Trends: Skunk Works - ' Problems, Challenges, Solutions '
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Problems, Challenges, Solutions
Webcor Technologies
Structure: A unit of Webcor Builders
Top Executive: Gregg Davis
Size: 19 employees
Business Problem Webcor was fighting an ongoing battle to get daily safety checks done faster and more accurately. It also needed more accurate time card data from workers in the field.
Technology Challenge To develop a technology that could be used by people with varying technical skills—and could be integrated with a database and link to Palm Pilots used at construction sites.
Lab Solution A safety check application for Palm Pilots and virtual time card software were created for construction workers and also for sale to other companies in the industry.
Yellow Technologies
Structure: unit of Yellow Corp.
Top Executive: CIO Lynn Caddell
Size: 325 employees
Business Problem Yellow was being pressed by rivals and customers to offer express delivery services that could be backed by customer service guarantees—and it had to be workable in 30 days.
Technology Challenge Modifications to various processes had to be made simultaneously, versus the traditional method of mapping business processes first, then wrapping solutions around it.
Lab Solution Simulated information flow to provide a feel for how the system would work and validate or disprove assumptions. Daily IT- business interaction was key to the project's success.
Bell exCITE!
Structure: operates within Bell Canada
Top Executive: CIO Eugene Roman
Size: 120 employees
Business Problem To develop a community-based portal to include in Bell's eCommerce product portfolio, and to help municipal governments in Canada work more efficiently.
Technology Challenge Lab technologists had to create a prototype in less than four weeks—and do it at half the cost of what outside vendors were bidding to do the same job.
Lab Solution The exCITE! team was able to meet the challenge, and Bell's sales teams are now using the prototype to bid on new business opportunities within the municipal sector.
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