ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘cloud’ CATEGORY

Welcome to this fourth and final instalment in our series that has explored a research project run in partnership with ClickSoftware that was focussed on the usage and appetite for Cloud based computing as a platform for field service management systems. 

In this final section we take a look at opinions towards Cloud and Mobility and draw some conclusion to the research on the whole...

 

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Missed the other features in this series?  Find Part One here and Part Two here and Part Three

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Want to see the full picture? Download the full research report here!

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MOBILITY AND THE CLOUD

Of course when it comes to field service whilst the Cloud is in many ways an enabler, another modern technology development has had an even bigger impact – namely the emergence of modern mobile computing systems be it laptop, tablet or smartphone.

So how important is it for mobile apps for field service to be on the Cloud?

We asked our respondents “Do you think it is important that the mobility applications used by your field engineers are Cloud based?”

Again the move towards the Cloud was apparent with 56% stating that it is preferred for their mobile apps to be Cloud based, with 40% stating that it doesn’t really matter and just 4% stating that they don’t want their mobile apps on the Cloud.

 

When we consider that 43% of companies were now on at least their second iteration of a field service app and that 47% of companies state that they will update their mobile apps at least once every three years (14% state they will update every 18 months) this would seem to add further incentive for field service companies to eventually move at least part of their field service solution to the Cloud.

With this in mind it could certainly be argued that there is further incentive for the continuing shift from on premise to the Cloud, as in this age of Big Data where integration is key, it is important to have a smooth flow of data from office to the field and back - which would be easier to achieve if both sides of the solution are feeding into one database simultaneously.

CONCLUSIONS?

It seems that the Cloud is definitely gaining momentum.

Nearly two thirds (63%) of field service organisations are more open to the idea of the cloud today than in 2014. Add this to the almost one quarter (24%) who always thought the Cloud was a good thing, and we can see that nearly 90% of organisations feel open or positive about Cloud-based Field Service Management solutions. In addition, over half (56%) cite Cloud as their preferred option.

As suggested earlier it is perhaps expected for the largest companies to be, as a group, slower in moving from one system to another due to the larger size of such a project.

 

However it is amongst the smaller companies that there is perhaps the biggest surprise of this research.

It is here we see greater reluctance for the Cloud which appears to sit in direct contrast to the fact that for many smaller companies the Cloud could offer a much more manageable cost via a SaaS model alongside other benefits such as less reliance on IT, and built in disaster recovery – again something that would presumably be appealing to smaller companies.

Yet despite the fact that smaller companies are not taking to the Cloud as much as would have perhaps have been expected, the research also reveals that whilst the biggest concern around moving to the Cloud remains security (closely followed by connectivity issues) other concerns such as integration with legacy systems and a lack of Cloud offerings do seem to be lessening.

And with the admission by 63% of respondents that they have become more open to the idea of the Cloud being used in business, plus the increase in both mid-size and enterprise sized companies that are now using a Cloud based field service management solution, there remain strong indications that the Cloud will continue to grow in stature as a platform for field service management solutions in the next few years as more companies move from their existing legacy systems to newer solutions.

Whilst the headline statistics of Cloud vs. On-Premise may be taking time to reflect the trend, the Cloud is definitely gaining momentum and this is sure to continue as more and more as more and more companies upgrade their field service management systems.

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Our recent research run in partnership with ClickSoftware was focussed on understanding the appetite and prevalence of use of Cloud computing as a platform for field service management solutions. Here, in part three we turn our attention to those who have to date stayed away from the Cloud to understand their reasons for doing so....

 

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Missed the other features in this series?  Find Part One here and Part Two here

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Want to see the full picture? Download the full research report here!

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REMAINING ON PREMISE…

So let’s look in more detail at why some companies are remaining with an on premise field service management system?

To begin let’s return to our hypothesis that whilst on premise solutions are currently more in favour, the Cloud is growing in popularity and will continue to do so as companies slowly move from their current systems to more modern next-gen equivalents.

Again a strong indicator in support of this would be how long those companies which are still using on premise solutions have been with their existing system.

In fact when we look at the responses to this question we do indeed see a mirror of the same question put to those using a Cloud solution, with just 11% of companies having implemented their current system within the last year whilst 62% are using a system that is at least three years old.

 

Further to this we asked those using an on premise solution whether they were likely to consider a Cloud platform for the next iteration of their field service management solution.

Again the response re-affirmed a growing acceptance towards the Cloud with 69% of respondents indicating that they would in fact consider the the Cloud next time round.

