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Microsoft’s acquisition of FieldOne recently caught the headlines but other additions to the software giant’s portfolio could suggest that the plans for field service may not end there...

Microsoft has reached an agreement to acquire FieldOne Systems LLC (“FieldOne”), a provider of field service management solutions that allow organisations to better manage and deliver service to their customers in the field.

“In today’s connected world, people expect to engage and be engaged by organizations in new ways, in ways that are most convenient for them” commented Bob Stutz - Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics CRM on the official Microsoft Blog when announcing the acquisition.

“To help businesses respond to these changing expectations, we are committed to providing the most comprehensive customer service offering, and this includes the best field service capabilities.” He added

Stutz went on to comment “Field service management is a specific but critically important area of customer service, providing companies with the ability to deliver end-to-end field service.”

“This is a unique, and transformational point in time for these solutions as enterprises look to improve their responsiveness to customers with service in the field – taking service directly to the customer anytime a service cannot be managed by phone or other channels.”

 

“In this critical area, FieldOne really stands out. They have the baseline functionality that organizations need to drive a more effective field service operation.”

“They are a leading provider of end-to-end solutions that enable businesses to drive revenue, reduce costs and deliver great customer service. Their industry-leading solution specialises in delivering a full set of capabilities that include work order management, automated scheduling, asset contract, inventory and procurement management, workflow capabilities and mobile collaboration – providing enterprises with a comprehensive modern field service solution.”

In an announcement on the same day on their own blog FieldOne CEO Ilan Slasky stated “For FieldOne, having the breadth of the Microsoft sales and marketing organisation, and leveraging their product development group to augment our R&D efforts was instantly attractive.”

“Our ability to aggressively grow our business across the enterprise is much, much stronger partnered with Microsoft and they have identified field service management software as an enormous and rapidly growing market. For Microsoft, the opportunity to bring a fully integrated field service solution into the Microsoft Dynamics group, pairing it with the powerful capability of applications like Azure, Parature, Cortana Analytics and Power BI, led to a natural conclusion that it made perfect sense to acquire FieldOne.”

Indeed it seems as though Microsoft have certainly placed field service high on their agenda in the enterprise realm, having also announced a significant partnership with IFS in May this year.

 

In addition to this Microsoft have also made some acute acquisitions in the mobile productivity space this year acquiring calender app Sunrise, email app Acompli and most recently task manager app Wunderlist, with all three being cross platform tools that work across both IoS and Android.

With Acompli already being re-branded as Outlook and further integration across the three surely to follow it seems that Microsoft have quietly gone out and bought an excellent suite of mobile productivity tools that can help them establish a much broader stake of the growing enterprise mobility sector.

Whether or not these tools will also be integrated with Dynamics CRM and FieldOne remains to be seen, but they would certainly add further strength to an end-to-end a Microsoft field service offering.

 

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In this series we are tackling the topic of end to end field service and exploring the technology options across each stage of the service call lifecycle.

In part one we looked at taking that request, and in part two we focused on getting the right engineer to the right place at the right time.

Last time around we looked at selecting the right hardware for your field engineers and now in this the final feature in this series we look at what considerations should be put in place around the software we put on those devices.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

Tools to do the job  - Software

Having selected the device to empower your field engineers the next step is to select the right mobile software to make the most of that hardware.

Whilst there has been great strides forward with cross platform HTML5 applications a strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).

A  strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).Not only do native apps tend to be on the whole more aesthetically in line with the devices OS and therefore more intuitive for a user familiar with the OS but they are also able to take more advantage of the device’s capability – for example Near Field Communication.

 

There are of course numerous field service apps on the market, and as with office based systems the option to either sit within one platform or select a third party app is open to you. However, as with back office systems integration to your core ERP system is absolutely vital.

The whole point of moving your field workers onto a mobile device is to streamline processes and therefore communication between your office system and your team in the field must also be seamless.

As with all of the discussions so far again understanding your field engineers workflow is at the core of successfully selecting a mobile app that enhances your field service engineers productivity.

