Cook Associates

BACKGROUND
Cook Associates has always had its share of road warriors. As a premier consulting organization focusing on executive recruitment and mergers and acquisitions, a typical "day at the office" is anything but typical and certainly almost never in the office.

For over ten years, SWC Technology Partners has been Cook Associates' technology partner. During that time, our companies have worked together to build a customized business software environment specifically designed to manage Cook Associates' operations and financial requirements.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE
A particularly important element of the Cook Associates business system has been its ability to store and manage candidate data in relation to the company's search and M&A engagements. Yet, as important as this data has been to the company, it has traditionally been accessible only at the office. If a Cook Associates consultant was on the road and needed access to the data it would only be available in paper form, which presented another challenge altogether.

Around the office, the candidate database is referred to as the "company gold." Having this information readily distributed outside of the office was more than a little unnerving to the company's executive team. With these challenges at hand, it became clear that for Cook Associates to truly leverage the company's candidate data, a new, more flexible and secure solution would have to be deployed.

SOLUTION
To address the Cook Associates challenge, SWC Technology Partners recommended the development of a mobile application that could be accessed through a Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC. The advantages of this approach were numerous. First and foremost was that the company's candidate database could be made available to Cook Associates consultants while they were on the road. Not only would the data be available, but it would be interactive, allowing the Cook Associates consultant to use search criteria to find the right candidate immediately. The system could also allow the Cook Associate client to enter data directly through the mobile device and onto the central database so that all files were updated in "real-time."

The proposed Windows Mobile application would also enhance data security. Through its design, data would only be accessible while the device was online and in communication with the server. Data would never be left on the device so that in the event it was ever lost or stolen nothing could be gleaned. In addition, the application would be coded to ensure that only recognized devices would gain access to the server data.

Finally, the application itself would have standard authentication to help ensure user identity. Another positive benefit in deploying the solution on a Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC was providing Cook Associates consultants with other valuable device features such as access to the company's Exchange server and media services such as phone service, camera and Windows Media.

RESULTS
Cook Associates deployed the SWC Technology Partners Windows Mobile solution on a Siemens SX66 Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC. From all accounts, the solution has provided significantly more productivity for outside consultants. As Shaun McNicholas, IT Director for Cook Associates puts it:

"Sometimes the right technology is in the right place at the right time. That's how we feel about our Windows Mobile solution. We've leveraged our investment in our server-based business system, and extended it out to devices that our employees can use everyday from practically anywhere. We're more productive and certainly my end-users are a happier set of folks, which makes me a happier guy."

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