Also if we compare this to our 2014 survey, where we asked the same question to those who weren’t using a Cloud based field service solution, we see that this figure has in fact increased by 15%. This adds further weight to the argument that acceptance of the Cloud for field service management is growing.

But whilst there may be evidence of the Cloud becoming more trusted for those who remain unconvinced it is the same issues that represent their biggest fears.

As per our 2014 survey, our research shows that once again Security is the biggest reason that some field service companies do not feel confident in turning to the Cloud with 38% of companies stating this is their greatest concern.

Connectivity issues are also a significant concern cited by 24% as being their number one fear.

 

However some worries around the Cloud do seem to be abating. Worries around integration with legacy systems have fallen from being cited by 37% of respondents in 2014 to just 15% in this year’s survey.

Another commonly cited reason for not moving to the Cloud last year was a desire to stay with an existing supplier.

However, in this year’s findings just 3% of respondents cited that as a reason they would not consider the Cloud. However, as referenced in the introduction almost all field service management software providers are now offering a Cloud based version of their existing software so perhaps this comes as little surprise.

The research also shows that for those companies that aren’t currently using a Cloud based field service management solution the reluctance to move to the Cloud isn’t restricted to the field service division.

In fact over half (52%) of those companies using an on-premise solution for their field service management system have no Cloud based systems at all.

So whilst it appears that the Cloud is indeed gaining momentum as a platform for field service management software, the biggest barrier to adoption for many remains concerns around security.

Of course well documented, high profile consumer breaches such as that of Apple’s iCloud add fuel to the flames and 58% of respondents admitted that incidents such as these influence their opinion of Cloud being used in the enterprise.

Yet in spite of this our research shows that as the Cloud matures perceptions are definitely changing.

Two thirds (66%) of our respondents admitted that they have become more open to the idea of Cloud being used in business in recent years whilst just 8% state that they have always felt the Cloud is too risky and that opinion hasn’t changed.

 

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As we continue our in depth exploration of our recent research project assessing the latest trends of field service companies turning to the Cloud which was run in partnership with ClickSoftware we turn our attention to those companies who have moved their field service management systems to the Cloud to find out what benefits they are seeing and why they made the switch away from on premise field service management systems...

 

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Missed part one? Find it here

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Want to see the full picture? Download the full research report here!

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HEADS IN THE CLOUD

So what are the key findings from those companies who have made the move to the Cloud? Well firstly if our previous hypothesis is indeed correct and one of the key factors in why companies are not moving to the Cloud is that they have yet to move into an upgrade cycle from their existing system, then this should be evident in how recently those who are using a Cloud based field service management solution made the switch.

In fact over three quarters of companies that have moved their field service operations to the Cloud have done so within the last three years. Which again would support this hypothesis. What really adds further strength to the assertion that the Cloud is now gaining momentum however, is the fact more companies have moved to the Cloud within the last six months (29%) than have been using a Cloud system for over three years (24%).

This would seem to be strong evidence that the Cloud is becoming more readily and swiftly adopted today than it has been previously.

So what are the key reasons for companies making this move? As mentioned in the first part of this series  the benefits of Cloud computing are numerous however two reasons were particularly popular amongst our respondents.

These were the fact that Cloud is “scalable and flexible” which 76% of companies highlighted as important to them, whilst 71% of companies cited “easy remote access” as a significant reason for their selection of the Cloud for their field service solution.

Whilst these two reasons were comfortably the most popular, other commonly cited reasons were “less reliance on IT” (59%), “more functionality” (53%) and “disaster recovery” (41%). Of course in part one we also discussed one other reason that companies may move their ield service operations into the Cloud, i.e. many are seeking to integrate smoothly with Salesforce (or of course other Cloud based CRM systems ).

With this in mind it is it was interesting to see that of those companies that were using the Cloud for their field service operations overwhelmingly the most common Cloud solution being used in other areas of business was CRM. In fact 53% of companies who operate a Cloud based field service solution also have a Cloud based CRM.

This was twice as much as the second most common business solution Marketing, which was Cloud based for 24% of these companies. What is particularly interesting is that although beyond the peaks of CRM and Marketing no other areas of business (other options included ERP, Accounting, Payroll, Asset Management & HR) were placed in the Cloud by more than 17% of companies using a Cloud based field service management system.

 

Yet despite this reluctance to put other business solutions in the Cloud currently, 53% of respondents felt that their companies would will ultimately move all of their software solutions to the Cloud and in fact 6% of companies already have.

If we look at the benefits of those using the Cloud for their field service management solution, again there were two clear leading benefits identified.

These were “Cost” and “Productivity”, which were both cited by 47% of the respondents as the biggest single benefit they had seen since moving to the Cloud.

