“We have been offering our customers enterprise mobility solutions which include Datalogic Mobile’s extensive range of mobile devices for some time.  We have worked closely together to ensure that the necessary integration work has been completed so that Datalogic Mobile’s devices, including the new Elf PDA, work seamlessly within the Jump ecosystem,” explained Mark Brackley, Jade’s Managing Director.

“The recent launch of Jump, Jade’s unified mobility platform, is an exciting development for the enterprise mobility marketplace.  Jump now enables our joint customers to build a secure enterprise mobility workflow application ecosystem allowing the simultaneous connection of any back office system with any front end mobile device,” explained Colin Pike, UK Country Manager for Datalogic Mobile.

By deploying Jump, joint Jade and Datalogic Mobile customers can rapidly deploy pre-developed, but easily configurable workflow applications which currently include Jump Mobile Asset Management, Jump Mobile Field Service, Jump Mobile Supply Chain and Jump Mobile Electronic Proof of Delivery (ePoD).

As well as the deployment of its pre-developed workflow applications, Jump also enables the development of bespoke enterprise mobility applications.  Customers now have the ability to leverage their own intellectual property at the same time as supporting multiple business processes through multiple workflow applications, on a single platform.  Jump eliminates the need for customers to support multiple single purpose enterprise mobility applications from several vendors, with the associated potential nightmare scenarios in terms of integration, maintenance and flexibility.

“We see Datalogic Mobile as a key component of the Jump ecosystem.  Their wide range of hardware for all markets and sectors absolutely complements Jade’s target market,” continued Brackley.  “The new Elf PDA is of key interest to our customer base.  Its advanced multimodal wireless capabilities allow enhanced voice and data communication and its patented barcode scanning allows immediate confirmation that the scan has been successful.  The Elf’s built-in camera provides a plethora of applications from the ability to capture proof of damaged goods to enabling retailers to provide evidence of how goods have been displayed.”

“The recent launch of Jade’s Jump and the Datalogic Elf will prove to be fortuitous,” concluded Pike.  “Together, Jump and Elf ensures that both companies are in a position to meet the growing demand for a single platform which supports multiple enterprise mobility workflow applications, with the right mobile device.

Jump’s single mobility platform provides an ecosystem which delivers ‘any to any’ connection and multiple quick to deploy pre-developed, but easily configurable workflow applications.  These currently include Jump Mobile Asset Management, Jump Mobile Field Service, Jump Mobile Supply Chain and Jump Mobile Electronic Proof of Delivery (ePoD).

“Discussions with existing and potential customers have shown that they no longer want to deploy and support multiple single purpose enterprise mobility applications from several vendors.  Experience has shown that this can lead to nightmare scenarios in terms of integration, maintenance and flexibility,” explained Mark Brackley, Jade’s managing director.  “Crucially, any re-configuration to meet changing mobility requirements can be complex and is often very expensive.”

Jade saw that this move away from single purpose application solutions left a gap in the enterprise mobility market for an ecosystem that would support multiple business processes through multiple workflow applications, on a single platform.

“To create an ecosystem of enterprise mobility workflow applications we developed Jump’s software to be operating system and mobile hardware agnostic.  But the real key to Jump is its ability to simultaneously connect multiple mobile workers using multiple applications to multiple back office systems,” continued Brackley.  “This any to any connection enables organisations to accurately capture, monitor and manage the exchange of data as it flows between the organisation’s back office systems through its range of business processes to and from its mobile workers, all from a single platform.”

Jade’s strategic alliance with @hand has proven critical to the development of the Jump ecosystem.  @hand’s patented Field Mobility System (FMS) software powers Jade’s Jump solutions and provides Jade with two important technology capabilities.  Firstly, @hand provides an intelligent mobile data engine which manages the exchange and manipulation of data between multiple back office systems including ERP, WMS, CRM and proprietary systems, with multiple front ends including rugged mobile devices, tablets, laptops and smartphones, including BlackBerry.  Development is also underway for the iPhone and for Android devices.

