IT EXPO East 2009: Cbeyond adds mobile workforce management with SaaS offering

Miami, Florida - IP communications service provider Cbeyond has added to its portfolio of applications with Mobile Workforce Manager, a mobile location-based and resource management application suite using Xora software.

Designed for companies with field services operations - in other words, businesses that dispatch trucks - the new offering is designed to reduce operating costs and increase revenue opportunities by allowing companies to keep track of their mobile employees for more efficient and quicker dispatching. Cbeyond says the result of reduced payroll and overtime costs, fewer fleet miles and increased mobile employee productivity can reach around $1,500 per employee per year.

Businesses need to have an IP pipe from Cbeyond, and would buy a smart phone and mobile data plan for each mobile employee, then download the application wirelessly. The service application is hosted on Cbeyond's network and accessed through a Web-based interface. It allows small businesses the ability to monitor the location and status of all field-based employees; the app also automates payroll by providing an automated way of collecting employee timecards.

Leveraging location information, new jobs can be assigned to field workers based upon who is closed to the site. There's also a function to track driver speeds to cut down on fuel and insurance costs. Mobile workers also have the ability to include pictures and voice notes along with job reports.

Cbeyond currently offers three flavors of the BlackBerry plus the Moto Q 9c smart phone. Cost includes purchase of the phone, $40 per month data plan, a one-time $25 dollar setup fee per modem and a $20 per month service fee per phone for Cbeyond Mobile Workforce Manager.

Focusing on small business customers, Cbeyond continues to steadily roll out value-added service for its customers - a trend that also continues to raise ARPU (average revenue per user) and sweeten the company's value.

For more:
- Cbeyond also has a press release [1]