On 24 September 2020, Keolis, in partnership with Urban ICT Arena, Telia, Ericsson Intel and T-engineering, launched a new autonomous self-driving, electric minibus trial in Stockholm, Sweden, using 5G technology to remotely control and supervise the vehicle.

This trial aims to explore the safe introduction of self-driving autonomous electric vehicles in complex urban areas with a view to optimising route planning and traffic.

The trial will be conducted in Royal Djurgården, one of the country's most popular tourist destinations, from 24 September to 8 October 2020. The autonomous minibus, which will drive along a 1.6 km route, will serve the National Museum of Science and Technology, the Maritime Museum, the Nordic Museum and Vasa Museum.

To mark the launch, an inauguration ceremony took place in Djurgården, attended by Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, Anders Ygeman, the Swedish Minister for Energy and Digital Development, Kristoffer Tamsons, Regional Minister for Transport of the Stockholm Region and Chairman of Stockholm Public Transport, Daniel Helldén, Deputy Mayor of the Traffic Division in Stockholm, and Bernard Tabary, CEO International at Keolis Group.

"Since the launch of the world’s first driverless metro in Lille (France) in 1983, Keolis has been drawing on its expertise as a pioneer in autonomous mobility to make shared mobility smarter, more connected and more sustainable. This ground-breaking trial in collaboration with our key partners constitutes another important step forward," says Bernard Tabary, CEO International at Keolis. "We’re pleased to be conducting this trial in Sweden, where we already have a strong presence through our subsidiary Keolis Sverige and carry 730,000 passengers per day."

An important step in preparing for full autonomy in collaboration with key partners

This trial illustrates Keolis’ leadership in the operation of autonomous vehicles. In 2016, the Keolis Group launched a trial of the first autonomous vehicles in Lyon, France. Since then, it has operated autonomous vehicles in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the USA and the UK, carrying 200,000 passengers and covering over 100,000 km.

The pilot project at Djurgården explores how a system with 5G-connected vehicles, which are monitored by a control tower remotely, can facilitate the safe introduction of self-driving electric buses in more complex and demanding urban areas. Benefits of such a system include improved route planning and traffic flows, reduced operational costs and pollution and a more reliable, accessible form of public transport for passengers.

The unique technical features of the 5G network, including extremely high data speeds combined with low latency, mean that the connected buses can respond in real time to commands from the centralised control tower. This is a prerequisite for the safe remote control of vehicles and an important step in moving the driver from the bus into the control tower.

Keolis and Ericsson, which provides the technology for the connected control tower, initiated the project following demonstrations of remote control 5G vehicles in 2019 at the UITP exhibition in Stockholm and at the RNTP exhibition in Nantes.

Telia is providing 5G connectivity in collaboration with Ericsson. Intel is delivering processing power to both the IT system in the vehicles and the control tower, as well as the mobile network. The vehicle, which is equipped with self-driving technology, is provided by the Swedish technology firm T-engineering. It features seven seats and will drive at a maximum speed of 18km/h.

Commercial services run from Monday to Friday, between 8 am and 10 am and 2 pm and 4 pm, and feature a safety driver present in the vehicle at all times. The trial ends on 8 October and will be continued in Kista Science City. The aim of this trail will be to pilot the vehicle from a control tower without an operator on board. In parallel with the Swedish trial, Keolis is testing fully autonomous vehicles at a site closed to traffic in Châteauroux in France.

Further Reading:

• Learn more about Keolis  @ www.keolis.com
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about 5G Technology on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/5G
• Follow Keolis on Twitter @ twitter.com/groupekeolis

EIT Digital-supported innovation activity Last Mile Autonomous Delivery (LMAD) has developed a software platform to operate multiple types of autonomous delivery robots (ADRs).After operating the solution at Nokia's Paris-Saclay campus in France, the LMAD startup, which has been incorporated to commercialise the solution, has recently successfully operated it in Finland.

In August, a pilot was run at Aalto University Campus, a parkland-style area at the core of Espoo’s Otaniemi district home to several high-tech companies, the school’s buildings and a student village with more than 4,000 residents.

The local K-Market Otaniemi grocery store offered its customers the option of ordering their groceries online and having them delivered by means of LMAD’s autonomous vehicle. In times of a pandemic, this option perfectly met the safety needs of the customers.

