Facilities and maintenance services provider Arcus Solutions Ltd has achieves a 20% improvement in productivity following deployment of Aeromark Optmatics mobile workforce management software. Additionally, services levels are up 40%.
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Dec 03, 2015 • Software & Apps • News • aeromark • field service management • Service Management • Software and Apps
Facilities and maintenance services provider Arcus Solutions Ltd has achieves a 20% improvement in productivity following deployment of Aeromark Optmatics mobile workforce management software. Additionally, services levels are up 40%.
In 2013 Arcus went to the market to look for a new system that would help improve the management of the maintenance service to their customers and optimise the productivity throughout their 155 strong field service engineer workforce.
Aeromark Optimatics was selected as it offered smart technology that would provide clear visibility of field operations and optimisation of the whole service process, minimising operational costs whilst at the same time improving service levels.
After the first six months of full operation, not only has the cost base been optimised but the service levels delivered have improved by 40%.
“Aeromark’s agile approach combined with the power and flexibility of their Optimatics technology has enabled our entire business process to be optimised and aligned with best practice. This has resulted in over 50% reduction in touch-points, statutory paper records have been replaced with electronic documentation and we have seen a significant, reduction in fuel and wasted time” said Parag Gogate, Head of Projects and Quality at Arcus.
“As a result of the considerable success of this project, we have decided to roll out Optimatics as our standard enterprise software across the whole group” continued Parag.
Optimatics provides a complete mobile workforce management solution for the entire process of service delivery, from scheduling, workflow driven mobile applications through to vehicle tracking. It provides Arcus’s administrative employees a more consistent approach to working, which enables them to plan reactive jobs more efficiently, by sending accurate customer data directly to the Aeromark mobile application.
Roger Marks, Managing Director of Aeromark said “We are very pleased with the results from the deployment at Arcus Solutions who have not only enthusiastically embraced the technology but also the associated changes in business process. We look forward to working with Arcus on the next phase of the wider project.”
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Nov 17, 2015 • Features • Management • Lone worker • field service management • telematics • Managing the Mobile Workforce
The very nature of their jobs means that field service employees are lone workers and safety risks are not confined to hazardous workplaces. FSN Editor Sharon Clancy looks at some of the strategies for making ensuring your employees stay safe.
The very nature of their jobs means that field service employees are lone workers and safety risks are not confined to hazardous workplaces. FSN Editor Sharon Clancy looks at some of the strategies for making ensuring your employees stay safe.
Many service employees are working alone or in environments that make them vulnerable. The potential safety risks are present not just in hazardous workplaces such as oil installations or construction sites; workers can be at risk working unsocial hours in office building or on emergency call outs to domestic properties, too, for example.
Safety policies and guidelines should reflect the specific risks of mobile workers, demonstrate that steps have been taken to minimise those risks and that management systems are in place to monitor compliance with safety rules.
For mobile service technicians, those risks include driving their vehicles between jobs. “If people in your company use vehicles for work, then you have a legal responsibility to ensure their safety, points out Giles Margerison, UK sales director, TomTom Telematics. “The law is really clear if someone is driving for business purposes, regardless of who provides the vehicle – whether it’s their own vehicle, hire, rented, leased, bought, or bought by the company. Once you have given someone an instruction for work, whether it’s just popping down the shops for a pint of milk or to an appointment or a job or a site, you are responsible for their safety and their behaviour.”
Duty of Care: legal obligations
Employer's legal obligation on Duty-of-Care and Health and Safety will vary from country-to-country. In the UK, for example, the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act introduced in addition to corporate liability the concept of personal liability of directors and board members for any proven negligence, part of an EU-wide initiative to improve worker safety.
For service organisations there are two key areas of duty of care...
For service organisations there are two key areas of duty of care: one is lone worker protection; the other is risk management of inappropriate of employee behaviour.
Lone worker monitoring
Any mobile application or device by default offers more protection to the mobile worker than a paper system where there is no contact with the office between jobs or even all day. Mobile workers equipped with telephones can also be tracked using cell ID.
In difficult or hostile environments managers need confirmation at regular intervals that the employee is safe and well. Some lone-worker systems are linked to 24-hour monitoring centres - individuals who find themselves in a dangerous situation simply press a red alert button on their device. This additional protection for lone workers can be a user buy-in when selling a technology switch to mobile workers, especially in heavily-unionised sectors.
