School Board Gains Access to Mission-Critical Systems with BlackBerry-based Applications

Many school boards can relate to the dilemma of trying to deliver exceptional services on

a conservative budget – especially when it comes to keeping up with technology. Miami-

Dade’s forward-thinking IT group decided that, even though the budget didn’t allow them

to replace a legacy IBM mainframe environment, they could provide wireless access to

essential systems to substantially improve school district operations.

In 2002, 150 BlackBerry® devices were introduced as an emergency response mechanism

for school principals and the IT team. As they began migrating to the BlackBerry Enterprise

Server™ v4.0, the school investigated new ways of extending the use of BlackBerry. They

discovered that their principals could have remote access to mainframe systems for payroll,

personnel records and purchase orders with Mobile3270, an application from Conceivium

Business Solutions.

The solution has offered Miami-Dade numerous ways of improving the ways their schools

and key personnel function, such as:

• Cost-effective access to a legacy mainframe system and important systems

• A productivity savings of $5,440/per month across 85 users

• Streamlined management of day-to-day school business, such as payroll and

purchase orders

• Remote access to passwords and time management systems

• All-in-one solution for email, phone and calendar

Miami-Dade Public Schools considers itself in the top 10 for applied technology across

the education system, even though it operates with a legacy IBM mainframe environment

and limited funding. Some of that reputation comes from their creativity in finding ways

to adapt new technologies that help their schools deliver more effective services. Wireless

technology and applications on BlackBerry are giving school principals and IT teams a way

to stay connected and access to critical systems while they’re on-the-go.

Industry

Education

Environment

Microsoft® Exchange

Applications Deployed

Mobile3270 and MobileControl Administrator for

Windows, from Conceivium Business Solutions

Situation

Miami-Dade County Public Schools wanted to

offer its principals wireless access to an IBM

mainframe system for payroll, records and

purchase orders.

Organization Profile

Miami-Dade County Public Schools includes

358 schools in Florida, and is the 4th largest

school system in the U.S. with 45,000

employees. Their centralized Information and

Technology Services team offers each school ISP

and IT services.

Solution

Using the BlackBerry Enterprise Server v4.0

platform, they deployed Mobile3270, an

application from Conceivium Business Solutions

that allows remote access to mainframe

systems. To assist with remote IT management,

they installed a second Conceivium application,

MobileControl Administrator for Windows.

Results

Efficiency has improved for principals who

are always in touch, and able to access and

offer approval for payroll and purchase orders.

Another 400 principals will soon have the

solution on their devices. IT teams gain a way

to access passwords and a time management

system. The school board saves $5,440 per

month in lost productivity. Both BlackBerry users

are enjoying the new features of BlackBerry v4.0.

Case Study

Like many schools, Miami-Dade was first concerned about making sure their principals and school

administrators could stay in touch in the event of an emergency. They introduced 150 BlackBerry

devices as a natural replacement for cell phones, knowing that their key people would gain new access

to email, organizer and phone with this all-in-one solution.

But it was an inquisitive IT team that questioned whether they could go further. As they began their

migration from the BlackBerry Enterprise Server v3.6 to v4.0, they investigated the wireless market to

see if any solution providers offered mainframe access from the BlackBerry device.

“We’re very sophisticated, except for our mainframe,” says Carlos Diaz, Network Analyst. “We’re lucky

to have a very supportive superintendent when it comes to technology, and he gave us the green light

to review the marketplace. Conceivium Business Solutions was found to offer the support for IBM 3270

on BlackBerry.”

Partnering for Success

Diaz discovered that Conceivium Business Solutions provides Windows, UNIX/Linux, Mainframe and

Midrange wireless network management applications. Specifically, their product, Mobile3270 on the

MobileTerm Suite, was an almost ideal match to their needs.

“The software didn’t quite work with our system, but I really appreciated that during the pilot project,

Conceivium rewrote it to fit our needs,” says Diaz. “And they did it in a week.”

Conceivium Business Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise administration tools including

remote network management and access software as well as monitoring and statistical analysis/data

mining tools for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. With clients ranging from worldwide enterprises,

government and public sector agencies, to medium and small organizations, Conceivium offers remote

solutions for any organization’s current and future infrastructure requirements.

MobileControl Administrator software from Conceivium enables BlackBerry devices to act as remote

management consoles for Microsoft enterprise systems such as Windows NT, 2000, XP and 2003

as well as BES servers. Miami-Dade’s IT team can troubleshoot server and network problems and

take corrective actions right away, without having to call another person or travel to the network

management center or nearest management console.

The Conceivium Network Access and Management Tools are designed to increase the productivity

and autonomy of Network Administrators. In addition, their solutions also enhance Disaster Recovery/

Business Continuity Plans by allowing Network Administrators the ability to access and solve critical

problems from virtually anywhere, at any time.

Conceivium Business Solutions’

MobileTerm application

featuring Mobile3270 with

TN3270 emulation allows users

to extend their Mainframe

management and access

capabilities from their desktop

to their handheld for access

anytime, anywhere.

