Metrix Extends Techlink 4e Mobile Solutions Offerings With Wireless Application Protocol Technology.

Business Editors

WAUKESHA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 2, 2000

WAP technology provides real time data exchange between

wireless-web cell phones and Metrix software

Metrix Inc. today announced the release of a series of Techlink(R) 4e products based on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology, a mechanism for sending data real-time using existing cell phone technology enhanced with a microbrowser. Using a highly efficient and robust Wireless Transaction Protocol (WTP) for data transmission, WAP provides quick communication for field technicians and dispatch centers. WAP technology gives field techs a cost effective, reliable way to exchange basic data with dispatch centers and other field techs in real time.

"Historically, people have sent data over various wireless infrastructures," says Brandon Goldsmith, director of mobile solutions, Metrix, Inc. "This is an effective means of data exchange that can handle large amounts of information. However, it requires costly laptops or other mobile computing solutions. The reality is many field forces don't need this much computing power so they are left to with cumbersome telephone or paging solutions which are less expensive but don't provide real-time feedback.

"WAP is rapidly becoming the universally accepted protocol for sending data -- one that allows both real-time communication between two or more devices -- such as wireless-web phones, pagers and PDAs. The size of a WAP phone makes it convenient to carry around, and its ratio of high functionality (data and voice) to low cost represents a more economical investment as a field service tool." Goldsmith notes that the platform is appropriate for the field force that needs to exchange basic data sets in real time.

While User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is the crux of WAP's data transport system, its use of the XML-based Wireless Mark-up Language (WML) and a microbrowser provides a light but powerful user interface. "WML is a subset of the type of tags found in a typical HTML," Goldsmith says, "making the use of WAP-enabled phones similar to using a traditional Web browser. WML, however, provides some more device-appropriate (small screen) user interface metaphors, with a menu of options that users can navigate through using scroll keys."

A Real Time Solution in the Field

Within the field service cycle there are some transactions that are relatively simple yet are very valuable. WAP technology provides a real-time solution allowing the technicians to input that valuable information, such as acceptance of a dispatch or arrival at a customer site, when the event occurs. The real-time transfer of data between the field tech and the dispatcher has great value to the field tech.

"If you are a field tech who works out of a central location, you are given a daily "laundry list" of tasks that need to be accomplished for that given day," Goldsmith says. "With WAP technology, the technician is able to browse the company's entire daily service call list on screen and choose what they will work on. The real-time solution ensures that no two people arrive at the same site to do the same job. It also ensures that all tasks are completed at the end of the day."

Increased functionality of a dispatch center is another aspect of the real-time solution. "The ability to send information proactively through the system is a big benefit to the dispatch center as well as to the field," Goldsmith says. "Some dispatchers will have a technician on the way to a particular site and then have to pull them off of that site, maybe even as they are walking in the door. The field service technician is alerted by a ring of the phone, as if a regular call were coming in, allowing dispatch to alert him to another, maybe more pressing situation via text in real time."

The key to the WAP system's ability to deliver this "personalized" messaging is that each phone is uniquely identified as being a particular device. "Each WAP phone is designated a unique ID -- the same way cell phone towers locate individual phones and the phones locate the nearest tower," Goldsmith notes. "So when a field tech is on the move, the nearest tower can pick up the phone's ID and deliver the correct message to the correct person. This ability to `push' information is one of WAP's advances beyond the capabilities of standard HTTP."

Goldsmith sees the WAP system solving other common field service problems as well, "A very common problem faced in the field is the inability to find the right part at the right time. With WAP, a field service technician can immediately query other technicians. If they have the part and are in the area, the problem is solved that day."

A Mix of New and Old

Cell phone technology has come a long way in recent years, but the nuts-and-bolts remain the same. The WAP system works much the same way as a normal cell phone call would. There is a tower and a phone both sending signals, or pings, back and forth. And for a cell phone call to work, the system has to recognize where the recipient is. WAP is similar, but it offers ample bandwidth for basic data sets. Additionally, there is no dial tone needed to transmit information and no number to be dialed.

WAP phones are equipped with two additional buttons for sending information. "The screen has a menu that field technicians scroll through, and when they find the correct prompt they hit the corresponding button," Goldsmith says. "This allows them to build up information without having to manually key anything in."

A key to the functionality of WAP technology is the micro-browser. Goldsmith compares it to normal Internet usage, "When working on the Internet, a person issues HTTP commands and receives HTML files in response. WAP deploys the same model. Only the HTTP request is being submitted over a wireless infrastructure. The sender receives WML back as a device, just as an Internet user receives HTML. The result is real-time information that proves useful to the field, to the organization they represent and ultimately to the customer in need of a part or repair."

"WAP is the next weapon in the battle for automating field forces and further extends the Techlink 4e product family," Goldsmith states. "While it does not have the full capability of a Techlink 4e equipped laptop in terms of data transfer, it is a significant increase over traditional cell phones and pagers. Additionally, the costs associated with WAP-enabled phones are much less than `ruggedized' laptops, allowing for wider use of the technology."

About Metrix, Inc.

Founded in 1980, Metrix, Inc. pioneered the service automation industry, and is today the leading worldwide provider of e-Service and ProductService CRM(TM) solutions. Its web capabilities and integrated applications address all aspects of the product service chain for multi-divisional and multi-national companies performing on-site field service or repair center activities for high-tech and durable goods. Metrix's headquarters are located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Its European headquarters are located in The Hague, the Netherlands: 31-(0)70-383-4114. The Prolog Group is an authorized Metrix distributor in the United Kingdom. Metrix can be reached at [phone], [phone] or at www.metrix.com.

(c)2000 METRIX, Inc. All rights reserved. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.