AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Sharon Clancy

Technology analysts Juniper Research are forecasting that in revenue terms the telematics sector will continue to outperform all other M2M markets over the next five years, with one in five passenger vehicles connected globally by 2019. Connected cars will represent 20% of the global car market
by 2019, the company predicts.

Smartphone-based models have become the key disruptor for M2M, as sectors such as healthcare, consumer electronics and retail continue to evolve. Juniper Research forecasts that the M2M sector will generate service revenues of over $40 billion globally by 2019 - doubling the size of today’s market.

Smart metering to see global growth

The new research, M2M & Embedded Devices: Strategic Analysis & Vertical Market Forecasts 2015-2019, observed that the roll-out of smart metering initiatives will see rapid up-take over the next six years, driven in part by governments’ ambitions to increase efficiency.

According to research author Anthony Cox: “Both India and China are expected to see rapid adoption of smart metering as new metering infrastructure is installed and smart cities are created.”

 

The utility sector however is not expected to generate similar revenues to that of the connected automotive sector.

Mergers, acquisitions, new applications

Agriculture and environmental applications are starting to emerge as important new sectors in the M2M market, with applications as diverse as wild-life and farm animal monitoring, and increasing productivity through precise field mapping. Some of the industry’s most powerful players are coming together, such as the merger of KORE Telematics and Raco Wireless, and the acquisition by Huawei of the M2M technology start-up Neul.

Other key findings include:

• The US remains the leading geographical region for M2M, ahead of Western Europe. China is becoming increasingly important as initiatives by the country’s major carriers begin to take shape.
• Implementation of Big Data analytics will play an increasingly important role, particularly in areas such as telematics, smart metering and healthcare.

Key questions, says Juniper are:

1. Which market verticals hold the greatest promise in terms of service and connectivity enablement revenues?
2. What are the prospects for cellular-based M2M modules?
3. How are smartphones and Big Data playing a role in the M2M universe, and how will these devices and technologies affect the M2M market moving forward?
4. How is the API landscape developing and what role does it play?
5. How will the IoT and the M2M universe interrelate with one another?

 

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Resource Type: White Paper
Published by: Click Software
Title: The Cloud: Up where customer service for the field belongs
Download: Click here to download the white paper
By downloading you agree to the T&Cs listed available here

Synopsis:

The Harris Interactive Customer Experience Impact report revealed that 86% of consumers have quit doing business with a company because of a poor customer experience—up 59% in four years. Other research has revealed it takes 12 positive service experiences to make up for one negative experience, whilst 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with the same organization again. This white paper discusses how leveraging cloud solutions to optimise mobile workforces can improve the experiences of customers while lowering operational and IT costs. More field service management software is now available in the Cloud making it more accessible for SMEs and an alternative to heavy IT investments for large service organisations

Overview:

Customer complaints: What you hear is only the tip of the Iceberg. Many service companies don’t realize it when service levels are running low. In an increasingly savvy and connected market where information is readily available and easily accessible, customer service is often the only discerning difference between competing businesses. Investing in customer satisfaction is not only important but imperative for the long term survival of businesses especially where commoditisation has taken place

• Process improvement – to ensure prompt customer service and correct resource assignments
• Workforce development – to give the staff the opportunity to learn new skills
• Automation – rather than relying on error-prone and time-consuming manual processes
• Cultural changes – creating a working environment that stimulates the entire staff

Field personnel: you most valuable players

Only with real-time data can everyone shine. Providing real-time data across the entire organization is key to enhancing the customer experience. All levels of the service organization need actionable information to enhance how efficiently the field-service team operates and to improve experiences delivered to customers.

Silver linings within the Cloud

Cloud-based solutions open new doors for field service companies of all sizes by allowing for the quick, flexible adoption of new technologies that previously proved to be too expensive, risky and time-consuming to deploy.

