“By using our Windows Phone patrol solution …

supervisors have achieved significant efficiency

improvements, giving them more time to work with

security guards and develop customer relationships.”

Noel Boyle, Managing Director, Brink’s Ireland

To differentiate itself in a commoditized market for security

services, Brink’s Ireland introduced a digital patrol and field

service solution based on Windows Phone 8.1 and Arantico

Service Pro software. Brink’s guards can capture checkpoint data

electronically, which enables real-time security alerts and reports

to customers, improves efficiency, accelerates billing, and gives

Brink’s a competitive advantage.

Banks, retail stores, financial services

companies, and thousands of other

commercial and government organizations

rely on Brink’s to patrol and secure their

premises, transport cash and valuables,

and keep their most precious assets safe.

In business since 1859, Brink's is

synonymous with trustworthiness, and

today its 70,000 employees serve

customers in more than 100 countries.

Gain Advantage in a Tough Market

Despite its unmatched pedigree, Brink’s

has to compete fiercely for business,

because the security services market has

become crowded, commoditized, and

price-driven. Noel Boyle, Managing

Director of Brink’s Ireland, knew that his

company had to do something to break

free from the competitive pack. “There are

hundreds of companies providing security

services, which have become

commoditized,” Boyle says.

Adds Alan Durnan, Brinks Director of

Security Services, “As prices have been

driven lower, most of our competitors

have cut back on training and equipment

to boost their margins.”

Brink’s Ireland, which is among the largest

security companies in Ireland, with 1,000

employees and many prestigious accounts,

decided to take a different approach.

Rather than reduce investment in its

people, it decided to invest in modern

Windows Phone

Customer Solution Case Study

Security Company Gains Competitive Edge

with Digital Handheld Patrol Solution

Customer: Brink’s Ireland

Website: www.brinksireland.ie

Customer Size: 1,000 employees

Country or Region: Ireland

Industry: Professional services

Partner: Arantico

Customer Profile

Brink’s is a global leader in security

services for commercial and government

organizations. Brink’s Ireland is among

the top five security companies in the

country, with 1,000 employees.

Software and Services

Windows Phone 8.1

Hardware

Windows Phone Lumia devices

For more information about other

Microsoft customer successes, please visit:

customers.microsoft.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published September 2014

technology and employee training as a

competitive differentiator.

Brink’s security guards, like their

competitors, used electronic patrol

recording devices to record checkpoints as

they made their rounds at customer

premises. This process, however, did not

integrate patrol data with back-end systems

and produced reams of paper reports that

were difficult for customer to read and after

the fact—customers could find out about a

security incident or patrol nonconformance

a month after it happened. The paper-based

process was also open to error and could

delay billing.

In addition to its team of 650 security

guards, Brink’s Ireland has a large

contingent of field technicians who service

automated teller machines (ATMs), security

cameras, and other security equipment.

These employees carried bulky laptops,

which were cumbersome in the field.

Arm Guards with Super-Smart Phones

In 2013, Brink’s Ireland began to look for a

more efficient, modern way for guards and

field technicians to document patrols,

submit reports, and perform their jobs.

Brink’s sought a mobile solution that would

keep customer information secure, provide

rapid data transmission, enable real-time

information and device management, and

operate on low-cost, user-friendly devices.

It selected Arantico Service Pro software

running on Windows Phones. “All of our

back-end business systems are Windows-

based, and we thought that Windows

Phone was the most secure operating

system and far less expensive than other

smartphones on the market,” says Durnan.

Arantico Service Pro is a field service

application that Arantico heavily

customized to meet the needs of Brink’s

Ireland. It took advantage of near-field

communication (NFC) technology in

Windows Phone 8.1 to collect data

digitally. NFC is a set of smartphone

standards that enables devices to establish

radio communication with one another by

touching them together or bringing them

into close proximity.

Brink’s guards collect patrol data by simply

passing their smartphones over NFC

contact points rather than recording

checkpoint status on paper logs. The data

is immediately sent to Brink’s back-end

systems for analysis, reporting, and billing.

If a patrol checkpoint is late “checking in,”

an alert flashes in a central control room,

and operators contact the officer (over the

smartphone) and ask if everything is OK. If

there is no response, they immediately

send assistance.

Brink’s Ireland field technicians are using

the same solution to replace laptops and

spreadsheets for receiving assignments,

accessing technical documentation,

submitting completion reports, capturing

customer signatures, and more.

“Everything our field engineers need is on

the smartphone,” Durnan says.

Brink’s Ireland has deployed Windows

Phones to 150 guards and field engineers,

with plans to roll them out to all Security

Service customer locations in Ireland in

2014.

Deliver Real-Time Reports to Customers

With the Windows Phone solution, Brink’s

Ireland can get more accurate reports to

customers in real time. Instead of receiving

a 50-page report four weeks after a patrol,

a customer gets real-time notification,

through email or text message, of a

security incident. The officer also has the

option to incorporate a photo in the alert.

Improve Efficiency, Speed Billing and

Cash Flow

The digital solution eliminates paper and

associated costs. “By using our Windows

Phone patrol solution, supervisors no

longer need to collect patrol logs and

create reports,” says Boyle. “Our

supervisors have achieved significant

efficiency improvements, giving them

more time to work with security guards

and develop customer relationships. We’ve

also been able to accelerate our billing

cycle by automating patrol reports.”

It takes just 15 minutes to train guards and

technicians on the new solution. “Most

people know how to use a smartphone, so

the Service Pro solution is easy to pick up,”

Durnan says. Also, the Windows Phone

platform gives guards the ability to use

familiar Microsoft Office programs to

receive and respond to email, receive

procedure updates, and stay connected to

corporate news while on patrols.

Differentiate Services and Gain

Competitive Advantage

Service Pro is a key differentiator for

Brink’s Ireland in a very competitive

market. Since launching the solution,

Brink’s Ireland has won more than €1

million (US$1.3 million) in new business

and retained key clients. “Our Windows

Phone solution helps us stand out from

the crowd,” Boyle says. “It certainly gets us

on the short list.”