WinForce tech Gives Broad Control Over Subscriber Environment and Real-time Visibility for Field Technicians

Carlsbad, Calif. – Sept. 19, 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 plans to demonstrate the company’s new workforce management platform WinForce tech^TM at the 10th Annual Fiber To The Home (FTTH) Conference and Expo in Orlando Sept. 26-30, 2011, in GLDS’ booth #400.

The FTTH Conference and Expo is N. America’s largest event dedicated to all-fiber networks. Additionally, GLDS was recently named a Top 100 company in 2011 by Broadband Communities Magazine, which honors the pioneers of fiber to the home and supports the magazine’s mission of “Building a Fiber-Connected World.”

The new WinForce tech platform, which is fully integrated with GLDS’ WinCable® billing and subscriber management system, gives field technicians instant, real-time access to assigned work, as well as customer and account details.  WinForce tech eliminates calls into dispatch by putting WinCable tools on a hand-held device technicians can use to independently solve problems and provide the best, quickest customer service possible.

“The two-way communication provided by WinForce tech gives technicians a broad spectrum of subscriber and equipment data, and allows them to make certain account changes directly from their hand-held device,” said GLDS’ President Garrick Russell.   “FTTH attendees will be able to see WinForce tech in action running on a tablet and experience how GLDS’ WinForce product family empowers technicians to be more productive by solving problems faster and increasing operational efficiencies in the field.”

WinForce tech puts tech-related functions in a smartphone, tablet, netbook or laptop, and gives operators everything they need to start solving customers’ problems immediately.  The product simply requires an internet connection and is not dependent on any one platform.  It 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.”

With WinForce tech, technicians can:

• Receive, manage and finalize work
• Manage equipment assignments from truck to account and back again
• Refresh equipment individually or collectively at the account level
• Update subscriber, house and equipment notes
• Collect payments or manage auto-payments
• Change Bill-to address and update contact information

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.  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. Additional functionality is included for Android users, such as the ability to sign work orders and automatically attach them to customer accounts, scan equipment bar-codes, GPS navigate to the next job, receive real-time notification of work order changes and receive real-time locations tracking of all technicians with detailed history by technician.

About Great Lakes Data Systems

Great Lakes Data Systems, Inc. (GLDS) provides the cable industry’s leading Windows-based billing, subscriber management and provisioning solutions.  GLDS’ in-house and SaaS solutions feature IPTV & Digital Authorization, VOD, Voice and Data provisioning, Credit Card/ACH processing and multi-touch customer self-care.  GLDS has installed software for over 400 operators in 49 U.S. states and 43 countries worldwide, offering “tier-one” features at significantly lower prices.  For more information, visit http://www.glds.com.

WinCable is a registered trademark and WinForce tech is a trademark of Great Lakes Data Systems, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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Contact:
Terry May
Flashpoint Group
TerryMay@Flashpoint-Group.com
+1 321.632.1690