Vienna, June 10th, 2002 -- Nokia and IBM have successfully completed a project to increase the productivity of employees in the service unit of Vattenfall, a leading European power and energy company. The application which is based on IBM’s DB2 Everyplace (DB2e) for the Nokia 9210 Communicator, has been designed to help Vattenfall Service electricians complete their daily tasks on the move.
This technology was piloted by a small group of Vattenfall electricians who filled in the work order on site, directly into the interface fields, and synchronised the information via the GSM network. The IBM solution is expected to the electrician’s time in transferring data from paper on to a database by transmitting orders directly to the Nokia 9210 Communicator and storing them on the local database in the device’s memory.
"We expect to save about 30 minutes per electrician per day," said Conny Frankenberg, the Vattenfall Service project manager, "We chose to store data in a hand held device because the GSM network covers just 70 percent of the area in which Vattenfall and its customers have equipment and we didn’t want to depend on having to be constantly connected."
According to Jonas Pergament, business manager for mobile services at IBM, many electricians are unaccustomed to using IT. "That’s why we’ve invested a lot of resources in building a functional, easy-to-use interface," says Pergament.
The Nokia 9210 Communicator was selected because of its ease of use and because the application and communication software are housed in the same unit. "The Nokia 9210 Communicator is an ideal solution for any business that wants to equip its employees with a powerful mobile tool. The integrated keyboard, high-quality colour display and comprehensive set of features means that employees can be effective no matter where they are," says Jukka Aaltonen, Director, Product Management, Nokia Mobile Phones.
The solution has been well received by both users and stakeholders. "So far, we’re very impressed," says Frankenberg. "Our employees have been able to work smarter and have saved the company resources. It’s been an extremely positive experience."
About IBM's DB2 Everyplace Software
- The solution consists of DB2e, which is installed on the handheld devices and the DB2e Sync Server, which is the synchronising server.
- DB2e runs on Symbian, Palm OS, Windows CE, Neutrino, and Embedded Linux.
- DB2e enables most of the fundamental SQL functions such as select, insert, delete, and update.
- The DB2e Sync Server can run under Windows NT/2000, AIX, Linux, and Solaris.
- The Sync Server links the database in handheld devices to larger systems or mainframes. Linking between handheld devices and the server occurs via SyncML. Linking to support databases such as DB2, Oracle, Domino, Exchange, or SQL Server occurs via Jdbc.
Find out more about DB2 Everyplace at: www4.ibm.com/software/data/db2/everyplace
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM works with companies of all sizes around the world to deploy the full range of IBM technologies. The fastest way to get more information about IBM is through the IBM home page at www.ibm.com.
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed broadband and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on six major exchanges.
Further information:
IBM
Dan Lillie
+45 45 23 41 31; DANL@dk.ibm.com
Nokia Mobile Phones
Communications
Tel. + 358 7180 08000
Communications
Tel. + 358 7180 08000