Secondly, @hand’s FMS includes a sophisticated Rapid Application Development (RAD) environment which has enabled Jade to develop a range of applications including Jump Mobile Asset Management, Jump Mobile Field Service, Jump Mobile Supply Chain and Jump Mobile ePoD, all of which are provided to the customer under a single licence.  Uniquely, FMS enables Jade to offer a highly configurable multiple workflow application ecosystem to meet all of a business’ mobile data requirements, enabling faster deployment for a much lower cost when compared to multiple single application solutions.

The RAD environment also enables Jade’s customers to easily re-configure the existing applications and to develop their own mobile workflows as their business requirements evolve.  This includes the option to configure object modelling, design workflows, and manage user roles and permissions.

“The need for the Jump ecosystem has been driven by the requirement to handle and manipulate the multiple data streams that flow between the organisation and its mobile workers, in order to further empower these remote individuals to increase business efficiency and customer service levels.  Businesses have seen the benefits of single application solutions and are now looking for a more holistic solution to cover all of their enterprise mobility requirements,” stated Brackley.

Recent research from a number of analysts* has shown that Enterprise Mobility Solutions improve SLA compliance by 29%, improve customer satisfaction by 19%, improve first-time-fix metric by 23%, improve worker productivity by 23-27%, achieve cost savings of $7,500+ per worker, and deliver an average three year solution ROI of 402%.

To facilitate increased business efficiency, Jump delivers full and accurate visibility of an organisation’s remote workers through the Jump Dashboard, a web based monitoring and reporting tool for business managers.  This increased visibility highlights the status of each mobile worker within specific workflow processes, enabling the improved allocation of resources to provide enhanced customer service.

“Jade’s mobile application development expertise, coupled with its understanding of the growing needs of the UK enterprise mobility marketplace, has empowered Jade to successfully leverage @hand’s feature-rich software to create the Jump ecosystem,” commented John Cannington, @hand’s CEO.  “@hand is excited to be a part of the Jump solution portfolio, which delivers a distinct competitive advantage for Jade.”

@hand has deployed its FMS software to thousands of users across many global organisations.  @hand’s technology is designed to meet the most challenging mobile application requirements, and its products have been tested and proven in some of the most demanding commercial and government environments.  @hand customers include NASA, Baker Hughes, Smith International, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

“For @hand, the strategic alliance with Jade provides us with an excellent business platform to further extend our market reach,” concluded Cannington.  “We look forward to supporting Jade in the growth of its mobile solutions business, as Jade continues to develop its ecosystem.”

*The Mobile Field Service Solution Selection Report, Aberdeen Group

Mobile Line-of-Business Applications: An ROI Analysis, IDC

Mobile Field Service Best Practices, Aberdeen Group

Jade Communications has signed a partnership agreement with TBS Enterprise Mobility, whose TaskMaster software helps  empower mobile workers.

Jade now offers automotive logistics and fleet delivery companies a complete package of TBS TaskMaster software, a rugged mobile device tough enough to withstand many years of life on the road and a full service and support package under its Mobility as a Service brand. This allows field service companies to outsource their mobile data communications, removing the headache of deploying and managing a mobile computer estate.

“An increasing number of automotive fleet businesses are using rugged PDAs to mobilise their workforce,” said Mark Brackley, Managing Director of Jade Communications.  “Electronically automating paper based systems improves customer service, cuts operational costs and improves profitability.

“We can now offer a package from £60 per user per month, which includes the mobile device, TBS TaskMaster software and a comprehensive installation, support and maintenance package.”

Steve Reynolds, Managing Director of TBS, said: “Jade’s Mobility as a Service package offers a low cost of entry for businesses that are serious about reaping the benefits of mobile technology for their field workers,”

TBS solutions provide a mobile platform to enable businesses to communicate information in real time, wirelessly to their mobile workforce. The TaskMaster enterprise mobility suite eradicates the costs and inefficiencies associated with paperwork and drives consistent adherence to business processes. In deploying TaskMaster TBS’s clients such as Avis, Drive Assist and BCA (British Car Auctions)) have gained substantial increases in productivity and efficiencies whilst reducing operating costs.