In less dangerous situations, the risk assessment may be that compliance can be demonstrated by tracking personnel around a site, setting up pre-set intervals when a response is required. The interval can be set automatically and varied between locations and tasks.
The latest technology even removes the onus on the employee to confirm they are safe...
"It's considered more reliable because the monitoring process starts automatically when the worker arrives on site or at a particular area of the site or building - there's no need for them to send a message to confirm this ," comments Paul Ridden, managing director for Skillweb. "Alarms can be raised if a worker fails to arrive at or leave a customer site or complete a task. Specific safety compliance information for that task or site can be incorporated in the RFID tags. "
Risk management
Service organisations employ engineers and technicians, not drivers. However, that does not mean that you can ignore their behaviour at the wheel when driving between jobs. Potentially unsafe driving behaviour should be part of a risk assessment strategy.
Meeting your Duty of Care does not need to be a burden, points out, Margerison. . “It just requires processes to be in place that monitors aspects of your mobile workforce, giving you the data you need so you can foresee any issues."This is not as hard as it sounds with modern fleet management and telematics systems, and you might also be surprised by the bottom line benefits it could bring to your business, he goes on. “The use of technology really helps because we can manage driver behaviour. Other methods can be used, of course, but technology makes that really very simple, and gives you the right data when you need it.
Unsafe driving behaviour should be part of a risk assessment strategy.
Basic driver behaviour telematics data such as speed and harsh deceleration can even be captured from a mobile device with a GPS and an accelerometer or with a plug-in device - there's no need for a vehicle installation.
The result is a safer, more efficient workforce and a significantly reduced risk profile. Margerison points out that the ability to demonstrate driver improvements to an insurer could also mean a reversal of the current trend of higher premium costs.
Keep it simple
Skillweb’s Paul Ridden thinks awareness of risks to mobile workers still has some way to go to penetrate those lower-skilled service jobs typically found in facilities management companies. “With the introduction of the Living Wage, those workers are going to cost more, so ensuring, they are as productive as possible, will be key to maintaining profit levels.”
Technology costs have also been a barrier, but smartphones make deploying mobile apps to these workers affordable. Simple apps can help them complete the tasks in the right order and safely. You can prove where they are but you can also use it to monitor their safety. Are cleaners using hazardous chemicals in a safe manner. Using appropriate safety equipment can mean something as simple as using rubber gloves when using cleaning chemicals.”
Monitoring the safety of these employees can have other benefits, he points out Monitoring that only trained employees are allowed to use equipment such as motorised floor polishers correctly, also helps you keep tabs on asset utilisation, he points point.
Geoff Ball, MD of Matrix Telematics said: “The definition of a lone worker has changed dramatically. From social workers to delivery drivers, postmen to pest control; lone workers make up almost a quarter of the UK’s working population, but the nature of their job leaves them open to a unique set of risks that employers need to be aware of.
“While most lone workers will hopefully never experience any problems, to have the peace of mind that there’s someone just at the other end of the line should they need it is a big reassurance for employees and a sensible precaution for employers to take.”
Lone worker monitoring doesn’t have to be complicated, says Ridden.“Even proactively status checks can be done without it seeming intrusive or Big Brother. You can send a message, and all the worker does is to tap in a pin number to confirm they are OK. Workers do appreciate that it is for their safety. From the manager’s viewpoint, its more reliable than waiting for a remote worker to call in at hourly intervals to confirm they are OK and its documented evidence that health and safety policies have been adhered to.
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Oct 12, 2015 • Features • field service management • IFS • service KPIs • SLAs • Software and Apps
As our focus begins to shift towards next year planning it is important that we are able to assess and interpret the data we have gathered across the year, but your data is only as good as its application, writes Tom Bowe, IFS
As our focus begins to shift towards next year planning it is important that we are able to assess and interpret the data we have gathered across the year, but your data is only as good as its application, writes Tom Bowe, IFS
It’s that time of year again, preparing budgets and setting goals for next year, even though it probably seems like just yesterday you were doing so for 2015.
