T-Mobile Selects Inseego 5G MiFi® M2000 As Its First 5G Mobile Hotspot

Jan 12, 2021 • News • 5G • Digital Transformation • T Mobile • USA • Inseego

Inseego (NASDAQ: INSG), a leader in 5G and intelligent IoT device-to-cloud solutions for the enterprise, today announced that the Inseego 5G MiFi® M2000 mobile hotspot is now available at T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) – making the award-winning 5G MiFi M2000 the Un-carrier’s first 5G hotspot. T-Mobile joins a rapidly growing list of tier-one mobile operators around the world that have selected Inseego 5G technology for their networks.

“We are extremely proud to be the trusted choice for T-Mobile with their first-ever 5G mobile hotspot, bringing breakthrough performance to over 100 million enterprise and consumer customers on the Un-carrier’s nationwide 5G network. In addition, this launch enables T-Mobile to provide a secure, integrated solution for their enterprise customers with Inseego Connect cloud management software,” said Inseego Chairman and CEO Dan Mondor. “This exciting expansion of our relationship with T-Mobile reinforces why Inseego is trusted by mobile operators and enterprises worldwide. Inseego 5G solutions lead the industry in speed, security, and bullet-proof reliability which is why our mobile broadband and fixed wireless solutions are becoming the gold standard that brings out the best in 5G networks. Inseego Connect is one component of our new software-as-a-service cloud platform, and this is an important validation of our product and strategy.”

A COMPLETE ENTERPRISE MOBILE BROADBAND SOLUTION

With Inseego’s 5G MiFi M2000 mobile hotspot along with the Inseego Connect cloud management software, T-Mobile enterprise customers gain full control over devices connected to their corporate networks. This combination offers IT organizations an enterprise-grade solution that incorporates best-in-class performance and reliability along with complete visibility into device deployments.

The comprehensive Inseego Connect cloud management solution enables IT organizations to remotely manage 4G LTE and 5G WAN edge infrastructure through a cloud-native architecture that allows them to quickly scale their operations. From a single management platform, accessed through a web interface or a smartphone, IT managers can remotely configure, manage, monitor and secure devices deployed throughout their corporate network.

The Inseego 5G MiFi M2000 features fast 5G speeds plus 4G CAT 22 LTE fallback. Its simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi 6 means up to 40% faster Wi-Fi speeds than Wi-Fi 5 and up to four times increased data throughput per user when multiple devices are connected. The device features the latest in security to help keep transmitted information safe when connecting up to 30 Wi-Fi enabled devices at once, along with enterprise-grade WPA3 Wi-Fi security and a VPN pass-through providing a seamless, secure data channel. It’s easy to stay connected — whether from home or on the road — with all-day usage through the removable 5050 mAh battery and Qualcomm Quick Charge™ technology¹.

Today’s announcement expands the strong relationship between Inseego and T-Mobile. The companies currently provide subscription management service to government and enterprise customers with the Inseego Subscribe solution.

“T-Mobile is excited to expand our relationship with Inseego into the 5G era,” said Mike Katz, EVP T-Mobile for Business. “Our nationwide 5G network has superior coverage for businesses to tap into so they can more effectively operate remotely or enable employees to work and learn at home. The Inseego 5G MiFi mobile hotspot brings the quality experience T-Mobile customers have come to expect, by taking advantage of our 5G speeds.”

To learn more about the Inseego 5G MiFi M2000, visit: 5G MiFi® M2000 Mobile Hotspots | Inseego Corp.

70% of Customers Prefer On-Site Service, Even Now — Is Your Field Service Ready To Deliver?

Jan 11, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce

Bill Patterson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CRM Applications at Salesforce outlines how to adapt your field service for today’s world while providing mission critical service, ensuring customer satisfaction, and driving revenue...

Field service hasn’t been immune to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many on-site service jobs were canceled or deferred for months due to safety mandates, travel restrictions, and customer concerns. As a result, some field service organisations have had to halt operations and reduce resources.

