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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
SCANA Teams with Padcom, XcelleNet for Wireless Data Management; Improves Service to Customers
ATLANTA--Oct. 17, 2003--Padcom's TotalRoam Mobile Connectivity Suite and XcelleNet's Afaria deliver all-in-one solution for utility field service across North and South Carolina
Padcom, Inc., an established leader in mobile virtual network solutions for enterprises, and XcelleNet, Inc., the leading provider of management solutions for the front lines of business, today announce that SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG) is implementing a combined solution of Padcom's TotalRoam(R) Mobile Connectivity Suite (MCS) and XcelleNet's Afaria. Leveraging the combined strengths of these products will create a comprehensive wireless data access and management solution for SCANA's major energy subsidiaries, allowing it to support some 325 field-service technicians with real-time access to customer data and the maintenance records for its complex energy network infrastructure.
The customers of SCANA subsidiaries South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) and PSNC Energy depend on the electricity and natural gas that these companies provide. To avoid unnecessary delays in restoring customers' service, company field technicians must be able to evaluate the need for repairs, gather data regarding installations and complete jobs - without having to leave the customer sites. The TotalRoam/Afaria solution seamlessly supports field workers with always-on connectivity and data management and synchronization, providing access to important data as workers roam across disparate wireless networks, traveling between rural and urban service areas.
To help avoid service interruptions, SCE&G and PSNC Energy must constantly perform preventative maintenance on the vast amount of equipment located throughout its service area. These tasks require a reliable, real-time exchange of specific information about customers and equipment. The TotalRoam/Afaria solution ensures that workers will have up-to-the-minute information by enabling seamless roaming between public and private wide area networks and 802.11 hotspots. The solution provides back-office benefits as well as frontline support. Field technicians are able to facilitate information sharing, gain timely access to critical applications and leverage high-speed data transfers with the unparalleled reliability of a seamless solution tailored to their needs. Field service management is able to view and direct all of its frontline activities and IT can manage any platform in the field from a browser, reducing the overall management costs associated with mobile communications.
"The growth in our business has made it imperative that our field employees have immediate access to the information that will help them work more efficiently in the field. This information will allow us to control repair times, lower costs, and improve productivity," said Bill Lamprey, project coordinator, computer aided dispatch of SCANA. "During site visits we made to existing joint customers of Padcom and XcelleNet, we were excited to see that their comprehensive solution delivers data and creates efficiency without adding layers of complexity for field service technicians."
Lamprey continued, "These workers are repairing and maintaining a wide range of sophisticated equipment - they need support tools that will work simply and intuitively. We believe that the combination of Padcom and XcelleNet software provides us with the simple-to-use, high quality solution for meeting our needs."
"Enterprises in the utility industry are finding that effective management of mobile data devices and transparent access to critical information and applications across multiple wireless networks are crucial to making field force workers more productive," said Charles F. Cleary, CEO and president of Padcom, Inc. "TotalRoam brings value to both the utilities and their customers by helping them take advantage of next-generation networks that provide faster data transfers and increased security, while maintaining the value of current investments in both applications and infrastructure."
"XcelleNet is committed to helping enterprises break down the barriers to successful mobile deployments," said Joan Herbig, CEO of XcelleNet. "Organizations need to be assured that frontline workers have the information they need to be engaged and productive, without having to deal with complex technology in the field. We are excited that SCANA has chosen to include Afaria in this solution and look forward to helping them provide the best in field service to the customers that depend on the energy they provide."
About SCANA
SCANA Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Columbia, S.C., is a registered holding company engaged, through subsidiaries, in regulated electric and natural gas utility operations, telecommunications, and other diversified energy-related businesses. The company serves 560,000 electric customers in South Carolina and more than one million natural gas customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Information about SCANA Corporation and its businesses is available on the Company's Web site at www.scana.com.
About Padcom
Padcom is an established leader in providing mobile virtual network solutions to enterprises, enabling wireless data and applications to work seamlessly across multiple networks. Padcom's TotalRoam(R) platform helps clients benefit from advanced wireless functionality such as static IP addressing for next-generation networks with dynamic IP addressing, seamless roaming between dissimilar networks (i.e., IP, non-IP, and wireline), and high-value administrative control over mobile devices and applications. TotalRoam(R) MCS software helps clients overcome the shortcomings of wireless data communication by bridging the gap between wireline and wireless data communication, simplifying information flow, and providing greater control for IT departments.
About TotalRoam(R)
Padcom's TotalRoam(R) MCS is a software platform that helps clients manage all aspects of wireless data communication, from security to the integration of multiple infrastructures to the control over individual applications. TotalRoam(R) enables roaming by creating a mobile virtual network capable of supporting any combination of RF, CDPD, GRPS, and iDEN networks, as well as CDMA 1xRTT, and 802.11 hotspots. The software helps users stay connected to departments' servers and databases, while roaming between dissimilar networks. The mobile virtual network created by TotalRoam(R) MCS enables clients to improve coverage and capacity for enterprises, enabling mobile workers to focus on their job, free from worrying about when and how they will remain connected. For more information, visit Padcom's Web site at www.totalroam.com.
About XcelleNet
XcelleNet delivers success at the Point of Action. More than 2,500 companies worldwide use XcelleNet's frontline management software solutions to achieve success on their front lines, where critical customer-focused activities like sales, field service and retail operations occur. XcelleNet increases worker adoption of frontline solutions by ensuring they are simple to use and always up-to-date, provides visibility to worker activities and experience, and drives frontline action around processes and policies. To deliver solutions worldwide, XcelleNet partners with global leaders such as Microsoft, HP, and Palm. For more information, including case studies on successful customers like Novartis and Blockbuster, visit www.xcellenet.com.
XcelleNet and Afaria are trademarks of XcelleNet, Inc. XcelleNet makes no claims of ownership to all other products and company names mentioned herein which may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Padcom and TotalRoam are registered trademarks of Padcom, Inc. Padcom makes no claims of ownership to all other products and company names mentioned herein which may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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