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With Telstra launching his 4^th generation mobile network, 4G LTE (4G Long Term Evolution), Australia is finally catching up with the rest of the world in the ever changing realm of mobile device connectivity. For the time being the coverage of the Telstra 4G LTE is limited to 8 capital cities (5Km from CBD) and 30 regional centers (3 Km from CBD), however coverage is going to rapidly spread in 2012 with Optus and Vodafone also on the verge of deploying their own 4G LTE networks.

But what does this mean for mobile business warriors using smartphones and tablet and longing for faster, more productive connections? Well, firstly we must clarify that any mobile device of the current generation, including the iPhone 4S, iPad2 and the plethora of Android phones and tablets, Windows Mobile and Phone 7and all other brands  will not natively connect to the 4G LTE networks. To access this mobile broadband nirvana those warriors will have to purchase a brand new 4G capable device.

As a matter of fact, at the moment the choice is very limited. There is only one smartphone available only through Telstra with the ability to access the 4G network, namely the HTC 4G Velocity, running Android 2.3.7 code named Gingerbread which is slightly disappointing as we were expecting the Velocity to run the latest Android 4.0 code named Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. In any case the 4G Velocity, according to HTC, will be automatically updated to 4.0 ICS, free of charge, in the next few months. So if you are in a hurry and want to be one of the very early 4G adopters in Australia, you can fulfill your desire right now. Just make sure you live and work within 5Km from your city’s CBD and in an area of good coverage though or you will be bitterly disappointed.

In any case it’s easy to see that while the HTC Velocity is lightning fast on the 4G network, the rest of its features are similar to all the other 3G, high end Android smart phones currently available. Naturally in 2012 we will have a number of competitors catching up, including the very much awaited iPhone 5 and eventually a 4G LTE powered iPad 3. Therefore, pretty soon, there will be a large number of smart phones and tablets competing with the 4G Velocity for the crown of fastest LTE device.

The upload-download speed these 4G devices can reach is effectively up to 4 times faster than any device on the 3G network. Telstra is reporting download speeds of 2-40 megabits per second and upload speeds of 1-10 megabits per second while the 3G network can only reach download speeds of 1-10 megabits per second. Speed of course depends not only on the actual device, but also on the distance from the base station, number of on line users, terrain, hardware and software configured on the device, download source and\or upload destination.

This is obviously very good news for all Kevah Works mobile users which will have the ability to run Kevah Works on any of the 4G LTE devices out of the box. This will mean more reliable mobile connections,  faster pictures uploads, faster forms synchronization, faster sites management, increased productivity and, at the end of the day, faster ROI. Are you taking advantage of Kevah Works to manage your sites and grow your business yet? With one month free trial available what are you waiting for?

In the beginning there was the iPad. Even though the original tablet PC was pioneered by Microsoft a few years ago, high cost, less than friendly features, short battery life and considerable weight never gave it a chance to be adopted by the masses. However, since Apple rewrote history by releasing their best selling version of the “no brainer” tablet (or pad for the purists) targeting trend following consumers and Google followed suit by powering a plethora of third party portable devices with its Android OS, tables are also fast becoming the device of choice and are eagerly being adopted by a large number of businesses.

Theoretically, the ability of accessing a number of corporate resources and business applications from an always connected device that can be easily carried around and used on demand is an extremely attractive proposition which could make a gray suit warrior much more productive and even look really cool…which has notoriously been an almost impossible task until the advent of the smart phone and, more to the point, of the latest generation of tablet PCs. The reality of things though, as always, is rather different and slightly more complicated.

In fact, to make a portable device, such as tablets of any flavor, a viable business solution what must change and dramatically improve is the actual IT infrastructure of the business or, more simply, it is a matter of how effectively corporate networks or applications can be accessed and used on a mobile device, keeping in mind performance and business data security.

