1NService App Will Track Project Status
The platform, sold by the Genuit software arm of Toronto-based Unis Lumin under the name Promys, lets solution providers track a service engagement from quote through implementation. The software, delivered via subscription for $90 per month, has been customized for the alliance and will be offered at a discount to members, said John Breakey, CEO of Unis Lumin. Ultimately, it will become mandatory if a member wants to tap another alliance member to participate in a services deal.
"We needed to have something that unified the members together in delivering the service. Otherwise, we were just passing business back and forth," said Tim Hebert, CTO of Atrion Networking, Warwick, R.I., and part of the 1NService committee handling the rollout.
Pat Grillo, president and CEO of Atrion Communications Resources, Branchburg, N.J., said having a standard services management platform will help 1NService live up to its mission of establishing a set of best practices around network and security integration projects. "It needs to mean the same thing to all of us," he said.
Among other things, the software will track engineering resources by location or by service discipline, providing members with a view of who's available, and for how much, when generating a prospective work order, Hebert said. Once a project is entered, managers can keep tabs on its progress.
The software could help solution providers better manage their technical utilization rates, said Phil Mogavero, president and CEO of Data Systems Worldwide, a 1NService member in Woodland Hills, Calif.
Customers and vendors affiliated with 1NService eventually will be able to track project status. Several vendors are talking to 1NService about how they can use the platform to more proactively engage the group, said Breakey. "We're trying to create a project management office capability," he said.
Moreover, 1NService can leverage the investment costs over 20 companies instead of one. "We get economies of scale," Mogavero said.