However, people continued to need support in their homes and businesses — reinforcing that field service remains mission critical. Many jobs, like repairing a washing machine for a family with six children, installing a standby generator for a senior citizen who lives in a hurricane-prone area, or maintaining an ultrasound machine for a hospital in a major city, need to be done by a field service technician in person. And according to Salesforce Snapshot Research, 70% of customers prefer on-site service over video.

Both mobile worker and customer safety has always been top of mind in field service. Today, as field service appointments increase, the need for safe, fast, and complete service delivery — the first time — becomes even more important.

Along with best practices, a flexible field service management solution helps your organisation to adapt and innovate to be resilient in today’s world.

You become more proactive, agile, and efficient in your approach to field service delivery — all while providing mission-critical service, ensuring customer satisfaction, and driving revenue.

Connect with customers to prepare for the appointment

Communication helps build trust and customer engagement.Field service management facilitates communication by empowering customers to self-serve with chatbots and customer portals and enabling organisations to provide updates on technician arrival time with automated alerts and messaging. Use this functionality to instruct customers on what they need to do to prepare for a safe service visit, including cleaning the workspace, wearing a mask, and social distancing.

Ensure first-time fix rates to avoid another visit

According to the State of Service report, 45% of mobile workers waste significant time because of inaccurate or outdated information. Make sure they have a complete view of the customer and job information, as well as knowledge articles, on their connected mobile device before they arrive for a service visit.

Having all data easily accessible in one place and being able to collaborate with other experts while in the field helps to boost efficiency and improve first-time fix resolution. This increases overall customer satisfaction and positions your organization for new business opportunities.

Have the right parts to make sure the job is completed quickly

Preparation is key. It isn’t enough to have the right field service technician at the right time for the job.

They also need the right type and number of parts at the time of service. For example, when a field service technician arrives to repair a 3D printer for an existing medical device customer, it’s critical they have all the necessary parts to get the job done right, the first time to avoid inconveniencing them with a follow up visit or delaying critical service requests.

Inventory management powered by artificial intelligence (AI) recommends the best parts based on previous work orders to make sure your mobile worker always has what they need.

Unlock revenue opportunities to drive business growth

Eighty percent of service leaders say field service drives significant revenue, and 79% say it drives new revenue streams. In addition to training your mobile workers to identify sales opportunities in the field, tap into AI-enabled asset performance insight to boost revenue. For example, AI provides visibility into asset data, enabling you to see when the warranty for a piece of equipment has expired or not covered by a preventative maintenance contract and get recommendations on additional services to sell.

Set up for success with Salesforce Field Service

The world is reopening and field service organisations are addressing their backlogged jobs. With field service management, you can be more innovative in how you safely, proactively, and efficiently meet customer needs and drive business growth through automated communication, connected information, and AI-driven insights.

Learn how Salesforce Field Service can help you to succeed in field service delivery today, the next normal, and beyond @ www.salesforce.com/products/field-service/overview/

This article first appeared on the Salesforce corporate blog https://www.salesforce.com/blog/remote-virtual-assistance-service/

BSO partners With Superloop to Enhance Its Singapore Network

Jan 11, 2021 • News • Digital Transformation • APAC • Superloop • BSO

BSO, the leading global telecoms operator powering the digital age, today announced the enhancement of its Singapore network to enable seamless performance for its customers.

BSO has partnered with Australia-based network provider Superloop to provide the underlying fibre optic infrastructure to support new ultra-high capacity DWDM across an initial four Singapore major hubs located at Equinix SG1, Equinix SG2, Global Switch 1, and Singapore SGX. BSO now seamlessly delivers up to 100G client connectivity for its OTN, low latency and SDN product range within the metro and meshed to its high-availability global backbone.

BSO HAS UPGRADED ITS SINGAPORE NETWORK TO PROVIDE INCREASED PERFORMANCE TO ITS CUSTOMERS

“As bandwidth demands continue to grow, we are constantly scaling our capacity. The latest enhancements to our network are yet another example of how serious we are about providing businesses in Singapore with faster and more reliable connectivity,” said Stephen Wilcox, Chief Product Officer of BSO. “We are pleased to partner with Superloop and to benefit from their extensive expertise in fibre deployment”.

