Connecting Anytime Anywhere

Siemens Enterprise Networks, a division of Siemens

Information and Communication Networks, is a global giant in converged business

communications solutions. The company has a "pro-mobility" philosophy

of empowering employees to work anywhere, anytime - both within and outside of

the corporate campus. By using wireless notebooks outfitted with the latest

Intel mobile processors, a secure wireless local area network (WLAN) and

innovative collaboration technologies like VoIP, employees work more

productively, collaborate more effectively and have greater job satisfaction.

The Task



In 2001, Siemens Enterprise Networks moved one of its US headquarters to a

300,000 sqft facility, which they named Skyport, in San Jose, California. The

vision was to build the campus of the future, and that meant giving employees

the flexibility to move around freely, instead of being tethered to their desks.

In addition, Siemens employees often travel around the country and need to stay

connected when on the road. And telecommuters need to be as productive at home

as in the office. So, to truly realize the benefits of mobility, Siemens needed

to provide their workforce with wireless access to data, applications and voice

communications from virtually any location.

The Solution



Connecting Anytime, Anywhere with Notebooks and a WLAN: Notebooks with Intel

mobile processors have long been the corporate standard at Siemens Enterprise

Networks. Of the 800 employees at Skyport, approximately 80% have

wirelessly-enabled, Intel-powered notebooks. This is critically important,

because employees need thinner, lighter notebooks that deliver wireless

capabilities and high performance and that are enabled for extended battery

life.

The second aspect of the solution was designing, piloting and

installing a WLAN (which works as an extension to their wired network) based on

the 802.11b standard. The implementation is safe and more secure, and it took

only three months to design and deploy the WLAN, including choosing technologies

and coverage areas.

With these solutions in place, Siemens employees in any

Skyport location can use their notebooks for mission-critical Tasks-responding

to e-mail, launching business applications, retrieving files, even making and

taking phone calls-as easily as if they were sitting at their desks.

Joan Vandermate, vice president of product management

platforms, explains the business value of all this access. "Without a

doubt, wireless mobile computing gives Siemens a competitive advantage. It keeps

us connected, helps us work faster and makes us more efficient."

Wireless Enabled Office: The Skyport headquarters was

designed to encourage collaboration and freedom of movement. There are many

comfortable open spaces, such as conference rooms with upholstered furniture,

break rooms on each floor and a public courtyard. Employees are welcome to take

their notebooks and work wherever they like in groups or on their own.

According to Vandermate, Siemens employees have so strongly

embraced mobility that "it's rare at any given moment to find people in

their offices." It's almost as if the Siemens culture is built around

wireless, allowing employees connected via a WLAN to be untangled by cables as

they move from one location to another.

Vandermate speaks for many others when she describes how a

wireless notebook increases her productivity, particularly when used with

Siemens VoIP phone application. "I'm typically in meetings from 7:00 am

to 3:00 pm. Having e-mail and phone access on my laptop helps me keep up with

messages throughout the day, so when I'm back in my office, I can focus on

actual work instead of on catching up."

Ulrich Schnitzler, a group manager in product sales, agrees

that the combination of voice and data access makes wireless mobility especially

beneficial. "With VoIP and my wireless notebook, it's like I carry my

desk phone wherever I go. I'm much more productive, because I always have

access to the resources I need. For example, I can dial any of the over 400,000

employees just by clicking on a button."

Road Warriors Stay Connected: The WLAN makes it easy

for employee to to manage all their responsibilities. Brad Chapin is a product

sales manager who spends a fair amount of time on the road. "When I'm at

another Siemens office, I sit at any available desk. With my wireless notebook,

I can immediately get to work." And when Chapin and other employees are in

public places like coffee shops and airports, they can access the WLAN through

public wireless hot spots. Chapin finds high-speed Internet access is a boon to

productivity when he's working a trade show, because "whenever I've got

a free minute, I can use optiClient to participate in conference calls and

respond to voice mails and emails. Sometimes the whole hallway is scattered with

people getting their work done."

For Vandermate, using a notebook with an Intel® mobile

processor and integrated wireless has ensured wireless access when traveling.

"My old mobile PC had two slots, but I had three cards - one for my

modem, one for the Ethernet and one for wireless. I constantly had to plug and

unplug cards and often ended up not using the wireless one at all."

A Better Work-life Balance: Vandermate notes,

"The reality is that sometimes you need to handle personal matters like

childcare and elder care during the day. Wireless mobile computing enables our

employees to work from home whenever necessary, and that allows them a better

quality of life."

"Most of us telecommute at least some of the time,"

says Schnitzler. "With access at my home, I have the same advantages that I

do in the office. I can work in various rooms and be reachable anywhere."

Improved Collaboration Worldwide Offers



Financial Benefits: Using wireless notebooks on the WLAN facilitates

real-time communication across distant locations. "My team works with

people in San Jose, Boca Raton, Florida, two sites in Germany and a site in the

UK," says Vandermate. "We always use our notebooks for online

conference calls with our European counterparts." And it's not just a

matter of convenience. Siemens has found repeatedly that wireless mobility

speeds decision-making, enabling people to respond to one another within

minutes, and giving them online access to the data they need to close issues.

"The ability to make decisions in real time saves us development

cycles," says Vandermate. "And development cycles equate to dollars in

our industry." Schnitzler points out that using wireless notebooks for

conference calls offers hard dollar savings as well. "I can do

international calls from home or the office without paying long-distance

charges. That definitely saves Siemens money when you consider the number of

people using the WLAN."

Over time, Siemens Enterprise Networks expects to see even

greater productivity benefits from its WLAN, thanks to emerging advances in

wireless technologies. Intel is one of the market leaders making this possible,

and Vandermate describes why Siemens always take advantage of the best Intel has

to offer. "The new Intel mobile technology brings together lighter weight,

more compact cases, extended battery life, performance and integrated

functionality like wireless. All of those things together combine to make our

jobs easier and make us more efficient."

The case study is sourced from www.mobileenterprise.org

The Mobile Enterprise Alliance (MEA), a global advocacy group promoting the

business benefits of workforce mobility to enterprise end users and decision

makers