Service Management System Drives Proactive Information Flow

The Client

Emerson Process Management is the world’s leading supplier of process management products and solutions, including control valves, regulators, transmitters, analyzers, process management systems, software and services. Emerson Process Management provides systems to automate and optimize processes that boost performance results.

The Challenge

Emerson Process Management needed help designing and developing applications based on a distributed architecture design, replicating databases to align Emerson Process Management’s global support staff around a common set of tools. In zCore’s Austin team, Emerson Process Management found an IBM and Lotus Premium Partner with depth of experience in designing solutions and a strong local practice prepared to provide rapid on-site support and responsiveness.

The Approach

Emerson Process Management created a pilot system utilizing a distributed architecture to serve its Call Tracking System and Knowledge Base applications. The applications interfaced to support databases supplying lookup information containing company, contact and contract data; product device information; standards information; and application help data.

The Solution

The Call Tracking Systems databases were based on a common design template to reduce design time for releases and to give users a common operational look and feel. The common look and feel is critical to usability as users access five Call Tracking databases supporting different product families.

The Knowledge Base system publishes technical articles related to product releases, general product information and issues and tips. The databases replicate worldwide hourly via the corporate LAN/WAN, so Knowledge Base articles are supplied to customers globally within hours of their release—using the worldwide Technical Support Internet site coupled with a Domino server. The system also relies on Notes to export Knowledge Base data for hard copy, fax-on-demand, e-mail distribution and conversion for CD distribution. Users can utilize URL links for file downloads from either the Notes client or a Web browser.

The Results

The pilot system was so successful that the applications have now been rolled out world-wide. Global support staff are better able to stay current with technological changes in Emerson Process Management's products, to share data with global peers and to manage customer issues with minimal redundancy and maximum efficiency.

The result: reduced time for call resolution, and better sharing of information with customers to provide them with self-help and data on demand to match their needs. Because of hourly replication in the Call Tracking System and Knowledge Base databases, information is distributed globally in hours as opposed to days, weeks or even months prior to the system's deployment.

From a cost standpoint, legacy call tracking systems are being retired, allowing reduction in associated hardware and software contract costs. The common design template in the new system makes application releases less expensive and faster to roll out across multiple product families. Future Domino web applications are scheduled to take advantage of tighter security, encryption and integration functions in Domino.

“Global support staff are better able to stay current with technological changes in Emerson Process Management’s products, to share data with global peers and to manage customer issues with minimal redundancy and maximum efficiency.”