BSO has been passionately investing and increasing its offering on the very busy Asia-Pacific (APAC) market. Singapore, specifically, is undeniably a major global telecommunications hub with highly developed connectivity and a very progressive regulatory environment. With this newly enabled DWDM/OTN service and the upgrades to its low Latency and SDN global products, BSO offers a world-leading, resilient and scalable solution for companies with growing bandwidth requirements or requiring bespoke solutions over this cutting-edge, high-capacity network, whether within the Singapore metro area or to BSO’s global network spanning 250+ nodes in 30+ countries.

“We are very excited about further building our relationship with BSO and very grateful for the trust that they have placed in us to supply and run their backbone in the incredibly important market of Singapore,” said Paul Tyler, Superloop CEO. “This collaboration helps provide BSOs customers with the confidence that their security, latency and bandwidth requirements are future proofed.”

This partnership with Superloop is the result of growing demand in the region for high-quality local access and high- speed international connectivity.

85% of Businesses Facing Fatal Barriers to In-House App Development

Jan 06, 2021 • News • WorkMobile • Digital Transformation • software and apps • EMEA

More than four fifths of businesses lack the skills or resources to develop employee-facing mobile apps in-house, new research has found.

Research published by mobile data capture specialist WorkMobile, found that employee-facing mobile apps play a key role in the majority of businesses’ enterprise mobility strategies, with 91% of businesses making use of the technology.

However, while in-house app development offers businesses the necessary flexibility when it comes to tailoring and implementing effective mobile solutions – particularly crucial for businesses with a significant proportion of field-based workers – a staggering 85% are unable to do so successfully.

According to the research, 38% of IT teams are overstretched and don’t have the time or capacity to develop their own apps, while 36% do not have the coding skills and expertise required to do so.

IN-HOUSE MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT CAN BE A COST-EFFECTIVE WAY FOR BUSINESSES TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO EVER-CHANGING EXTERNAL FACTORS

Given the growing digital skills shortage, and the prevalence of apps in both our professional and personal lives, it is unsurprising that 47% of businesses have found it difficult to recruit employees with the right mobile development expertise.

The research also found that even among those businesses that are capable of developing their own apps, many have struggled to make them a success.

More than two thirds (63%) of businesses have experienced problems developing apps within a particular timeframe, and as a result 56% have been forced to abandon the development of an app before completion.

More than a third (36%) have had difficulties developing apps within a designated budget, and 30% have struggled to develop apps for a range of operating systems and devices.

Colin Yates, chief support officer at WorkMobile, commented: “These statistics are very concerning in the current climate, given the crucial role that mobile solutions play in a successful enterprise mobility strategy.

“Even pre-pandemic, enabling remote working was the most common pressure CIOs faced from the rest of the C-suite, according to half of those surveyed. And with so many more people now working away from the office, that pressure is greater than ever.

“The past few months have also shown us that in order for businesses to succeed, agility is absolutely key. In-house mobile app development can be a really cost-effective way for CIOs to respond quickly to ever-changing external factors, and ensure employees always have the right tools to do their jobs.

“However, with so many teams facing such significant barriers to in-house app development, they could find themselves struggling more than necessary over the coming months to keep up with rapidly evolving business requirements.”

In light of these difficulties, the research revealed that 64% of CIOs would be interested in using a no-coding mobile app toolkit as an alternative to developing apps in-house themselves.

44% said that they believe no-coding mobile apps would reduce the workload for their team, a third think that they would enable their teams to implement mobile solutions more quickly, and 29% expect they would find it easier to adhere to financial budgets.

Colin added: “It’s clear that effective in-house app development is just not feasible for the vast majority of businesses. Fortunately, technology is evolving and no-coding app development platforms can now offer a fantastic alternative.

“These toolkits make it possible for CIOs and their teams to quickly produce mobile apps that are specifically tailored to the needs of their employees, with no coding expertise required.”

