In yesterday’s post we defined Location-Based Services and described typical functionality. 

Did you know that Gartner is predicting huge gains for mobile location-based services (LBS) in 2009 estimating total LBS subscribers will more than double worldwide this year, to 95.7 million.   Why is this?

There are a number of benefits driving this growth especially in the Direct Store Delivery (DSD), Proof-of-Delivery and Field Services verticals.  Benefits include:

• Increase productivity and improve customer service knowing delivery or work order status.
• Dynamically dispatch nearest driver to reduce cost, increase customer service and driver productivity.
• Route optimization increases productivity and reduces fuel and maintenance expenses.
• Know where your field workers are at all times—and where they have been. 
• Integrate mobile location into short messaging alert notifications and e-mail for improved customer service.
• Measure and audit mobile workforce productivity.  Eliminate unauthorized locations and identify long stops and excessive idling.
• Identify safety issues with speed alerts.  
• Automatic reports for common vehicle maintenance (e.g. oil change, tire rotation, tune-up, etc.) based on GPS mileage.

Let’s get mobile!  DecisionPoint has multiple Location-Based Services solutions. Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to determine which one best meets your requirements and budget.

Location-Based Services (LBS) use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology to monitor the location and movement of drivers and/or vehicles.  

The two major components of an LBS solution are GPS-enabled mobile devices or black boxes and back office software to interpret and display the raw GPS data in a meaningful way. 

 The GPS receiver/wide area radio devices in the vehicles broadcast their location at fixed intervals over a cellular or satellite wireless network and dispatchers can view vehicle locations on a map.  The back office software is usually Web-based. 

Common features include: 

• Real-time, current location of all mobile resources or assets overlaid on a map
• Historical data commonly known as breadcrumbing
• Geofencing
• Alerts
• Reporting

Both breadcrumbing and goefencing will be covered in more detail in future blog posts.
 
Let’s get mobile!  DecisionPoint has multiple Location-Based Services solutions. Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to determine which one best meets your requirements and budget.

Our July 14 post explained that PTT (Push-To-Talk) is a convenient and low-cost way for either a dispatcher to communicate with field workers or for field workers to communicate among themselves.   One of DecisionPoint’s  partners is HipVoice.  In the below video you can see the HipVoice Push-To-Talk solution in action on a Blackberry.  

Along with the Blackberry, HipVoice will run on Windows Mobile and LiMo (Linux) mobile devices.  A PC-based Dispatcher is also currently available.   The Google G1 Android, iPhone, Symbian and BREW platforms are in development.  

Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn more about HipVoice and how it can benefit your company.

PTT is short for Push-to-Talk.   It is a convenient and low-cost way for either a dispatcher to communicate with field workers or for field workers to communicate among themselves using your existing data connection.  Any network.  Any device.  Any operating system. 

Push-to-Talk (PTT) can be used to communicate between individuals or groups.   Live chat, messaging and handwritten sticky note features are also offered.  PTT runs in the background of your device, leaving your primary applications undisturbed and its features invoked only when  requested. 

Some of the benefits of Push-to-Talk are:

• PTT operates on the data plan of any cellular carrier anywhere in the world.
• Interoperable across ANY operating system on ANY device on ANY network.
• Message history with playback and storage ability provides audit trail.
• No employee abuse–only employees or those approved can PTT.
• PTT from desktop to individual or group.
• Low-cost subscription with no start-up fees.  No commitment–cancel at anytime.

Let’s get mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn more about Push-to-Talk.

What is MobileArc?                

MobileArc is an overarching progam designed by DecisionPoint Systems to automate your field-based workforce.  MobileArc integrates the key components—including software, hardware, professional services, carrier, and support—to ensure successful deployment of your field mobility project.    MobileArc’s ability to consistently deliver the benefits of enterprise mobile computing for our customers is derived from DecisionPoint 30 years of skill and industry experience.