Valorem Systems has been at the forefront of business mobility for years and, with all of the above in mind and with the experience gathered by closely working with large players in this arena, has built and recently released Kevah Works, a technically advanced and extremely cost effective SAAS (software as a service) facility management application that can be accessed and used from any mobile browser or from apps compatible with any type of mainstream tablet. And all this without putting any extra load on the current IT infrastructure or IT personnel. Coincidentally, this is making Kevah Works very attractive also for small businesses that cannot afford to build and manage expensive mobile apps and a mobile IT infrastructure on their own.

To make it even simpler for any business to adopt this cutting edge, mobile technology, Valorem Systems is currently offering the full version of Kevah Works for free for 30 days plus the friendly Valorem Systems support personnel will personally call all Kevah Works trial subscribers for a preliminary set up session and a informal chat on their business requirements in order to get them started quickly and easily and therefore dramatically accelerate their ROI once they decide to purchase the extremely affordable subscription.

Valorem System value proposition for the adoption of iPad, Android or any other tablet for business management with Kevah Works is really unique and definitely a “no brainer” even for the smallest enterprise. Give it a go for free for a month and take advantage of the free consultation and initial set up with Valorem Systems experts in the field of mobility. Not sure which way to go? Still struggling to catch up with the bigger players? Give Valorem Systems a call on 1300 665 818 and let us do the hard work for you…We will even do it for free for the first 30 days and there is no obligation for you. What are you waiting for? Do it now and take your business to the cutting edge of mobile technology with Kevah Works!

Successful business people know that the secret of their success and the achievement of a balanced life are mostly due to their ability of being one step ahead of their clients and their competition, not to mention their family. When discussing the pros and cons of purchasing a smart phone with a business person, I am often asked a recurring question: “How can I be mobile, run Kevah Works and at the same time have seamless access to my email, calendar, mission critical business data like leads, proposals, contracts and even business breaking news and the stock market?”

At Valorem, we have been in the mobility business for many years but, until recently, my answers were forcibly pretty evasive and mostly negative. There was no simple solution. I did not want to overwhelm those business people with a bunch of techno bubbles and, at the end of the day, still struggle to offer a real world, practical solution. However, since what we define as the recent “smart phone big bang”, that scenario has dramatically changed for the better. Today in fact the problem is exactly the opposite: too many choices, all offering elegant and effective mobility solutions.

But which is the right one for you and your business? If you are in the market for a smart phone, what are the attribute you should be looking for in order to make an informed decision based on your requirements? Well, there are a few basic elements you should explore and a few boxes you should tick before happily handing over your credit card.

Device Design

Size and weight are basic attributes you need to consider. Do you prefer a large, high definition, touch screen or are you more inclined to use an on-board keypad or a QWERTY keyboard? The answers very much depend on what kind of business you are in, but if you have large fingers, habitually do not type large amounts of text and do not wish to squint every time you need to read something on the fly, an HD, large screen will allow for much more comfortable mobile usage under most circumstances, including operating the new Kevah Works mobility application for smartphones.

Battery Life, CPU and RAM

As a road warrior with limited access to power outlets, you should be looking for devices that can last the full day without recharging. This is, of course, very much dependent on the kind of tasks you generally would perform on the device, keeping in mind that video and connectivity, think WIFI and Bluetooth, are the most intensive, battery depleting applications. Look for a device with a dual core CPU (Central Processing Unit) as this will allow you to happily run the latest mobile business apps, including Kevah Works, and also the most demanding multimedia like video calls and video presentations. As far as RAM (random access memory), make sure the device comes with at least 1 GB (gigabyte) of it on-board.

Call Features and Connectivity

This is an easy one to remember simply because the main function of a smart phone is, in fact, to be a reliable phone built with quality components. There is no much point in purchasing a sexy looking device with poor radio reception and constant call drop outs.
By the way, in case you are not already aware, Telstra has just started offering a few smartphone models supporting 4G high speed mobile connectivity which is light years ahead of the soon obsolete 3G and therefore definitely worth considering.
If the backbone of a successful business is seamless communications, then you must make sure the phone and connectivity components of your potential new smart phone are the best your money can buy and include speakerphone, conference calling and voice dialling.