For more information on WorkMobile and no-code mobile apps, visit https://www.workmobilesolutions.com/

Your Housing Group Chooses Fast Lean Smart Dynamic Scheduling Solution to Optimise Efficiency and Customer Experience

Jan 05, 2021 • News • Optimisation • Digital Transformation • fast lean smart • EMEA • Fix360 • Your Housing Group

Your Housing Group (YHG), one of the UK’s largest housing providers with 28,000 homes, is set to transform the efficiency of their field force operations and customer experience with use of the FLS VISITOUR solution from FLS – FAST LEAN SMART.

Following a strategic business review that set new objectives forambitious operational efficiencies and customer satisfaction targets, YHG decided they needed a more sophisticated and robustdynamic scheduling solution that could integrate seamlessly with their Microsoft Dynamics 365 business platform and Accuserv repairs management system.

YHG AND FIX360 ARE USING FLS SOLUTIONS TO MEET BUSINESS-DRIVEN TIMESCALES AND MAKE SURE EVERY CUSTOMER CONTACT COUNTS.

The first priority is to deliver the solution for Fix360, the YHG dedicated property maintenance arm with circa 200 operatives covering the North of England, before expected progression across other business functions, for example surveyors and tenant liaison officers.

FLS was appointed to implement FLS VISITOUR after a formal tendering process with a requirement to drive forward the business ahead of the norm in the market. Darren Halliwell, YHG’s IT Director says “We did our research and were determined to find a technology and partner that aligned to our 5-year business plan and could flex and adapt as we develop and implement our wider technology roadmap. FLS have multi-sector experience and a stamp of approval from Microsoft which gave us great confidence. We were impressed by their delivery approach and speed to implementation alongside other key factors such as ease of configuration, functionally rich capabilities, customer communication and in-day progress and response accuracy and tooling. Following technical evaluation and discussion with references, including organisations in and out of sector, the FLS offering became our unanimous choice.”

Fix360 have over 3,000 categories of repair. Once a customer’s need is qualified by the call centre or via online self-service, FLS VISITOUR will provide the optimal appointment choices according to available operatives and existing commitments. This will utilise real-time optimisation, not just finding white-space to fill in the diary, with the accuracy of time-of-day traffic speeds for each journey. Each appointment will therefore be cost-effective, punctual, using operatives with the right skills and best possibility for first time fix.

Guy Bebbington, Managing Director of Fix360 says “The Fix360 Board have set ourselves challenging Customer Satisfaction and Value for Money targets and so investment in our technology stack to achieve those targets is vital. We believe FLS are absolutely the right partner for us, a real differentiator within the market. It was clear from references the quality of solution and expertise they offer, increasing field force efficiency and aiding continuous improvement in customer delight. At YHG and Fix360 we make sure every customer contact counts and this technology supports us with that. Other advantages included the speed in which we could implement and rollout to meet the business-driven timescales. We are really looking forward to working together and delivering great outcomes for our tenants in the weeks and months ahead.”

IoT’s Impact on Data Management

Dec 14, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Internet of Things • Data Management • Covid-19 • Teodora Gaici

Modern professionals have done commendable work of implementing Internet of Things (IoT) devices within their company. But many IoT deployments swiftly hit a stumbling block due to the lack of information ownership and enterprise-wide data access.

In a world battered by the COVID-19 outbreak, IoT is expeditiously modernizing data management initiatives.

The pandemic has drawn needed attention to the unintended consequences of pursuing business continuity through fragmented and rigid IT infrastructures. Firms used to clutch at outdated IT assets—but today, they are viewing things in reverse. Despite their previously rosy assessments of legacy IT infrastructures, many companies are now positioning cutting-edge IoT systems as core enablers for ongoing operations. Research confirms this premise, outlining “the growing focus of organizations in reducing operational costs by incorporating advanced tools and techniques that assist in effectively managing the equipment.” The sector’s demand for customized industrial IoT solutions is also growing significantly.

