It sought a solution that would allow employees to access corporate information directly from an iPad when out of the office and successfully deployed the devices by using the Cortado Corporate Server.

BayNODE, a local IT consulting firm, tested solutions and advised the real estate company on its options. Initially, remote access to virtual desktops was tried. However, the solution did not work well with iPads. In addition, a container solution presented challenges, as information would ultimately be stored everywhere else, such as in the cloud.

The consultant firm was familiar with Cortado through previous BlackBerry experience in the industry, and after researching similar solutions, BayNODE decided on the Cortado Corporate Server. Wilson Meany began with a 30-day demo. The project duration from demo to live was between six and eight weeks.

According to the firm, the installation was relatively seamless, with the server support team answering any question from the consultant's technical team. The main challenge related to Wilson Meany's STMP connector.

Security issues were a concern but for this projects, so additional measures were taken to keep the devices and network secure. BayNODE exposed the shared marketing drive only to the marketing field team.

Results

The Wilson Meany marketing team, working in remote locations, have used iPad 2s and iPad 3s, running on the AT&T network, since early 2012. This group has secure access to a marketing share drive to upload and save documents directly from their iPads. This drive is only open to this team of field users.

Employees can now show customers floor plans, building and office layouts, images and agreements, immediately without having to return to the office to retrieve such information. In addition, they can store Microsoft Office files on their shared drive on the corporate network and access updated files.

"It's great to be able to access corporate files with a single click while working in the field where demand for quick response is mission critical," said Cem Kursunoglu, president and CEO, BayNODE. "Cortado's solution ensures this functionality."

The marketing team also employs a scan-to-PDF solution which allows a user to take pictures via the iPad camera. The app automatically scans and converts the document to a PDF, which can then be stored, emailed or printed. In addition, the marketing team uses Web Capture which saves webpages as
PDFs.

Increased Productivity

Wilson Meany has seen a dramatic increase in user productivity when on site and in the field. "The solution has had a positive impact on project delivery times," said Kursunoglu. "Managers are now able to move their project related tasks at faster speeds which in the end affects positively on the company's general business activities."

Live access to solutions also impacts customer perception of the company, as employees appear more innovative and advanced when using the newest technologies for quick answers to customer questions.

With a successful solution in place, Wilson Meany is increasing iPad usage and is hoping that by the end of the year the initiative will extend well beyond the marketing team.