However, a few of the more common requirements for field engineers include:

Health and safety regulations:

Whilst your field engineers may undertake the appropriate steps to ensure they are working safely each and every time they tackle a job.

For example an electrician knows to turn off the main power to a house before he changes a light fitting – he certainly wouldn’t forget to do it more than once!

However, by locking an app until the ‘switch mains off’ box is checked not only prompts your field engineer but also ensures he and your company are confirming to health and safety regulations.

Similarly there are stringent regulations in place regarding loan workers, so many field service apps have necessary steps in place to ensure your loan working field engineers are both safe and complying with these regulations.

Knowledge Bases

Perhaps one of the most valuable tools you can arm your field service engineers with is access to a wider knowledge base.

This can range from information on the device they have been sent to repair – it’s previous fault history for example, through to knowledge bases with videos and articles that describe faults the engineer may never have come across before, through to video conferencing where the engineer on the job is able to discuss a problem he is unable to resolve with a more experienced engineer in real time – something that is particularly useful for organisations who are servicing devices in remote locations for example.

Access to parts ordering and contracts

Whilst in an ideal world the diagnosis of the issue would have been made in the initial stages of arranging a service call, in reality in many instances the field service engineer will find the right solution is something different upon arrival at the site.

In this instance it is absolutely essential that he has clear visibility into spare parts inventory and has the ability to order the parts needed if required.

Having to go back to the office and go through a separate chain to get these parts means further frustration for your customer and wasted time and resources for your company.

Similarly if they need to carry work that exceeds a normal maintenance contract – for example if the device he has been sent out to repair has been used beyond it’s normal working parameters, then it is vital he has an understanding of the level of cover the contract offers. Remember a field engineer’s main focus is making things work again and he will be under pressure from your customers when on site. The last thing he will be thinking of is ‘is this covered by there SLA’. Unless of course it is clearly highlighted in front of him.

This also leads us on to the next element, the ability to either communicate with the sales team or create sales directly from the field.

 

A customer falling out of warranty is perhaps the easiest sell a company can have when the engineer is on site – as long as the engineer can show clear evidence that the repair falls out of the agreed contract.

If the engineer can simply add the charge onto the clients account there and then so he can go about resolving the issue then the sales process becomes both simple and effective.

Similarly as a trusted adviser the field service engineer is in a great position to upsell.

“I’ve fixed the problem with your printer and noticed your running low on toner and will probably run out within a week – shall I order some more for you” is one simple example and 99 times out of 100 the customer will surely say yes.

Order approval:

A critical functionality of any field service mobile app is to approve the work as soon as it is done.

By giving your field engineers the ability to have customers acknowledge the work carried out and having this data instantly recorded in your back office system you are not only able to gather information on your field service engineers productivity but also have clear documentation of your work being approved should any dispute arise between you and your customers.

Communicating back to HQ:

Of course order approval is not the only metric you can assess your field engineers  productivity on. Every interaction the field engineer makes with the app provides the opportunity for further data collection on both the engineer themselves and the customer.

For example – is the engineer spending longer on each job than is average amongst his peers – in which case is training required? What about the travel between each job? Is he taking longer than expected? Or is regularly making journeys in less time than you would expect – perhaps indicating he is driving over the speed limit?

What insight does he have into your customers? Has there been a change in personnel since the last company visit? Can your engineer update the CRM system? Perhaps anecdotally he hears that your customers are thinking of expanding – can he arrange for a member of the sales team to come and speak with your customer about how you can ease that process?

 

What about the device he’s working on? Is he seeing common faults at each customer he visits?

Could this result in a design improvement if fed back into R&D?

Important data is everywhere and there are few better equipped to collect it than a field service engineer. Giving them the right tools to transmit that data to the place it has most value is a crucial part of the field service mobile app.

Conclusion: Understand your engineers workflow.

As we mentioned at the very beginning of this white paper the introduction of the concept of end-to-end field service is both emerging and ill defined as yet.