This commitment to prioritize IoT innovation is inevitably igniting a transformation of industry standards and implicitly—data management. As any revolutionizing force, IoT is driving “a significant shift in the requirements for storing and managing data,” according to Gartner analysts—and it strengthens the move to potentially unknown territories, such as “non-relational forms of data persistence that enable high-speed and high-volume data.”

IoT IS EXPEDITIOUSLY MODERNIZING DATA MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES DURING THE PANDEMIC

The lack of IoT standardization prevents industry players from understanding newly emergent requirements for data. It’s often aging and highly inflexible IT system landscapes that hinder a firm’s connectivity needs and real-time data collection—but so is the absence of standardization across the IoT landscape. Beyond the sheer amount of information generated by smart devices, experts not only identify IoT data as being “inherently multi-dimensional and noisy by nature,” but also tremendously perishable. The collection of IoT data can’t, therefore, fit in a traditional database. But without specialized IoT standards, professionals may find it nearly impossible to recognize shifting data requirements.

Another probable reason for not achieving value from IoT deployments is the narrow grip firms currently have on as-built information ownership. As-built data, or in experts’ words, “the information related to the raw parts, materials, and processes to build a product,” is traditionally owned by service managers. More often than not, platform owners and service-providing departments have the right to manipulate the data they are storing; alternatively, they can share a limited amount of information with select users. IoT-related efforts, however, should not only converge on the same data sets; when all aspects of business are enriched with IoT data, the company-wide involvement of stakeholders also becomes crucial. As evidenced by Christian Renaud, Research Director at 451 Research:

“The best data strategies are co-created by stakeholders including the business, the IT department, and the operations team working together.”

This type of reasoning is not foreign to industry players. From finance to research and development to sales and supply chain management, all aspects of business can capitalize on data—but if only a fraction of data is accessed, exchanged, and used wisely, IoT efforts will meet with varying degrees of success.

Many IoT-related impediments are commonly rooted in the restricted ownership of information and the lack of company-wide data access. Therefore, much of the conversation about IoT innovation centers on a fundamental question: Can professionals become custodians of data to patently facilitate the spread of information for greater stakeholder involvement?

There Is Mounting Pressure on Stakeholders To Be Looped In On the Firms IoT Efforts

Efficient data management is among the primary factors that create IoT value for stakeholders. Equally important to veritably meet stakeholder needs is—as argued by the NSW Government IoT Policy Guidance—seeking engagement. But before anything else, it’s essential to consider if the firm’s ”planned data uses [...] deliver value to the community [and provide] transparency and choice around what data is collected and how it will be used.”

As IoT programs aren’t a one-man performance, the IoT Policy Guidance broadly encourages industry players to consult with stakeholders while designing data requirements; one thing is to acknowledge the needs of each stakeholder, and another is to practically factor in their involvement.

An instructive example comes from Bright Wolf. Under the influence of company-wide IoT initiatives, this trusted provider of industrial IoT solutions recently developed Zero Waste Engineering™—a methodology that allows firms to:

Validate the business case for a broad-gauge IoT strategy;
Design plans that address the requirements of each stakeholder;
Create an adaptable data processing system that communicates outcomes to stakeholders.

Another standard procedure for getting stakeholder involvement is to identify a Data Governance Champion—or more precisely, a senior leader that has the ability to “create a steering committee to establish policies [...] around data,” experts say.

Such methods facilitate the flow of data across the firm as they build potent data transmission links between departments while creating trusted networks and demonstrating value—which triggers the company-wide involvement of stakeholders.

To a certain extent, wide-ranging participation in IoT innovation demands revised organizational policies on data management; without an evolving data model that opens access to information, the business is siloed. Yet it’s not always the incapacity of a firm’s leadership to dissolve data barriers that hinders information sharing. Sometimes, permission to access data exists predominantly in pockets.

The Lack of Data Ownership Is Getting Renewed Attention

Having partial ownership of data cripples many efforts at unified IoT strategies—at a minimum, it contributes to the quick proliferation of misinformation across the firm.