And perhaps the single most revealing finding of the set of questions put to those companies using a Cloud based field service management solution, was that when we asked “Would you recommend a Cloud field service solution over an on premise solution” the respondents answered unanimously (100%) that they would.

However of those who don’t think such a wholesale move to the Cloud is a good thing, security remained the clear overriding concern alongside a reluctance to be fully dependent on the Internet... Look out for the next part of this series where we look at the findings from those companies who felt that the Cloud presented too much risk so have opted to keep their field service management systems on premise... 

 

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Having undertaken a recent research project exploring trends amongst field service companies involving use of the Cloud for Field Service Management Systems as well as the ongoing development of mobile solutions for field service, Field Service News, sponsored by ClickSoftware are pleased to bring you this four part report exploring the research findings written by Field Service News Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland....

 

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FIELD SERVICE, MOBILITY AND THE CLOUD

Cloud computing has been a key topic in field service circles for some time now. In fact it seems every time we read about a company implementing a new service management system it is mentioned that they opted for a Cloud based solution. Indeed the benefits of the Cloud are well documented.

Less reliance on IT, built in disaster recovery, regular and free updates, lower overheads, and so on and so forth. And the Cloud is no longer a particularly new technology. It’s not emerging anymore, it’s emerged. In fact it is now almost twenty years ago that Salesforce, a company born in the Cloud when it was just not more than a whisp of cirrus in the stratosphere, first began evangelising Cloud computing as the way of the future.

Fast forward to today and Salesforce is the leading player in the CRM sector and despite not having a direct presence within the field service sector, is arguably one of the key driving forces for the adoption of the Cloud in our industry. How often do we hear companies stating that ‘integration with Salesforce’ was a big factor for them when deciding to opt for whichever of the numerous modern service management suites are available.

Certainly those service management software providers that were savvy enough to develop field service apps for the Salesforce App exchange such as ClickSoftware’s ‘ClickWorkforce’ have gained something of a competitive edge in recent years by doing so.

Yet despite these seemingly all conquering headlines the reality highlighted by various research appears to be very different at least for the adoption of the Cloud as a platform for field service management solutions. Indeed our own 2014 research project showed that only 23% of companies were running there field service management software in the Cloud. So why this discrepancy?

Is it a case that we in the trade media are over egging the pudding and putting to much hyperbole around the use of Cloud in field service?

Or is it a case that Cloud looks like a more attractive prospect from distance, but when companies begin to explore their options when upgrading to a new solution, in reality staying on premise is the easier and safer option? There is of course the argument that it will take time to see a full migration across to the Cloud.

 

This is of course valid and many companies will eke out every last drop of functionality they can from their existing legacy systems rather than face the turmoil of moving a business critical operational tool from one system to another. But if this is the case surely we should start seeing a growing momentum towards the Cloud year on year? With this in mind Field Service News in partnership with ClickSoftware has decided to the revisit this area of research some 18 months on.

When writing the report for last years research I concluded that the Cloud is set to become an established platform for field service technology, and even ultimately become the most commonplace method of distributing field service software. Is it time I reassessed that statement, or is the momentum of the Cloud slowly gathering pace?

ABOUT THE RESEARCH:

The research was conducted online across July and August this year. The respondents were a mix of Operations, IT and Business Leaders working within organisations that had a field service operation.

Company sizes range from SMB’s with under 10 field workers to the enterprise level companies with over 800 field workers. In total 150 respondents answered the survey with respondents coming from a number of different verticals including Manufacturing, Engineering, IT solutions, construction, fire and security, healthcare and more. As with our 2014 survey after the question ‘Is your current field service solution on premise or in the Cloud?’

The survey split into two in order to give us insight from those currently using the Cloud and those that are still on premise. This enables us to better ascertain the benefits being seen by those using the Cloud alongside the reservations of those who are not.

MID SIZED MOVEMENT

The headline statistic to come out of the research is that indeed there has been a slight shift towards more companies using the Cloud than before. In fact there has been a swing of 3% in favour of those using the cloud with 26% of companies now having their field service management solution in the Cloud versus 74% who are using on-premise.

Whilst a small movement, given the timeframe this increase could indeed help support the argument that the Cloud is slowly becoming more prevalent and that the move to Cloud is very much tied to companies moving from their legacy systems to more modern next-gen equivalents.

 

However, a logical continuation of that thinking is that we would find those companies with larger field worker numbers more likely to remain on premise than those smaller companies for the simple reason that they are more likely to have invested in the expensive infrastructure to run an on premise solution and would therefore potentially be more tied to their existing system - making a switch to a new solution harder work.