Soon, if you haven’t already, you will be gathering data from this year like volumes and revenues. To plan what’s next for your field service organisation in 2016. If you have an integrated or best-of-breed field service solution, ideally the data you have collected from the field, and your customers, will help you navigate your decisions.
But does all your research and planning apply to the real world? Do you need to do complicated calculations to attempt to understand capacity, resourcing and demand?
2015 saw another year of field service growth, with more organisations applying IoT practices and other technological advances to help cut costs, increase efficencies, and ensure customer satisfaction. More data than ever before was being fed from the customer and the field to back-end systems. But your data is only as good as its application.[quote float="left"]By its very nature a forecast intrinsically contains some degree of error
What if you could know, as close to real life as possible, what resources you would need, and where, to meet your 2016 field service KPIs? What if you were given visibility into the success of your predetermined KPIs, and suggestions for improvement? Imagine having an interactive tool at your fingertips that would allow you to run multiple real-life field service scenarios simultaneously. Imagine that same tool being able to store all your results and present them in a printable dashboard that you could take to management.
Such a tool does exist, and we call it the WISE (what-if scenario explorer). This easy-to-navigate forecasting and planning tool forecasts your resources based on your predicted demand; new contracts, possible acquisitions, and shifts in business. It allows you to drill down into the resulting schedules to see what the real-time schedule would look like.
So why does this all matter? Field service is an ever-shifting and highly demanding industry. It ebbs and flows with seasonal changes, shifts in demand, and multiple other factors so if there is so much potential change then why bother?
By its very nature a forecast is always wrong – it intrinsically contains some degree of error because it is based on many factors including past performance, future unknowns, confidence levels and statistical extrapolation and correlations of this data.
The skill therefore is to build a forecast that’s as close to being accurate and believable as possible thus minimising the margin of error. With any forecasting errors minimised, the impact on your KPIs becomes more predictable.
Here are some of the Key Performance Indicators that can be positively affected by scenario planning and forecasting: [ordered_list style="decimal"]
- Headcount: (Having the right number of people, when and where they are needed)
Run real-life scenarios by feeding the WISE your organisation’s data and see whether you should add or reallocate resources. If you need t o add resources to meet demand, the WISE will show you where regionally you should be hiring. It also provides territory balancing to ensure your service areas have proper coverage. - Response time: (Planning to respond reliably within the SLA or appointment window)
The WISE will predict your response times to service calls and will also calculate the number of SLAs you will meet with your current resources. It will then make suggestions to help you increase your SLA hit rate. - Customer Satisfaction: (Directly correlated to #1 and #2)Scenario planning and forecasting provides territory balancing to ensure your service areas have proper coverage. Not only will you be able to more easily achieve your SLAs but you will also be able to provide new customers with reliable first time service.
- Operating Costs: (Reducing overtime and travel costs)With a forecasting tool that can not only tell you the outcome of your current operations but help you determine what organisational changes are needed to meet your demands; you have the ability to reduce your upcoming costs. By automatically seeing where your technicians should be located based on demand, you can ensure your technicians aren’t travelling unnecessary distances.
A scenario planning tool can be used to help establish goals and expectations for the fiscal year, but it can also be used for short term planning as well. It can help your organisation understand how to best manage new important contracts, proactively plan for changes in seasonal demand, and more.
When you start budgeting for 2016, rather than wonder why you are bothering, instead, reverse the mentality and question “why not? Using WISE could have a notable impact on your service delivery metrics and bottom line. WISE will show you where regionally you should be hiring. It also provides territory balancing to ensure your service areas have proper coverage.
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Oct 07, 2015 • News • Research • field service • field service management • trimble fsm • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
Study links high customer satisfaction with service providers who fix it on the first visit
Study links high customer satisfaction with service providers who fix it on the first visit
A study commissioned by Trimble as part of awareness for National Customer Service Week in the UK, finds field service organisations need to become more efficient, develop better time-saving approaches and fix a problem on the first visit in order to meet customer expectations.
The study, which surveyed 2,000 adults in the UK, revealed that over half (52 per cent) considered fixing the problem on the first visit to be the leading factor in determining their satisfaction. Yet, one in four participants reported that a return visit was required. The most common reason for a return visit was that the technician lacked the appropriate tools or parts (40 per cent), while the technician lacking the appropriate skills was also revealed as a top factor (27 per cent).
