In just a few years, the public transportation company, FlixMobility and its brands FlixBus and FlixTrain, have become synonymous with efficient, innovative mobility with an excellent price-performance ratio. The company, which has numerous local partners throughout Europe, started its operations in the United States in 2018. From the beginning, FlixMobility has regarded mobility as a phenomenon that is not limited to road and rail transportation, but also encompasses the digital transformation of work. In 2013, FlixMobility launched its own mobile app enabling customers to book tickets, view timetables, and even find out what the next stop is. It has since further expanded its mobile-first strategy, which benefits both passengers and 7,000 bus drivers, as well as a large number of customer service attendants at the bus and train stations. By the end of 2018, FlixMobility was using more than 2,500 Android mobile devices that support the modern enterprise. The long-distance transport innovator has been using MobileIron’s unified endpoint management platform since the end of 2017, which serves as the foundation of modern mobile work in the transportation sector. Mobile information for drivers, check-in staff, and customers Bus drivers and station attendants use mobile devices in Android Kiosk mode, mainly for check-in and to communicate with management. The centralized mobile functions operate on two FlixBus apps, one for customers and the other for drivers and terminal employees. The driver app has the following functions:

• Checking in customers

• Viewing passenger lists

• Viewing timetables

• Booking tickets (on site by driver)

• Checking in additional bags (on site by driver)

• Checking in bicycles (on site by driver)

• Recording any lost property

The FlixBus passenger app offers the following services:

• Booking tickets

• Checking in extra bags

• Checking in bicycles

• Storing booked tickets

• Providing stop information

• Monitoring routes in real time

Monitoring routes in real time is currently being piloted on various European routes. In addition, the FlixBus driver app now allows the driver to connect the mobile device to a bus’s linkbox, so that the bus and the drive route are connected automatically in the system. This makes a number of operational control processes considerably easier. Manual configuration was expensive and time-consuming In recent years, FlixMobility has started new partnerships with large numbers of transit companies and individual drivers. Its network and mobile IT architectures had expanded rapidly, and it was no longer feasible to register drivers’ phones manually, which was expensive, time-consuming, and error-prone. MobileIron significantly reduces administrative costs FlixMobility needed a pre-configured management solution for mobile devices used by drivers and station staff. With MobileIron in place, the company can now automatically download user profiles to smartphones. The profiles vary somewhat from one region to another, but, generally, the FlixBus app and the FlixBus driver app are accessible in kiosk mode, along with apps for business calls and real-time communication. “MobileIron’s solution enabled us to tailor access management, security settings, and other administrative processes on mobile devices to the employees’ profiles, and it was almost entirely automated” says, Stefan Tontsch, Vice President of Operations at FlixMobility Experience. “It’s easy to load the profiles with settings on all devices before sending them to drivers or station staff. Pre-configuring the devices has significantly reduced our error rates and the number of helpdesk calls.” How the company reduces helpdesk calls:

• Using standard profiles on mobile devices, which increases their stability

• Using MobileIron’s remote diagnostic capabilities to resolve problems more quickly and less costly

The user interface is simpler, which means that users make fewer mistakes, lowering maintenance costs. With centralized management, employees no longer need to update their devices individually, saving time.

Since 1996, O2 care services has been a leader in providing quality household cleaning, childcare, assistance for the elderly and disabled, gardening and other home services. Headquartered in Le Mans, France, O2 maintains a workforce of 14,000 care workers and 320 offices that serve more than 60,000 clients across France. With the growing demand for home care services, O2 needed a way to improve efficiency across its distributed workforce. Although O2 enabled care workers and business employees to use mobile devices for planning and time collection, the company lacked a way to enroll, configure, and manage the devices. Devices had to be delivered to IT and then IT admins had to manually configure and update devices and distribute to all employees, which was a time-consuming and inefficient process. In addition, care workers relied on a mobile app with basic functionality that required them to physically visit local offices in order to update or troubleshoot the app, which took valuable time away from serving clients.
To streamline device configuration and mobile productivity for task workers, O2 chose MobileIron for its industry-leading unified endpoint management (UEM) platform. With MobileIron and zero-touch enrollment (ZTE), O2 has been able to accelerate device configuration and deployment because admins can now provision devices over the air with no manual intervention or user action required. In addition, MobileIron enables IT admins to administer and update new versions of secure mobile apps through the MobileIron enterprise app store. This allows all 14,000 care workers to quickly open the apps they need to access job information and update case files. Mobile knowledge workers can also use secure devices and apps to collaborate faster and more seamlessly wherever they work.