“I believe that the more options the customers have, the better. With the robot, we have been giving customers one additional option to receive the goods for themselves, without as much human interaction as there might be when doing the traditional delivery,” the owner of K-Market Otaniemi, Aleksi Tapani, says.

HOME DELIVERIES WITHOUT HUMAN INTERACTIONS TO MEET THE SAFETY NEEDS OF CUSTOMERS

Home deliveries are set to grow, as more and more people become aware of how time-consuming going to a physical store can be, and how much easier it is to order some goods online and wait for them at home.

Meeting customers’ expectations, however, does not play out in terms of margins, as part of the cost of the delivery is absorbed by merchants.

“The question is how to make last-mile delivery profitable. Automatization and robotics can be part of the solution, that's why I was keen on getting in this pilot and seeing what it would bring,” Tapani says.

The experiment was successful, so much that K-Market Otaniemi decided to take part in the next LMAD operation, which will take place in October.

In addition to that, LMAD will be deploying a full delivery service at Nokia’s campus in the outskirts of Paris by the end of the year, another test drive of the platform in Finland in November with additional new pilots being planned elsewhere, to test the platform with robots made by various manufacturers.

“So far, we have been using robots made by our partner GIM Robotics, but we will soon operate an ADR produced by the French manufacturer TwinswHeel, which is also part of our partner team, and possibly another manufacturer next year. LMAD is an open, flexible platform, that can work with several providers. This is something which differentiates us from potential competitors,” LMAD’s CEO, Jean-Philippe Bellaiche, says.

Further Reading:

• Watch a video of the robot delivering at Aalto Campus @ www.youtube.com/6iN5vqUW52A
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Find out more about LMAD @ https://www.lmad.eu/
• Read more about EIT Digital @ www.eitdigital.eu

Tweddle Group today launched its new Integrated Diagnostic Explorer software—or IDEx—to enable faster, more accurate diagnostics for a wide range of industries.

Tweddle Group's Chief Executive Officer Pat Aubrynsaid IDEx will serve a dual purpose. "We designed IDEx with two goals in mind," Aubry said. "We wanted to make diagnostics easier and more accurate for technicians. And we wanted to make it easier for manufacturers to create and publish good diagnostic information."

Traditional diagnosis relies on rigid diagnostic trees and procedures, but real-world diagnosis is far more nuanced. IDEx uses sophisticated AI algorithms to help technicians quickly get to the root cause of even the most complex cases.

IDEX helps technicians isolate the root case quickly and accurately

"We spent a lot of time with technicians in the field. Then we asked ourselves, 'What would the diagnostic process look like if we could change the status quo and design it from scratch?' That line of questioning led to IDEx," said Tweddle Group Director of Product Development Justin Dickow. "IDEx thrives on complex issues. Our diagnostics engine adapts the troubleshooting steps in real-time, to help get you to the root cause as fast as possible."

Manufacturers will no longer need to write detailed, step-by-step diagnostic procedures. "Today, these procedures are costly and time-consuming to author, and the results are often inaccurate," Justin said. "IDEx will reduce the cost and effort of developing and distributing diagnostic information. It will also reduce the time spent on diagnostics and minimize errors in repair."

Further Reading:

• Register for a free limited release of IDEx @ www.idex.ai
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about Tweddle Group @ www.tweddle.com
• Follow Tweddle Group on Twitter @ twitter.com/TweddleGroup

RuggON Corporation, a leading-edge mobile computing solution provider, announces the VULCAN X rugged vehicle-mount computer.

Based around a high-visibility 10.4-inch display, this versatile device upgrades any vehicle, and its crew, into a productive asset in the corporate IoT (Internet of Things) – reporting and responding to real-time events, reliably and rapidly. VULCAN X is ideal for cold chain, logistics, warehousing, and heavy-duty vehicles in agriculture, recycling, waste management, and mining. It is perfect for port and cargo cranes.

At the heart of the VULCAN X is a powerful computing platform designed on industry standards. Based on the 8th gen Intel® Core™ i5-8365UE 1.6GHz, this device is compatible with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise.

VULCAN X, AN APPLICATION-ORIENTED RUGGED COMPUTER FOR ANY RUSHED ENVIRONMENT

The fully rugged design makes the most of the IP66, MIL-STD 810H, and IEC-60721-3-5 5M3 certifications, ensuring the VULCAN X keeps working in the harshest environments, in a vast temperature range going from -30⁰ C to +55⁰ C. The VULCAN X is built to operate 24/7 and withstand salt spray and fog/frost. The vehicle mount has robust metal connectors to protect the I/O interfaces and ensure reliable and secure operation even under the most severe conditions. Smart power management with a broad power input range from 9 to 60 VDC helps the VULCAN X to fulfill diversified applications in almost any vehicle type.

As digitization and automation are an integral part of the industrial evolution, 5G ready is no longer a buzzword for the RuggON VULCAN X. The modular design allows changing the I/O ports' location for easy installation and preventing damage to cables from bending and wear. The rich I/O options ensure maximum utilization under various usage scenarios.

The device features CAN bus 2.0B or SAE J1939 for seamless vehicle systems integration. It supports Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 ac) with fast Wi-Fi roaming to prevent lengthy network dropouts in the field. Precise location positioning without any downtime is possible on cranes and forklifts. Materials handling can be managed easily with the VULCAN X through auxiliary RFID or barcode scanners that can be easily plugged into RS-232 ports for usage and recharging.

The trend towards automation and always-connected vehicles is making the human factor more critical – not less – and VULCAN X helps your valuable employees work smarter, safer, and more efficiently. The VULCAN X's high brightness auto-dimming touchscreen automatically optimizes visibility for day or night, indoors and out. The PCT touchscreen display keeps your staff in control in the most challenging conditions with its rugged design. The included RuggON DashON utility software and RuggonOTA service will keep your device in the best condition out in the field.

Further Reading:

• Learn more about RuggON Vulcan X @ www.ruggon.com//VULCANX
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about RuggON on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/RuggON
• Learn more about RuggON @ www.ruggon.com
• Follow RuggON on Twitter @ twitter.com/RuggON_RuggedPC

The power of technology-enhanced remote assistance has become a mainstream concept in 2020 as we adapted to the needs of zero-touch service delivery during lockdown, yet the benefits of such tools go way beyond the confines of the pandemic. However, for those of us only just getting up to speed on this technology OverIT's Alberto Battistutti is outlines the core distinctions of some of the technologies at play... 

Augmented Reality (AR) can be seen as an extension of the user’s environment, which gets enriched in real time with superimposed digital models and information, such as texts, graphics and multimedia. The aim of this technology is to “augment” or, in other words, to improve the physical world with contextual, significant and relevant information.

The antithesis of AR is Virtual Reality (VR), a technology radically changing the users’ perception of the world as it immerses them into an artificial, unreal and computer-generated environment. Elements are then separated from the actual world and replicated into a virtual one, in which users rely on their five senses to interact with objects and places.

Merged Reality (MR) can be positioned in the middle, as it integrates digital models into the physical world, enabling users to interact with them while remaining aware of the real environment around them.

The main differences are about the devices used and, therefore, the functions provided and the sector where such functions can be employed.

The rapid deployment of supporting technology and the fall in prices of wearable devices (as already happened to handheld ones) will increase the spread of AR, MR and VR solutions, now expected to be a “can’t-live-without tech” for every company.

BENEFITS AND APPLICABILITY OF THE THREE TECHNOLOGIES

AR, MR and VR apply to a wide range of business opportunities, way beyond the initial expectations of the general public, which were limited to the entertainment and video game industry. Indeed, they have marked a turning point in many different business processes, from sales and marketing activities to Field Service and remote support, from training & learning to the manufacturing sector.

AR, MR and VR have proven to bring value to the business of those companies adopting them, both in terms of reduced time for work execution, thanks to faster maintenance procedures, improved staff productivity and efficiency, as well as of increased workforce safety, thanks to hands-free activity, remote training and collaboration.

Products based on such technologies are key factors for all companies, regardless of the sector they are operating in, their size and business turnover. Utility and Industrial Manufacturing sectors are currently leading the way in this digitalization process, due to the intrinsic nature of the activities their operators are always exposed to. AR, MR and VR are able to “extend” the resources’ capabilities. supporting them through guided procedures while carrying out maintenance activities on production lines, arming them with pertinent information on plant assets and, last but not least, connecting them with other colleagues to receive or give real-time assistance. The continuous transfer of corporate knowledge is therefore now a reality.

TYPICAL USE OF AR, MR AND VR IN BUSINESS

Very common cases where such technologies have a staggering potential are: remote execution of maintenance activities, virtual collaboration, training and product presentation.

On-field resources often face unknown assets, thus asking the company to send an expert on site. It goes without saying that such procedure is costly and time-consuming; in short, inefficient. Likewise, maintenance and repairing interventions nowadays represent the most critical processes for companies. Augmented Reality can bridge the skills gap and reduce errors made by technicians, thus ensuring a rapid and efficient sharing of know-how as well as increasing the percentage of first-time fixes and giving more accurate diagnoses. By harnessing the power of a shared, Artificial Intelligence-driven knowledge base, the application automatically suggests all possible solutions generated from learning the procedures of previous interventions.

The information provided can be integrated with the Geographic Information System data, thus allowing users to view networks, assets and technical data, as to assess in advance the impact caused by the creation of plants and networks, while cutting down the time required to identify assets over the territory.

"Expert maintenance technicians are extremely rare to find and are usually forced to move across the world to respond to growing requests for intervention..."

Moreover, the assets’ digital twins can be manipulated in real time and enriched with further details, by anchoring notes shared by those remote users with the skills necessary to support the execution of field activities. Such functions extend competences and allow to complete maintenance and assistance interventions rapidly and efficiently.

The technology breakthrough reflects into increasingly sophisticated machines, requiring maintenance interventions performed by resources with a higher degree of specialization. Expert maintenance technicians are extremely rare to find and are usually forced to move across the world to respond to growing requests for intervention, thus extending machine downtime and increasing expenses for companies. In this regard, remote training on new procedures or complex activities is becoming more and more important. Implementing these functionalities proves to be game-changing for situations which are difficult or too expensive to recreate in reality.

It is worth noting how the current global emergency situation and the resulting restrictions have boomed sectors concerning remote collaboration and product presentation. These two particular uses of technology allow to minimize travels of personnel, both in case of operational and commercial activities, thus taking digital information wherever the business requires it, in total safety, and with even higher results than those achievable with traditional methods.

Further Reading:

• Learn more about OverIT @ www.overit.it
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about OverIT on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/overIT
• Read more about AR on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/augmented-reality
• Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA
• Connect with Alberto Battistutti @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/abattistutti/ 

In Cognito iQ’s annual customer satisfaction survey for 2019, 100% of their customers that responded to our survey rated Cognito iQ from Good to Excellent in every category.

Cognito iQ’s customers depend on their software to keep their field service and last mile delivery networks operational and efficient on a daily basis, meaning their satisfaction is a critical benchmark.

Customers were asked to rate Cognito IQ's performance from Poor to Excellent in several categories; Reliability of solution, how the solution supports your business needs, customer service professionalism and knowledge, business understanding and the quality of the professional services team.

100% rating good and above is an excellent indicator of cognito iq's business performace

‘Scoring 100% rating good and above is an excellent indicator of our business performance’ commented Laurent Othacehe, CEO. ‘Our customer support teams enable our customers to quickly react to new working practices and remain flexible in order to meet their growing customer satisfaction demands’.

“Not only have we achieved these great results, in addition 100% of our customers said they would recommend us. Moving forward our aim is to not just maintain but improve these scores, in exactly the same way we enable our customers to achieve continuous improvement.’

Further Reading:

• Learn more about Cognito iQ  @ www.cognitoiq.com
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about Cognito iQ on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/cognito-iq
• Follow Cognito iQ on Twitter @ twitter.com/Cognito_iQ

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, makes an announcement regarding the forthcoming planned events scheduled to be held in the UK next month... 

It is with great reluctance that I must unfortunately announce that we will not be able to follow through with our plans for a special event, the Field Service News Symposium planned to be hosted at Edgbaston on the 20th of October. 

As many of you will know, the vision behind this event was to try to bring our sector together as we all work through the challenges of overcoming the global lockdowns and begin to repair the impact the pandemic has had on the global economy. 

Indeed, it remains my belief that the field service sector will play a critical role in that process and as we all find ourselves attempting to navigate unchartered waters the intention was to bring those who were comfortable doing, together in an environment that was designed for knowledge sharing, collaborative working and guided peer-to-peer education.

"It was something we believed in, something that I believed, was the right thing to do for the industry and community that we serve here at FSN.."

It was such a fundamental belief of mine that such an event should take place as soon as possible to help kick-start the conversations that will be at the heart of driving the recovery that, this special one day event was to be funded solely by 1927 Media Ltd, the publisher of Field Service News in its entirety.

There was no sponsorship on this event, we were not charging anyone to attend. We were doing it because it was something we believed in, something that I believed, was the right thing to do for the industry and community that we serve here at FSN. 

Sadly, following the UK government's announcement last week regarding new regulations which have been implemented since this Monday and also the Birmingham area subsequently being also placed under greater lockdown I see know way for us to be able to realistically continue with our plans. 

Since the announcement we have waited for further clarification from the UK Government on whether the event would be possible, unfortunately there has been no such clarification forthcoming as yet.

However, with the event date now being only a month away I feel we have to make the decision in the interests of all those who had already agreed to give up their time to help facilitate this event, to postpone for the time being. We unfortunately cannot guarantee we will be in a position where we will be allowed to host what will be an important opportunity for knowledge sharing and discussion in our sector, - so we must now wait for an opportunity where it is feasible to do so. 

A phenomenal amount of work has been put in behind the scenes by a huge amount of people to ensure that this event would not just be hosted in a safe environment in line with the previous COVID-19 regulations but also that would bring a huge amount of value to all who would be able to participate.

"It is here where the spark of innovation that can light the torches that shine the light on the path towards a full recovery is most likely to be found..."

I would like to thank each and everyone of you who have assisted with this project so far. The good news is that this work will not go to waste, as soon as we see a genuine chance to move forwards with a revised date for the Field Service News Symposium - we will. 

Finally, I feel I must urge the UK Government to think of business as they continue to make policy.

While I and all of us here at Field Service News absolutely understand the need for ensuring the safety of everyone, there simply must be a pathway back towards industry events such as this being able to resume - it is here where the spark of innovation that can light the torches that shine the light on the path towards a full recovery is most likely to be found. It is now when businesses need the clearest of instructions, that we must avoid the uncertainty created by the vague outline of last weeks announcement. 

As I said in a previous Field Service News Digital Sympoisum Live Stream, these are the most challenging of times, yet having been surrounded throughout 2020 of examples of innovation and ingenuity, having seen the temerity and tenacity abound as we have all adapted time and again to the challenges put before us, I have every confidence that we as an industry will come out the other side of this stronger than ever. 

It might take a little bit longer than we first thought, but I stand by these words today more so than ever. 

Thank you for your time and I'm sorry we couldn't pull this off - yet, but we will and when we do it will be something very special indeed. 

Kris 

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief and Founder,  Field Service News

As digital transformation spend is increasing around the world, businesses look for technology vendors whose ethics (29 percent) and culture (23 percent) align with their own. Interestingly, these considerations trump innovation in the ranking of desirable traits, demonstrating that having a similar cultural view of the world is playing a larger role in the selection process.

The top two vendor traits selected were specialist industry expertise (32 percent) and long-term solutions (30 percent). This is unsurprising, considering poor advice from vendors tops the list of why digital transformation projects fail at 37 percent, according to a research study from global enterprise applications company IFS.

Combined with poor vendor advice, technology selection teams, especially among businesses with revenues around the one-billion-dollar mark, are also being pressured by senior management to select well-known vendors even when they are a poor fit for the company’s actual needs.

Despite the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of companies are planning to increase their digital transformation spend, according to study findings earlier this year. With more businesses investing, with the aim of driving revenue post pandemic, the cost of failure is high and it’s becoming even more important to get investment right.

37 percent say poor vendor advice is the main reason why digital transformation projects fail

A resounding 48 percent of respondents at companies with revenues between 850–950 million US$ stated that they had been forced by senior management or the board of directors to use a well-known vendor that was a poor technological fit.

 “The fact that a non-tangible such as ethics is ranked among the top three vendor traits is inextricably linked to the fact that poor advice from vendors was rated as the top reason for failure,” IFS Chief Customer Officer Michael Ouissi said. “Companies investing in technology should expect their vendors to adhere to sound sales and marketing practices based squarely in actual customer value.”

With a focus on previous experiences from past digital transformation projects, the study finds that budgets and timelines are two major pain points. Respondents indicate that failure in past projects makes management more reluctant to engage in future digital transformation efforts, with budget overruns topping the list of reasons management may put the brakes on critical projects at 28 percent and 26 percent saying blown timelines on past projects have made management more risk averse.

Further analysis of the findings shows that success of these digital transformation projects primarily hinges on finding the right technological fit (44 percent) and establishing clear objectives (50 percent). In fact, the top-three vendor trust factors highlighted by respondents are on-time delivery (44 percent), support before, during and after project completion (41 percent), and delivering projects faster to value (35 percent).

Further Reading:

• Download a complimentary copy of Digital Transformation Investment in 2020 and Beyond:
  The Technology Equation @ www.ifs.com/digital-transformation-investment-in-2020
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about IFS on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/ifs
• Find out more about IFS @ www.ifs.com
• Follow IFS on Twitter @ twitter.com/ifsuk

Combined with Salesforce Customer 360 Platform and Salesforce Field Service, Asset 360 will create the world's most complete field service solution on the world's #1 CRM platform

ServiceMax, the leader in asset-centric field service management, today announced ServiceMax Asset 360 for Salesforce, a new product built on Salesforce Field Service, bringing ServiceMax's asset-centric approach and decade-plus of experience to more customers across a broader set of industries to help them keep critical assets running.

In today's environment, companies across all industries are having to reimagine how they operate. Requirements for equipment performance have intensified, while customer expectations continue to rise. In order to thrive, organizations must advance beyond the standard break-fix model to ensure uptime for important assets in a safe and compliant manner. Service teams must prioritize efficient asset performance, as well as the customer experience they provide.

ServiceMax Asset 360 for Salesforce will deliver a 360-degree view into install base, service contracts and asset performance to maximize equipment uptime and reduce maintenance costs. This advanced insight, natively developed within Salesforce Field Service, will empower customers to shift from selling products to adopting outcome-based strategies that propel businesses forward. This will enable customers to drive operational results, including:

• Accelerating time-to-value to support asset-centric business processes with pre-configured templates and industry best practices
• Gaining greater visibility into warranty coverages and improving service margin by preventing uncovered work with warranty and entitlement management
• Maximizing contract attach rates and renewals by monitoring the install base to ensure warranty-to-contract conversion while delivering on entitlements
• Automating RMA/depot repair processes to efficiently manage returns, meet compliance and lower inventory costs with purpose-built interfaces

The new offering will enable reduced implementation time and deliver new innovation with each release, bringing enhanced workflows directly to customers "out of the box" and access to emerging technologies such as Einstein. ServiceMax Asset 360 for Salesforce will be available in November 2020. ServiceMax will also continue to offer, support and invest in bringing new technologies to its existing Core platform.

"For 13 years, ServiceMax has helped customers keep the world running with world-class field service solutions," said Neil Barua, CEO of ServiceMax. "We are proud to offer this new solution, built on the Salesforce platform, which will enable even more customers across a broader set of industries to benefit from an asset-centric approach in order to run more profitable, efficient service operations and ensure uptime on the world's most important assets."

"The enhanced partnership between ServiceMax and Salesforce continues the market trend of ecosystem relationships to support end-to-end service lifecycle management with an eye to an industry focus," said Aly Pinder, Program Director, Service Innovation and Connected Products at IDC, and author of IDC's recent Market Scape on Field Service Management. "The partnership moves the conversation past 'let's turn more wrenches in a given day' to 'let's enable service to deliver a better, more proactive customer experience that ensures asset performance.' I am intrigued to follow this from a business relationship perspective and see how this partnership supports the future of field service."

"We're thrilled to be bringing a next-generation field service product to market for our customers," said Mark Cattini, SVP of Field Service Management at Salesforce. "And, with the combination of ServiceMax Asset 360 and Salesforce Field Service, companies across industries will have access to enhanced asset management and dynamic resource scheduling capabilities on a single platform. This is the future of field service and it's connected, proactive and intelligent."      

Want to Know More? As part of our beyond the headlines series Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, spoke with ServiceMax CEO Neil Barua and CMO Stacey Epstein about the new release to find out more. Look out for that exclusive interview coming soon!