Other Features

Additional features you should be checking out are: camera which should be between 5 and 8 megapixels. This is very important if you are planning to use Kevah Works on your smart phone as Kevah Works forms can be complemented with photos. As we say here at Valorem, a picture is worth a thousand words. You may also want to have GPS functionality as it is very useful in finding the location of a client or a business when you are not driving your car. Another important extra feature is the ability to access an application market or store as this will give you the ability to customize your device with killer apps like calendar, tasks and the like very cheaply and at the tap of your finger.

If you are new to the ubiquitous world of Android and are starting exploring its capabilities and features, especially those that can help improve and streamline your business procedures and add to the bottom line, the following post describes how to find, download, install and configure KevahWorks on your Android device.

If you are not a smart phone expert as yet, you will soon discover that one of Android’s distinctive features is its ability to be easily customized to suit any type of user, including demanding business users, with a plethora of applications and widgets. That is the very reason why KevahWorks for Android is now available as a free download from the Android Market.

If you already have a KevahWorks account, simply follow the procedure and you will be able to manage your KevahWorks sites effectively from your Android device in no time. If you do not have a Kevah Works account yet, now it is time to take your business management to the next level. Simply click on the link and follow the prompts to open a free 30 days, fully functional KevahWorks account.

Now turn your Android device on and go to your “All apps” list. Look for the “Market” app. This app generally comes preinstalled on pretty much all Android devices. Access to the “All apps” list can usually be found under the menu button. Now tap on the icon and the recently redisigned Market interface will open. Look at the top right corner of your screen and you will see a magnifying glass. Tap on it to open the Market browser.

In the search box type: Kevah Works (case insensitive) and tap the magnifying glass next to the search box. The Market interface will display the tab for the free Kevah Works app. Tap on it and you will be taken to the Kevah Works download page. Here you can find some screen shots of the app and a short description. Once ready, tap on the “Install” button (top right corner); tap now on the “Accept & Download” button and you can follow the progress bar showing the app’s download and installation.

You can now leave the Market and configure Kevah Works. Hit the Menu button and select “Settings”. Then tap on “Applications” and “Manage Applications”. Look for Kevah Works and tap on it. You are given the option to move the app to SD card. We recommend to do so as this will free up your device main memory space and allow plenty of space for local Kevah Works data to grow.

You are now ready to fire up your new Kevah Works app. Navigate back to your apps list, find the Kevah Works icon and tap on it. On the Kevah Works portal enter your profile credentials and log in. You will be taken through the first full synchronisation which will download your Kevah works profile and data to the mobile device. Just be patient as, depending on the amount of data, this may take a few minutes. When done, the app will report: “sync completed”. Tap “Hide” to close the sync screen and select the site you would like to access throught the drop down menu and hit “Open Site”…

Congratulations! You are now able to manage all your sites from your mobile device with Kevah Works for Android.

Cloud computing offerings are a great way for small businesses to acquire large business infrastructure, resources and applications at very affordable prices. Using cloud computing resources and the interests and talents of staff is a great way to kick-start a dynamic IT department.

A key motivators to adopt cloud computing is the requirements to access information anywhere, on any device. in a recent survey, 33% of companies were motivated by mobility. Feedback from the cleaning industry indicates that this would be much higher in mobility.  An application like Kevah Works can be access from your smartphone*, tablet* PC or Mac is a great example of a modern cloud computing application that would be used each and every day by operation supervisors and managers.

Other motivations for adopting cloud computing include saving money by avoiding expensive capital costs on servers, maintenance etc – and 82% of companies reported saving money on their last cloud project.

Finally, in addition to mobility, and saving money, 64% of companies reported that cloud computing had a positive environmental impact – helping them reduce waste and lower energy consumption.

Valorem is a cloud computing provider, with our two main products Kevah Works and Praxeo / Praxeo RTS. We were early pioneers of software-as-a-service when we launched that model with Kevah Works in 2003 – and we continue to be known as providing a high level of service with our software.

* Mobile versions of Kevah Works currently available for Android smartphones and tablets – iOS and Blackberry coming early in 2012.