MobileIron Cloud accelerates mobile device management
O2 wanted an easier way to configure 14,000 Android devices for home care workers, and office workers. The goal was to simplify device provisioning and app distribution from a comprehensive UEM platform that could scale with the growth of the company.
“When I joined the company, my goal was to help make our device provisioning process as fast and efficient as possible because the supply lead time was too long and our IT admins were spending too much time configuring, managing, and delivering devices,” said Chadi Mraghni, CIO of O2 care services. “I knew we needed a UEM provider that could scale to support a large Android deployment, which is why we chose MobileIron Cloud. Plus, using cloud-based UEM we don’t have to maintain or upgrade on-premises hardware to scale with our business needs.”
O2 uses MobileIron Cloud to set up thousands of company-owned Android devices configured with Android Enterprise. Zero-touch enrollment through Android and MobileIron allows mobile workers to start using their devices right away, without any tedious setup required.
“By provisioning devices through MobileIron Cloud, we’ve been able to reduce the number of admins needed to manage devices, which allows IT staff to spend more of their time on other strategic tasks. We’ve also reduced setup time in local offices by 10-15 minutes per device, which is a tremendous time and costs savings when you multiply that by thousands of devices,” said Chadi Mraghni.

Secure mobile apps help care workers focus on clients, not technology
With MobileIron, O2 has been able to deploy, configure, and secure corporate apps on devices through Managed Google Play. For example, each care worker’s device is configured with “O2 and Me,” a company app that supports multiple functions. The app gives care workers the client address, instructions on how to access the client’s home, and details about the job request. Additionally, timekeeping is fast and efficient because the worker can simply scan the client’s QR code they receive when signing up with O2, which instantly starts tracking the care worker’s time in the home from start to finish. Capturing the data on the app gives the back office access in order to simplify the invoices and payroll process. Care workers can also use O2 and Me to view several weeks of jobs in advance so they can plan accordingly. Updates are added in real time, so the worker can find out about schedule changes or cancellations ahead of time.

Simplified security and compliance
In addition to improving device management and productivity, O2 has greatly simplified the security of its devices everywhere. For example, when two employee devices were stolen and sold to a pawn shop, unauthorized users couldn’t access corporate apps or client information because the devices had been reported as stolen and remotely locked down by IT.
Because of MobileIron’s built-in device and app security features, O2 is able to meet compliance requirements for regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that set certain requirements for protecting personal data on mobile devices.

Looking ahead: Expanding secure mobile apps to clients
In the future, O2 is looking to develop a client-facing application that can be securely deployed and managed through MobileIron.
“Our goal is to fully leverage all of the capabilities available to us through the MobileIron platform,” said Mraghni. “With MobileIron, we’ve achieved tremendous gains in efficiency and productivity across our IT and care worker teams, and we look forward to extending that mobile experience to our clients.”

Snap-on Business Solutions (SBS) is a division of Snap-on Incorporated, a leading global innovator, manufacturer and marketer of tools, equipment, diagnostics, repair information, and systems solutions for professional users performing critical tasks. The company’s products and services include hand and power tools, tool storage, diagnostics software, information and management systems, shop equipment, and other solutions for vehicle dealerships and repair centers, as well as for customers in various industries. Founded in 1920, Snap-on Incorporated is a $3.2 billion, S&P 500 Company headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with regional offices across the globe. When SBS wanted to help its OEM Customers offer better service to their Dealers, the company launched a mobile device program managed with a MobileIron enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution. By providing Dealers with MobileIron-secured iOS devices, SBS has helped them increase sales opportunities and provide better service while streamlining tedious, time-consuming business processes.

Bringing Customer Service to the Palm of the Hand Automotive, Agricultural and Motorcycle Manufacturers rely on Snap-on Business Solutions (SBS) to help them reach Dealers and their customers in new ways and sell them the parts and service they need, exactly when they need them. SBS’s Hardware, Sales and Distribution, Support and Warranty Solutions include:

• Electronic Vehicle Health Check

• Diagnostics

• Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC)

