Mobile Messaging Enables Quicker Response for New England Utility

by Susan Foulds, Vice President Professional Service Products, RAM Mobile Data

In today's competitive environment, successful service providers constantly strive to move business closer to customers and provide the most responsive service possible. With monopolies a thing of the past, the utility business is no exception. To maintain its leadership position in the market, power company Boston Edison's business strategy centers on achieving operational excellence and being known for unsurpassed customer service.

Like most companies with forward-looking strategies, technology plays a crucial role in Boston Edison's plans. The utility company concluded that one of the best ways to be more responsive to customers was to empower the sales force with greater access to corporate data. Customers appreciate it when a representative provides all the information needed to make a decision during a single meeting. They appreciate not having to hear, "We'll get back to you with that answer in a day or two," or "If I could just borrow your phone for a minute, I can track down that information."

Why Wireless?

Having decided that "anytime, anywhere" access to corporate data was critical to improving its competitive edge, Boston Edison decided to implement a mobile data solution. At first, the company tried a system in which users plugged computers into standard phone jacks in hotels or at customer locations and transmitted and received data via regular phone lines. This solution proved inefficient since users had to waste time searching for telephone jacks.

Still sold on the concept of mobile data, Boston Edison added RAM Mobile Data's wireless data communications service a little over a year ago. Already a large user of Lotus cc:Mail LAN-based electronic mail, Boston Edison extended the application wirelessly using the mobile version of cc:Mail. The increased productivity of its field sales employees led Boston Edison to expand service by linking its cc:Mail LAN to RAM's service via a dedicated X.25 line.

Benefits Lead Boston Edison to RAM-p Up Deployment

Although benefits are difficult to quantify in terms of absolute numbers, Boston Edison has seen the length of its customer response cycle shortened. Customer consultations that required several visits can now be seen through to completion during a single meeting. Once the customer request is made, mobile professionals can use their existing e-mail services wirelessly to communicate with customers directly and provide the immediate, responsive service clients now expect.

Boston Edison has plans to add applications beyond messaging, including forms and documents that can be filled out at a customer's site to speed administrative processing and close sales faster. The company will evaluate the use of wireless everywhere it can be used to optimize operations.

Boston Edison's requirement of case-of-use has been met with RAM. No phone jacks are required, so users don't have to stop and look around for phones to unplug. Members of the sales force can send or request information from virtually anywhere[1], turning downtime into up-time. Mobile workers now have wireless access to vital information while traveling in company vehicles, trains or taxis; from restaurants; from outdoor locations; and from other company or customer sites. Since Boston Edison was already using cc:Mail, going wireless didn't require users to learn new software.

RAM's service is based on MOBITEX technology, the defacto international standard for two-way wireless data communications now in use worldwide in 11 countries. Wireless modems designed by Ericsson for MOBITEX networks address one of users' most important concerns: battery power. The modems, called Mobidems, feature a battery-saving capability that allows the modem to "go to sleep" when no messages are coming in or going out. The modem 'wakes up' to receive incoming messages.

RAM's service also features inherent "store-and-forward" capabilities in the network so that messages sent to workers whose terminals are turned off are automatically held and sent as soon as the recipient powers up.

Seamless roaming is another key feature. Boston Edison serves the city of Boston and thirty-nine surrounding communities, encompassing several area codes. With cellular billing, calls between two area codes cost more than those made within a given code. With RAM's service, users can roam between area codes--or travel clear across the country--without incurring any additional charges from RAM. Costs are based on usage, the actual number of kilobyte packets sent over RAM's service, not on distance or duration of communications.

Familiar to Workers, Impressive to Customers

Boston Edison found wireless data communications service not only easy to use, but a snap to implement. According to Boston Edison project manager Al Petras, "Installing cc:Mail over RAM took about 15 minutes. Going wireless was as painless for users as it was for MIS since users were already versed on the corporate cc:Mail program. It was almost too easy."

Because wireless data communication is sleek, fast, and state-of-the-art, it affords at least one other benefit worth mentioning: it's impressive. "Customers are really impressed when one of our representatives sends a message during a meeting and gets an answer right back," Petras said.

On the whole, Boston Edison demanded from RAM the same responsive service and cutting-edge technology its own customer's demand. Both providers are now delivering their promises. 


[1]  Utilizing an inter-LATA service provider of customer's choice.