Full survey results from Mashable, 12/12/11.

Last week the Android Market passed a milestone – recording 10 Billion downloaded applications. In the last six months they’ve gone from 6 billion to 10 billion – an awesome accelerating growth rate that is currently doing 1 billion downloads a month.

We’re pleased to have the Kevah Works Android Application available this same week. You can take your quality assurance, audits, inspections and work management with you everyday, on every site.

Image and more info from Google, Inc.

For all science fiction aficionados out there an “Android” is a robot with human features. There are countless books and movies on the subject, some of which have captured the collective imagination. Robocop comes to mind as one of the most widely known “androids” to make it big in Hollywood and the more recent, huge commercial success of “Transformers” has sealed the image of these machines with human features and feelings as very popular heroes.

But, apart from the Hollywood movies, this Sci-Fi term is today being made mainstream and part of everyone’s vocabulary by yet another Google creation and global success: the Android “software stack” for mobile phones.  Indeed, despite the general perception that “Android” is actually a type of smart phone or a touch pad, it is important to understand that “Android” actually defines the various layers of operating software running on a plethora of different mobile devices.

This is an important distinction because not all hardware devices are created equal and the huge number of choices made available today could cause the unprepared buyer a great deal of uncertainty caused by misinformation or, on the other end of the spectrum, information overload. Basically, to use one of those geeky buzz words, Android can be defined as an “open source” mobile operating system. In simple terms, this means that it is basically free and can be layered or stripped down and customized according to the needs and preferences of each individual hardware manufacturer.

This has brought to market a huge array of Android powered smart phones and tablets, each with different capabilities and features. Each with the ability to be further customized to fit the needs of almost every discerning mobile technology user. Furthermore, the tremendous adoption rate has been made possible by leveraging and mobilizing one of the most successful features of the ubiquitous Linux operating system: the ability to access and install with the push of a button a great number of free and paid applications from a cloud location which, in the mobile universe, is today commonly known as an “App Market” or “App Store” in case you are more familiar with the Apple iOS terminology.

And this surely brings us to mention possibly the most notable aspect of this subject: the rivalry between Android and Apple fans which is getting hotter every day. Which is better? An Android powered smart phone or an Apple iPhone? As a Kevah Works user, should you rely on the elasticity of an Android mobile device or on the reassuring simplicity of an iPhone or an iPad?  According to recent statistics, 58% of new mobile devices sold in the last 3 months are Android powered devices while only 28% are Apple iPhones and iPads. Does this mean that an Android powered device is better than an Apple device?

This is exactly what we will try to find out in my future posts dedicated to this exciting debate.

Stay tuned!

Kevah Works is now available on Android devices (phones and tablets).

The Kevah Works Application is available for download from the Android Market - search for “Valorem Systems” or “Kevah Works”, or this link will take you there directly.

You need a Kevah Works account to use the application.  Once downloaded and installed, using it is as easy as using Kevah Works -

• Log on with your Kevah Works user name and password,
• You will see your sites
• You can review and close jobs
• You can start new inspections, include photos directly from the device in your report.

The long period of beta testing across the various Android devices has produced a stable and powerful Kevah Works Mobile application. Initial feedback from clients using the HTC phones has been very positive, and we look forward to more feedback from you.

The launch of Kevah Works on Android brings us full circle on a development cycle that started two years ago.  Back in 2009, we started to collate all the feedback, suggestions and ideas for the original Kevah solution – how we could make it better and bring it to users no matter what device or operating system they chose for their computers or mobile phones.

Kevah Works has realised that vision with this release, and now the Award Winning, patented technology of Kevah is available with advanced web interface, workflow, and easier production of forms and reports.

Kevah Works will continue to grow and evolve.  The iOS version for iPhone and iPad is currently in beta and will be submitted to the Apple App store for review shortly.  We are also finalising the Blackberry release. After these are out, we have a range of improvements and enhanced features planned for the web side of Kevah Works.

As always, our software is a partnership with our customers, and we look forward to hearing from the growing group people who have embraced Kevah Works for your site management, quality assurance and inspections.