TaskMaster provides delivery and collection information in near real time to the users’ mobile device. It also enables detailed inspection reporting of any damage to the vehicle including the automatic capture of images at key points in the inspection. Once complete, this information can be made available online.

Jade’s Mobility as a Service package allows mobile public sector staff, managers, surveyors and engineers to outsource their mobile data communications, removing the headache of deploying and managing a mobile computer estate. Typical functionality available with the package includes mobile office and email, asset management and inspection, project management and scheduling, time in attendance, navigation and route planning. The Mobility as a Service package includes rugged mobile devices, such as the Intermec CN3, CN4 and CN50, the Psion Teklogix Ikôn or Motorola MC70/75 , specially-designed software, accessories and service desk support.

“We have launched Mobility as a Service to give public sector organisations an affordable, hassle-free, quick and easy to implement mobile technology that can genuinely transform operations,” says Mark Brackley, Managing Director of Jade Communications. “From as little as £20 per user per month, with no capital outlay, Jade’s Mobility as a Service enables public sector organisations to raise productivity and efficiency, cut out paperwork, and reduce cost.”

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“Mobile devices from vendors like Intermec, Motorola and Psion are mission-critical to our customers and zero device downtime has become more important for them than ever,” says Mark Brackley, managing director of Jade Communications. “With Sentinel Plus we are offering the combined reassurance of proactive software maintenance and support in addition to our next-day hardware replacement and repair scheme. We manage everything, leaving our customers free to run their businesses more efficiently and without disruption.”

The mobile device management system now available with Jade Communications’ Sentinel Plus package can update software wherever devices are and repair software glitches by remotely resetting or reloading an application. It can also be used to maintain an inventory of mobile devices, detailing their whereabouts at any time. Sentinel Plus will also detect and issue alerts for impending hardware problems, such as a failing battery, so that preventative repair or replacement can be made to ensure zero downtime.

Sentinel Plus is an enhancement to Jade’s standard five or seven days per week Sentinel service, which already offers next-day shipping of a replacement device, fully configured for out-of-the-box operation. There are no delays waiting for a replacement device to be shipped or configured and no need to maintain a buffer stock of devices in-house.

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Last week, the IEEE announced that it’s standards board had finally ratified the 802.11n-2009 amendment.  This in itself is great news, but in truth manufacturers have been producing 802.11n products for a number of years based on the draft ‘n’ standard.  The fact that the IEEE have ratified the standard means that more manufacturers will produce more ‘n’ standard products and finally push wireless technology forwards.

If you’re happy with the 802.11a/b/g infrastructure that you currently have deployed, why on earth should you upgrade to ‘n’?  The following 5 reasons should give you enough to build a credible case to ditch your old WLAN and take advantage of the power of ‘n’.

1. Speed

By leveraging technologies such as MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output),  Channel Bonding and Packet Aggregation 802.11n is much, much faster than older standards like a/b/g and deliveries a net bit rate of up to 300Mbit per second.  Compare this to a maximum speed of up to 54Mbit per second for a/g and 11Mbit/s for b and it’s easy to see why ‘n’ is the ideal choice for real-time wireless data connections.

2. Range

By range, I mean wireless network coverage.  802.11n equipment typically has at least twice the reach of a/b/g equipment.  This, of course, all depends on the environment in which the WLAN is deployed.  For example, a busy warehouse with lots of racking and moving dense metal equipment (such as forklift trucks) can drastically impair the range of WLAN coverage.  However, 802.11n equipment should still transmit a greater range in this type of environment.  (As a sidenote, full coverage in a warehouse can be achieved by strategic placement of APs, use of appropriate antennae and a wireless scan to identify black spots).

