile provider Omnitel, the retailer rolled out its "Virtual Sales" solution. Based on the integration of Windows Mobile devices with cash registers, and built using the Microsoft .NET Framework, the solution automatically transmits sales and product data to and from each store from head-office systems. Automated business processes help sales assistants work more productively, without having to learn new technology. Complete transparency of real-time data offers managers valuable insight into business performance. And the company has extended its offerings to new virtual services unique to the local market.

Metropolitan Building Services, Inc. (MBS), a cleaning service, needed a better way for its staff to collect and transmit information from the field. With handheld devices that run Windows Mobile software, and a partner line-of-business (LOB) solution based on Microsoft SQL Server 2005, MBS has improved company oversight—helping the company meet its service level agreement. MBS has cut days off the time it takes to address cleaning issues.

Students and residents at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) often train at distant rural clinics. They needed to reliably transmit clinical activity data and communicate better with NOSM. Using Windows Mobile phones, hosted Microsoft Exchange Server, and mobile access to healthcare applications, NOSM learners communicate better and can transmit data directly from the field, helping NOSM track clinical activity and maintain accreditation.

Jeff Sweeney, Regional Sales Representative for Plastic Ingenuity, spends nearly 40 percent of his time on the road, meeting with prospective customers and managing projects for existing accounts. With over 1,700 contacts (and growing), Sweeney acquired a Samsung i760 Smartphone with Windows Mobile 6 software and ActiveSync technology, and turned to Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager to help him organize all of his customer information, automate administrative tasks, and free up more time to DRIVE sales results.

This maker of luxury pontoon boats needed better information sharing and process automation to keep up with business growth. With a mobile solution that include Windows Small Business Server 2008, they created information-sharing efficiencies that sped order processing, improved customer response times, and increased business uptime.

To increase its ability to compete, this auto-racing team upgraded to Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Mobile. The result? New team collaboration features have improved communication and boosted organizational efficiency.

In April 2006, Cytec Industries began searching for a mobile solution that would give its global work force around-the-clock access to Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 e-mail and calendars. To meet this need, the company standardized on Windows Mobile phones and smartphones. The solution gives Cytec employees anytime, anywhere access to e-mail and calendars, and it improves time management. In the future, the solution will also help Cytec to offer superior customer service by providing remote access to internal Cytec applications, such as customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning applications.

Sharp Electronics needed the most accurate, most detailed intelligence possible about how its products were faring in retail stores nationwide, and it needed to get that intelligence quickly. To meet its needs, the company turned to Windows Mobile powered devices and the FAST (Field Adapted Survey Toolkit) solution from Microsoft Certified Partner GeoAge. Sharp now updates its surveys 400 percent faster, gains 400 percent more information, and cuts survey time by 67 percent, so that field managers can spend more time building rapport with store personnel and selling product. Sales by field managers are up 500 percent in the year since Sharp adopted the solution.

The Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City, wanted to increase the response speed for its ongoing maintenance queries and feedback. In the past, these operations were partly paper-based with some web capability. To offer a more robust system, the department implemented mobile access for its online services. Both the public and staff—equipped with 700 Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC devices—can now submit and access vital information in real time. As a result, the department can carry out remedial actions much faster, there is more active citizen participation, customer needs are met more effectively, and the city runs more smoothly.

A rapidly growing base of employees who use mobile devices for business activities required Microsoft IT to develop and institute several strategies to meet the challenges of a mobile environment, with regard to the cost of service plans, the availability of devices, and enterprise security. Microsoft IT developed a number of strategies for incorporating a large and growing number of mobile users, including streamlined procurement, more device choices for users to fit their business needs, and technologies to help protect corporate information when devices are lost or stolen.