Delivered via the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, cloud solutions provide several advantages over traditional on-premise solutions: inlcluding PAYG, rapid deployment, immediate ROI and free upgrades. In field workforce management, cloud-based solutions typically allow companies to achieve productivity gains of up to 20% and return on their investment within 12 months. The cloud approach gives businesses the opportunity to replace high, up-front capital infrastructure expenses with low, predictable costs, while also delivering other key benefits:

The service delivery chain

Cloud-based mobile workforce management solutions cover every step of the service chain—from planning and forecasting, to real-time intelligent scheduling, shift management, mobility and execution—underpinned by extensive user-defined analytics and dashboards to provide clear and intuitive reports. Optimised scheduling: Advanced resource scheduling and optimisation tools provide the main interface for dispatchers, supervisors and managers. Service companies can increase the efficiency of their workforce with by combining a powerful cloud-based scheduling and optimisation engine with strong decision support tools.

• Multiple scheduling options and policies
• Real-time optimisation immediately responsive to changes
• Optimised scheduling using multiple factors, people, crews, contractors, assets and complexities
• Street-level route optimisation
• Intelligent and flexible appointment booking
• Workflow dispatch and progress updates

[/unordered_list] 

Mobility that connects entire teams. 

Mobile enterprise field execution software should allow both field workers and dispatchers the convenience of real-time communications and full end-to-end visibility. By using real-time mobility, field workers can update dispatchers; they can update customers, thereby benefiting everyone with true connectivity and better productivityReal-time information, when and where you need it. View jobs, service histories, customer information.[unordered_list style="bullet"]

• Mobile solutions should be compatible leading devices and operating systems, through all service workflows, and with 24/7 availability
• Mobility is driven by apps. Don’t reinvent the wheel – build your business process using ready-made apps without having to code or go through a lengthy upgrade process
• The enterprise mobility solution must offer a robust and scalable infrastructure that can adapt to the needs of the business and its users.
• Cutting-edge capabilities include artificial intelligence and automation that anticipate and act proactively upon user’s needs

Real-time and historic service performance

Look at the entire service delivery chain - before, during and after the moment of service - and the collected business metrics that result from each moment. Make key performance metrics delivers strategic value to service organizations by placing graphical, easy-to-understand key performance metrics directly into the hands of executives and service managers. Each user chooses which actionable data to report based on their role and business challenges, from the C-suite to front line supervisors.

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Click here to download the white paper

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Click here to find out more about Click Software in the Field Service Directory

 

 

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A next generation cloud version of the field service management solution Siclops has been announced by Advanced Field Service. Siclops LIVE provides SMEs and large, multi-site companies with real-time visibility of their clients, jobs and engineers to increase efficiency and profitability levels.

The cloud-based functionality means it is a scalable and more affordable option for businesses operating across multiple sites, saving investment in expensive IT infrastructures. The solution is compatible with desktop, tablet and smartphone devices and seamlessly integrates with finance, CRM and telephony systems offering secure access to comprehensive information to improve productivity.

The system enables service management firms to easily manage all aspects of their business anytime, anywhere. Users can quickly access accurate mobile data relating to field workers, customers and suppliers from a single solution to speed up response times and enhance customer service levels by eliminating manual paper-based processes.

The user-friendly interface includes interactive business intelligence dashboards that display the current status of calls, jobs and contracts, along with extensive search facilities to assist with project management and scheduling requirements.

 

Greg Ford, managing director of Advanced Field Service, comments, “Siclops LIVE has been built on world class and reliable cloud technology which underlines our commitment to the field service industry. The solution has been specifically developed to address the challenges that growing service organisations face by providing unprecedented visibility into their field staff to drive efficiencies and operational control.

“By providing customers and suppliers with instant access to real-time information, they can gain unprecedented insight into the most, and least, profitable areas of their business, in order to deliver exceptional customer service.”

Ffor organisations employing that repair, service or install equipment in the field the system includes built-in specific data forms ensuring full compliance on the move with leading industry regulations, such as NICEIC, SIA, NSI, HSE and F-Gas.

 

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Smart meter installation and maintenance company Trojan Utilities has reduced its fuel usage by 24% after implementing a telematics system from Masternaut across its 100-plus strong fleet of vans. The system is used for a range of purposes by multiple departments across the business.