3. Less Interference

802.11n operates over the 2.4GHz AND 5GHz frequencies, whereas b and g operate over the 2.4GHz frequency.  ‘So what?’ you may ask.  Well the 2.4GHz band is an extremely noisy frequency, as it’s not just wireless networks which transmit over it.  Microwave ovens, cordless phones and Bluetooth devices also transmit over this frequency, so having any equipment such as this within the vicinity of your b/g WLAN can seriously affect it’s performance.  Using 802.11n equipment over the 5GHz band can ensure peak performance without the worry of someone reheating their lunch impairing your WLAN.  It’s also worth pointing out that 802.11a uses the 5GHz band, but only transmits at up to 54Mbit/s and has a much shorter range than b/g/n with approx 15 metres indoor range.

4. WiFi Certification

The 802.11n draft standard was approved by the WiFi alliance in 2007.  This means that 802.11n equipment which carries the WiFi Certified logo is interoperable with other wireless equipment carrying the logo and legacy equipment (i.e. a/b/g equipment) is compatible with the new technology.

5. More Possibilities and Cost Savings

Using a faster, more reliable WLAN infrastucture with a greater reach means you are able to roll out productivity enhancing and cost reducing equipment.  Technology such as VoWLAN and video conferencing needs a stable connection and high bandwidth, but to a 802.11n infrastructure this would be child’s play.

So, in conclusion, there are plenty of reasons as to why you should upgrade to an 802.11n infrastructure.  On the whole, the management and maintenance of ‘n’ equipment should be easier as it will have a longer supportable life.  802.11n products are widely available now.  Why not take a look at the Motorola ‘n’ products that we carry, and see how they compare to your existing kit?

Motorola AP7131 Wireless Access Point

Motorola RFS6000 Wireless Switch

As part of the contract, Jade Communications will supply 500 Motorola MC70’s to Otis to replace and upgrade the mobile computers currently used by its field service operations. Combining the features of a phone, GPS functionality, PDA, computer, scanner and imager, the rugged and compact MC70 handheld is tough enough to withstand the rigours of years in the field.

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ManageLinx is a secure and easily managed solution that joins equipment across the Internet to create a “Virtual Device Network” (VDN). More flexible and easier to deploy than a traditional VPN, the ManageLinx VDN restricts access to only the specific IP addresses of authorised equipment and does not allow visibility to any other part of the network. It does not require any changes to network hardware or configurations.

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Namely, the researchers exposed a flaw in the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (or TKIP) by placing a computer between an authorised computer and an access point.  A flaw had been known in TKIP previously which could be exploited within 12-15 minutes, however the new ‘crack’ has brought about some urgency in updating any aging wireless security systems which use TKIP.

So what does this mean for you?

PCI DSS guidelines recommend the use of WPA in an effort to become PCI compliant.  If you have taken steps to become PCI compliant,  your wireless network(s) may use WPA encryption.

WPA2 and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) remain unaffected by this finding, so if you employ this standard in your wireless LAN, you need not worry.

However, if you employ WPA, the recommendation is to upgrade as soon as possible to ensure that your wireless network is safe from intrusion.  It is also wise to employ software which can detect wireless intrusions on your network and protect itself from any hacking attacks.

Jade offer a wide range of wireless services, such as a free WIPS scan, which can identify any potential flaws in your wireless network and recommend next steps to rectify the problems.  Our Technical Services team can also reconfigure and install new wireless hardware on your premises.

Book a wireless health check from Jade today and safeguard your wireless network from hackers.  Call 01925 295 400 or email sales@jadeonline.co.uk.

In order to successfully implement a range of inventory management and in-store applications on MVF’s existing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, the company needed a wireless infrastructure to provide fully mobile data acquisition and real-time functionality. Jade specified and installed ADC Krone Structured Cabling, Motorola WS2000 wireless switches and AP300 access points (internally and externally) for MVF’s estate-wide wireless infrastructure and approximately 70 Motorola MC3090 handheld devices.

Mole Valley Farmers is now benefiting from seamless real-time integration of stock control, inventory management and in-store applications within its ERP system and has plans to further develop the use of its new wireless technology in 2009.

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