October 17, 2001
AvantGo, Inc., (NASDAQ: AVGO) the leading provider of mobile infrastructure software and services, today announced that international energy group Scottish Power plc ("ScottishPower") is arming a cross-section of managers with a mobile business intelligence solution from AvantGo, Inc. before sending them into remote regions that may not have cellular network coverage.
The new solution uses the award-winning AvantGo(R) M-Business Server software to enable workers to access business-critical data from the corporate network using Compaq iPAQ personal digital assistants (PDAs). The solution allows access to information both in real-time via a wireless connection, or in 'no-coverage' areas, where they can work offline from data stored on the device following synchronization with a desktop PC. Initially, ScottishPower is concentrating on the benefits of this off-line functionality, although real-time access will certainly follow.
AvantGo's key project deliverable was a corporate directory of over 3,000 names with job descriptions, contact information and photographs. Other trial data includes Emergency Planning information and detailed weather forecasts. The solution also allows individual managers to restrict the information delivered to the device on a departmental or team level, helping to ensure that memory usage is optimized with relevant data only and sensitive information is only available to authorized personnel.
David Socha for ScottishPower, said: "The understanding that we could derive major benefits from mobilizing our corporate data was already pretty clear, but following severe gales in parts of Scotland at the beginning of the year, we had a new urgency to deliver. With managers dealing with incidents all over the country, access to information from the corporate network in the field can bring huge gains in productivity, efficiency and safety.
"With its wireless and offline capabilities, the AvantGo solution was an obvious choice bearing in mind the remote areas we work in. This sort of dynamic access to information is one of the key reasons we're looking at using AvantGo's solution to mobilize more of our web-based business applications and to extend them to other parts of the company."
Steve Swatman, Vice President of Sales, AvantGo EMEA, commented: "Our solution for ScottishPower highlights how utility companies with large mobile workforces are ideally placed to realize a fast return from investment in mobile technology. As with similar AvantGo solutions at BG Group plc and Con Edison, the ScottishPower application cuts down paper-based documentation and reporting to provide field-based employees with the information they need wherever they are."
AvantGo 4.0 M-Business Server software offers users of Palm OS, Windows-Powered Pocket PC and RIM Wireless Handheld(TM) devices instant access to networked applications and Web content, either wirelessly, or via their normal synchronization process with a desktop PC. Comprising server and client applications, the mobile solution automatically consolidates, compresses and transfers essential information for mobile access.
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