Technology Use

Brooktrout Technology and Infinite Mobile Delivery

THE CHALLENGE

Brooktrout is among the increasing number of enterprises deploying a greater mobile workforce to conduct business from near and far Whether in Australia, Singapore or one of the fifty states, the Brooktrout sales force is out in the field 60 percent of the work week – meeting with existing customers and partners, prospecting new clients or closing on sales leads.

While away from the office, critical email messages for sales team members would pile up – sometimes more than 100 new messages per salesperson were awaiting an answer during the course of an in-the-field business day. Messages of a critical nature include potential customers inquiring about New Network services; partners with news to share; associates needing to reschedule appointments; and distributors with pressing questions. These messages often needed immediate attention and response, which is difficult to do when waiting for a flight at an airport or when driving from meeting location to meeting location. A delayed response to messages could translate into a lost sale or an unsatisfied customer. "As an email-centric company, it is crucial that our work force have easy and immediate access to the information that effects our business," said Eric Giler, president and founder of Brooktrout Technology. "However, that’s not always possible when much of our business takes people away from their desks. In this age of immediacy, we needed a way to make our team even more efficient and productive when they’re on the road." Though Brooktrout is adept at providing the necessary platforms to actualize anywhere/anytime information access, the company did not have a streamlined system in place for its own mobile workers to manage their messaging and personal information.

THE SOLUTION

Well-versed in telecommunications technology, Giler had been skeptical in general about the promises of some wireless access products. "Some mobile business solutions I had looked at under-delivered and were complicated to use…that is until I came across the Captaris offering," he said. "Theirs is truly a unique product. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It delivers what it promises."

With Captaris Infinite Mobile Delivery for Microsoft Exchange, Brooktrout mobile workers now turn their Web-enabled mobile phones and other Internet-enabled devices into extensions of their desktops. Users in remote locations can securely and reliably interact with email messages, contacts, tasks and calendar functions stored in Microsoft Exchange. Just as if they were working at their desk – and all in real-time.

Brooktrout also makes use of the added advantages of the Infinite Voice Connector, which allows users to reply to email messages with a voice message sent as a .wav file. Furthermore, users can have messages read to them via the built in text-to-speech engine, an especially valuable feature for drives between sales calls.

Brooktrout users didn’t have to wait weeks or months for the Infinite Mobile Delivery benefits – the company was up and running in less than 12 hours.

"Captaris Infinite Mobile Delivery solved our messaging management challenges. It’s instantly usable and required little to no training for our sales folks. Whether on the golf course working a deal, at home or in the car, quick responses to important emails are now possible. Finding access to email is no longer an issue," Giler explained.

Since implementing phase one of their mobile wireless strategy, Giler estimates that he has saved approximately four hours a week handling email messages. In fact, he sometimes prefers using Infinite Mobile Delivery and his mobile phone instead of his cable modem when working from home. The mobile delivery process has proved to be more reliable and less problematic. For members of Brooktrout’s mobile sales force currently using the product, the savings are even greater, with an average of two hours a day saved when out in the field. Once final phases are rolled out to all of Brooktrout’s 70 mobile workers, the company could save up to a combined total of 700 hours a week based on current productivity savings.

To learn more about how your organization can benefit from the Infinite Mobile Delivery Server and the Wireless Connectors, please visit our Web site devoted to Mobile Delivery