Forcelink Solutions at AMEU Conference and Exhibition 26-27th September, Cape Town CTICC

September 2011, Forcelink Solutions at the AMEU Conference and Exhibition

The Forcelink team will be at Stand 18 at the AMEU conference and exhibition. In addition to showing our customers and friends the Forcelink mobile work management solution we also have some exciting new capabilities for managing incoming alarms from the public, and updating customers on the status of their reported alarms, over multiple channels, so do drop by and see the latest developments.

Forcelink Solutions announces Android version

August 2011, Forcelink Solutions releases Android versions

The Forcelink Solutions mobile workforce management solution is now available for Android, on both mobile phone and tablets. Peter Hellberg, the Forcelink Director responsible for product development, remarked “Being available on a variety of platforms gives our customers maximum flexibility on their field device choices. We are deploying on Symbian, Android 2.2 and Android Honeycomb, and Windows Mobile as well as on Blackberry, and even have a WAP version for very cost conscious users.” The use of larger screen tablet devices in the field has added the capability to view and amend documents such as network diagrams and plans, adding to usability for engineers doing complex work.

Forcelink Solutions wins Johannesburg Roads Agency as customer

July 2011, Forcelink Solutions announces Johannesburg Roads Agency win.

Johannesburg Roads Agency has contracted Forcelink to provision over 100 users for the management of a Smart Pavement Management System, a Smart Way-Leave System and a Smart Bridge Inspection system. JRA required a back-office and mobile system to manage and monitor the three projects separately, and selected Forcelink after a public tender process.

Forcelink will be deployed on a range of devices including Android Tablets and Android and Symbian smartphones, as well as at various back office locations. Speaking about the win, Kennedy Mogotsi, the Forcelink Director under whose guidance the project is being implemented, said “JRA has a specific requirement for a fast roll-out of a mobile solution, and Forcelink met the key requirements of a configurable hosted service catering for large business, with automated workflows, a front-end map displaying work requests, assets, customers, resources and way-leaves and the capability to send photos from mobile devices to the front end map from the field. We believe the Forcelink solution will greatly increase field effectiveness for JRA, ultimately improving customer service. Our on-demand subscriber model means the customer can use the software as required, without dedicated hardware or support or fixed licence charges, thus reducing costs”.

Forcelink Solutions launches a Windows Mobile 6.1 version of the JAVA Mobile Work Management System

19th May 2010, Forcelink Solutions launches a Windows Mobile 6.1 version of the JAVA Mobile Work Management System.

With the launch of Forcelink version 1.6.6, Forcelink Solutions introduces the first version of the JAVA Mobile Work Management System for Windows Mobile 5, 6 and 6.1. This version of Forcelink will provide Windows Mobile users with all of the rich functionality that the Symbian OS users have enjoyed for over two years, such as GPS tracking, taking and linking photographs to work orders and inspections, and barcode scanning with specific devices such as the Motorola MC75, and others.

Forcelink uses the IBM J9 (also known as WEME) JVM (Java Virtual Machine) to execute on the Windows Mobile platform. This JVM is robust, well supported and cost effective, and provides good performance and a very user-friendly GUI. In particular, the J9 GUI provides an excellent combination of touch screen and key-driven navigation. Support for the Windows API’s and specialized hardware is added to the JVM, so the actual Forcelink executable is exactly the same as the one that runs on Symbian, simplifying version control and testing.

Although the need for the Windows Mobile version of Forcelink came about as a result of specific client requirements to run Forcelink on the Motorola MC75, this version will also run on any mobile phone using the Windows OS, such as HTC and Samsung.

Forcelink is a mobile workforce management system that allows any organisation to issue work electronically to their field staff and receive updates from the field via a standard WAP enabled mobile phone. Forcelink links quotations and invoices to work orders to improve revenue collection and perform accurate costing.

Forcelink was designed for both small and larger organisations , which wish to replace paperwork between the back office and the field workforce with an electronic workflow process, and will deliver savings and productivity improvements to both alike.

Forcelink is SaaS (Software as a Service) - a fully hosted solution, making it extremely simple to implement and get started - all that is required is an internet connection, web browser, and mobile phones for the field staff. The product is very user configurable, allowing a wide variety of businesses to customise the application to their specific needs.

Forcelink is ideally suited for organisations that do any form of field work over large geographical areas. Typical industries include: Utilities, Telecoms, Public Works, Facilities Management, Roadside Assistance, Glass Fitting, Couriers, Plant Hire, Contractors, Plumbing and Maintenance Management companies - to mention just a few.

The Motorola MC70 Mobile Computer is a rugged handheld mobile device that incorporates a mobile phone, PDA, computer and scanner in a single unit designed for everyday usage.