Yet when we drill down into the data and separate the companies out into three groups – those with less than 50 engineers, those with between 50 and 500 engineers and those with more than 500 engineers we find that in fact this doesn’t hold true. Actually whilst the trends amongst the largest companies very closely mirror the respondents as a whole (25% Cloud vs. 75% On premise) it is amongst the smaller and mid sized companies that we see the biggest variance. Interestingly smaller companies, who are generally viewed as being the most likely to be attracted to the Cloud due to the more affordable Software as a Service subscription model that most Cloud vendors offer, were the group that were most reluctant to have their field service operations on the Cloud - with just 17% doing so.

Meanwhile the mid tier companies (i.e. those with between 50 and 500 engineers) were the group that had the most Cloud based systems with 37% of these companies using the Cloud.

 

When we look at the same demographic in our previous research this is an increase of 21% of companies, so whilst on premise still remains the way the majority of run their field service management systems, a shift to the Cloud, amongst this demographic at least, is clear. Still the question remains why are we seeing more acceptance towards the Cloud within these mid sized companies than amongst their smaller counterparts? (If we accept the earlier premise that those larger companies may take longer to adapt due to greater change management challenges.)

One possible answer could be found in the make up of the decision-making units of those smaller companies. Of those companies with less than 50 engineers that are not using the Cloud, only 15% of companies had input from their IT director or equivalent whilst of those mid sized companies that have adopted the Cloud 71% involved their IT Director or equivalent in the selection of a field service solution.

Could it be that amongst smaller companies it is a case that without the input of a technology specialist, some of the headline fears around the usage of Cloud persist. Whereas amongst those larger companies, who have a more developed IT department adding their insight, perhaps there is more understanding of both the true benefits and dangers of the Cloud?

One question within the survey that could certainly give us further insight into this assertion was ‘Which of the following sums up your perception of the Cloud in business’ which had the following four options

• I believe it is the future of enterprise computing
• I see it’s benefits but still have some concerns
• I wouldn’t trust placing sensitive data in the Cloud but would use for general applications
• I think we should keep everything on premise, there is too much risk in the Cloud.

[/unordered_list]Given the fact that there was a fairly even balance between the two groups of company sizes, the varying responses certainly indicated a more cautious outlook towards the Cloud from the smaller companies than their mid sized counterparts.

Within the group of companies with between 50 and 500 field service engineers 58% felt that Cloud was” the future of enterprise computing”, with a further 32% stating that they “saw benefits of the Cloud whilst having some concerns.” Interestingly not a single respondent from this group stated “we should be keeping everything on premise, there is too much risk in the Cloud.”

When we compare this to the responses of those companies with less than 50 engineers we see the confidence in the Cloud significantly reduce with only 38% stating they “believe the Cloud is the future of enterprise computing” whilst 20% “wouldn’t trust placing sensitive data in the Cloud but would use it for general applications” and “5% stating they think “we should be keeping everything on premise, there is too much risk in the Cloud.”

 

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Field Service News Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland reflects on a busy summer in the European field service industry in his leader for issue seven of Field Service News...

Click here and complete the brief form to download a digital copy of Field Service News issue seven now

I’ll be honest, when the doors closed on the third day of this year’s Service Management Expo I gave an almighty sigh of relief...

Not only was it the end of a very busy three days but it also marked the end of what was an incredibly busy conference season in the European field service industry and to be quite frank I think everyone needed to take five just to catch their breath.

Since we published the last edition of Field Service News we’ve attended the Aston Spring Servitization Conference, The Field Service Forum, The TomTom Telematics Developers Conference and of course the Service Management Expo and each of these events brought into focus some of the key conversations that are happing in our industry today.

There has been an abundance of excellent content produced by some of the leading figures in Telematics, Servitization, IoT, Artificial Intelligence and much more with each outlining how these varying tools and technologies will impact on field service.

And whilst long may it continue, it is also good to have a little bit of time in these long, hot summer months to let all these ideas, concepts and strategies tumble around in our heads for a while. Then, as we move into the final quarter of the year, our thoughts and plans around how we can harness some of these concepts, can solidify and evolve into strategies with substance.

And as I start to bring some of my own thoughts into focus my first initial observation is that so many of these new trends are interconnected.

In the past I’ve explained my belief in this column that we are entering a golden age of service, driven by a perfect storm of technologies emerging together and if anything the last few months have reaffirmed that belief.

Service is no longer an after thought but a primary business driver and if there was ever any doubt about this it was completely eradicated at the Aston Servitization Conference.

