Sybase Case Study Sample

Cox Communications Inc., the fourth-largest cable provider in the United States, is known for its high capacity, reliable broadband delivery network and its superior customer service. Operating in 22 states, Cox has more than six million customers and over 20,000 employees. Key to its ability to maintain its reputation for superior customer service is its corps of field services representatives.

“Our field services representatives are among our most valuable employees,” explains Jim Jones, Senior IT Project Manager for Mobile Solution Services at Cox. “They are the people who deal directly with our customers on a daily basis. They are really the face of the company to our customers. Our field services representatives are equipped with laptop computers mounted in their vehicles. In all there are approximately 3,500 laptops in use in the field. These units provide the representatives with wireless access to the Cox work order management system and other key applications.”

Until recently, managing, updating, patching and reconfiguring these laptops were done completely manually. “The updating process for the work order management system, which was typically done once or twice a year,” says Jones, “entailed collecting all 3,500 units at depots throughout the country and updating them one-by-one. Generally, an update cycle would take two to five IT staff anywhere from two to four days during which time our field services representatives were forced to revert to a manual, paper-based system. The net impact was reduced productivity and increased overtime – the process had a major, negative impact on our day-to-day operations. Over time, it became increasingly apparent that we had to find a way to automate our laptop management and update processes.”