Rogers unveils mobile workforce system for small- and mid-sized businesses

Rogers Communications Inc. says its new wireless data-collection system decreases paperwork for field services pros, and could improve its presence in the small-and mid-sized business (SMB) market. One observer says SMBs seek this type of productivity enhancement. Toronto-based Rogers earlier this month unveiled its iteration of TrueContext Corp.’s mFORMS software, which lets field services workers collect orders, submit invoice information, and peruse inventory lists, all from handheld computers. Wireless communication means field services workers don’t have to visit the office every morning and evening for paper processing. That affords more time for work and, in turn, greater enterprise efficiency, according to Rogers’ representatives. "It allows SMBs to be competitive with the larger companies," says Mansell Nelson, VP planning and business development in Rogers’ business solutions group. He quotes Statistics Canada figures of three million field services workers in the country.Eddie Chan, a research analyst at IDC Canada Ltd., says 95% of Canuck businesses are SMBs, and 40% of Canada’s gross domestic product comes from small firms. One of their prime concerns is productivity enhancement, he says, adding that businesses increasingly turn to mobility as a productivity booster. Interestingly, Rogers isn’t using mFORMS itself because the company recently implemented a new form-processing system, and it’s not inclined to change so soon, company reps said.Rogers’ mFORMS is the fruit of collaboration with three other companies: Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp. and TrueContext. Together, the system provides customer updates to mobile employees, job information, timesheets, expense reports and a dispatch module. It also reconciles job information with back-end financial systems like Microsoft’s Great Plains and AccPac for full-cycle form processing. Security features include a remote-kill function to disable lost handheld computers and encryption to keep data on the devices safe. "There’s no reason why these ideas can’t role into the enterprise accounts," says Reg Schade, an HP VP, pointing out that the mFORMS platform can scale up for larger businesses. "This is the beginning of a journey."According to Nelson, the mFORMS system is an extension of the work Rogers has been doing to impress customers for 15 years. In fact, the carrier sells TrueContext-based systems to clients already, but usually on a one-off basis. The November announcement marks the product commercialization of what went into those earlier installs. Price per user per month is $125. Rogers faces some competition from the likes of Mobile Data Solutions Inc. and Infowave Software Inc., both of which offer wireless data systems for field services workers. Rogers, however, offers the whole package – device, software, and connectivity – which means customers deal with just one technology provider. And the Rogers system costs customers substantially less than the DIY approach, which requires a serious capital outlay and plenty of integration work. A common complaint among industry observers has to do with the way wireless service providers treat business customers. Some say carriers are not as savvy about the corporate client as they are about the consumer. According to Nelson, Rogers is trying to change that image and mFORMS is a part of the process. Rogers also started its business solutions department two years ago.

Rogers unveils mobile workforce system for small- and mid-sized businesses

News | 12/01/2005 5:00 am EST

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