It was fantastic to see academics and industry leaders coming together to learn from each other and at the end of an intensive two days there was no doubt in my mind that this growing trend of Servitization was moving very quickly from academic theory with a handful of industry examples (albeit high profile ones) to a considerable shift in business thinking which is continuing to gather momentum.

Indeed the topic of servitization raised it’s head again when I interviewed Sony’s John Cooper with Cooper providing a perfect example of Servitization in a new contract with Spanish media outlet Telemadrid. As Cooper himself explains “when it’s pay-per-usage - it becomes all about the service.”

Which of course brings us back to the technology, for working in the parameters of an outcome based solutions contract means that your field service operations have to be highly efficient to ensure you are delivering the uptime levels such contracts are built upon.

IoT is of course one such technology that is truly driving these changes in business thinking and culture. Sony for example employ a number of remote monitoring and diagnostics tools across their B2B technology range, and such connected devices are huge enablers for companies moving from a traditional reactive type of service operation, to a more proactive type of operation that an advanced services approach requires.

 

And it is not just the devices our engineers are repairing and maintaining that are becoming connected, it is their tools and even their vehicles themselves that are becoming connected also.

It is of course no surprise that the connected vehicle dominated conversation at the TomTom Developers Conference, but in fact it wasn’t the only game changer for fleet management discussed that day in Amsterdam.

We also saw TomTom Telematics redefine themselves as a Platform as a Service for the telematics industry with the launch of their Apps Store, and this new model for telematics, built on open integration, is something of a game changer.

It is a smart move by the Dutch Telematics giant and one which couldn’t have been better timed as another major player in the Telematics space, Microlise who have a phenomenal reputation within the haulage sector, have also turned their attention to field service with the launch of a very slick new solution Clear. 

And then of course there are the two technologies that are underpinning most change in field service, Mobile and the Cloud. 18 months ago we researched the Cloud and I made some bold predictions around it’s adoption in field service. In our latest research project we revisit some of those claims and see if, how and why the adoption of Cloud based solutions in our industry has moved on at all within the last 18 months.

Time to let those little grey cells get to work...

What should businesses consider when deciding whether an On-Premise or a Cloud solution is the best fit for their business? In Part One, we explored the attractions of the Cloud. In Part Two we take at look at why some field service companies still prefer an on-premise solution.

Judging by the amount of publicity recently about the Cloud and its benefits for business, you might think that every company is planning to migrate IT systems to it, including ERP and field service software, or at least thinking about it.

Filter out the noise, though, and it becomes apparent that there is resistance out there and for reasons other than mere reluctance to adopt a new way of managing the company's IT infrastructure. So why might on-premise still be best for your company?

Connectivity

A hosted cloud-based field service may not suit your business, advises Simon Spriggs, account manager Exel Computer Systems. "One reason many companies retain an on-premise ERP solution is the unreliability of their broadband connection. Broadband speed has a major impact on the efficient running of the business. It's not just field-service data going to and fro down that pipe, but everything the company does electronically. If the connection to the Internet fails, you won't be able to communicate with your engineers, manage workflows or give customers real-time information."

[quote float="left"]One reason many companies retain an on-premise ERP solution is the unreliability of their broadband connection.

 

Legacy systems

"Organisations which have made a big investment in data flows are naturally reluctant to migrate all their activities to the Cloud," points out Steve Mason, Vice President International Sales for Streetsmart, Click Software's service management app for SMEs and SMBs. While Click has been one of the pioneers of Cloud solutions, it also has a long heritage of providing on-premise solutions to customers who prefer to keep their activities behind the company walls. Mason likens the current debate to similar discussions that took place when companies migrated from investing in their own mainframes to having virtual servers. "It took time to build trust in those virtual systems. Moving all your processes to the Cloud is a major step: it takes time and people to plan it without disrupting normal business activities. Companies may well have more urgent priorities."

Larger companies will have made a significant investment in Enterprise-class software ERP and won't want that diluted by going to the cloud, accepts Mason. "Companies will have customised legacy software they are reluctant to adapt or processes they are not yet ready to change. They may also have a long-term contractual commitment to their systems integrator or software supplier."

When ERP systems were developed the need to incorporate mobile workforces was minimal" points out Neil Lewis, Consulting Director, EMEA Sales, ServiceMax. "Mobility projects were silos within a company. Today, not only are there much larger numbers of mobile workers, they need greater integration with those on-premise ERP systems from customer databases to accounts."