Forcelink and Map Genie in the Irish Times

30 March 2010

Forcelink Solutions launches partnership with Ordnance Survey Ireland

30 March 2010, Forcelink has announced a partnership with Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Irish state mapping agency. OSi will promote the Forcelink mobile work management software to its customer base, with an early focus on the SME sector. In future, OSi and Forcelink also intend to promote the Forcelink solution for larger customers with a specific requirement to view geo-referenced assets on OSi map data on mobile phones.

Paul Ryan of Forcelink commented "we are delighted to work closely with the OSi, with their huge knowledge and reach in Ireland. We are excited about the benefits that Forcelink can bring to both the SME sector and the biggest digital mapping users in the country. The ability to identify work and resources on digital mapping, and report on progress in real time, provide routing on mapping, all using standard mobile phones and the internet is hugely compelling for businesses. This is enterprise level software functionality, but on a "pay as you go" basis, so users can really see the benefits, both in their operations and commercially."

Forcelink Solutions press coverage in Ireland

13 January 2010, Forcelink was featured in the Irish Independent, Ireland's largest daily newspaper. As a member of the SmallBusinessCan network, supported by Ulster Bank, Forcelink's innovative business approach was highlighted as a model for SME's to follow. Forcelink will feature in the Better Business bootcamp sessions in Ireland during the coming months.

Paul Ryan, co-founder and director of software start-up Forcelink, says he has never come across an obstacle yet that somebody else has not come across and succeeded in getting through.

“Not being part of a large corporate and taking on a new journey as a relatively small company can be lonely. Simply putting the word out that you need help on something – as well as offering help – helps to minimise challenges,” he says.

Forcelink supplies mobile work-management software to companies that have people deployed in the field.

Forcelink Solutions announces the appointment of 7 new resellers around the world.

17th November 2008, Dublin Ireland, In an aggressive drive to expand into other markets, Forcelink Solutions have appointed 7 new resellers – two in Ireland, one in the UK, one in the USA, two in South Africa, and one in Mauritius. “Our business is a volumes business that requires a far reaching approach which we believe can only be achieved in the short term through the appointment of key local resellers that both understand the local market and have a well established footprint in these markets. We were very selective in our approach to appointing the resellers by ensuring that we appointed organisations that are respected and well regarded within their regions. Our primary objective is to initially expand into the English speaking markets, and then in the near future localise the product for other non English speaking markets” stated Mr. Joao Zoio, Forcelink Solutions Director.

Due to the fact that Forcelink is a hosted solution that is developed and supported from a central location, the role of the resellers is primarily a sales and account management role. For this reason, the process of appointing new resellers and training them up to be able to hit the ground running is a lot easier. Forcelink Solutions is continuously looking for new resellers and expects that new appointments will be made on a monthly basis.

Forcelink Solutions launches version 1.4 of their flagship Forcelink product.

3rd November 2008, Dublin Ireland, Forcelink Solutions today announced the release of Forcelink Version 1.4. The new version introduces several key new features, including the ability to issue quotations to the field for estimation, and the ability to create addresses, customers, work requests, quotations and work orders from the Google map view. In addition, Forcelink Java Mobile has been released, which allows Forcelink to track users using their GPS enabled phones and automatically calculate mileage costs per workorder, and allows field users to continue with their work when out of cellular network coverage.

Forcelink version 1.4 adds several key new features to the popular Forcelink Mobile Workforce Management product. The new version makes extensive use of Google Maps functionality, enhancing usability for users and delivering genuine business benefits from spatial enablement. Product Development Director Peter Hellberg summarised the philosophy as follows: “For years, workforce management systems have offered spatial functionality as an add-on, but users have been slow to take advantage of these features either because they were poorly integrated into the overall workflow of such products, or the data collection and maintenance requirements have been too onerous relative to the operational benefits derived. With the Google Maps ™ platform, management of background map data is no longer the responsibility of the client, and the excellent performance of the maps over the web makes it a pleasure to work with. By seamlessly integrating all the essential back-office functions of Forcelink into the Google Maps view, and having minimal spatial data pre-requisites to use the maps operationally, we have made the map display a central part of the Forcelink back-office front-end, enabling our subscribers to improve their operations with optimised dispatching and routing of field resources.”

The Forcelink Java Mobile application has also been released with version 1.4. The Forcelink Java Mobile application introduces Resource Tracking via GPS and off-line capabilities, as well as ease of use and superior performance, as well as all the functionality currently available on the WAP version. In addition, it can perform user notification without using SMS’s, further reducing Forcelink’s already low communications costs. The Forcelink development team has gone to great lengths to ensure that the application is compatible with as many models of mobile phone as possible. While the application is primarily aimed at higher-end phones with GPS capability, it will run on phones as cheap as 70 Euro, and delivers superior functionality and performance to the WAP alternative. GPS enabled phones are already far cheaper than existing mobile computing platforms, and rapidly coming down in price, with prices expected to fall below 200 Euro in the near future. Forcelink Solutions will continue to take full advantage of the fast paced mobile technology to further improve its mobile functionality.