News
Issue #2002 - 43 (November 2002)
(Updated Nov. 13, 2002)

APPLICATION SOLUTIONS & APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

ADC's 250-North American Sales Representatives Increased Productivity by 6-10%

ATLANTA & MINNEAPOLIS, November 5, 2002. - ADC, a leading supplier of network equipment, software, and systems integration services, announced today that since launching its new wireless solution this past May, the company's 250-North American sales representatives have
each increased their productivity by approximately six to 10%. ADC's wireless nano ApplicationsTM, include the order status application powered by Air2Web's Mobile Internet Platform (MIP), in addition to applications that enable employees to access ADC's internal phone book and the Internet, and send and receive e-mail. The sales representatives and sales operations personnel are wirelessly accessing this information via PCS phones by Samsung's SPH-i300, a color screen Palm OS-based smart phone that offers converged voice and data applications on a single device. The nanoApplications use the Palm OS operating system. 

The ADC project using Air2Web's wireless technology was just selected by Aberdeen Group as one of the Top Ten Data Solutions in their Mobile Data Report to be published November 8, 2002: "What Works: Ten Significant Mobile Data Deployments."  For a copy of the report see http://www.aberdeen.com/ab_company/hottopics/top10mobile/default.htm

ADC's integrated wireless solution has not only led to increased productivity but also to reduced costs and enhanced customer relationships at the company. By cutting down on the sheer amount of time spent logging into ADC's network and tracking down order status, as well as being able to wirelessly access ADC's internal phone book, sales representatives save administration time and use that time to work with customers. ADC's sales representatives have given positive feedback to the Information Technology group at ADC, including anecdotes about how the features of the smart phone and nanoApplications have actually helped them close additional sales. 

According to ADC, the customer order status application was especially important because of its heavy use by both customers and sales representatives. Aside from the company's online catalog available at
www.adc.com, the online order status tool gets more hits than any other Web page. ADC developed the e-mail, phone book and Web nanoApplications internally, and worked closely with several other companies including alwaysBEthere, Ubiquio, and NowSpeed to deploy the initiative. ADC supplies critical equipment to the telecom industry and technicians and engineers at these companies need ready access to order status. 

Now, with the ability to wirelessly check customer order status, which gives details such as quantity shipped, date shipped and dock-to-dock tracking information, ADC's sales representatives no longer need Web access through a computer to view order information online. In addition, new smart phone technology combines three devices into one, replacing cell phones, pagers and PDAs. 

In order to fund the rollout of the nanoApplications and smart phones, ADC negotiated a new wireless contract with a major carrier. The savings incurred with the new contract in place enabled ADC to pursue the new offering during a period of budget reductions and cost-cutting measures. ADC used 10 percent of the overall savings of its wireless contract to fund the ADC Mobilize program.

ADC plans to transition to the new 5.0 version of Air2Web's MIP, which now supports the development of rich, client-side applications for Palm, RIM, and J2ME. In using Air2Web's Thick Client Framework, software is loaded on the actual devices, allowing the application to utilize resident processing power and memory. The user can now work on applications while out of network coverage and then transmit data once the device is back in coverage. Additionally, ADC intends to add more wireless applications in the near future giving sales representatives the ability to update forecasts, enter orders, and complete operational reports.

"The overall impact of this wireless solution on our operations has been tremendous. By working with a leading wireless platform provider such as Air2Web, we have significantly enhanced the productivity and remote capabilities of our sales force, and also managed to drive down costs for our wireless operation," said Kamalesh Dwivedi. chief information officer for ADC.

"These new wireless applications are an integral part of our overall strategic effort to become more intimate with our customers," said Bill O'Brien, chief marketing officer for ADC. "Being able to check a customer's order status and communicate in real time is invaluable to our sales force, as well as for internal communications between our various sales teams and leadership. In a fast moving market with ever-changing customer demands, access to this technology is indispensable." 

"ADC is known throughout the telecom industry for providing its customers with top-of-the-line products and services," says Sanjoy Malik, president and CEO of Air2Web. "Now with the ability to access order status, as well as other critical information anytime, anywhere-ADC's sales staff can better serve their customers, while increasing productivity ---a win, win for everyone." 

About ADC
ADC offers Broadband high-speed Internet, data, video and voice services to consumers and businesses worldwide.

About Air2Web
Air2Web is a privately held company based in Atlanta and has over 70 deployments in production with blue-chip clients providing wireless enabled financial applications, critical field force applications, customer relationship management, M-commerce, e-mail and subscription-based content services. 

For more information: http://www.qualcomm.com

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: Air2Web has built a very credible application integration practice in mobile computing for the enterprise. Its Mobile Internet Platform (MIP) is being used in many Fortune 500 installations for business critical application. MobileInfo.Com compliments ADC and  Air2Web for a well-executed and financially-justified mobile project. Those IT professionals who do their home work will find that you can build enterprise business applications today with current set of networks and mobile application development platforms. Air2Web will pull through the current economic times. Tomorrow will be better. 

Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of Securities Exchange act of 1934 in USA. Similar provisions exist in other countries. There is no assurance that the stipulated plans of vendors will be implemented. MobileInfo does not warrant the authenticity of the information. Readers should take appropriate caution in developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology architectures.  All trademarks used in this summary are the property of their respective owners.