 

ERP solution providers have bought mobile solution providers to bridge the gap between ERP and mobile, he points out, but integrating old and new technologies is never straightforward. "How do you ensure the same employee can access the ERP from the office and from their mobile device. It might require modifications to the ERP or to the mobile system to get it to work and that is trickier with some ERP system than others. ServiceMax operate a single platform that automatically takes care of any device the field engineer is using. Configuration is done in one place and automatically deployed to the various devices."

Half-way house

Some companies have adopted a half-way house strategy in which they retain on-premise ERP, but migrate some activities to the Cloud, particularly those with a large customer-facing elements such as CRM and field service. "CRM was in the first way of Cloud migration because the need to deliver excellent customer service required greater integration with internal data silos than is often possible with legacy ERP systems," points out Mason. "Start with those apps which will leverage the most immediate gains to the business, make data streams more agile and easily-accessible from mobile devices, " advises Mason.

The complexities of integrating mobile workflow processes into legacy data streams is one reason field service solutions are often in the Cloud while ERP systems. "If your field service solution is browser-based, a lot of the integration issues are taken care of," remarks Spriggs. "It also future-proofs your investment."

Most of the field service software companies can integrate a Cloud-based field service app or platform with on-premise ERP systems. "Solarvista LIVE will connect to virtually any on-premise system via our NET technology which is designed to connect on-premise systems (private) to systems in the cloud (public)," points out Paul Adams, Marketing and Development Director, Solarvista. "Our connection tools support the major communication protocols, so you can be sure your data is secure."

"We have found that the service management industry is a diverse bunch with different requirements so we offer the ability to Pick ‘n’ Mix," says Colin Brown, Managing Director, Tesseract. "Some customers take the rental and support option but would rather install the software on their own server; other customers require remote hosting and support but they prefer to buy the software and others want the whole SaaS package of hosting, rental and support. With all three options, the internet and/or an intranet are the delivery routes."

 

Whether on-premise or Cloud solution, productivity will be affected if engineers are unable to work unless they are connected, so any mobile app should facilitate that, says Adams. "Our Mobile apps are designed for field-based users and operate on an occasionally-connected basis."

It's a mistake to assume that all field service platform solutions include off-line capability and automatic synchronisation, warns Lewis. "Engineers need to be able to download their jobs for the day, update schedules and customer history, for example, without being connected, and to have all that data automatically synchronised without manual intervention when communications are restored."

Security

While concerns over security have abated somewhat, some organisations remain sensitive about their data being in the hands of a third-party. With on-premise-solutions, all software resides behind that wall. Your own IT people can check authorization attempts and manage system access. There's always some risk involved in moving systems and data outside the physical walls of the business, which is there is so much emphasis on choosing the right Cloud platform provider and on service level agreements if you do go that route.

Some service organisations operate in industries where there are strict compliance and regulatory rules. Some sectors require high levels of access security, making on-premise solutions the pragmatic solution. However, bear in mind that asking mobile workers to go through myriad layers of protection to gain access to the system will have a detrimental effect on productivity.

 

IT resources

Don't under-estimate the IT skills and cost of investing in an on-premise solution, advise our experts. "Do you have the resources to manage IT requirements internally, including server management? What is the budget and the available IT resource to manage things on-premise going forward?" These are key questions, says Simon Spriggs. "If there are any concerns about the level of IT commitment required, the Cloud may be the way to go. However, it is worth remembering that the service model is always a more expensive option long-term than the outright purchase mode." This is especially true if you already have server agreements in place, he adds.

In conclusion

As with many aspects of field service, the starting point when deciding whether to adopt an on-premise or Cloud strategy for your IT needs should be to ensure you have a full understanding of your business processes and requirements and those of your customers.  Do listen to the pros and cons but ultimately only you can decide which is best for your organisation.

 

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Enterprise applications company IFS has announced that Kanes Foods one of the UK’s leading suppliers of fresh prepared foods, has chosen IFS Applications 9 to replace its legacy ERP systems.

Founded in 1990, Kanes Foods now has an annual turnover in excess of £100m and supplies over 3.2 million packs of fresh produce to the UK’s leading supermarkets every week. In order to support its rapid growth, Kanes Foods needs to update its current landscape of disparate systems with one, fully integrated ERP solution.

“With IFS Applications 9 we will have a system that supports the business through the entire supply chain – from procurement, raw material handling, production and final shipment to our customers,” commented Mark Harris, Production Director at Kanes Foods. “In addition, IFS Applications 9 will allow us to replace a number of stand-alone systems, such as quality management, plant maintenance, payroll, HR and time & attendance giving complete visibility across the business.”

