Managing a Large Roll-Out of Mobile Devices

Posted on 19 October 2010

We’re just starting a major rollout of some 1,400 hand-held mobile devices for a client here at Codegate and our experience with larger installations means we know where the difficulties are likely to arise. For the purpose of this post, it isn’t important to know which manufacturer or which device is involved, what is important is understanding what preparations are needed to ensure a successful outcome.

To set the scene for you, we’ve completed the software design, written the programs, conducted the pilot, produced the training literature and have agreed a phased delivery of the equipment with the client.

When the equipment arrives, the first part of our job will be to ‘stage’ the devices. For this, we need to:

• Verify the flash memory serial number matches the device label number
• Fully charge the battery and ensure it holds a full charge
• Check communications hardware including phone functions are fully operational
• Check the display for ‘blackouts’ or ‘dead’ pixels
• Load a ‘disc image’ of the application and any utilities
• Finally apply a bespoke customer asset label

Critically important to ensure compatibility across the new devices is to check the operating system (OS) installed. You would be amazed how many different versions of Windows Mobile 6.x can be installed in a batch as small as 50 devices. Where an older version is found, the latest OS has to be loaded onto the unit before commencing with installation of the application program and associated utilities.

Once ‘staged’, the device details will be loaded on the Returned Material Authority (RMA) database together with the details of the maintenance package purchased with the device. Most devices are now sold with a Gold maintenance package that provides a two-day turnaround replacement with full parts and labour cover for the repair, plus accidental damage cover. This means the device is repaired and returned without additional expense, regardless of the cause of the fault and makes budgeting for maintenance easy.

In our experience this is a good time to plan for the inevitable, for example a software change or bug, requiring the replacement of the applications already in the field. At Codegate, we incorporate ‘over-the-air’ update capability in our installations for exactly this reason. The logistics of gathering together 10s or 100s of devices to upgrade the software is sometimes impossible and this is where updating over-the-air provides a much more cost effective and time efficient alternative.

There may be additional hardware or accessories to be checked prior to installation, for example, cradles required for charging and communication. During a previous project for about a 1,000 devices, we discovered a manufacturing problem affecting 30% of the communication cradles – after they were installed. A lesson learnt!

Providing remote support to devices in the field will be a requirement particularly in the early phase of the installation. Codegate use solutions from a company becoming the industry standard for device support and management, SOTI. Securing the device in the event of its theft and providing control remotely are just some of the facilities provided by SOTI Mobicontrol, a piece of software I’d highly recommended.

Once the roll out is complete and every employee has their device, received training and any initial problems resolved, the customer will begin to reap the rewards. Pay back would typically be in less than twelve months and having made the hardware purchase they can look at adding applications, over-the-air, to maximise their return on investment (ROI).

Job done!

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If you’re considering a mobile device deployment within your organisation, then feel free to give us a call here at Codegate and we’ll be more than happy to help – +44 (0)8453 450808