Gaining Remote Mainframe Access

Miami-Dade knew mainframe access would benefit their principals, and deployed the solution on 60 BlackBerry devices. In a typical day, school

principals are involved in a number of meetings. Many of them can take place offsite at district offices, away from the day-to-day systems that are

needed to run a school. By offering principals access to the mainframe, including payroll, purchase orders and personnel records, they stay productive

even when they aren’t at their desks.

Diaz points to one of the shortcomings of the old system. On one occasion, when a shipment of new computers was ready for delivery, it was held up

because the principal’s busy schedule did not allow her to get back to her desk to approve the purchase order. This doesn’t happen as frequently with

Mobile3270 because a principal now simply logs in to check the status of outstanding requests and offer approval no matter where he or she is working.

“It’s a major challenge for our principals when they are in and out of meetings all the time,” says Diaz. “Everything slows down, but things like payroll

and purchase orders still need to be approved. Wireless access to these systems means we can get their approval even when they are offsite. It’s a

much more streamlined way of working.”

Mobile3270 appears as an icon on the BlackBerry device. Users login with a password and see what they would see at their desktops. All interaction

with the mainframe is through text-driven, four-letter commands.

His IT team can also access the mainframe to reset passwords, an operation they would have performed from a desktop before. They can also input their

work hours on tasks into the school’s time management system. Both improvements offer added flexibility to the IT team.

Proven ROI

MobileTerm allows administrators to troubleshoot all their 3270 related problems from a BlackBerry device, providing fixes in minutes. There are 85

users who access the data on the 3270 machine using the BlackBerry device. Each saves about 4 hours/month for a savings of $48/each in productivity

per month. The total 85 users save the school board $5,440 in lost productivity.

Long-term, as they add more users, the potential savings for 800 users could reach $614,400 for the county/per year.

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Troubleshooting Network Challenges On-the-fly

Miami-Dade also deployed MobileControl Administrator for Windows from Conceivium to troubleshoot their server and network problems and take

corrective actions right away. The solution is ideal for small and medium enterprises like Miami-Dade that require 24/7 support without the expense of

staffing full-time support desks.

With MobileControl Administrator, Diaz gained a system administration tool in the palm of his hand. In the event of a server malfunctioning, he can

resolve a problem immediately, without having to call another person or travel to the network management center or nearest management console.

He can also fully manage all user’s accounts on the network from his BlackBerry device. When users forget passwords, get locked out, or need to be part

of groups, the wait time to respond to these problems is greatly reduced, ensuring ongoing productivity.

Diaz chose MobileControl because it’s also web-enabled and allows his Help Desk staff to use it for network management. This feature is a valuable

cost management measure and it takes the place of roughly 15 applications.

Diaz has plans to investigate and deploy another feature of MobileControl which will allow him to do network monitoring integration. This feature

will allow him to respond to alerts that tell him the exact server with a problem, what the problem is, and let him resolve it from his BlackBerry device.

Conceivium estimates that the average resolution time using this feature drops from 20 to 2 minutes.

Enjoying the New Features of BlackBerry v4.0

Miami-Dade is mid-way through their migration from BlackBerry v3.6 to v4.0, but has already found many advantages for both school principals and IT teams.

“The principals really like the full wireless synchronization in v4.0,” says Diaz. “Because it’s wireless, their secretaries can manage their appointments for

them. All they do is type something in, and the principal gets the new schedule. It really helps improve their efficiency.”

Diaz is also enjoying the new IT enhancements in v4.0. He has begun to do all provisioning of BlackBerry devices over-the-air. That has streamlined

the training process significantly.

Before, dummy accounts had to be set up to train users on the devices. After the training, the devices would be wiped, and the user would wait at their

schools until someone could come and install the software at the site. Now, with wireless provisioning, the device that the user is trained on is the one

they walk out of the door with after the session.

“I also really like that you are no longer attached to a system that you have to synchronize with,” says Diaz. “You are always backed up. If a BlackBerry

device fails or is dropped, you don’t have to worry about it. I can do new activations wirelessly.”

The Future

Diaz and his team have more plans to extend their BlackBerry solution. Their first goal is to offer 400 more principals’ access to the Mobile3270

solution on their devices.

They have also purchased a .NET application from Itrezzo for access to emergency contact lists. And they are looking at several potential suppliers for

out-of-the-box emergency preparedness solutions, since security and quick response is fast becoming

a concern of school boards across the U.S.

For additional BlackBerry case studies, success stories and customer quotes, please visit

www.blackberry.com/go/success

© 2005 Research In Motion Limited. All rights reserved. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion, “Always On, Always Connected” and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. The specifications and features contained in this document are subject to change without notice. Printed in Canada.

We have a lot of legacy systems and no finances to replace them right now. Mobile access to our mainframe means key people in IT and school administration can streamline the way they work. Wherever they are, they have access into our payroll, personnel and other systems.

Carlos Diaz,Network Anzalyst

Benefits

Miami-Dade has strategically applied wireless technologies to extend a legacy system. The approach has

paid off in a number of ways, including:

• A cost-effective way of accessing a legacy mainframe system without having to build an entirely

new infrastructure for wireless access

• A productivity savings of $5,440/per month across 85 users

• Streamlined management of day-to-day school business, such as payroll and purchase orders,

even when principals travel

• IT administrators have remote access to passwords and time management systems

• More key personnel stay in touch with an all-in-one solution