"Clearly, operating a skilled and efficient mobile workforce is critical to meeting customer expectations. To achieve that, organisations need real-time access to information about the performance of workers in the field," said John Cameron, general manager of Trimble's Field Service Management Division.
"Technology is available that provides technicians with the visibility they need to get to the right place at the right time with the information they need to do their job correctly the first time," Cameron added. "Customer expectations are only going to increase, so having the infrastructure in place to meet and exceed these expectations is critical to keeping customers happy."
Respondents also are not happy with wait times. More than 50 per cent considered 1-3 hours an acceptable appointment window, yet few had experienced this, with 32 per cent reporting wait times between 4-9 hours. 40 per cent of consumers claimed their biggest frustration with using a service provider was long appointment slots.
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Oct 01, 2015 • News • workforce management • FIeld nation • field service management • SaaS • Service Management • Software and Apps
Field Nation, the US company which has developed an on-line marketplace matching independent service contractors with project management demands, has secured a $30 million investment led by Susquehanna Growth Equity.
Field Nation, the US company which has developed an on-line marketplace matching independent service contractors with project management demands, has secured a $30 million investment led by Susquehanna Growth Equity.
Field Nation has been self-funding since its launch in 2008. It has reported rapid growth of 65% a year and during the past year it has connected more than 1,000 organisations with its network of over 65,000 registered contractors.
The company's on-line marketplace connects independent service contractors and companies needing to get on-site work done. It allows service companies and distributed enterprises to directly procure, manage, pay, report and optimise labour requirements. . The broader platform extends the marketplace through Field Nation Complete, a SaaS solution that delivers a complete work management solution when organisations require the combined experience of their internal and external workforce. It also allows contractors to market their skill sets, find new projects, engage with each other, complete work and get paid quickly.
“We have experienced tremendous growth and success as a small company, and now we’re prepared to start the next chapter of the Field Nation story,” said founder and CEO Mynul Khan. “With the financial support and experience from Susquehanna Growth Equity, we will rapidly accelerate our efforts to introduce Field Nation to organizations of all sizes so they can tap the full breadth of our marketplace and get more work done.” This growth-capital investment validates the business model, strategy and disruptive technology of the Field Nation platform, says the company.
The company plans to increase product development and promotion of its SaaS-based total workforce management solution Field Nation Complete and expand its service offerings into new vertical markets.
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Aug 25, 2015 • News • Workwave • feld service management • field service • field service management • Software and Apps • telematics
Workwave, the US-based provider of cloud-based solutions for businesses with mobile workforces, reports revenues up 55% and adds 900 new customers.
Workwave, the US-based provider of cloud-based solutions for businesses with mobile workforces, reports revenues up 55% and adds 900 new customers.
WorkWave, the US-based provider of cloud-based field service management and last-mile fleet management software solutions has announced it added over 900 new customers in the first half of 2015, grew recurring revenue by 55% and increased staff by nearly 30%.
The company, founded in 1984, was best known as Marathon Data Systems until it underwent a corporate rebranding in June 2015 coinciding with its acquisition of telematics company Foxtrax. Workwave has made significant investment in its field service management platform to improve the level of connectivity and visibility its customers have inside their office and in the expansion of its mobile workforce platform. This now includes proprietary mobile apps and route planning and optimisation technology, to provide the same visibility and connectivity for field service operations. The tightly integrated, mobile-first, suite of software solutions includes WorkWave Service, WorkWave Fleet, WorkWave GPS, PestPac, together with marketing and sales automation solutions.
WorkWave helps clients large and small operate more efficiently and profitably.
WorkWave is off to a strong start in 2015, fuelled by growth in its core vertical of pest control and rapid adoption of its integrated routing, GPS and lead generation offerings across its target industry segments. Key customer wins US Coachways, Friendly’s Ice Cream, Fort Point Beer Co., Hoskins Pest Control, Budget Pest Control, Molly Maid, City of Houston and Spring-Green. Staff numbers increased from 144 employees to over 180 during the first half of 2015 and are expected to reach 200 by the end of 2015.
WorkWave and CEO Chris Sullens were also named a winner in the 2015 Globee Fastest Growing Private Companies Awards which recognise company growth and success in privately-held organisations from around the world.
