The following article, by VP of Operations Eric Rausin, is from the November ESC Newsletter. You can subscribe to the monthly newsletter by clicking here and filling out the short form.

They say change is inevitable. I believe this to be true (unless you’re dealing with vending machines) and a lot of interesting changes are sweeping the mobile landscape right now. Just three years ago Apple changed the mobile playing field with the introduction of the iPhone. A few months ago sales of iPhones were eclipsed by sales of Android, Google’s phone operating system. Now Microsoft and Blackberry have both released new phone based operating systems. With all these choices, it can be difficult to determine which mobile solution will best meet your needs when it comes to integrating with ESC. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you exactly what we’re doing so you can make an informed decision.

Let’s start out with the new technology. A few months ago we converted our existing Mobile Web product to work on both the iPhone/iPad and Android operating systems. While this initially didn’t add any features, it allowed us to radically overhaul the interface to make it much prettier and touch screen friendly. In the most recent versions of those apps we were able to take advantage of the power of the devices and added the following features:

• Attach pictures – you can now take pictures with your phone and attach them to the dispatch itself. This is a huge time saver and a great way to document the work you’ve done.
• View attached documents – view and recall a complete list of documents attached to the customer’s location from your phone. You can recall and view any document your phone can open but you will not be able to make any changes to them. This is a perfect way to view previous pictures or letters while in the field.
• GPS Integration – using the built-in GPS on your phone you can now see your technician’s trucks appear directly on the map in your Electronic Dispatch Board. No more guessing who the closest tech is to a call, now you can see it instantly.
• Turn by turn directions – So the tech doesn’t know how to get to the customer’s site? No problem. We’ll send the address of their next call to the devices built in mapping application so they can get exact directions to the customer’s location from where ever they are.

The android and iPhone apps also allow you to create and email invoices in the field.

Speaking of which, the Windows Mobile 7 client will feature full invoicing capabilities, as well as the ability to take payments and even authorize credit cards (in conjunction with QuickBooks Merchant Services). Once the invoice is saved it can be emailed to the customer, sent to an email enabled printer (see my review of one in next month’s newsletter), or printed out at the office and mailed to the customer.

The Mobile 7 client doesn’t currently have the ability to attach pictures, view attached documents or integrate with the built-in GPS but, just like the invoicing features are coming to the iPhone and Android clients, these features will be added to the Mobile 7 client over the next couple of months. We plan on keeping the feature set for all three of these clients as similar as possible.

These clients are the future of mobile computing at dESCO, and now that the price of these devices and software is so affordable – there is really no excuse not to go mobile. As you can see, we’ll definitely be there for you – now and for a long time to come!

ESC offers powerful mobile solutions for the modern workforce.

Run on Laptops / Netbooks / Tablets – ESC Mobile Client

ESC Mobile Software provides a high performance system to allow your techs in the field to have access to their dispatches and work orders, as well as any information they’ll need to get their jobs done. It is the ultimate performance system for techs in the field. ESC’s powerful mobile software lets your technicians access your customer and inventory information. It also lets them capture customers’ signatures, create invoices, and scan items in and out of inventory via barcode scanning.

Run on Smart Phones / Cell Phones – ESC Mobile Web

ESC’s Mobile Web Client provides the ultimate value system, allowing technicians to access the essential information for their jobs on their cell phones. The mobile web package is device independent and works on most popular cell phone and BlackBerry browsers.

This low-cost mobile solution features real-time dispatching, job details, time tracking, and much more. It provides a simple way for techs to update their job status in real-time while in their field, without having to call into the office.

Dispatches that are logged in the office are sent to the mobile web, where the technician can view all the details of the job, including: Job Description, Customer Information, Contact, Phone, Address, City, State, Zip, and Job Promised Time.

Run From Any Where with an Internet Connection – ESC Web Front Office

ESC’s Web Front Office give you, your technicians, and your customers a powerful array of features.

ESC’s Web Front Office allows users to login to their software and data from anywhere with and internet connection. This portal gives you access to a web-based dispatch board and lets you manage your customers’ information, and create dispatches and service calls. Also, if your technicians use the Web Front Office, they will be able to view their service calls in the field and update their status throughout the day. This can let techs see their dispatches at home so their first stop is at a job site rather than the office.

The Web Front Office can also act as a customer portal where your customers can login to make service requests, view statements, update their account information, or pay their bill. The Web Front Office has PayPal integration so your customers can pay their bills online by credit card. These updates will occur in ESC in real-time, giving you the freshest customer information possible.