NetMotion Wireless The Top 5 Best Practices for Field Service Mobility eBook

1. the top 5 best practices for
FIELD SERVICE MOBILITY eBook

2. the top 5 best practices for
FIELD SERVICE MOBILITY eBook
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Many organizations today are facing an
ever-growing field service workforce. And the
ubiquity of wireless networks and improved
wireless devices creates opportunities for these
organizations to maximize the efficiency and
productivity of their field force, keeping them
remotely connected and in the field for further
service calls, less time traveled into the office,
and more time focused on the customer.
(continue reading...)
Create a Secure, Seamless User Experience
1
Control Mobile Device Use
2
Visibility into Usage Patterns and Problems
3
Enforce Device Security
4
Manage Mobile Devices Remotely
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3. MOBILITY OF VITAL IMPORTANCE
In a recent survey conducted by the Aberdeen
Group, 83% of companies reported that
implementing fully connected mobility (real-time
access) was either extremely or very important
to them.
Among the reasons cited were:
Worker productivity (60%)
Faster service resolution (41%)
Cost control and reduction (32%)
Better resource visibility (24%)
Revenue opportunities (21%)
INTRODUCTION
There are many challenges to building a successful mobile
deployment. How do you ensure continued connectivity to
your intranet while workers are traveling from location to
location? How do you ensure mobile devices accessing your
network via cellular or wifi networks are secure? How do you
get insight into what field workers are accessing over your
network? What applications?
There are best practices to follow and tools available now to
help overcome all of these challenges. These tools become
the lynch-pin of a successfully managed mobile deployment
where field workers are more productive and happy, and IT
managers have granular insight and control into all mobile
device activity.
60%
41%
32%24%
21%
3
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4. CREATE A SECURE, SEAMLESS USER EXPERIENCE
The most common reason for failed mobile deployments is lack of user acceptance. If field tools are cumbersome
or difficult to use, your workers will not embrace them. As many organizations have discovered, connectivity
problems are the most common source of frustrations, especially when connectivity to company networks or
applications is essential for them to do their job. Workers often lose connections and need to re-log in; and when
applications are running during those interruptions they often crash, requiring workers to not only log in again, but
re-enter the data they lost.
SOLUTION?
Traditional virtual private network (VPN) software was not built for the wireless environment. Invest in a mobile VPN
that is built to ensure persistent connectivity no matter where workers roam, including creating a ‘pause’ mode
when disconnected so that when automatically re-connected, the data transfers pick up right where they left off.
There is no data loss or crashing.
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4

5. SOLUTION?
Per the previous best practice, A MOBILE VPN
CAN DO MORE THAN JUST PROVIDE A
CONNECTION. It can also provide a manage-
ment interface that allows IT teams and field
managers to:
Set and enforce policies to manage user and
device access to networks.
Improve security and protect users from
inadvertently taking action that bogs down
devices or connections.
Set rules to limit access to specific applicat-
ions, prohibit web browsing, or restrict
access to intranets or specific sites.
Enforce restrictions based on connection
speed or time-of-day.
Prioritize users by line-of-business applicat-
ions, so critical traffic has the highest priority.
2
5
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CONTROL MOBILE DEVICE
USE
Managing mobile devices across a dispersed workforce is a
challenge, and more so in large deployments.
IT MANAGERS RARELY HAVE THE ABILITY TO
CONTROL DEVICES IN THE FIELD.
This can create misuse of corporate networks, lack of band-
width for critical applications, and un-secure devices
accessing your network.