Why is MobileArc a Different and Better Approach?

• MobileArc has literally dozens of software choices available from off-the-shelf to custom.  You get what works for you—not what works for your vendor. 
• Unlike other mobile solution providers who have only some of the services and support offerings required to ensure success and achieve the expected ROI, MobileArc offers a full range of services. It’s one thing to pilot a program, but it’s quite another to successfully deploy it.
• MobileArc relies upon its own team of architects and professional services personnel assuring you of the experience, communications and control required to deliver the desired results.

MobileArc Means Field Mobility Automation Success

Whether it’s Field Services, Salesforce Automation (SFA), Proof Of Delivery (POD) or Direct Store Delivery (DSD), only MobileArc gives you all of what you need—from concept to design to pilot to rollout and support—to realize the business benefits of field workforce automation and the desired ROI.

Let’s get mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn more about MobileArc.

Field Mobility solutions offer rapid return on your investment with compelling tangible and intangible benefits.  Some of these benefits include:

• Reduced Expenses:
  • Complete more jobs per day  
  • Dispatch closest driver
  • Eliminate/reduce unauthorized vehicle use
  • Automate time entry / eliminate manual errors and data entry expense
  • Timely vehicle maintenance
• Increased Cash Flow:
  • Improved customer service
  • Proof of service reduces disputes and accelerates collections
• Improved Safety/Security:
  • Improved communications between dispatch and drivers
  • Faster emergency response times
    

… all for less than 20 cents per hour per mobile worker–excluding hardware and data plan–with a SaaS solution.

Let’s get mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn how and for assistance in determining your project’s ROI.

1. The stuff you “know you know”

2. The stuff you “know you don’t know“

3. Then there is the stuff that “you don’t know that you don’t know!”

You know you have #1 covered. And you know you need to hire a competent and experienced firm for #2. Where we can deliver extra value is telling you about the stuff in #3–which is the stuff that typically is a roadblock to achieving your target ROI.

We will be glad to help you reinforce the stuff in #1 for you. And be happy to give you answers on your questions in #2. But it is the stuff in #3 that is the main reason that DecisionPoint Systems offers a full range of services to help you achieve your success in your enterprise wireless and mobility projects.

Do you  need to brush up on your TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms)?  Have you come across a term or acronym you’re unfamiliar with?

If so, just point your browswer to DecisionPoint’s List of Industry Acronyms where you” find a list of almost 1,400 common and not so common acronyms used within the industry.

Let’s get mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn how.

Software as a Service (SaaS, typically pronounced ‘sass’) is also known as Software On-Demand.  SaaS is a low-cost, subscription-based way for businesses to obtain rights to use software. SaaS software vendors typically host the application on their own servers.

SaaS isn’t for everyone, but for many customers it’s an attractive alternative to Enterprise software.  Gartner forecasts the SaaS Provider Market will grow to $10B by 2010 and that more than 30% of software expenditures will be for SaaS offerings.  

Some of the benefits are:

• Because it is subscription-based, up-front capital expenditures are minimal and typically only a 1-year subscription commitment is required.
• Subscription expense is often a fraction of the cost of additional IT person, hardware and software, and paying for professional services and support.
• Solution provides a worry-free, complete end-to-end solution.
• Rapid implementation.  A configured mobile application can deployed in days rather than weeks or months.
• No additional cost for software support or software upgrades.  New functionality can be added at minimal cost.

Let’s get mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to determine whether a SaaS solution is right for you.

• IDC expects the global mobile worker population to increase from 758.6 million in 2006 to more than 1 billion in 2011.  This is just over 30 percent of the worldwide workforce.
• According to the most recent IDC Worldwide Mobile Worker Population Forecast, close to 75 percent of the U.S. workforce will be mobile by the end of 2011.
• Yankee Group estimates that 44 percent of all employees today are mobile workers, ranging from senior executives to entry-level sales people.

Let’s get mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn how.