Austin Lane Technologies
Field Force Automation Solutions for Real-time Information Transfer

Field Force Automation solutions seek to provide data in real time, such as updates of ongoing work for remote and office personnel,while also ensuring data security, maintenance and recovery capabilities. “The market is really caught between these two aspects,” begins Rob L. Graber, Co-Founder, Vice President,and Director of R&D at Austin Lane Technologies, Inc. There are numerous SaaS and PaaS service providers who specifically concentrate on real-time data availability,whereas for data management, companies are forced to rely on even more cloud services (i.e. BaaS) or their own on-premise storage solutions, which can require excessive bandwidth for data backup and recovery. “It prevents companies from achieving absolute mobility, which is essential for remote fieldwork management,” he adds. Austin Lane Technologies,as a Microsoft Certified Partner, leverages Microsoft Technologies, bringing the advantage of mobility to companies by enabling secure,real-time collection of remote information and managing it with stable and secure backend data storage systems.

Austin Lane Technologies leverages MS Internet Information Services (IIS), .Net, and other technologies for front-end processes, such as remote data collection, and supports data storage and disaster management with MS SQL servers in the back-end. This means companies can gather and manage, and integrate mobile data bi-directionally with their ERP systems, such as MS Dynamics. Combining all these technologies with HTML5 provides mobility solutions that can work both online and offline. In addition, mobile data can be securely accessed across various devices from smartphone to desktops.“We bring the unique approach to enterprise mobility in a simple, easy-to-use product called ALMobile,” states Graber. ALMobile instantly updates the home office with data entries from the field, while at the same time, streaming data from the ERP system to the field personnel. This flow can reduce lag time and reporting errors resulting from paper time sheets and productivity reports.“With traditional paper based data entry and reporting methods, it may take weeks before management understands what is actually being done by remote field workers.

ALMobile’s ability to collect business activity digitally enables leadership to know how productive and engaged personnel are in real-time,” explains Graber.

“ALMobile is currently the only project management mobile application system that provides offline browser-based, touchscreen capability on any HTML5 capable device,” says Graber.

It helps share project knowledge effortlessly from the field foreman to the CEO. It keeps everyone on the same page, helping to manage projects, schedule, and budget in an efficient manner. ALMobile finds traction across many industries such as construction, environmental, heavy highway, and oil& gas by offering connectivity across multiple environments worldwide.

For instance, Klinger Companies, one of the nation’s larger construction companies, processed paper time sheets completed manually in the field and collected from projects across 15 states. The payroll clerks had to receive and manually re-enter the information. A great deal of time was spent correcting inaccurate data. Klinger found its rescue in Austin Lane Technologies’ ALMobile. ALMobile helped them achieve their goals by streamlining processes and improving the quality and accuracy of information for their payroll operation. “Today, our payroll is done much quicker than it used to be.

ALMobile instantly updates the home office with data entries from the field, while at the same time,streaming data from the ERP to the field personnel

We would run with three people keying in payroll for three solid days, and now two people handle the validation and cut the checks on the same day,”says Klinger’s Payroll Manager.
Going forward, Austin Lane Technologies has taken a big step forward, integrating biometrics into its products. “We have incorporated facial recognition, finger print scan, and signature capture technologies to authenticate employees, increasing their speed to check-in and check-out,” concludes Graber.

Austin Lane Technologies states that by implementing a solution utilizing Microsoft technologies, they are competitively positioned for immediate compatibility with any new mobile platforms that may emerge as the mobile market evolves.