It’s not uncommon for organizations to experience a lack of data owners. Remarkably enough, data can be under the exclusive control of the service-providing department (or platform owner)—even if it doesn’t necessarily own the given data.

Still and all, many organizations have managed to assign data owners for their assets—only to restrict enterprise-wide access in order to limit the exposure to security risks. Today, there is a solution to this problem: Blockchain of Things protects data ownership and privacy of end-users. “With proof of ownership and distributed data transactions,” a study reveals, “blockchain technology provides a natural channel for trade between data producers.”

Firms are essentially adjusting to data ownership issues by understanding that it doesn’t always matter who holds title to data; as specialists suggest, a better question to ask now is: “Who can access it?”.

Leveraging the Value of Remote Support in a Post COVID World

Dec 11, 2020 • Features • Michael Blumberg • Digital Transformation • Covid-19 • Remote Services

In this exclusive article for Field Service News, Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group, analyzes how remote support tools will continue to provide lots of benefits to organizations in the field service sector in the post-pandemic...

One of the ways that Field Service Organizations (FSOs) have been able to overcome the challenges of Covid-19 is through the provision of Remote Support, also known as Touchless Service. This represents a viable way for FSOs to renegotiate SLAs and to effectively resolve customers’ service issues where restrictions exist. Although remote support has been around for some time, it was not always the preferred solution. Covid-19 has made the provision of remote support a necessity.

Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been an increase in the use of remote support tools to deliver a Touchless Service experience. The increase can be measured in terms of the number of companies using these tools and applications, the frequency in which they are used, and the applications in which they are used. Originally perceived as an application for delivering 2^nd tier expert support, remote support tools are now used in a broad array of service situations from installations, to depot repair, to site surveys and application support.

Many industry participants wonder how remote support tools will be utilized Post COVID. Will FSOs abandon Touchless Service for a more traditional onsite experience? The answer is no. Touchless Service is now becoming table stakes for FSOs. This is because remote support tools offer a lot of benefits to a service organization and the customer. One of the biggest benefits is it eliminates friction, and friction is caused when there are a lot of touches, steps, or time involved in completing a task or process. Remote support tools enable FSOs to reduce or eliminate technician travel time which allows them to complete more calls per day.

REMOTE SUPPORT WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE VALUE TO ORGANISATIONS AND CUSTOMERS POST COVID

No doubt, FSOs will need to incorporate Touchless Service into their overall business strategy. The specifics of how and when remote support will be deployed will depend in part on the industry or vertical market. Key considerations include the complexity, criticality, and safety issues involved in supporting the install base. Touchless Service is appropriate for supporting equipment in an environment that’s not complex and where the customer is willing and capable of participating in the service resolution process. However, a more complex service environment, one that is mission-critical and presents safety concerns or requires specialized skills or certification, will likely mandate an onsite service visit. Nevertheless, remote support tools can still play a critical role in providing expert assistance in either case.

FSOs also need to decide when to deploy or emphasize the softer skills involved in maintaining high levels of customer loyalty and satisfaction. After all, the human connection is important and it’s just not the same with remote support, even if it involves video. As such, FSOs should evaluate the critical touchpoints during the customer journey where an in-person site visit is both appropriate and valuable. These can be planned or ad-hoc or by exception. For example, in reoccurring service issues or during a service event that occurs less than 90 days before service contract renewal. In these instances, the technician servs as a brand ambassador and trusted advisor to the customer.

FSOs may also want to consider how they monetize their investment in remote support technologies. The ability to monetize will depend on the economics of service delivery, customer willingness to pay, or the competitive practices within a specific service market. In other words, there are use cases where it could be more economical for an FSO to provide remote support as part of a basic service offering and not charge extra while there are other use cases that justify offering it as part of a premium-priced, value-added service. Assuming monetization is an objective, then there are several steps that an FSO needs to accomplish First, they need to gain clarity about the value-in-use of remote support. They need to be able to clearly articulate this value to their customers. The second step is to construct service offerings with different price points. Third, conduct market research to validate there’s a value to the customer and the customer is willing to pay for theses services. Fourth, determine the addressable market for the service. Lastly, create a go-to-market plan and roll-out the new offering to a select group of pilot customers.

