Sun's Enabling the Mobile Enterprise (EME) solution has been selected and deployed by European energy services provider Dalkia to increase the productivity and effectiveness of field services engineers through the optimization of work processes. Project HOLD (Handheld Operating Linked Data) used PDAs and wireless communications to Dalkia's back-office, allowing field services engineers remote access to planning and electronic reporting as well as enabling the company to optimize heating/cooling systems. The deployment represents one of the largest live GPRS mobile application deployments in Europe.

"The EME solution is particularly well designed to significantly lower the traffic generated on the GPRS network, and therefore considerably reduces recurring telecommunication operational costs," said Damien Bonte, director of Project HOLD, Dalkia. "The modular approach to this solution provides over-the-air distribution mechanisms of wireless mobile modules, which significantly reduces maintenance costs by updating PDAs remotely."

Sun's EME solution relies on the Sun JavaTM Enterprise System - specifically the Sun JavaTM Application Server, Sun JavaTM Directory Server and Sun JavaTM System Message Queue - together with the XML software from Eliad Technologies. This EME solution acts as a middleware layer, relaying the exchanges and requests between mobile handsets and the back-office, and integrating them in a secure manner through JDBCTM, JCA or web services. The EME solution is also independent from the telecommunications architecture so technicians can synchronize data using GPRS, UMTS, WiFi or even a sync cradle.

Dalkia selected this Sun solution for the design, development, deployment and integration of mobile applications. Dalkia also chose Sun due to the openness of JavaTM technology meaning the company's mobile applications can be deployed on any Java compliant mobile device on the market, such as Pocket PCs, Palms and Blackberrys.

"EME is an open and evolving solution built on industry standards (JavaTM Platform, Micro Edition, JavaTM Platform, Enterprise Edition), XML, LDAP)," explained Fabrice Jean, director of Information Systems, Project HOLD, Dalkia, "This solution provides direct access to the back office, without requiring embedded or middleware databases. We chose this solution because it was quick to setup. It integrates a graphical design tool to build mobile applications, based on a RAD (Rapid Application Development) concept."

With direct connectivity to the company's management and operational systems, the capabilities of Dalkia's engineers has been significantly enhanced, allowing them to undertake a wider range of customer service functions directly on-site. These include preventative maintenance and on-site energy management such as meter readings, tests and optimization using advanced algorithms, historical weather data and corrective maintenance and repairs. It also enables more effective procurement and order tracking from the remote site.

"In an ever-more mobile world, Sun has long advocated that wireless technologies will simply become an important delivery channel for services and content, as location-and-time independence becomes mandatory, not optional," said Darrell Jordan-Smith, vice president of Global Telecommunications, Sun. "Any time, anywhere, any device, has been one of our mission statements for some years. The EME solution now endorsed by Dalkia is a realization of Sun's service-driven network model, which shifts the focus from the underlying technology and the network infrastructure to the resulting services and benefits to customers." [...read more...]

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