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Aug 24, 2015 • Features • Management • Software & Apps • future of field service • ERP • field service management • Software and Apps • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
Today’s world of industry is evolving at a faster pace than ever before. Agility is key to surviving and thriving in this modern era and agility in service can be the difference between you and your competitors writes Tom Bowe of IFS.
Today’s world of industry is evolving at a faster pace than ever before. Agility is key to surviving and thriving in this modern era and agility in service can be the difference between you and your competitors writes Tom Bowe of IFS.
At IFS we talk a lot about business agility, because we believe organisations that are able to respond rapidly to internal and external environmental changes without losing momentum or vision will be game-changers in their field. Why is being adaptable and flexible so important in today’s business world? The world is changing at an exponential rate. The youngest generation of the workforce is further removed from those leaving the workforce than ever before.
Then, of course, you have the learning lessons of those businesses that failed to respond effectively to the rapidly changing technological landscape. Nokia failed to recognise evolving customer demands in the smartphone market and ultimately were destroyed by Apple and Android’s fast paced R&D and delivery cycles. They were the world’s dominant mobile-phone maker but by the time Microsoft bought them in 2013, they claimed just three percent of the global smartphone market. The New Yorker put it aptly, stating; “Nokia’s failure resulted at least in part from an institutional reluctance to transition into a new era.”
The implementation and application of ERP software is most often considered traditional, rigid development, but that is not necessarily the case.
Imagine having this flexibility and usability across your organisation, driving your service as a profit centre. An integrated service management platform gives you the consistency, reliability and speed to react in real-time to real-world events. It is an enabler for agility. An integrated solution is provided all on the same platform, so changes to business processes and workflows don’t need to be implemented across multiple systems. This means that processes and workflows are applied seamlessly across the organisation, ensuring efficiency, productivity and accuracy of information. Implementations of multiple systems take time, are tied to prohibitive costs, and are fraught with risk. With one fully integrated system rather than multiple systems connected together, you as an organisation benefit from speed of change, ease of change, reduced costs, and less risk.
Having a fully integrated system gives your organisation true visibility into not only operations, but the field as well. From call intake to financials, the entire process is documented, tracked, and easily accessed at any point during the entire service life-cycle. This gives an organisation visibility of day-to-day activity, and business intelligence needed to forecast accurately for the future. Imagine a flexible system that automatically applies certain determined processes to specific workflows, that identifies parts needed for specific jobs and then instructs technicians on what procedures need to take place during certain projects.
Business agility is particularly important when it comes to service.
Agility in service not only drives speed-to-market, but also speed-to-delivery, which creates a competitive edge. So what can you do to achieve this agility when it comes to your software solutions and business processes? Evaluate the challenges and failings you have in relation to your current systems and delivery. Consider replacing your current back end system with something that will give you flexibility as your organisation grows internally and externally.
Often with larger, monolithic systems, internal change is static or too complicated to be effective. IFS Applications 9 is able to provide a business edge when it comes to visibility with perhaps the industry’s first user-configurable role-specific interfaces in IFS Lobby, enhanced usability within existing mobile service management tools and strategic customer relationship management (CRM) embedded directly in the applications for real-time visibility and control over the customer lifecycle.
Change the game by approaching the market with a system that will give you the visibility and flexibility needed to truly operate in the fast changing service industry. By making this fundamental change to integrated service management, you will be more prepared for external change, including trends like IoT, share economy, drones, and more. With a foundation based on agility, your organisation is guaranteed to adapt, no matter the situation.
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Aug 12, 2015 • Features • Management • Legacy systems • On • On-premise • ClickSoftware • cloud • ERP • Exel Computer Systems • field service management • servicemax • Software and Apps • solarvista • Asolvi
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...
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.
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.
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.
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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Jul 31, 2015 • Features • On-premise • click software • cloud • Exel Computer Systems • field service management • SaaS • servicemax • Software and Apps • Solavista • Asolvi
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...
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.
Agility is one thing the Cloud delivers in spades.
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
Independent service companies have recurring revenue streams which fit neatly with renting the software.
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
If the basic connection to the Internet fails, it doesn't matter what back-up the hosted platform provider has.
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 will give you baseline security protection and has other advantages.
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 servic
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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