What we have tried to achieve in this white paper is take you as a field service professional whether it be on the side of IT, business leadership or operations, through an end to end journey of how at each stage technology can play a part in streamlining your field service operations.

 

However, not only is the topic itself vast but so to are the resulting options and it is far too easy to end up making costly mistakes in such an environment.

Therefore it is absolutely key to develop a road map that plots your path to developing an end to end service management solution and the only place to start that road map is by stepping outside of your existing framework and understanding two key concepts.

Firstly what do your customers require from you in terms of service, and secondly what is your field engineers daily workflow?

Once you have an understanding of both of these questions then you are in position to build up your solution to enhance and improve these two areas.

It may seem like the longer path in the early stages, however, ultimately such an approach will take you where you need to be far more effectively.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

This series is sponsored by:

 

 

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As we continue our series on end-to-end field service we're pleased to bring you an excellent interview with Field Aware's Shirlene Spillers that first appeared on findaccountingsoftware.com

The link between a mobile workforce empowered by digital technology and delivering service excellence has become well and truly proven over the last few years, there still remain a great number of variables when it comes to ensuring that the choice of mobile device is the right one for your company.

Lets face facts, there are plenty of questions to grapple with before we make the right choice of mobile device that will benefit your mobile workforce most effectively.

Should we be looking at tablets, laptops or smartphones?  What OS to select? Rugged devices or consumer grade devices? Should we consider BYOD? Should we deploy mobile web or mobile apps?

The team at findaccountingsoftware.com recently took the opportunity to put some of these questions to Shirlene Spillers, Vice President of Product Management with software provider Field Aware.

Given Spillers position developing software for the field service industry she is able to provide great insight into what the hardware will work best for companies looking to bring their mobile workforce into the digital revolution, whether they are upgrading legacy systems or taking their first steps away from out-dated manual processes.

We’re pleased to be able to share this interview with you courtesy of findaccountingsoftware.com

What’s the best way to go: smartphones, tablets, or laptops?

We recommend that companies purchase smartphones when:

• Technicians use the smartphone as a true phone most of the time
• Send a limited number of email messages
• Are not required to enter large amounts of data (point and click applications)
• Require access to web-based information intermittently
• Do not use downloaded video for training and troubleshooting
• Require limited amounts of data downloaded from the company and/or suppliers/unordered_list]

We recommend tablets when technicians:

• Make very few voice calls
• Send multiple email messages every day
• Enter significant amounts of data (where a larger keyboard would save time)
• Use the web to acquire and download company and/or supplier data
• Use video for training, troubleshooting and communication (ex: Apple’s FaceTime video)[/unordered_list]

Laptops are only necessary when technicians often have limited or no access to a network and require access to data intensive office applications (i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe products, etc.) Use of laptops is rapidly declining.

Do you recommend Android, iOS, or Windows operating system devices?

We recommend Android or iOS simply because they are the most prevalent operating systems – and therefore most familiar to the majority of field workers (reduced training requirements).

For organizations thinking about a bring-your-own-device approach (BYOD), what are the most important considerations?

Employees often want to use their personal devices at work-–and for work-–as well. This provides both possible benefits and real dangers as well. It’s important that enterprises understand the challenges that BYOD creates and the policies and systems that should be in place before field technician-owned devices are incorporated into an organization’s technical ecosystem.

We actually wrote a white paper on the subject but, generally, companies need to look at four major areas of consideration: security, regulatory compliance, device support and end user support. Once the decision is made to allow personal devices to be used for company work, BYOD policies have to be developed and it usually makes sense to bring in some kind of mobile device management system (depending on the size of the company).

When are “ruggedised” devices worth the extra investment?

Most of our customers use ruggedised tablets only when they work in hazardous chemical or gas environments that require Class 1 Division 2 devices. We’ve found that in other environments, standard tablets and smartphones with protective cases are just as effective and durable.

Do you suggest GPS hardware? What other hardware should service companies consider?

We do not recommend GPS hardware for vehicles. Tablet and smartphone apps (like Google Maps) are just as, if not more efficient, in proving navigation information and can easily be mounted (just like the GPS hardware) in the vehicle. Our suggestion is that the company chooses one device (smartphone or tablet) that serves multiple functions at a lower overall cost.