The Masternaut system provides Trojan with in-depth driver behaviour monitoring, looking at speeding, mileage and harsh events, helping Trojan to determine the effect various improvements have on fuel usage. The system is also used to dispatch engineers to proactively plan jobs and reactive emergency installs. The two-way messaging system allows engineers and Trojan Utilities to import contact numbers and communicate whilst out in the field too.

Since installation, Masternaut’s system has helped deliver a reduction in fuel usage through a combination of dynamic scheduling and improved driver behaviour. Reducing harsh events, idling and miles driven by each driver has seen a drop in fuel usage of 24%.

Driver behaviour overall has seen a major improvement with a 97% reduction in instances of speeding, helping make Trojan Utilities’ mobile workforce and other road users more safe.

By 2020, every home in the UK is projected to be able to use smart meter technology to see how much energy a household is using and manage it more effectively. As of May 2015, Trojan Utilities has installed over 160,000 smart meters, a figure that is rising by over 2,500 meters per week, with telematics helping it to manage that level of installations on a long-term basis.

 

Gemma Openshaw, Operations Director, commented, “Masternaut has become essential to our business, because it offered us everything we needed in one package. The system is used every day and we can’t operate without it. Without Masternaut, our fuel bill would be much higher so the system is effectively paying for itself. As a business, we’re operating in a challenging sector and the system has helped us cope with the rigours of installing in excess of 2,500 meters per week. That figure is only going to rise as we get closer to 2020, but with Masternaut, we’re confident that we’ll continue to stay ahead of the curve in the growing demand for smart meters.”

Steve Towe, Chief Commercial Officer and UK Managing Director, Masternaut, added: “The smart meter technology roll out is scheduled to be completed by 2020, and with millions of properties across the country needing them installed, this is certainly a significant challenge for all involved.”

He continues, “Telematics is giving Trojan Utilities a significant edge in managing this task, giving fleet managers total control and visibility of their fleet UK wise. In addition, the system is providing benefits in the form of reduced fuel usage and improved driver behaviour, reducing costs and improving driver welfare.”

 

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 A Supervisor app has been added to its FieldMaster mobile applications suite by Trimble to help managers stay efficient and effective on the go by empowering them to do more work in the field and manage their day-to-day operations remotely.

With the FieldMaster Supervisor app, managers can leave the office and still have visibility into their fleet and mobile workers from their smartphone or tablet.  “Mobility is an increasingly valuable tool for field service organisations,” said John Cameron, general manager of Trimble’s Field Service Management (FSM) division. “It allows a traditional office role to move into the field and still access up-to-date information about the performance of the field operation. The result is a more effective operation where managers in the field have the information they need at their fingertips.”

FieldMaster Supervisor is available with Trimble Fleet Management and Trimble Work Management solutions.
Key features include:[unordered_list style="bullet"]

• Viewing all locations of your entire team on a map
• Seeing each team member’s job progress, including tasks at risk
• Finding the nearest worker to another team member or customer
• Navigating to key locations using turn-by-turn directions
• Inspecting job performance and documenting status in the field
• Receiving important vehicle and driver performance alerts in real-time[/unordered_list]

FieldMaster mobile applications are a core component of FSM’s integrated suite of field service management solutions that includes Fleet Management, Work Management and Driver Safety. It also includes a Technician app which is an advanced collaboration tool for mobile technicians that allows them to receive, access and update job information in real-time for improved effectiveness on the job.

The mobile apps are available from the Google PlayStore and the Apple App Store.

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The Danish Ambulance service is to deploy almost 600 Motion C5 tablet computers as part of an innovative “Intelligent Ambulance” project that has been proven to save lives, Xplore Technologies Corporation has announced. The C5 units, which will be deployed across five regions, will enable ambulance teams to capture, accurately and quickly, all relevant patient data and transmit it to the hospital ahead of arrival.

Typically, a patient in an ambulance has hand-written notes that are passed on at admission into the hospital. As a process this is deeply flawed: the notes can be illegible and the risk of loss is substantial. Even if complete, perfectly readable notes are delivered to the hospital immediately on arrival, there is an inevitable delay as the information is actioned. This delay can increase if specialist doctors, teams or equipment are needed. Furthermore, with handwritten notes, there is typically only one perspective given – that of the ambulance personnel that has taken the details from the patient.

