Vidus taskforce Customer-Centric Field Service Delivery Solution Stren

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers
    TeleManagement World Nice 2005

    NICE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2005--Today, at the TeleManagement World Nice 2005 conference, Vidus, an @Road(R) (Nasdaq:ARDI) company, is demonstrating Microsoft .NET capabilities for the first time in its customer-centric field service delivery solution taskforce(TM) 7. Vidus is using Microsoft .NET framework in its recently announced taskforce 7 to more simply and flexibly deliver the graphical user interface to the field operations team. The .NET-based interface not only enables the field operations management team to more easily tailor views, information, maps and reports according to their needs, but it can be customized to suit the needs of other groups involved in customer service delivery.
    As field service delivery operations typically represents more than 30% of a large telecommunication company's operating expenses, the development with Microsoft represents significant progress for Vidus in the implementation of its own Agile Service Provider vision. Within the .NET Framework, Vidus taskforce is augmented with an "operations visualizer" that can be dynamically updated with up-to-the-minute field resource status and location views resulting from the automated service delivery optimization decisions being made by the taskforce solution. By delivering the operations interface as a Microsoft .NET-enabled web service, taskforce takes full advantage of the enhanced integration of operations and HR information to present a unified view across both operational and customer service teams, and is ultimately used to update mobile devices in the field.
    "Meeting the challenges and demands of telco field service delivery environments requires experience and insight," said Andrew Steven, director of the Communication Sector at Microsoft Corp. "Vidus taskforce provides a powerful customer-centric field service capability for the telco interested in becoming more responsive to its subscribers' needs."
    For example, the more dynamically an engineer's mobile device can exchange information with core business systems like ERP, customer information, inventory management, or with individual teams, such as operations controllers or customer service representatives, the easier it is to fulfill the customer commitment efficiently. Because taskforce can update customer service delivery priorities every minute to accommodate real-time updates and unpredictable events, it is critical that these decisions be easily accessible by multiple teams, which today operate in organizational silos. The Microsoft .NET framework enables the flexible integration of these disconnected teams when and where needed.
    "Microsoft extends the intelligence of the Vidus taskforce service delivery platform," said Pol Sweeney, CTO of Vidus. "As the service resource environment becomes increasingly complex and dynamic, it is critical that user interfaces become more flexible and available. By implementing Microsoft's .NET framework we are able to more effectively transfer the resource optimization and synchronization decisions made by taskforce to operations, field resource managers, customer service and eventually to the field engineers themselves resulting in greatly improved customer service and responsiveness."
    As Vidus expands its service delivery solution portfolio into other customer-centric service delivery applications, it plans to integrate other Microsoft technologies and solutions bringing greater usability and connectivity to the customer.

    About Vidus, an @Road Company

    In today's increasingly complex and changing world, Vidus enables service providers to deliver a high quality of experience to their customers at the right time, the first time.
    Vidus was created to enable home service delivery companies in deregulated markets to deliver high-quality service experience to their customers by providing a unified, up-to-the minute view across the field service resource network. Through extensive operational research and development, Vidus' technology was purpose-built to help increase customer profitability by addressing the disconnection between customer acquisition, customer satisfaction, retention and growth.
    Vidus has a presence in the UK, Germany, Hungary, Italy, France and North America and is a wholly owned subsidiary of @Road, Inc.

    About @Road

    @Road, Inc. is a global provider of solutions that intelligently automate the management of mobile resources required to optimize the service delivery process for customers across a variety of industries. By providing real-time Mobile Resource Management infrastructure integrating wireless communications, location-based technologies, software applications, transaction processing and the Internet, @Road solutions provide a secure, scalable, upgradeable, enterprise-class platform, offered in hosted, on-premise or hybrid environments that seamlessly connect mobile workers in the field to real-time corporate data on-demand. @Road is headquartered in Fremont, Calif., and has a global presence with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information on @Road products and services, visit www.road.com.

    Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. These factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, customer acceptance of taskforce 7; the ability of @Road to correct undetected errors or defects in taskforce 7; the ability of @Road to integrate Vidus operations successfully; the ability of @Road to accelerate or continue to grow as a result of its investment initiatives; the ability of @Road and its partners to market, sell and support @Road products and services; the timing of purchasing and implementation decisions by SBC and other prospects and customers; competitive and pricing pressures; the dependence of @Road on mobile data systems technology, wireless networks, network infrastructure and positioning systems owned and controlled by others; and general economic and political conditions. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the @Road Report on Form 10-K dated March 15, 2005 and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    @Road is a registered trademark of @Road, Inc. The @Road logo, taskforce 7 logo, Vidus and taskforce are trademarks of @Road, Inc.
    All other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

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CONTACT: @Road Bob Stern, 510-870-1360 (U.S.) bstern@road-inc.com or Bite Communications (Europe) Jonny Rosemont or Eleanor Gough, 020 8834 3421/472 Vidus@bitepr.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA FRANCE INTERNATIONAL EUROPE TRACK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE NETWORKING TRADESHOW PRODUCT SOURCE: @Road, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005