It's easy to understand why Wipfli LLP began a major paperless initiative four years ago. As a large accounting and business consulting firm, its work is document-intensive and often performed off-site at client offices. If documents weren't scanned into electronic format, auditors would spend more time physically handling information than working with it.
"If you think about the sheer volume of information we have to touch as auditors and tax preparers, it's frightening," says Dan Szidon, an audit partner at Wipfli. And with auditors working outside the office 70% of the time, "we want people to be as functional in the field as they are in the office."
For Tom Lenz, IT director at Wipfli, that has meant preparing standardized "kits" to enable groups of auditors to effectively work at a customer site for weeks at a time. The kits include a Canon DR-2080c scanner, a Canon i80 printer, a Linksys WRT54G wireless router and one of three models of Dell laptops.
With this equipment, teams can effectively share data via a wireless connection. Members of the auditing team can work on various tasks and then save data back to the team lead's laptop. The team lead also backs up the data either to a USB device or via an Internet connection to Wipfli's own servers.
However, although the kits have been in place for 18 months, there are still support issues. "As easy as wireless networking is now compared to five years ago, it's still not always seamless," Lenz says. The IT group provides upfront training and prewritten scripts to ease the process, but "it's not perfect," he says.
Updating software and managing patches is a smoother process, Lenz says. He uses IPass Inc.'s Endpoint Policy Management system, which enables updates and patches to stream out to laptops when employees connect to the Internet. Large files automatically deploy themselves in stages if the connection doesn't last long enough.
With the previous system, employees had to connect to Wipfli's virtual private network for software updates to occur. "It was a more time-intensive and hands-on process," Lenz says.
Although Lenz has standardized the equipment in the kits, he hasn't enforced a particular model of mobile phone or PDA, although employees are encouraged to get a Windows-based mobile device for remote e-mail access.
A big reason Lenz can't enforce standardization is that no carrier adequately services the wide geographic area in which employees work, particular remote regions of Wisconsin. "It would simplify things a great deal if we could pick one vendor and one device, but there's physically not a provider that meets everyone's needs everywhere," he says.
Lenz has found that he needs to provide support 12 hours per day and have an on-call support staffer in place. "Support calls come in all different times of day," he says.
But Lenz says that it's all worth it. "Associates have more control over their environment when they're out on the road," he says. "Having a mobile device and access to e-mail keeps you in the loop and allows you to contribute to whatever is going on."
See the complete Faces of Mobile IT special report.
The Faces of Mobile IT
Different types of mobile workers, such as road warriors, telecommuters and blue-collar workers, need different forms of IT support.
Stories in this report:
- Editor's Note: The Faces of Mobile IT
Editor's Note: Corporate America is addicted to mobile connectivity. In this special report we hear the stories of different types of mobile workers -- the devices they use, the features they'd like -- as well as the stories of the IT workers who have to support them. - Wireless Worker: White-Collar Road Warrior
These road warriors are savvy wireless users, which in turn creates support issues for IT. - Tethered to Treo
- Lightening the Load With Data Sharing
- Wireless Worker: Globe-Trotter
Different protocols, standards and security issues create unique support issues for workers who skip from country to country. - Wireless Worker: Blue-Collar Worker
In choosing portable devices for use in the fields, IT must find one that has the right technology, is sturdy enough to handle tough working conditions and comes at the right price. - At Home With a Palm
- Wireless Worker: Telecommuter
Stay-at-home workers are powered by laptops sitting atop docking stations, cordless phones outfitted with voice over IP and the often-mandatory instant messaging. - Close Contact With IP Communicator
- Wireless Worker: Campus Nomad
Most workers who spend their days roaming corridors and campuses want high connectivity paired with low-tech mobile devices. - PDAs for Warehouse Support
- Wireless Worker: Call Center Agent
Voice-over-IP and wireless and computer telephony integration options are making it easier to set up call center agents to work at home. - Setting Up Security With a 'Locked-Down' PC
- QuickStudy: ZigBee
ZigBee is a short-range, low-power, wireless personal-area network technology optimized for low-cost sensor and control devices used in homes, office buildings, and medical and industrial settings. - The Real Magic of Wireless Technology
Your end users expect real-time data anywhere they happen to be. It's your job to make that magic happen, says columnist Mark Hall. - Research Insights
Click here to view these survey statistics.
Online Exclusives
- Cool Wireless Stuff.
Sure it may be practical and help improve efficiency. But what good is a wireless gadget if it's not fun? Computerworld staffers share some of their favorites, from a universal charger to a $1,200 digital sound system. - The War Driver Returns:
Computerworld's David Ramel hits the road again to check out the state of wireless security — and comes up with some surprising conclusions. - Executive Briefing:
Read about the threats from mobile and wireless technology in the enterprise, and the strategies developed to deal with them, in this online special report. - Lone Warrior:
What about the one-person shop? Learn how power PDA user Bert Latamore thrives on being completely mobile and self-sufficient — until there's trouble. - The Wireless Security Value Chain
Click here to view this webcast.