Research Report review: IoT, Servitization and Field Service in 2016

Nov 15, 2016 • Features • research • Research • White Papers & eBooks • IoT • Serviceitzation • servicemax

Resource Type: Research report
Published by: Field Service News and ServiceMax
Title: IoT, Servitization and Field Service (2016)

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Synopsis:

In 2015 Field Service News and ServiceMax teamed up on a research report to look at the appetite for IoT as a mechanism for field service delivery, now one year on we return to the topic to see if the clear desire for IoT has translated into real-world application and ask just how key is IoT to the growing trend of servitization....

With responses from over 120 field service professionals, this exclusive independent research project undertaken byField Service News, in partnership with ServiceMax aimed to cut through the hyperbole and establish if IoT is truly set to become a standard tool within field service delivery.

In addition to this we focussed our research on the apparent symbiotic rise of IoT and Servitization to try to understand further just how closely these two important trends within the field service sector are linked and how emerging technology and strategy are intertwined...

Download this report to find out:

Is the clear appetite for IoT in last year's research is translating into real-world implementations?
What are the key reasons field service companies are adopting IoT?
How important is IoT in the move to a servitized business?
What are the key perceived barriers to adoption for IoT and can they be overcome?
What is the recommended approach to IoT from those who have already adopted the technology?What cultural impact will IoT have amongst field service companies?

Overview:

In 2015 Field Service News and leading FSM software provider ServiceMax teamed up on a research project to assess the appetite for IoT as a tool for improving field service delivery.

Now one year on we return to the topic to see if the clear desire for IoT based field service delivery has turned to reality and if so what impact is it having on the growing trend towards servitization as a business model...

When we looked at the potential of IoT in field service last year we were confronted by what can only be called a genuine phenomenon beginning to emerge. One that could potentially change the way companies approach field service delivery entirely.

In this brave new world of servitization, service is no longer the supporting player there just to add value to a product. Instead, the product is now the facilitator for companies to deliver advanced services.

Indeed, whilst field service technology has been evolving at great pace across the last decade, much of the developments that have arrived - such as enhancements in artificial intelligence driving ever more sophisticated scheduling engines or mobility tools enhancing field service technicians workflows and eliminating unnecessary paper based administration, have been focussed on improving efficiencies and boosting productivity.

IoT on the other hand has the potential to completely revolutionise the processes and methodologies of field service delivery, and in doing so shift the service model into a new paradigm where contracts involving tightly adhered to SLAs are replaced by guarantees of uptime.

And this is largely made possible by the IoT giving us the ability to monitor assets in the field and react to fluctuations outside of accepted working parameters, delivering proactive maintenance to ensure that the asset continues to deliver its set outcome.

The benefits of such an approach are a more consistent and reliable solution for the customer and a more profitable business which is closer engrained to customers for the service provider - a win-win if ever there was one.

But whilst the theory may sound great, how is this translating into reality?

This is what this year’s survey set out to understand. Building upon last year’s research project which was predominantly focussed solely on IoT this time we have widened our focus somewhat to understand not just if companies are now actively adopting IoT, but what is their motivation for doing so and just how closely is that

Further reading within the research report: