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In his leader for this issue, Kris Oldland discusses the challenge in finding a metaphor powerful enough to reflect the potential transformation that is happening in field service organisations across the globe...

 

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The title came to me easily enough and it is in evidence all throughout this issue. Advanced Services is a field/movement that is advancing at rapid pace.

 

But how best to convey this in the artwork?

In my mind the shift towards Advanced Services is growing in momentum and as it begins to hit the tipping point it will become an unstoppable force, driving into every corner of business, across every part of the global economy.

Why?

Well as ServiceMax CEO Dave Yarnold comments in our exclusive interview on page 24 “Of course outcome based services makes a ton of sense to customers. It’s far more balanced, it’s what customers want.”

Ultimately, this is why Advanced Services will flourish. Because it brings balance to relationships between service providers and their customers, and in doing so brings benefits to both. I remember someone telling me once that a good negotiation is where both parties feel like they have lost something. Where both have had to make some concession to the other.

Advanced Services is perhaps the first business model I’ve come across where that actually doesn’t hold up.

So one of my first thoughts around the artwork was something like a tidal wave or tsunami. A great unstoppable force of nature that would sweep everything before it, leaving space in it’s wake for rebirth - rebuilding and replacement of the old ways with something new.

However, I felt that this imagery was to destructive, to uncontrollable, to urgent. One thing about the Advanced Services movement is it has been patient. Patiently waiting for cultures and technologies to catch up since at least the mid 60s when Rolls Royce were forced by American Airlines to come up with a new business model because the old one wasn’t working.

So now that the time is finally right for Advanced Services to take hold it will be much more of a steady march ever onwards than a flash in the pan incident.

 

Which lead me to the imagery that I settled on, although I still had considerations around whether the image of an army walking across a battlefield was right to convey something that as I mentioned previously, is a movement that brings balance to the force provider/consumer relationship?

After consideration I realised that of course an advancing army isn’t always one of invasion and oppression but alternatively can be one of liberation and freedom.

OK maybe I’m taking the metaphor too far here, but essentially the companies that have pioneered the SaaS model in the software industry such as Salesforce absolutely broke the chains of monopoly that were restricting all but the biggest players.

Whilst the likes of IBM, Microsoft and Oracle mocked the Cloud, innovative start-ups were getting a head-start, reinventing the game so both they and the customer had more control and freedom than ever before- which ultimately pushed the need for innovation across the whole industry, leading to mass disruption.

You can bet that large manufacturers and others have watched this development across the last decade and a half keenly and are looking to see how they can be sure they are on the Advanced Services train, so they don’t get left behind playing catch up, like the big players in Software had to.

Of course, that’s the other flip-side of the cover image I opted for. Ultimately it does invoke thoughts of a battle or war and in such conflicts there are always winners and losers.

I can’t help but feel that right now we are at a pivotal time in the history of enterprise.

I see us at a fork in the road where those companies who take the right path now, those that embrace technologies like IoT and business concepts like Advanced Services will truly flourish across the next decade.

And as for those companies that don’t... I have just one word of advice.

Kodak.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Whilst it may seem like we are taking giant leaps forward in field service right now, it's the many small steps that have led us to where we are writes Kris Oldland, in his May/June editorial leader.

One small step, one giant leap.

I sometimes wish I had been around when Neil Armstrong had uttered his immortal phrase. But if I had then perhaps I wouldn’t be reporting on what I truly believe is an equally important part of history.

We truly are living in an age of unprecedented technological advancement. Parallels are drawn with the industrial revolution and whilst some may baulk at such grandiose comparisons, personally I think history will show this to be an age that eclipses the shift from arable to industrial, an age that eclipses the space race, an age where our technology eventually becomes an integral part of who we are and of how we define ourselves as species.

But lets think back on those famous words of the world’s most famous astronaut.

One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

As I look through this issue of Field Service News I see so many giant leaps that are the result of many small steps forward. To begin there is my own feature looking at the Field Engineer’s Toolkit of 2020. In this I look at technologies I believe will become common in the not so distant future.

Five years ago each of these technologies would have seemed like the product of some outlandish, futurist fantasy. Yet all of the technologies listed are actually the result of the small steps forward that proceeded them.

Wearables for example are a hot topic right now, but they wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the smart phone, which in turn wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for WAP. 3D printing, one of the most exciting and futuristic technologies around, is some forty years in the making. The Internet of Things is now coming of age but medical device company Elekta were shipping their devices with 56K Modems twenty years ago.

Des Evans, Former Chairman of MAN trucks, one of those companies that is often held up as an example of both a disruptive company embracing technology and a manufacturer evolving into a service oriented organisation, sums this up perfectly. “We were an overnight success ten years in the making” he explained when talking about the way MAN reinvented the road logistics sector.

Another company that are placed in the same bracket as MAN is Alstom, yet when I spoke to Alex Bill in their Power Generation division again the hot topic of servitization and outcome based services is old hat for these folks. They grasped the nettle, and they took their small steps towards a customer centric, advanced services model many, many years ago. The result? Many of their competitors are now trying to emulate their success, but are a giant leap behind.

 

Meanwhile, Professor Andy Neely writing for Field Service News for the first time, outlines his recent experiences in China where a number of manufacturing companies are also making giant leaps forward as they try to use service to position themselves as sector leaders. The moral of the story? Those companies that put their customers at the heart of their thinking are going to always come out ahead of the game.

I love the quote from Hewlett Packard for example where they state they are now the largest paper distributor in the world. They used to sell printers and they were focused on what they did and they did it well. For many years they tried to educate the world as to why they were the number one choice when it came to buying a printer. Then one day they realised their customers didn’t really care about printers. Really all they cared about was printing their documents in a cost effective yet high quality fashion.

So they stopped selling printers and started selling the ability to print.

A giant leap? Yes. But one made from very simple small steps.

Another example of small steps and giant leaps in this issue is the story behind IFS. I was lucky enough to be invited to their World Conference a few weeks ago in Boston.

It was a great trip. Not only because the city of Boston is steeped in history. Not only because I watched my newly inherited team the Red Sox win in my first ever baseball match. Not even because I had a beer in the Cheers bar where Ted Danson came to fame, where everybody new my name.

It was a great trip because I got to witness what I honestly think is the true coming of age of a company, who I believe, will be a significant influence in the next few years both in the Field Service industry and beyond.

Whilst the audience was definitely already onside, it was a bit like attending an SNP rally in Glasgow, the fact of the matter is that IFS Applications 9 generated some serious excitement. There is some very cleverly designed functionality and some serious architecture going on underneath (Especially the in-memory stuff that comes later this year) but once again this is one leap forwards that is built on a number of smaller steps.

When I spoke exclusively with IFS Managing Director Paul Massey I asked him to outline the key milestones in his time with the company and as we talked it through I realised that whilst the milestones like their one millionth customer were important, actually it has been a case of steady, well placed steps that has led them to where they are today. But now with the backing of partners like Microsoft and Accenture they are geared up for one more giant leap forward in the near future I feel...

Well it’s certainly been an interesting few months…

I think the only place I can start this column is the Service Management Expo which ran in mid June. As a brand Service Management Expo (or Service Management Europe) has been around nearly as long as the Service Management Technology industry has existed. Indeed this was the exhibition’s 30th Anniversary so it is an event that has long served our community.

However, it has been far from a steady ride for what is still Europe’s largest event of it’s kind. The brand has changed ownership a number of times over the years, as well as venues and co-located partner shows. It’s been a standalone show of it’s own, sat with alongside a call centre event one year, facilities management another and this year was part of an all encompassing ‘protection and management’ series which current show organisers UBM put together at the London Excel.

Perhaps this is the problem with our little universe. Whilst field service and service management sit neatly across a whole range of other industries the challenges Service Managers and Directors face, and the solutions to those challenges are largely specific to field service. So whilst field service spans across a huge array of different verticals there responsibility for making that service division run smoothly requires a very distinct knowledge base and skill set. With this in mind it is probably understandable that there was a touch of apprehension as to how Service Management Expo would fare it is new home in London’s Excel as the smallest cog in what was in honesty a behemoth of an event?

Yet despite some misgivings, reflecting on the whole they pulled it off. Okay at times the show felt a little lost against the enormity of some of the other events (IFSEC the international fire and security show took up half of the Exel on its own!) and there are definitely more than the odd kink to be ironed out, but as one SME veteran put it ‘a little bit of the buzz was back’ a buzz that had perhaps been becoming conspicuous in its absence for the last few years.

 

Certainly the area surrounding the Field Service Solutions Theatre which was hosted by our good selves had a great feel about it.

Maybe it was the constant stream of excellent, short presentations that we were very proud to have had a hand in arranging that kept people returning to the small auditoria but there was a definite buzz of conversation in the air for large parts of every day.

For me personally the highlight of the Solutions Theatre was the panel debate I hosted featuring Conor O’Neil, Ian Mapp, and Philipp Emennegger  where we discussed the Future of Field Service. In fact I enjoyed it so much I invite them back to take part in the panel discussion in this issue which appears on page 18.  Also you can find our coverage of SME itself across starting on page 32

However, Service Management Expo wasn’t the only event to run in June.

After the sad loss of Steve Downton earlier this year, it was fantastic to see a group of industry professionals, headed up by Chris Farnarth come together to put on a very special Service Community event which was both dedicated to the memory of Steve (whose wife and daughter were in attendance) but also had a second goal of discussing with the community itself how we can continue to build on Steve’s legacy and keep the Service Community thriving.

The event itself was a truly remarkable day absolutely crammed with presentations from some very seasoned service professionals including Coca-Cola Enterprise’s Mark Rawding, Siemans’ Graham Coyne and Fujitsu’s Martin Summerhayes (who is also interviewed for this issue which appears on page 12) amongst others. Coverage of the whole event begins on page 42

Perhaps the most fitting testament to the day was when the session headed into a breakout session at the end for those who wanted to be part of the conversation of how the Service Community should continue almost two thirds of the 60 or so people that attend remained. Steve’s vision for a non-profit, knowledge sharing community that supported each other was never more evident and we are very proud to be part of helping the community to continue to grow from strength to strength.

So after much change it seems that when it comes to our industry events it remains very much business as usual and on that theme I turn my thoughts to the other event that has dominated the headlines throughout June – the World Cup.

England are on the plane home whilst Argentina, Germany, Brazil and Holland remain in the hunt for glory. Yep. Seems like it’s a case of business as usual everywhere then…

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Field Service News was proud to publish the inaugural edition of our quarterly magazine earlier this month, which is available for free to UK field service professionals. If you missed out on this first issue or you are based outside of the UK then you can download a digital copy here.

We are fortunate enough to be joined by some of the field service community’s brightest and best and have a wide range of guest contributors from differing areas of the industry, all coming together in one place, to keep you fully up to date of all the latest key trends, technologies and practices emerging in the industry today.

Although we haven’t just gone and brought together a great bunch of writers and let them get on with it - that would be a bit of a cheat wouldn’t it?

No, the team here at Field Service News have been earning their keep as well and amongst all the other the great insight and analysis you will also find a five page special report looking at the appetite for the Cloud in the field service industry. This report comes off the back of a two month long research project we conducted in partnership with Tesseract systems.

I won’t put any spoilers in at this early stage but suffice to say that not all the findings were what you might have expected them to be, so it is certainly worth a read.

Then there is our exclusive interview with Telogis’ Top Man in the UK, Sergio Barata. He has been given the somewhat unenviable task of replicating Telogis’ exceptional growth in the US (Deloitte Fast Track 500 6 years running?!) here in the UK.

No mean feat, however, Telogis did announce an investment of £90M not too long ago to help grow their British business so it’s clear they mean business and Sergio whilst being an amiable and approaching guy, is also very switched on, very knowledgeable about the industry and also has an excellent grasp of what he needs to achieve and exactly what steps he needs to take to do so.

Yet another feature you cannot miss is our panel debate - ‘All change please.’ With the industry seemingly in constant flux as wave upon wave of ground-breaking technology appears (each with the potential to change the industry as we know it entirely) we thought we would try to make sense of things by bringing five of the smartest folks we know and putting the same three questions to each of them. With a diverse range of backgrounds and specialisms they make a formidable panel (I certainly wouldn’t want to bump into them on a dark night!) and provide some fantastic answers across the four pages.

And then there is more! But you are going to have to download the issue to find out for yourself!

So Click here to download your copy now!