By comparison, the Intelligent Ambulance, equipped with the C5, can transmit vital observations direct to the hospital while the patient is en-route. Details on blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and oxygen saturation can be updated in near real-time. This information creates the Pre-Hospital Patient Journal (PPJ) that is used to determine a ‘trauma score’ that defines aspects of the care set up for the patient.

The C5 was chosen ahead of competitive units on the basis of improved screen quality and robustness. The camera captures and transmits high-resolution images of injuries, whilst the barcode enables consistent and reliable classification of patient data. Transmission of the data is secure and robust with the C5’s WWAN support. The C5 Mobile Dock which secures the tablet in place in the ambulance is a critical component of the solution, designed and tested to exceed crash impact test standards and enabling the workflow that transmits the PPJ to the hospital, ahead of arrival.

 

Because of the forms within the software, the information is always accurate, understandable and critically arrives at the hospital before the patient, so facilities can be set up in advance, reducing the delays at admission. As the PPJ is shared across all responding and relevant personnel, teams can collaborate to deliver the best levels of patient care and specialist requirements can be sorted before ambulance arrives at the hospital.

The project was co-ordinated by CSC Scandihealth and Atea, with software developed by Judex, hardware supplied by Lexit and installation carried out by Radiocom.

Ian Davies, Sales Director, Northern Europe, Xplore Technologies said: “This project is a clear validation of the improvements that mobile computing can bring to clinical care and strong evidence that the tablet form factor is better suited to the emergency services, compared to ruggedized laptops. The ability to capture and transmit, better quality information, faster is the bedrock of patient care improvements. The Intelligent Ambulance project is set to make a real difference across the Danish Ambulance Service and the C5 will be a critical part of that success.”

 

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So far in our exclusive interview with Paul Massey, Managing Director of IFS, we’ve taken a look at where Applications 9 sits against previous milestones in both Massey and the Swedish ERP provider's history in part one and then in part two we looked at whether the field service world is finally ready for the Cloud and IoT.

Now in the final part of this interview the conversation turns to the impact of consumerisation on enterprise software and why being an ERP provider can be a double edged sword for IFS when it comes to working with Field Service companies….

Given the trend towards consumerisation in enterprise software across recent years it is evident that this is something that is ingrained within the IFS development mentality.

“It is getting bigger and bigger,” admits Massey. “I’ve been around a few years and it just wasn’t as relevant before because for example the first graphical interface in work someone used was probably much more up to date than the software they used in their personal life. Now its completely the other way around. Our challenge is sometimes our applications may look really old and dated compared to what they use on their tablet or what they use on their PC at home.”

“That’s becoming more and more relevant to people looking at our applications and valuing them against other applications. If the users don’t like the application, then it is much harder to get them to use it irrespective of the business benefits and everything else. That’s really sometimes an intangible but very significant hurdle to get across.”

 

“So since 7.5 with the .net release the UK has been a big focus of what we are trying to do because if you don’t get their hearts you wont get their minds. That’s the challenge: you can have as much complex detailed functionality as you like but if the end user can’t use it in a relatively intuitive way then it’s wasted.”

As the conversation drills down to more specific field service side of their offering I was keen to see if Massey, felt that being an ERP provider was a help or a hindrance to them in terms of how they approach field service. Particularly given that they essentially have to separate offerings in the space.

“I think being primarily known as an ERP provider is a bit of a double edged sword as far as field service is concerned,” Massey begins. “We do have customers that use the original IFS service management functionality which is very much best suited to being at the back end of something where you’ve manufactured it, you commissioned it and then you maintain it. So your following the whole asset lifecycle and its probably a more complex asset maintenance scenario where there is a field service element but its part of something wider and in that story the whole integrated ERP approach is really powerful. All the data moves from one phase of the lifecycle to the next, seamlessly.”

“Whereas you’ve got another set of people who are looking purely at field service for who having an ERP is almost an anathema because they want a very light footprint: field service with probably mobility and scheduling so the advantage to them of integrated finance, HR, inventory and a complex infrastructure is much less evident and almost in some cases even a negative.”

