• New product division Digital Products and Services expands ecom’s portfolio and complements the Mobile Worker Ecosystem
• The Digital Products and Services combine Staging, Mobile Device Management and Device Analytics (among others)
From the IT setup to the user in the field: the use of mobile devices in industrial plants is closely linked to company-wide specifications regarding their configuration, integration into the company network, software, and data security. Ideally, they should be ready for use immediately and updates should be possible just in time. With the new product division Digital Products and Services, the Pepperl+Fuchs brand ecom now offers a solution that provides customer-specific automated staging already during the production of the devices, mobile device management and device analytics. Optionally, it can be used as a fully-fledged Enterprise Mobility Management System (eDS Portal).
Seamless service for mobile devices
ecom’s Digital Products and Services solution offers a seamless service to project and IT managers as well as users of enterprise mobility solutions. As part of this solution, ecom delivers tablets or smartphones such as the Tab-Ex® 02 or the Smart-Ex® 02 directly with the customer-specific configuration secured in a container (no back channel) – on request, worldwide to various locations and end users for immediate use. Likewise, ecom offers to pre-install all security and Wi-Fi settings as well as pre-defined applications for daily use in industrial plants and hazardous areas. This not only enables global rollouts but also makes them considerably faster and more cost-effective. Error-prone manual configurations are a thing of the past, as are different device settings. By establishing an online connection, for instance, all ecom devices can be automatically updated over-the-air with a new configuration. The hosting of cloud servers in Germany complies with the highest data protection standards and ensures the decisive high availability and security of data.
Comprehensive security due to remote device management
In daily industrial use, mobile devices are not only exposed to physical hazards. It must be ensured that the functionality of smartphones and tablets does not suffer from software updates or critical software events. ecom’s Digital Products and Services provide comprehensive features which ensure that mobile devices are always securely operated. With the remote device management functions Device Diagnostics and Device Analytics, for example, the current location and status can be permanently monitored by the company´s IT. Malfunctions can be remedied directly or preventatively, while updates can be carried out during operation. The live visualization of network coverage allows administrators to detect and track critical software events as well as software installations by users. A statistical accumulation of events and correlations can be used to establish causalities – for instance between geographical data, Wi-Fi coverage and software errors.
“ecom’s Digital Products and Services solution offers a seamless service to project and IT managers as well as users of enterprise mobility solutions”
Useful function enhancements
The Digital Products and Services platform also ensures that all devices are of the same quality. Software upgrades as well as functional enhancements are another important advantage. The optional eSENTINEL service can be used as a classic lone worker protection solution with alarm functions. eBARCODE offers a professional software solution for data capturing. Individual user profiles can also be set up. This allows the start and end of the work shift to be displayed, as well as apps, tasks and alarms to be defined, for example if a certain piece of work equipment (e.g. ear protection) is missing. This helps to increase employee productivity and safety.