Aton Connect Gives Nissan Execs Access to Vehicle Sales Data On-The-Go
The IT infrastructure for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., had grown independently in each of the three major regions in which the global automaker operated—Asia, North America and Europe.
Global collaboration and remote data access were difficult, and the plethora of domains and e-mail servers hiked costs.
“That green screen with vehicle sales data is the most popular screen in the company… But when our people were traveling, they didn’t have access to it…now they do.”
— Larry Berger, Manager, Computer Services, Nissan-North America
In response, Nissan updated its technology infrastructure. The company consolidated its infrastructure based on Microsoft Windows Server System software, including Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, and rolled out mobility solutions based on Windows Mobile software, including Aton Connect for Windows Mobile Pocket PC.
More and better collaboration is projected to save the company at least U.S.$135 million over the next few years and to help bring vehicles to market faster. The ability to access key data using Windows Mobile phones makes executives more productive and even contributes to better customer service.
Using their Windows Mobile–based devices, Nissan personnel can access vehicle sales data residing on legacy mainframe applications, thanks to terminal emulation software provided by Aton International. Based on the Microsoft .NET Framework—an integral component of Windows that provides a programming model and runtime for Web services, Web applications, and smart client applications—Aton’s TN3270 component runs on the Windows Mobile–based Pocket PC to provide access to the data over Nissan’s VPN.
This is an excerpt from a Microsoft case study about Nissan’s adoption of Windows Server System. You can also view a copy of their entire case study.