• Retail Solutions

SBS helped to remove the barriers between Dealers and their customers by deploying technology and services at the fingertips of the Dealerships providing all of the tools needed to support the buying market. Seeking to expand its ability to make original equipment manufacturer (OEM) services available exactly where they’re needed, SBS has embraced the trend towards mobile device usage. SBS knows that technicians, engineers, sales and service advisors can deliver the quality service expected to their customers using tablet devices, within seconds and from the palm of their hand. Dealerships can book appointments, send pictures and videos directly to the customer, complete vehicle health checks, perform diagnostics and even order parts! No more time consuming telephone calls or printed paperwork, which ultimately means increasing their chances of customer satisfaction are far greater. “We envisioned providing our OEM customers and their Dealerships with a range of suitable tablet devices from which they can use their own or Snap-on provided applications to deliver a range of services to their end customer,” explains Maria Stewart, Programme-Project Manager, Snap-on Business Solutions. “But along with the convenience of every mobile device comes the threat of losing data.” Realizing that it would need a reliable way of securing the tablet devices it issued to Dealerships, Snap-on looked for a solution that offered OEMs a cost effective global licensing model, whilst providing scalability and the highest level of data security. With their global customer base, Snap-on’s priority was to ensure data protection legislation and security requirements could be met and delivered across the globe, even in regions that had complex legal data requirements and challenges. SBS began evaluating the leading EMM solutions on the market. With the guidance of its technology consulting partner, Qolcom, SBS chose to do a hosted Cloud implementation of MobileIron. “With MobileIron, it was more than just the ability to secure devices and data,” recalls Maria. “Our business saw MobileIron as a solution that would enable us to deliver more value to our customers, and to build out a robust mobile app strategy over time, supporting future OEM development.”

Dealerships Use Mobile to Earn Trust of Customers As SBS works with dealerships and other clients across the globe, the company is constantly looking for ways to help these clients offer a better customer experience at a lower cost. SBS’s clients in the automotive, agricultural and motorcycle industry are especially concerned about presenting an honest, reliable image to their customers. By using SBS’s tablet devices and deployed applications, they can provide customers with value-added services without having to worry about device security. “SBS recently launched a vehicle health check solution across Europe that allows automotive dealerships to use an iPad device to report to customers a color-coded list of areas examined,” says Maria. “Red items require an immediate fix, while green items are OK. By evidencing the list of issues, immediately via email, the technician can obtain fast approval from the customer to complete repairs while they have the car in the shop. This program allows dealers to show transparency and build credibility with their customers while also increasing revenue and productivity.” Other solutions run on Panasonic tablet devices allowing Dealers to perform a large range of functionalities, from ordering products to performing OEM specific vehicle diagnostics. Mobile devices are fast assisting within the industry to make life easier for Dealers and SBS is equipped to support the changes in technology. “Going mobile with MobileIron is all about helping things work better at our clients’ sites,” says Maria. “Previously, Dealer interactions with their customers relied heavily around paperwork. Everything had to be rekeyed into a computer at some point, and if you lost the paperwork, you probably lost a sales opportunity too. Today, processes happen seamlessly, and we’re giving dealerships far more chances to enhance their customer relationships and interactions.”

Better Mobile Program, Better Vendor As SBS continues to grow its business throughout Europe, the company will rely on MobileIron Docs@Work to help it maximize the value it provides to clients. Docs@Work enables SBS clients to distribute documents efficiently to their own customers from within SBS deployed apps, covering multiple languages to meet our customers’ needs. “When OEMs are sending out documents in different languages to dealerships in many different countries, it can be tough to make sure they are distributed at the same time,” explains Maria. “MobileIron Docs@Work is much more reliable than email. We can easily see who has received and read documents and can keep OEMs informed, which makes their lives easier.” SBS supports the dealership of the future in which automobile dealerships can hand customers a secure tablet and let them visualize their car with different accessories or colors. Thanks to MobileIron, these clients will never have to worry about device security as they deploy their iPads. “Launching our mobile programs on MobileIron has made us a better vendor to our clients,” says Maria. “We are continually expanding our licenses due to the success and increasing usage of the solution. Most of our OEM customers see SBS as a one-stop shop, providing their Dealers with and end-to-end solution.” SBS’s partnership with Qolcom not only resulted in SBS selecting the best-fit EMM solution for its needs, but also helps the company continue to exceed the expectations of its OEM clients. "Qolcom have proven to be a reliable and supportive partner over the years,” concludes Maria. “From their extensive knowledge and thought leadership shown during the pre-sales and setup process, to the quality and depth of support. Allowing SBS to shape our projects to deliver cost efficient solutions to our customers, they have been an asset to us. We have found their configuration and deployment services invaluable in deploying a large number of devices at scale, and in managing our break-fix and warranties with our mobile customers."