 

“So it’s about understanding the audience, understanding what a particular customer wants and that’s why we have the two offerings that we have in field service -  the FSM product as well as the embedded service management product as well. Plus then they’ve obviously got mobility which can talk to both of those things.”

“Sometimes it’s a challenge when we talk to a prospect to understand which sort of flavour of service do they want. There are some obvious things like the number of resources your scheduling, the geographical coverage or whether they have some specific end functionality which can tend to push you in one way or another but ultimately it is about understanding what the customer wants at the end of the day. It’s a fairly glib cliché but its true.”

“If we are into highly integrated service management solution space then we think we can absolutely compete with everyone and that’s why we are strong in Defence and areas like that because it is a more complex typical service solution.”

“On the simpler field service side we believe some of the things that we have done in scheduling, in mobility and with the latest release of the field service product we believe we can compete as a standalone with anybody as well.”

“I think particularly our close integration with our scheduling application gives us some real benefits,” Massey continues. You’ve always got the question of which version of mobility do you want you’ve got Android, IoS Windows and all those things but we certainly believe with the two offerings we can cover all the bases.”

“That’s why we’ve invested so heavily in service over the last few years with the acquisitions made and the functionality we’ve added in these releases. We see it as a big area of growth for IFS going forward. It’s a massive area and in most geographies that sector is still growing very strongly. Service continues to be a major focus for us and hopefully our investment decisions will pay off.”

 

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A device to protect lone workers against the daily risks of their job has been launched by telematics provider Matrix Telematics.  The pocket-sized LoneWorker device incorporates the latest in GPS and sensor technology to help employees working on their own stay safe while carrying out their day-to-day work. It delivers end-to-end real-time tracking, giving organisations the ability to monitor the movements of their staff who are out in the field and provide both parties with vital security protection.

The device is discrete and ultra-sensitive to the slightest movement, claims Matrix.  The product can be configured in hundreds of ways so can be customised to match business and employee needs. This can include the ability to send a distress call if the device records unusual activity or a lack of motion, reminders to the employee to ‘check in’ after a certain amount of time, or for a control centre to dial in and listen silently to audio from the device. Alternatively, employees can activate an emergency button and open up a two way conversation with head office if they fear for their safety. All data can be integrated with a company’s CRM system which provides organisations with easy access to the information when it is required.

 

Geoff Ball, MD of Matrix Telematics said: “The definition of a lone worker has changed dramatically. From social workers to delivery drivers, postmen to pest control; lone workers make up almost a quarter of the UK’s working population, but the nature of their job leaves them open to a unique set of risks that employers need to be aware of.
“While most lone workers will hopefully never experience any problems, to have the peace of mind that there’s someone just at the other end of the line should they need it is a big reassurance for employees and a sensible precaution for employers to take.”

LoneWorker also helps organisations to report on employee activity and productivity enabling staff to record where and when jobs take place , automating timekeeping and billing processes.

 

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Companies keen to deploy the Motion F5m tablet, who have been thwarted by lack of availability got some good news at last week's Service Management Expo - new owners Xplore Technologies announced that the tablet has begun shipping again.

Stocks dwindled rapidly when Motion Computing's screen supplier abruptly closed its factory in China at the end of last year. Production has now restarted with a new supplier and lead times are back to normal, Ian Davies, Country Manager, Northern Europe, told Field Service News.

The F5m specification includes an Intel i7 vPro processor and the option of ultra-fast 4G mobile broadband connectivity.

Last week's event was the first time service companies had the chance to take a look at the new combined range from following Xplore's acquisition of Motion Computing in April. Both companies are leading providers of Windows-based rugged tablets designed to enable mobile workers to securely capture and share critical data at the point-of-service, delivering real-time decision making capabilities necessary for improved productivity, operational efficiency, and faster / smarter service tablets.

"I'm pleased with how the integration is going," said Davies. "Xplore Technologies can now offer a wider line-up of tablets addressing a broader range of customer needs."

Look out for Field Service News' review of the F5m next week.

 

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