Sun, June 10, 2007 — CIO — Today, a company’s business is done as frequently in the field as in the office. Even if you can’t get in touch directly with your staffers in the field, you can still see where they are, when they got there and how their job is progressing by using TeleNav Track.

TeleNav, founded by a group of Global Positioning System (GPS) experts, wants to help you manage your workforce with TeleNav Track—a mobile phone-based GPS tracking service with built-in audible and visual, turn-by-turn driving directions, electronic time-sheet reporting, bar-code scanning, jobs alert and change capability, electronic forms and progress reports.

TeleNav Track Breadcrumb Report

The Web-based service works in conjunction with software that runs on handhelds. A user clocks an electronic time sheet on the handheld; afterward, his workday actions are recorded, including specific locations, where he’s going and at what speed, and progress toward completing the day’s tasks. Depending on the handheld used and administrator settings, some users are tracked whenever the phone is turned on.

GPS driving directions and other location-based services, such as business and airport locators, are also available. Administrators can assign jobs or tasks to users. Wireless forms report progress. Text messages can be sent between devices and the Web interface.

Administrators use a Web interface to monitor mobile workers. Specific users or groups can be assigned to different admins, so workers are monitored by their supervisors. The interface can show maps of employees’ specific locations, trails of where they’ve been, job completion status or whatever other criteria you set.

I was quite impressed with TeleNav’s service, but I did find a few shortcomings. One, dubbed a “minor bug” by the company, kept the service from monitoring travel until I removed and reinstalled the software.