By 2020, there will be more than seven connected devices for every person alive. Service providers must anticipate this new reality, the speed at which it’s emerging, and its impact on business models explains Joe Kenny, Vice President Global Customer Transformation & Success for ServiceMax, a GE Digital company.

The global economy is in the middle of the most disruptive period in all of human history. Companies that have been fuel for the global economic engine that powered the late 20th century are quickly disappearing from the global stage.

According to the Olin School of Business, 40% of today’s Fortune 500 companies will be gone in the next 10 years. Much of this business transformation is due to the accelerated advancement of technology. We are, in effect, making better and cheaper things that enable us to make better and cheaper things. Organisations that do not recognise this reality, and adapt to it, are going to face incredible challenges, much faster than ever before.

While many people are amazed at the success of Uber, few consider the consequences to Uber’s competitors.

While many people are amazed at the success of Uber, few consider the consequences to Uber’s competitorsIn New York City, a taxi medallion cost $1.3m in 2014 and two years later they were selling for $250k (Business Insider – 12 October 2016). That same article noted that the total share of all taxi rides for medallion owners in New York fell from 84% in April 2014, to 65% in 2015; A 20% market share decline in 12 months. Those that invested, over generations and decades, in N.Y.C. taxi medallions, will eventually see those medallions lose all of their value.

Ray Kurzwiel, futurist and author of the book, “The Singularity is Coming”, states that based on our current rate of change that, “from a historic perspective, the 21st Century will experience 20,000 years of technology advancement in 100 years”. What is driving this “Age of Acceleration”? The information and communications revolutions of the late 20th century. So, what does all of this have to do with how we service our corporate equipment and assets? Better, cheaper, and faster technology allows for a fundamental paradigm shift in how service providers approach customers and their markets.

Leveraging the technical revolution allows for machine to machine communication, remote asset monitoring, preventive maintenance planning, and predictive analytics. This is not something that is coming, it is something that is already here.Leveraging the technical revolution allows for machine to machine communication, remote asset monitoring, preventive maintenance planning, and predictive analytics. This is not something that is coming, it is something that is already here.

Major markets that have embraced these technology advancements include aviation, transportation, and power generation. Aviation Week reports that an average twin-engine plane can produce over 850 terabytes of data over 12 hours of flight. That data informs on everything from temperature, vibration, oil pressure, basically every aspect of that asset’s performance. It informs service providers of the exact status of that asset over time, when it will need maintenance, and exactly what maintenance it will need.

That level of information will shortly be available on almost every asset in service. Currently, there are approximately 28 billion connected devices on the planet. In the next three years, that number is expected to almost double to more than 50 billion.

That is more than seven connected devices for every person alive in 2020. Service providers need to anticipate this new reality, and more importantly, the speed at which this new reality is emerging. Positioning a service organisation to leverage these capabilities, access these technologies, and drive efficiency, effectiveness, and technologically advanced service will be critical to their survival in the market. It’s one of the main factors driving the exponential rise of field service.

Utilising technology to drive predictive maintenance, guaranteed uptime, defined service windows, and the move to defined service outcomes will be the price of admission to providing service and maintenance.Utilising technology to drive predictive maintenance, guaranteed uptime, defined service windows, and the move to defined service outcomes will be the price of admission to providing service and maintenance.

By way of example, GE already has 800,000 Digital Twins in operation that provide a digital mirror on the status and performance of equipment - covering assets from jet engines to wind turbines - allowing engineers to predict when they need servicing - helping field service engineers make sure that they perform the right service, right first time. Soon there will be more than a million Digital Twins in operation. If you are not positioning and preparing for this reality now, you may already be too late.

While there is always talk of the high cost of doing nothing, in the past there was a period of time for reflection, evaluation, and a window of opportunity to changes one’s mind. That will not be the case in the future. A missed opportunity will be gone before you know it.

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