Remote support will continue to provide a trifecta of value in our post-pandemic world. Value driver #1 is that it dramatically improves the customer experience. Customers receive faster service and are more engaged in the service resolution process. Value driver #2 is that it optimizes service delivery, so an FSO can do more with fewer people. Remote support frees technicians from travel which means one technician can handle more service request per day. Value driver #3 is increased technician productivity. Less time on the road means more time resolving customers' issues remotely, which leads to more calls completed per day.

It is important that FSOs view the rollout of remote support solutions from a strategic perspective not simply as another application within their technicians or tech support personnels’ tool kit. Remote support has implications for various aspects of the service business and stakeholders. Due diligence is required when it comes to integrating remote support into the overall service business strategy since the return on investment can be significant.

How Data Savvy is your team?

Dec 07, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation

Nick Frank, Managing Partner and co-founder of Si2 Partners, tackles some of our perceptions around the understanding of how we can interpret data within our teams and puts forward some important questions field service managers must consider as we...

We assume that young people know about data because they are digital natives. Many of us believe senior managers understand all the information around them because of their experiences. But are these perceptions true? Maybe one reason that many organisations struggle to truly incorporate digital into their DNA, is that they are not challenging these assumptions as to how data savvy their people really are. To be successful in the modern data age, we believe that many organisations should go back to basics and equip all their people with the fundamental skills that enables them to turn data into insight into action.

In 2015, the World Economic Forum who organise the Davos conference, published an article “Are digital natives really good at using technology?” Their conclusion was that so called digital natives may be adept at communicating via social media, texting and using apps, but “……they were basically clueless about the logic underlying how the search engine organises and displays results”.

This is just one example of getting confused between technology and the data outcomes of technology.

Another example we are living through is the current COVID pandemic. How often have you heard our political leaders tripping up over the statistics they are using to guide their actions? So bad has it got that many journalists have begun to specialise in explaining the statistics to citizens who are frankly confused.

It’s not just leaders and millennials that have these issue. Over the past 18 months Si2 has been running workshops for over 150 mid-level business professionals on how to turn a ‘business problem in a data solution’. It does not matter on the sector whether that be banking, financial or industrial, perhaps 70% of participants had a very basic level of data problem solving. By this we observed that they did not have a structured approach to analytics and were very limited in their understanding of data visualisation, basic statistics and storytelling. The result was a tendency to:

Jump to conclusions based on gut feel and not data
A very passive approach to the use data and a lack of critical thinking

The important thing to understand is that these are well educated professionals, but very few appear to have been taught skills around working with data or understand how to integrate knowledge management into their work environment.

The remaining 30% of participants had a good grasp of data, but again no formal education in how to use data. They had picked up techniques and understanding as they grew into their jobs, or professionally they have a numerical background such as engineering, sciences or software. And within this group, maybe only 1-2% had developed the skills and vocabulary to talk to a Data Scientist about how to develop sophisticated analytical solutions such as machine learning.

The point is that if leaders really believe that ‘data is the new oil’, then they need people who appreciate and understand how to use data to drive insights and then action.

So what should organisations do?

Perhaps they should take a leaf out of the technology companies playbook and make data competency a fundamental capability that each employee must exhibit. For example, in many the job descriptions even for non-technical roles you will often find reference to experiences with data tools (beyond excel) and data driven problem solving.

These successful companies work hard to ensure that their employees are supported in four key areas:

Mindset: Many businesses have leaders who are ‘talking the talk’ on data, but how many actually know how to use data themselves. The data driven mindset is one which goes from the very top of an organisation to the very bottom and embedded in the organisations culture.
Process & Statistics: Most people do not know how to move from identifying a business problem to solving that problem with the data they have. They need guidance and training in how to define the problem, the data they need and how to view it to gain insight. A basic understanding of how numbers work also helps.
Storytelling: is crucial in turning ideas from the creative data thinking process and turning it into real actions that make impact. Often the most data proficient professionals reduce the power of their analysis through failing to clearly communicate impact and required action.
Tools: Everyone uses Excel, however often lack of knowledge of other types of tools that can create great visualisations, save enormous amounts of time during the data cleaning process or are the basic building blocks of analytics.