In terms of other hardware, there are some really simple things like batteries, USB vehicle chargers, stylii, cases that are highly protective and can “stand up” for easy data entry. Since our app supports signature capture on the device, we don’t feel signature pads are necessary.

Can you weigh in on the mobile web versus native mobile app usage debate?

We believe in native mobile apps for a couple of very simple reasons:

•  Better performance. They take advantage of the native capabilities of the operating system – making it easy to integrate capabilities like photo/video capture and voice recognition.
• Ability to work offline (can be done with HTML5 caching, but not as elegantly)
• User interfaces that are more user-friendly and engaging[/unordered_list]

Want to know more about end-to-end field service management. Field Service News Editor, Kris Oldland will be taking part in a panel debate on this subject live at Field Service Europe. Click here for more information

Delivering high quality service is clearly essential for any successful Field Service Management provider. That’s why it’s so important for service-based organisations across the facilities management, property management, maintenance and cleaning sectors to avoid the common pitfalls that can lead field service operations to fail in delivering service excellence.

Typical issues here can include a lack of integration between service desks, planning/dispatch operations and field staff; poor visibility of customer data, updates, stock and asset information; the breakdown of customer feedback and audit trails in the field; as well as the introduction of vulnerable manual processes and unnecessary administration costs. It’s this inability to join the dots that can make it increasingly difficult for service providers to achieve efficiency savings and remain competitive.

Recent mplsystems research identified mobile field service team visibility as a critical element for helping to address these issues. At a time when increasing field workforce productivity is proving a key challenge, we found that almost 40 percent of service management operations admitted to having no visibility of their mobile workforce at all. For larger field service teams, gaining insight over field service teams is even more difficult, with the dispatch function becoming critical – and a potential bottleneck to performance.

What’s needed is an approach that works to resolve this service disconnect – one where messages are always shared with field-based staff, where updates are accessible across end-to-end processes, where performance monitoring extends across all activities, and where interactions aren’t lost as they pass through multiple departments and systems.

That’s why at mplsystems we have built an end-to-end field service management solution that can provide organisations with a true real-time of all their current maintenance and support activities across their entire operation. Key functionality includes a unified service desk portal; the automatic and dynamic planning and scheduling of service activities within defined SLA adherence guidelines; supporting mobile personnel through dedicated apps for in-field data collection and route optimisation; as well as comprehensive analytics and SLA reporting.

By directly linking service desk and field operations, organisations of any size can effectively automate key processes such as parts and asset management, optimise their scheduling and even deploy customer self-service portals so that clients can carry out their own bookings and changes. And because this service is now available on a Cloud-enabled pay-per-usage basis, it can prove particularly cost effective for all workforce sizes, from just 15 to over 500 mobile staff.

When Balfour Beatty Workplace combined its multiple UK service centres into a single major mplsystems-powered National Operations Centre it deployed just this type of flexible helpdesk solution, helping the TFM operator to manage bookings and plan jobs across its multiple accounts. For Balfour Beatty Workplace the results have been impressive; initial savings of over £500,000 in terms of efficiency savings and penalty reductions have been realised. In addition there has been an 18 percent improvement in response rates, non value-added calls have been cut by 2,000 a month and the company has seen a 28 percent improvement in planned maintenance performance SLAs.

Before deploying its mplsystems field service management solution, Gamestec – the UK’s largest gaming and amusement machine operator – needed separate contact centre technology, CRM and handheld devices to maintain communications with its engineers. By implementing an mplsystems solution, Gamestec has seen an 88% reduction in ongoing IT costs, with increased efficiency across the organisation in terms of how service and field staff are deployed.

Metric Group, the leading provider of car park payment terminals, also uses an mplsystems solution to support its field service engineers. The solution gives Metric Group a single view of all its engineering resources, allowing the company to optimise service schedules, increase field service productivity, improve response times for customer and dramatically simplify reporting.