Leading mobile workforce technology company 1st Touch (www.1sttouch.com) has been appointed a Microsoft Windows Embedded Partner. Under the partnership agreement, 1st Touch, which is already a Microsoft Gold Partner, will use Windows Embedded Handheld technology in their acclaimed mobile software solution; widely used in the social housing and public sectors.

1st Touch applications deliver significant efficiencies and productivity increases to any situation where field-based or remote operatives provide services. 1st Touch technology has already won widespread acclaim in the social housing market where the software manages, supports and controls all aspects of mobile operatives’ activities in areas such as responsive repairs, maintenance and inspection. The resilient but flexible system enables programming-free, user-customisable PDA based solutions to be created through its easy to use graphical interface, and is specifically designed to simplify handheld form design and data capture on mobile and handheld devices; for example, any type of electronic form can be generated without the need for Business Process Mapping.

The Windows Embedded Handheld platform is designed to meet key line-of-business scenarios and boost productivity of the mobile enterprise workforce by enabling users to capture, access and act on business critical information where and when they need it.

Commenting on the partnership agreement with Windows Embedded, Robert Dent CEO, 1st Touch, said, “We are impressed by Microsoft’s continued investment and focus on the handheld category and its ongoing innovation in device platforms. Its recent collaboration with Motorola to develop the ES400 was another very positive move. Microsoft’s proven solutions provide key benefits for handheld devices that meet the needs of the enterprise. Windows Embedded delivers a powerful development ecosystem that fits well with 1st Touch solutions. We look forward to working closely with Windows Embedded on building its technology into our solutions.”

Lorraine Bardeen, Group Marketing Manager, Windows Embedded Business EMEA, said, “1st Touch mobile technology is an enterprise solution that complements our vision for the future of business devices. Already, their products have been utilised in the social housing and public sector markets to great effect and we look forward to working more closely to evolve the possibilities of the partnership.”

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About 1st Touch (www.1sttouch.com)
1st Touch, based in Southampton UK, has enabled dozens of field workforce-based organizations to  embrace new mobile technologies and so achieve significant savings, greater productivity and more cost-effective use of resources.
 
1st Touch Mobile delivers clear and unique benefits:
 
- Reduced costs to organizations because airtime is minimised and the system is always available – with or without airtime.
- Flexibility through simple customer control over forms creation and amendment.
- Integration to multiple back office and other enterprise software applications, so that data is entered only once.

With its widely acclaimed mobile technology, 1st Touch has a clear focus on the Social Housing and Local Government markets. Many social housing providers and local authorities, at large, now benefit from the fast and tangible, best of breed benefits that 1st Touch mobile technology delivers to the enterprise.

To date, over 50% of the social housing market, which has deployed mobile technology, has chosen to implement 1st Touch. In local government, 1st Touch has already been adopted for a wide range of mobile workforce uses.  Ready to use applications for local authority organisations include: Public Buildings, Highways/Street Services, Environmental/Waste Management, Revenues and Benefits, together with Planning Control and Trading Standards.