Lloyd’s considered a half-dozen mobile-productivity software suites before settling on eTrace, which happened to come from a company called GearWorks based just across town.
Not only was GearWorks local, but its software worked on Sprint Nextel’s i560 and i850 phones, which are aimed at the construction industry.
Lloyd’s had already started buying these push-to-talk phones to wean workers from their
dying radios.
Immediately, there were troubles with technophobic staff. Employees had to be guided up a steep learning curve in order to master even basic features on their new phones.
For 18 months the two systems ran side by side: eTrace as it was phased in, and the old paper-and-pencil system as it.