ARS^®/Rescue Rooter^® is a nationwide network of company-owned locations providing exceptional heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and sewer and drain services to homes and businesses.

Challenge

With its commitment to always providing exceptional service for customers, ARS was looking to expand its fleet of mobile devices—smartphones and tablets to empower its technicians. However before taking the plunge, they wanted to optimize the use of devices already in the field.

They had migrated to VMware’s Workspace ONE unified endpoint management (UEM), but they weren’t benefitting from everything the platform had to offer. “We needed a better way to provide our technicians with the business-critical apps they needed,” explained John Carreno, Vice President, IT Infrastructure & Operations at ARS. “Since all applications were being pushed to all enrolled users, each device had 200+ apps, regardless of whether they were needed or not.”

They were also wanting to expand their capabilities by having sunsetting technicians provide remote support for new techs in the field to extend the knowledge of their experienced personnel. “There’s a big labor gap when it comes to skilled technicians. We want to provide our veteran techs with the opportunity to share their knowledge and continue working but without having to do all the physical stuff,” added Carreno.

Some of ARS’s biggest challenges were:

• Managing their device readiness as their growth accelerated
• Devices overloaded with applications users don’t need
• Lack of a formal device onboarding process
• In-house help desk couldn’t keep up with support demands
• Finding an experienced partner to optimize their setup and workflows

With more than 5,000 technicians—8,500 devices in play—and an UEM solution they knew could do more, ARS realized they needed someone to guide their hand and to verify they were using mobility best practices.

Solution

To get the most out of the investment they already made in Workspace ONE, ARS reached out to Stratix (formerly Vox Mobile) for a Workspace ONE Health Check. “We had a lot of managed mobility service providers to choose from, but we wanted someone who had experience with multiple companies and we wanted it done right the first time,” said Carreno.

The health check included a high-level review of the current state environment, including in-use system resources statistics, log file results, and interviews to understand the company’s UEM goals. Using these insights, the Stratix team was able to identify opportunities for improvement and recommend changes. Impressed by the detail of the report, ARS partnered with Stratix to make those changes. One significant change was setting up roles, profiles, and smart groups to push only the applications each end user needed.

Stratix was also asked to assist in the deployment and prestaging of new devices, supplementing ARS’s in-house resources to support their growing fleet. Stratix pre-kit and shipped devices to ARS’s coast-to-coast branches, ensuring that when a technician receives their device, it’s ready to go.

Result

As the company grows, the insights and help that Stratix provided for optimizing Workspace ONE have enabled ARS to streamline workflows and management of their fleet of devices. User groups were set up in the UEM so users only receive the applications they need for their specific roles, instead of wading through hundreds of apps.

Technicians now have a more efficient workflow, all on their tablets, that makes it easy for them to provide exceptional service. Carreno added, “With everything right there on their tablet, all the components that were once paper and cumbersome, are now automated. They can even use their tablets to show the customer educational videos and reach out to others who may be more experienced to get answers to their questions, all while at the residence. Customers don’t have to wait for answers or get shuffled around.”

Security has also been elevated prohibiting users from downloading unapproved or malicious apps. “Our customers’ information is very sensitive, and we want to keep it secure. With UEM policies, we can ensure our devices are corporate only with no personal apps or information allowed,” said Carreno.

To bridge the skills gaps of new technicians who have the technical skills but may not have the experience that years on the job provide, ARS is looking forward to expanding their tablet capabilities with mentoring opportunities fueled by video chats. This will enable them to expand their reach, their field techs’ capabilities, and empower their more experienced technicians to continue sharing their invaluable knowledge.

Adopting mobile technology is mission-critical for the kinds of services ARS provides. So is the support for all those devices, and a partner who knows mobility inside and out. Carreno added, “We were looking for a long-term partner who could help solve our business mobility challenges, and we found that with [Stratix].”

Learn more about Stratix’s Unified Endpoint Management solutions.