Offers Operators Broad Control Over Subscriber Environment and Real-time Visibility for Field Technicians; James Cable to be Among First to Deploy

CHICAGO (NCTA’s The Cable Show ’11) – June 14, 2011 – Great Lakes Data Systems, Inc. (GLDS), the leading provider of PC-based subscriber management and billing systems for the cable television industry, today announced the general availability of WinForce tech.  GLDS will demonstrate WinForce tech to the public for the first time at NCTA’s The Cable Show in Chicago June 14-16, 2011, in GLDS’ booth, #1821.

The new platform, which is fully integrated with GLDS’ WinCable® billing and subscriber management system, gives technicians broad controls over the subscriber environment and operators real-time visibility into the status of work being performed in the field.  Available as a native Android application, or as a web-enabled platform, WinForce tech is designed to empower technicians by giving them the tools they need to solve problems in the field – without calling back into the office.

James Cable will be among the first to deploy WinForce tech.  “Based on the functionality we’ve seen so far, we expect to eliminate most, if not all, technician calls to dispatch requesting help,” said James Cable’s Chief Operating Officer Gil Nichols.  “WinForce tech does everything we need to bring front-line customer service to the field.”

WinForce tech delivers details on all work to be performed, all subscriber relationships and house-related data, and allows technicians to manage many subscriber functions that have previously required a customer to call “the office.”  WinForce tech also offers interaction with, and changes to, customer equipment and even delivers diagnostic data relating to that equipment.  Improvements in customer service come from WinForce tech’s ability to make changes to customer accounts, take payments and even sign work orders from the platform.  Signed work orders are imaged and automatically attached to customer accounts.

“WinForce tech is about helping operators trade inefficient time spent with a customer for time that’s more productive,” said GLDS’ President Garrick Russell.  “Because WinForce tech shifts a considerable amount of customer service power to the technician, problems are solved faster, follow-on paperwork is eliminated and the technician is better able to focus on customer service.  Since the platform allows technicians to add premium content to an account, operators might even find an unexpected sales team in their technicians.”

Dispatch will benefit from having a single screen where they can view the status of all work scheduled for that day in both table and map formats.  GPS-tracking means that operators have visibility to the location of all technicians at any given time.  They can see completed and remaining work, scheduled vs. actual routes, and can even message technicians with work order-related information – all messaging is archived with the work order.

Russell continued, “We’re pleased to be demonstrating this new product at NCTA’s The Cable Show this year.  GLDS continues to see momentum within the broadband services space adding 15 new operators for its billing and subscriber management solutions since last year’s show.  We’ve received great feedback from our customers about WinForce tech and look forward to demonstrating this product to show operators how they can get better visibility and control over their subscriber environment and improve operational efficiencies in the field.”