 

Kanes Foods operate in a fresh produce environment, with much of the product arriving, being processed and dispatched within the same day; as a result speed and accuracy of data capture is imperative. That is why the deployment of a number of IFS mobile solutions will be critical to the implementation project. Kanes Foods will use IFS Warehouse Data Collection for the reporting of all movement of goods throughout the process. In addition, IFS’s mobile solution will be utilised by over 100 maintenance and quality technicians – to allow real time reporting on the shop floor.

Paul Massey, Managing Director of IFS Europe West, said “we are excited to welcome Kanes Foods into our growing list of food customers. It is encouraging to hear that the breadth of the IFS solution, along with our ability to deploy functionality to a mobile workforce, were key factors in the company’s decision to work with IFS. We look forward to a long and successful partnership.”

 

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What should businesses consider when deciding whether an On-Premise or a Cloud solution is the best fit for their business?  In this two-part series, Sharon Clancy gets some advice from the experts.  First up, we explore the attractions of the Cloud... 

There's been a lot of publicity recently about cloud platforms: for enterprises it's been about whether you migrate legacy business functions to it; for SMEs and SMBs it's about using the Cloud to become more competitive. There's also been a lot of talk about browser-based field service management apps - software-as-a-service, or SaaS.

Is it all just noise, or something your company needs to get to grips with?

Let's start with defining what we are talking about: Cloud and SaaS can be used as  interchangeable terms, but there is a difference. A Cloud solution is when some or all of your IT requirements are hosted by a platform provider who takes care of all the necessary infrastructure, including security, server stability and maintenance, data storage and so on. SaaS is another layer on a Cloud platform.  A permutation that has been adopted by some field service organisations is to have on-premise legacy IT and ERP systems integrated with a Cloud-based service management SaaS solution. SMEs and SMBs, on the other hand, might use a Cloud  platform for all their business functions, including accounting, HR and service management software.

Be agile

One business trend is that companies of all sizes need to be more agile in responding to their customers' changing needs, and agility is one thing the Cloud delivers in spades.

"For SMEs, Cloud-based solutions give them access to great technology, making them more agile. For many, it also allows them to ramp up their operations, and grow the business quickly, even to International level," says Steve Mason, Vice President International Sales for StreetSmart, Click Software's web-based management app for SMEs and SMBs. "For larger organisations, a Cloud solution can liberating, allowing much faster reactions to changing business requirements."

 

On-premise can mean less agility, points out Neil Lewis, Consulting Director, EMEA Sales, ServiceMax."Deployments of new services and processes are slower. When an old business process needs to change or a new one introduced, it takes much longer to do it internally, from getting the project on the internal IT roadmap to actually developing the app. There are typically many layers of the on-premise architecture that need to be changed in order to implement the processes. This in turn has an adverse effect on the companies' abilities to introduce new products and services quickly."

In many sectors, the business model is changing from being based around product life-cycles to a servitization model and predictive rather than reactive service, he continues. "That transforms field service into a agile, responsive customer-focused operation which can have a real impact on the bottom-line."

The Cloud means smaller companies can now access affordable solutions without the overhead of enterprise class software, points out Paul Adams, Marketing and Development Director, Solarvista.

Outsourcing IT

Enterprises are now looking at moving their entire structure to the cloud because it eliminates the need to manage a large IT infrastructure in-house," says Mason.

"On-premise solutions demand investment in infrastructure upkeep including databases, applications, coding and system upgrades. In the Cloud, all these issues go away," points out Lewis.

SaaS: a perfect fit for service management

SaaS is actually a good practical fit for service management, says Colin Brown, Managing Director, Tesseract. "Most independent service companies have recurring revenue streams which actually fit neatly with renting the software. Relatively small companies can now compete with larger rivals."

 

A browser-based field service solution is essential, regardless of whether you opt for an on-premise or a cloud-based platform, advises Simon Spriggs, account manager at Exel Computer Systems. "This will future-proof your investment should you decide to move business activities to the cloud in future. It will also help eliminate many integration problems."

Don't be lured into thinking that a Cloud solution is the answer to everything, warns Spriggs.  "Key questions to ask include: what is the budget, what is the available IT resource and what is the reliability and bandwidth of the Internet connection."

Reliable broadband: not an optional extra

The reliability and bandwidth or your Internet connection is crucial for any Cloud implementation, our experts agreed. "Some companies have an unreliable or slow broadband connection and that impacts on delivering cloud-based services," points out Spriggs. "If the basic connection to the Internet fails, it doesn't matter what back-up the hosted platform provider has - you won't be able to communicate with your engineers, manage workflows or give customers real-time information."