The good news is that most of us have picked up some of these skills informally, as we progress through our working and professional lives. With a little reflection, some basic frameworks and practice, it is possible to dramatically improve our use of data in creatively solving business problems.

At Si2Partners we have a series of On-Line and face to face workshops that can help your people understand data, drive insight and make an impact. If you would like to learn more on this or the or the Service Leaders Network, then contact Nick on the links below.

Sustainability Can be the Outcome of COVID (podcast highlight)

Nov 20, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • The Field Service Podcast • Covid-19 • Remote Services

In this final excerpt from a series featuring conversation between Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland the conversation takes a more philosphical turn as Brandeleer outlines why we should be taking the opportunity to...

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

A SERVITIZED WORLD IS A SUNSTAINABLE WORLD

In a recent white paper authored by Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, published in partnership with Salesforce we looked at one of the big questions as we build the new normal and we plot our route to recovery – ‘should we be redefining the very definition of what the value proposition is of field service in a world of remote service delivery, zero touch service delivery?’

Of course, in this post pandemic, new world, it's an embryonic conversation. It's early days as we find our way towards these new modes of working, but it is imperative that we, as service leaders, are having these kinds of conversations today as we all build towards recovery together.

The white paper, which is available on the button beneath this article, goes into a number of aspects of this conversation and it's designed to promote the leaders of our sector to start thinking about these kinds of conversations. To further build on this discussion Oldland invited Salesforce’s Gary Brandeleer onto the Field Service Podcast to push that discussion further and to hear Brandeleer’’s insight reflecting on the many conversations he has had working with companies from all different parts of the world across many all different industries, in terms of embracing digital transformation.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the discussion was how Brandeleer outlined that what we're doing now isn't just reaction to the pandemic but can also really be building a much more sustainable future as well.

"Can we actually sell much more services and our experience, and really think about the impact on the climate when we do this?"

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

“I think if you look at optimization right now there is a really deep advantage at moving towards these more advanced services-based relations on a recurring basis,” begins Brandeleer.

“What I mean by this is that if we want to achieve sustainability on this planet, consuming more products is not the way forward. We know that literally every single time you consume anything it's pollution one way or another. When you consume a service, well, there is not always pollution behind it. Going back to outcome-based services, sometimes actually, the outcome can be where the device is going to be more efficient, which is going to consume less energy, which at the end of the day, we make it a more sustainable device.

“The criteria we're going to have to think of is ‘can we use everything that is going right now in the world, especially in the field service world where many of the companies we have as customers, make the world a better place by servicing the device making the product better and keeping the world running.

“Can we use now all the skills we have around us to actually say, ‘Well, you know what COVID-19 that's one thing, but there is also climate change going on?’ I mean, literally three weeks ago in San Francisco, we had a day where it was night during the day, which was pretty disturbing, for sure. I was thinking like, well, these are sharp, guys. I mean, that's where we are going, we need to make sure that we are creating differentiation for services and that we literally stop selling too many products.

“Can we actually sell more services, leverage our knowledge and experience, and really think about the impact on the climate when we do this? Of course, we are not going to stop selling every product out there and for the install base that is 40 years old, actually keeping it running is more polluting than not having a new product. However, for some products, it may be a case of thinking ‘I can keep it for three years more, it's fine’. ‘I'm going to be fine with that, I'm going to maintain the asset to improve the efficiency of the device for two more years and that's going to save us maybe a little bit of steel, a little bit of co2 emission and we can optimise this.

“I think there is really a spot we can reach which this kind of optimal place with a balance between new products and services which by the way, we need to be offered in a trusted relationship style and get to a world where there are no surprises with the product, it's not breaking anymore - but on top of that, actually, it's helping the world to be more sustainable. I think that's really all Holy Grail I would love to reach at one point of time."

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