Quality management systems are a “must have” in tenders.  Do you have a quality management system that is a big folder of printed plans and procedures gathering dust on a shelf in the office? Does your quality management system make it out to your sites, to the real world where you deliver services to your customers? Every commercial cleaning or janitorial services group I’ve worked with delivers a great service – really, they wouldn’t be in business long if they did not.  However, quality is more than clean buildings.  A quality management system for contract cleaning, janitorial services or building contracting in general, must include:

• Quality inspections,
• Audits,
• Identifying issues (or non-conformances),
• Track follow-up of issues (corrective actions),
• Create an audit trail of who did what, when,
• Identify what is overdue and what the priorities are
• Easily schedule inspections, audits – so nothing gets missed.

And finally, all this must be organised and supervisors and managers able to demonstrate all this to an client or an auditor in a simple, transparent manner.  Can you do this with your folder on your shelf?

Quality Management Integrated Into Service Delivery

Making your quality management system a daily part of service delivery in contract cleaning and janitorial services is a challenge for modern companies. Typically, labour is lean, and the focus is on getting the work done. By making your quality management system part of your day to day operations, you can effectively manage the quality process as part of your service delivery. We work with companies every day who are integrating quality management into their contract service delivery – across commercial cleaning, janitorial services, landscaping, maintenance, and other “soft services” in building service contracting.

They are achieving this by managing their work better:

• Using web based work scheduling solution Kevah Works,
• Making staff and supervisors responsible for reporting what has been done,
• Accurately tracking Periodicals, Work Orders and Extra Work,

Combinging this with effective, scheduled quality assurance and inspections:

• Creating inspections tailored to the site in KevahWorks,
• Scheduling these inspections to ensure they are performed as required,
• Immediately raising non-conformances as jobs (either paid extra work, or just work orders),
• Tracking the priorities, timelines, and actions on these jobs – closing out the corrective action loop.

By integrating quality management inspections with work management, your staff will be more involved in the quality assurance process. They will follow-up and close out issues faster (because they are listed in the job schedule). All inspections will be completed because they will be scheduled as jobs to complete. Clients can also be given “read only” access, so service delivery and quality management inspections and reports are available in a transparent way.  Our experience has been that this creates a higher level of trust and partnership between contractors and their clients, resulting in higher rates of contract renewal.

We are pleased to announce that Kevah Works has been awarded the 2011 InClean Award – Innovative Technology – IT.  We are honoured to be recognised by the national industry association to receive this prestigious award.

Kevah Works: Winner 2011 Innovative Technology

Kevah Works builds on our first product, Kevah,  and has extended it’s patented secure data capture by adding work flow, job management, and extra work management.  These extra features represent over two years of research and development efforts by the Valorem team. Building on our long experience in the Cleaning and Building Services industry, Kevah Works is a complete site management solution for quality assurance and work on sites. The Valorem team has focused the functions and features in Kevah Works on managing site work and QA processes, resulting in a feature rich product that is very easy to set up and use.

In addition to the functions of Kevah Works, the Valorem team has created a product that works how, and where, the industry works. Kevah Works is a modern web-based platform, which is compatible with all operating systems (Windows and Mac), as well as all major web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera).  In addition to being web-based, Kevah Works is also available in mobile applications for Android, Windows Mobile, and as of the time of writing this, the iPhone/iPad application is being reviewed by Apple for approval in the iTunes App Store.

Kevah Works has focused, relevant, useful functions which can be used across a wide range of devices – but in addition to that the Valorem team has managed to deliver all of this in a pricing model that is affordable for every contractor, no matter how small. Monthly fees start at $25 to manage 5 sites! This is the first time that such an innovative, patented, and powerful solution is available for such a great price. By creating a global product, Valorem was able to create an economy of scale that brings Kevah Works to all contractors in the industry. The ability to have efficient, modern site management is now within reach of all contractors in Facilities Services.

Learn more about Kevah Works, or sign-up for the 30 Day Free Trial, and the Valorem team will help you get started.