Customer Solution Case Study
/ SAS Group Sees 20 Percent Faster Mobile Phone Performance and Enhances Security
“I connected the Windows® phone with Windows Mobile 6.5 to the network, synchronized my data in a couple of minutes, and was up and running.”
Claes Norrman, Director of IT Infrastructure, SAS Group
The SAS Group is evaluating new HTC Windows® phones with Windows Mobile® 6.5 to enhance communications for its flight crews. The increased responsiveness and easier navigation of the new user interface deliver up to 20 percent faster performance. Also, the ability to centrally manage Windows® phones with Microsoft® System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 enhances security, which will support new applications to further improve crew efficiency.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published October 2009
Business Needs
The SAS Group is the largest airline group in Scandinavia, and its SAS Scandinavian Airlines subsidiary is one of the most punctual major European carriers. Scandinavian Airlines has consistently maintained a strong record for on-time arrivals. For example, in June, July, and August 2009, it achieved a 92.65 percent on-time record—the best of all leading European carriers.
Some of the credit for its punctuality goes to a range of customer services such as Internet and Short Message Service check-in, the ability to print boarding passes before arriving at the airport, and Fast Track security. Even more critical is the efficiency of SAS Group flight crews and technicians. To support that efficiency, approximately 2,000 crew members carry smartphones with the Windows Mobile® 6.1 operating system. If the flight crew members encounter any issues during the preflight checks, they can immediately connect to technicians through a group conference number and quickly resolve problems.
The airline wants to further improve efficiency by providing crew members with access to a mobile portal where, in addition to presence information and conferencing, they will access schedules and other flight-related news. It also seeks to equip its 1,500 administrative users—currently using smartphones with Windows Mobile 6.1—with faster mobile Internet access and more productive Internet navigation tools.
The SAS Group also wants to eventually make it possible for the crew members to check in for flights through their smartphones. This would allow them to go directly from home to the plane and thus help to further enhance on-time flight goals.
Solution
In July 2009, Claes Norrman, Director of IT Infrastructure for the SAS Group, started evaluating the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system on an HTC Touch Diamond2 phone. He used the Windows® phone for both business and personal calling, e-mail, Internet access, and other tasks, including a travel management application.
Because the SAS Group uses Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® to synchronize its mobile devices with users’ Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 mailboxes, moving to the new phone was easy. “I connected the Windows® phone with Windows Mobile 6.5 to the network, synchronized my data in a couple of minutes, and was up and running,” says Norrman.
In September 2009, the airline started testing a mobile “Crew Services” portal built on Internet Information Services 7.0. “When the portal is launched, crew members will be able to easily keep up with their schedules, check flights, and change flights using their Windows® phones no matter where they are,” says Norrman.
SAS plans to evaluate Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, which will allow crew members to quickly locate and communicate with each other using real-time presence information and instant messaging.
The SAS Group is also testing Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 to manage its Windows® phones along with the client computers in its IT infrastructure. “Management and security are big reasons why we chose Windows® phones,” says Norrman. “With System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, we have all the security features in a managed way, which is going to especially benefit the Crew Services portal and eventually allow crew members to check in for flights using their phones and save several minutes per flight.”
The SAS Group expects to immediately upgrade some of its existing phones to Windows Mobile 6.5 and gradually upgrade the rest as part of the company’s normal refresh cycle.
Benefits
The SAS Group has found that Windows® phones with Windows Mobile 6.5 help increase efficiency through faster performance, easier connectivity, simpler management, and improved security.
· Up to 20 percent faster performance. The HTC Touch Diamond2 Windows® phone and the new Internet Explorer® Mobile 6 Web browser in Windows Mobile 6.5 help to expedite Internet navigation. “The new user interface in Windows Mobile 6.5 is much more responsive to finger touches, and the performance seems to be about 20 percent faster,” says Norrman.
· More information at a glance. Additional user interface improvements such as the updated Start Screen and the new Today Screen make it easier for Norrman to get to the most critical applications and information with a finger tap. “With Windows Mobile 6.5, I can get all of my most important information in one view,” says Norrman.
· Enhanced security, less management time. With System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, administrators can quickly set and control security policies for the company’s Windows® phones using the Active Directory® service and Group Policy. They can also remotely wipe the device if it is lost or stolen. In addition, SAS developers can easily extend line-of-business applications to mobile devices. “By standardizing on the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, we have a choice of phones,” says Norrman. “But we only have to develop for one software environment.”
· Increased efficiency. Windows Mobile 6.5 works with Exchange Server 2007 to further enhance productivity through improved calendar access and faster address lookups with the improved nickname cache feature. In addition, the SAS Group expects that the support for mobile portal applications in Windows Mobile 6.5 will further improve crew efficiency.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published October 2009