O2, Intellisync and Handheld PCs Team Up - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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O2, Intellisync and Handheld PCs Team Up to `Mobilize` Barnet`s Children and Families Service
Wednesday August 31, 8:00 am ET
Frontline Social Workers Use Mobile Solution to Increase Productivity

SAN JOSE, Calif. and LONDON, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Barnet Council`s Children and Families Service has mobilized its entire frontline to improve services, allowing social workers to spend more face-to-face time with children and families. Made possible through the deployment of over 200 O2 Xda IIs and Intellisync Mobile Suite, this is the first time the Council has delivered a large-scale wireless e-mail and diary management (PIM) access solution to its social workers, and they are one of the first social care services in the country to do so.


The mobile initiative was developed in response to the desire to provide better care, driven by the Government`s `Every Child Matters` strategy, which identifies immediate access to shared information as an important factor in care, and the e-Government agenda. The solution was deployed by Handheld PCs using O2 Xda II devices and GPRS network and synchronization technology from Intellisync (Nasdaq: SYNC - News), the number one platform independent wireless messaging company.

The O2 Xda II and Intellisync-powered solution has significantly freed up staff time by providing instant e-mail, diary access and information sharing facilities. Intellisync push technology ensures that critical information reaches the right people at the right time regardless of location, reducing the need for staff to return back to the office to access information or update other staff members. Previously, most information sharing was paper-based, relying on social workers returning to the office every time they needed to access or update records.

Tony Nakhimoff, Divisional Manager in Barnet Council`s Children and Families Service says: "We chose a mobile solution alongside a more traditional PC-based solution because of costs, ease of implementation and what we wanted it to achieve. Already we have seen significant improvement in productivity and information sharing within the service. Social workers now have better access to information they need to be able to make decisions and do their job properly. This has allowed us not just to be more efficient as a service, but has also freed up the time social workers spend on administration, allowing them to get on with their job. We are already looking to expand its use into other areas."

Steve Brooks, Interim Head of Information Systems at Barnet Council adds, "We see the exploitation of mobile computing solutions playing a major part in helping the council to achieve its objective of investing more resource in front-line services. The Xda II implementation in Children & Families Service is a significant success in working towards supporting that objective."

Helen Wylde, Head of Corporate Marketing at O2 said, "This is a classic case of where the deployment of a mobile-PC solution adds real value and can transform the way an organization works. While it might have been possible to deploy a potentially costly and impractical desktop-solution providing some of the functionality, this would have inevitably led to pulling frontline staff into the office. Backed up by our network, our Xda IIs offered a wireless alternative with an intuitive device and a legible screen, perfect for a service that had little exposure to computers."

"We are delighted to be collaborating with O2 and Handheld PCs to offer Barnet Council a secure wireless environment. The combination of Intellisync`s innovative and secure technology, O2`s powerful network and Handheld PCs knowledge made this a compelling solution," adds Clyde Foster, chief operating officer at Intellisync. "Given the sensitive requirements of this implementation, the collaboration offered a solution that addressed the specific needs of Barnet Council. Secure, easy to use and scaleable. We`re looking forward to our relationship growing beyond e-mail."

Crucial to the deployment was not just the functionality and ease of use but also security. In the event of theft and loss of an Xda II, the device can be locked and have all the data wiped through Intellisync`s Systems Management. The Xda II on the O2 network offered the best and most reliable integrated pda and telephone, offering a large clear screen, easy to use keypad and the reliability of the O2 Network. Intellisync Mobile Suite 6 provides the Wireless E-mail, File Sync and PIM at the heart of the solution. The solution is specifically engineered to be fully scaleable to take advantage of further developments in later phases of the project. The devices will also be used to make phone calls.

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