6. COX COMMUNICATIONS SAVES
$500,000 ANNUALLY IN
MANAGEMENT COSTS
Every year, Cox Communication’s 3,500 field technicians
handle more than six million work orders accessed through
an online system, with reliable connectivity ensured by
Mobility XE mobile VPN software.
In addition to productivity increases estimated at 10%
in some instances, the ability to deploy and update
software remotely delivers IT savings estimated at a
half million dollars a year.
case study: cox communications
6
Case
Study

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VISIBILITY INTO USAGE PATTERNS
AND PROBLEMS
Monitoring performance across multiple networks is a challenge,
especially when networks are outside of IT’s direct control, including
public cellular networks. This can create unnecessary drops in the
field, lack of visibility into coverage areas, and no way to track
wireless performance.
SOLUTION?
Having the ability to assess public cellu-
lar network performance is becoming a
requirement for organizations to get the
most out of their wireless and mobile
deployment investments. Cellular
networks have arguably become as
important as your corporate network.
So look to invest in cellular network perfor-
mance management software. This type of
software provides visibility into your cellular
deployment and the business intelligence tools
needed to ensure that mobile field workers and
IT support staff are operating at their highest
productivity.
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8. ENFORCE DEVICE SECURITY
Without having visibility into mobile devices, many infected devices could be accessing your intranet and back
office applications. This could potentially create the spread of system viruses and malware.
SOLUTION?
Good mobile VPN software provides the interface to control which devices can access your network via Network Access Control (NAC).
A mobile VPN verifies that devices have required security precautions in place – such as patches, operating system updates, and active
antivirus with current signatures – before allowing a connection. Depending on the severity of the issue, administrators may choose
from a variety of actions, ranging from simply warning the user, to requiring immediate remediation, to quarantining the device. This
gives administrators the flexibility they need to protect the corporate network without hampering worker productivity.
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8

9. MOBILITY XE ALLOWED THE COMPANY
TO TAP REAL-TIME DATA TO IMPROVE
SERVICE AND RECOUP 1.1 MILLION
PRODUCTIVE HOURS TO DEVOTE TO
SALES EFFORTS!
US FOODS RECOUPS 1.1
MILLION PRODUCTIVE HOURS
USING MOBILE VPN
One of the largest food distributors in America, US Foods
serves more than 250,000 customers. The company’s sales
force of 5,000 territory managers visits these customers to
share promotion information, take orders and submit them for
fulfillment. To give the managers reliable, real-time
connectivity from customer sites, U.S. Foods adopted the
Mobility XE mobile VPN.
case study: us foods
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Case
Study
Case
Study

10. MANAGE MOBILE DEVICES
REMOTELY
SINCE THEY’RE NOT ENTIRELY VISIBLE WITHOUT THE
RIGHT SOFTWARE, MANY MOBILE DEVICES ARE NOT
MANAGED CORRECTLY.
They could be carrying outdated software
or patches required by IT. And since so many workers
are remote, it requires them coming into the office
and turning over their device to IT in order to complete
necessary upgrades.
SOLUTION?
Again, good mobile VPN software provides IT
managers the ability to manage mobile devices
remotely, as easily as they manage desktops
and laptops on the wired corporate network.
Application updates and patches may be
“pushed” out while the unit is still in the field,
but when users aren’t actively logged on,
between shifts. This eliminates the need to dock
a unit or wait for a wired connection and can
provide significant labor and cost savings for IT
staff.
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11. CONCLUSION
Mobile initiatives have great promise for organizations. Harnessing the capabilities
of the ever-increasing wireless world allows you to do more with less, reach more
customers, and improve field worker productivity – all savings to your bottom line.
By deploying a mobile VPN and cellular network management software built for the
wireless world, you can realize the full benefits of your mobile deployment
investment. This includes delivering secure, reliable network connections, promoting
user acceptance, and gaining management visibility and control.
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12. To learn more about best practices for field service mobility or
to recieve a more detailed version of this eBook visit
NetMotionWireless.com.
Or Contact Us at:
1.866.262.7626
info@netmotiowireless.com
ABOUT NETMOTION WIRELESS
NetMotion Wireless develops software to
manage and secure wireless data deployments
for organizations with mobile field workers.
Their products address the unique challenges
introduced by the use of wireless, enabling
customers to maximize the return on investment
in workforce automation. More than 2,000 of
the world’s most respected organizations
across multiple industries including utilities,
healthcare, telecommunications, public safety,
government, insurance, manufacturing, and
many others use NetMotion Wireless products.
Founded in 2001, the company is
headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
© 2012 NetMotion Wireless, Inc. All rights reserved.