 

Security

Most companies will conduct financial due diligence before choosing a Cloud partner. However, all the field service experts we spoke with emphasised that it is equally essential to thoroughly check the IT capabilities of the company hosting those cloud services. "You are outsourcing the running of your business systems to the Cloud, not abdicating responsibility for them, so make sure your provider is fully compliant with the latest security standards " urges Steve Mason. "A public cloud platform will give you baseline protection - indeed, the level of security is much higher than most individual companies could afford because the companies invest a huge amount and employ security experts to keep up to speed with the latest threats."

A public Cloud platform as other advantages says Mason. her "Business continuity is crucial for mission-critical apps such as field service. On a public Cloud, the infrastructure is multi-layered so there is built-in resilience should one site go down which in turn means there will be no impact on your business.

 

There is a natural nervousness about hosting FS apps externally, the need to keep confidential data in the cloud and also about the complexities of integrating those cloud-based apps with internal ERP systems, admits Lewis. "However these concerns are not relevant any more with the evidence of many large organisations globally who have strategically moved to the cloud in the last 5 to 10 years. These range from governmental organisations to large global banks.

The Cloud is, in effect, a hosted server platform, points out Colin Brown. "Cloud data centres handle all the expensive, complex fire walls and demilitarized zones that keep information safe. If you are concerned about resilience, our advice is to invest in back-up servers.

It's important to think about what happens if servers goes down, agrees Neil Lewis. "Smaller vendors may be able to host your app but check if there is seamless back-up to ensure workflows continue as normal? Indeed, is there any back-up at all?"

Resilience is critical for mission-critical operations such as field service. For SMEs, cloud solutions provides a sophisticated level of IT infrastructure management including backup, disaster recovery, security and environmental concerns that they could never achieve otherwise, points out Paul Adams.

 

Asking what IT roadmap your provider has will whittle out some of the less capable vendors, advises Lewis. "Smaller platform hosts may not have the resources to invest in platform development, so ask what their roadmap is - for example, to develop the platform to integrate with multiple ERP environments to handle new technology."

Finally, businesses shouldn't undervalue the support offered by SaaS providers, says Colin Brown.  "Access to the software is controlled by the supplier, so all the software upgrades are installed and installed correctly and often, as is the case for Tesseract customers, free-of-charge of charge. Furthermore, as the data as it is hosted remotely, employees are no longer able to “play” with it, which reduces system errors

Look out for Part 2, where we'll  exploring the benefits of on-premise solutions and how they  integrate with field service management solutions.

 

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How do our experts match up with your own opinions? Don't forget to enter our survey on Cloud computing in Field Service now and have a chance of winning one of three £50 Amazon vouchers! 

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ServicePower and Qton Solutions have formed a strategic partnership to provide optimised workforce management solution for the metering industry which will expedite services and reduce costs.

ServicePower Technologies Plc market leader in field service management technology, today announced that it has signed a strategic partnership with Qton Solutions, the field service management software specialist in the UK metering industry.

Qton’s platform, hosted and managed in the cloud, provides drag-and-drop scheduling of jobs, mobile dispatch with real-time status updates, and fully customisable industry compliant workflows which facilitate on-site data capture.  By including ServicePower’s ServiceScheduling incorporating the latest optimisation algorithms, Qton’s work order management and mobile dispatch technology now includes intelligent, intra-day, schedule optimisation. Work orders will be created in Qton, optimised, and continuously re-optimised in ServiceScheduling, and dispatched to the metering field technicians.

Adam Bowen, Head of Operations, Qton Solutions, stated “The Qton field service management platform provides robust mobile workforce management functionality for metering services within the utilities industry. Integration of the ServiceScheduling optimisation technologies enables us to offer true route optimisation in addition to the drag-and-drop scheduling our platform was designed to support. ServiceScheduling integrated to our platform enables Qton to bring higher levels of efficiency and productivity to the industry, while maintaining the same level of customisable mobile workflow so necessary within the utilities sector.”

 

Marne Martin, CEO, ServicePower, stated “This is yet another partnership for ServicePower which broadens its reach into new verticals. ServiceScheduling will provide the advanced optimisation technology which Qton’s utility customers require to ensure the lowest cost maintenance schedules and highest levels of customer service, through offering real time, accurate appointments to the industry. The partnership gives customers a choice and also offers the product as a service which broadens our larger cloud-based offering. By working with Qton, ServicePower is able to grow its utilities customer base in the UK. This partnership further demonstrates our commitment to ServicePower’s partner ecosystem. We will achieve growth through integrating our technology with innovative partners whom extend our functional, geographical and execution reach, in addition to generating our own organic sales.”

 

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