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TECH SUPPORT logs. But first- and second-level agents, another 25 employees, don't have access to the BES — for security and policy rea- sons — and couldn't easily interpret the information they would find there any- way. "You really do have to be an expert [to interpret the BES logs]," says Nazir. "You have to know where to look, and it's not going to be in plain text when you find it. It's going to be very cryptic." So when BlackBerry trouble calls came in, they invariably had to be escalated to one of the BES or Exchange administra- tors to solve. This added to the resolution time and made it all the more frustrating for the lawyers. "We realized we had to get some of that information from the BES into the hands of the first-level sup- port people so they could identify the source of the problem and solve it with- out doing the escalation," says Nazir. The BoxTone system, which runs on a separate server and receives continu- ous feeds of log information from both the BES and the Exchange servers, can quickly identify where the problem lies — by analyzing how widespread it is and which users are affected, for example — and then delivers a script to support agents with step-by-step instructions on what they, or the user, need to do to solve the problem. "The [BoxTone] interface, because of its graphical nature, is very intuitive," says Nazir. "It's very easy for [helpdesk personnel] to identify the problem, whether it's specific to that person or a particular provider or it's system-wide, and find a solution." For more complex problems, BoxTone provides agents with links to articles published by RIM and Microsoft in their online support knowledge bases explaining how to solve an issue. In the past, if they encountered such problems, BLACKBERRY PRESENTER I t's not the only product that makes it possible to send PowerPoint presentations to a digital projector or monitor from a BlackBerry, but the forthcoming BlackBerry Presenter from Research In Motion Ltd. is the fi rst designed especially and exclusively for BlackBerry. The Presenter makes it very simple to do PC-less presentations. The device is not much bigger than the smartphone itself: 3.4 x 2.4 x 0.9 inches. You can plug it into power using the cable that came with your Black- Berry, so there's not much extra to carry. Then you plug the Presenter into an S-Video or VGA port on a projector or monitor (cables not included), or use Bluetooth for a wireless connection (so you can roam around with your smartphone and still control the slide show). Click 'Present' in the wizard software that opens on the BlackBerry screen and you're ready to roll. The Presenter has one button for operation that puts it to sleep, wakes it up, or launches a new presentation. Everything else is done from the BlackBerry using the included Presenter software (which you have to install). You can set the time between slides and let it run automatically, or freeze a slide on the big screen while you search through your slide deck on the BlackBerry. Presenter supports most PowerPoint animation and transition eff ects and both NTSC, the TV standard used in North America and some other regions, and PAL, the format used in Europe and elsewhere. Price: $219.99. BlackBerry Presenter is not the only game in town, though. Impatica Inc. has the very similar ShowMate, available now for $150. It's about the same size and does the same thing, including enabling Bluetooth wireless connections, and it works with BlackBerry, Palm, Sony Ericsson, and Windows Mobile smartphones. Who needs a PC? — GB agents would have to search out the knowledge-base articles on their own. Perhaps best of all, BoxTone delivers regular summary reports of BlackBerry and Exchange activity that provide administrators like Nazir with vital advanced warning of problems. "We're often able to identify a BlackBerry prob- lem even before a lawyer knows it," he says. "We can call him up and walk him through the solution. It's a good position for us to be in." Stikeman did consider other BlackBerry management solutions, including the forthcoming version of the BES software, but decided only BoxTone could provide the ease of use needed to enable first-level support agents to solve problems quickly. The fact it runs on its own server and doesn't interfere with the operation of the Exchange or BlackBerry servers was a definite bonus. The firm paid about $25,000 for the software licence — which is based on the number of BlackBerry users — and will pay about $7,000 a year for maintenance and upgrades from BoxTone. Is it money well-spent? BoxTone makes extravagant claims about return on investment in its product: 33-per-cent lower total cost of ownership (for the BES), 25-per-cent return on investment in mobile infra- structure and equipment, and 33-per- cent higher quality of mobile service. Nazir says he can't corroborate any of BoxTone's ROI claims, and hasn't tried. The firm didn't buy the product to save money, he points out, only to speed resolution of BlackBerry problems. However, he speculates it might be possible to calculate a saving in support costs because helpdesk agents and BES administrators are spending less time solving BlackBerry issues and they're also able to proactively identify and solve problems before they start causing difficulties for users. Bottom line: fewer frustrated lawyers and smoother, more reliable communi- cation between lawyers and clients. Is that worth $92 a lawyer (when amor- tized over three years)? We'd say so. Gerry Blackwell is a freelance technology writer based in London, Ont. Read his blog at http://afterbyte.blogspot.com. www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com M ARCH 2010 29 Gadget Watch