Affini Technology Limited (Affini) has announced that it has been awarded the contract for the Provision, Maintenance, Repair and Post Design Services of the radio system for the Dockyard Port of Clyde which includes Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde.

Affini is a leading technology agnostic systems integrator that specialises in radio and wireless communications. Their deep-domain expertise returns significant value for their customers across a range of sectors that includes Transport, Utilities, Government Departments, Construction, and the Emergency Services.

THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AFFINI AND THE DOCKYARD PORT OF CLYDE INCLUDES HER MAJESTY'S NAVAL BASE CLYDE

For over 35 years, Affini has been at the forefront of their field, delivering critical communications, unifying multiple communication platforms, and delivering innovative solutions that utilise the internet of things.

Mr. Ian Carr, Affini’s Chief Executive, said “We are proud to be supporting Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde on this important requirement. We have amassed a great deal of radio and wireless communications experience as a company, and we look forward to demonstrating the value that our expertise can deliver for our prestigious armed services”.

About Affini Technology

Affini is a leading, technology agnostic systems integrator that specialises in radio and wireless communications.  Our wide range of expert consultants, architects, designers, engineers and project managers, enable us to deliver innovative solutions and services that are aligned to our customer’s specific needs and packaged to their requirements, such as providing total solutions on a managed service basis. From strategy and design to maintenance and service delivery, Affini is trusted and relied upon to deliver and support your critical communications.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Parts, Pricing and Logistics @ www.fieldservicenews.com/parts-pricing-and-logistics
• Find out more about Affini @ www.affini.co.uk
• Follow Affini on Twitter @ twitter.com/affini_
• Follow Affini on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/affini-technology-ltd/

IFS, the global cloud enterprise applications company, today announced the latest update to IFS Cloud™, which is now generally available. IFS’s twice annual release cycle allows customers to constantly evolve their solution without the need for big upgrades or migrations, clearing their road to focus on business transformation.

The latest evolution of IFS Cloud delivers a long range of innovative, industry-specific new capabilities. For one, IFS is helping businesses collect the data needed to demonstrate their compliance and improve their performance against environmental sustainability standards - IFS Cloud Sustainability Hub is now available and integrated inside Microsoft Teams. Secondly, IFS Cloud for HCM and Talent Management solutions now provide the flexibility of using either basic or out of the box functionality for recruitment, onboarding, and development of your most key resource – your people.

New features include ESG capabilities, Advanced Analytics and innovative user experience

Available now are new APIs that connect factory machinery with IFS Cloud to deliver a connected shopfloor – this provides real-time intelligence that enables companies to better manage their supply-chain and production in line with order demands. New Intelligent Asset Monitoring and Maintenance functionality uses machine learning to improve predicative maintenance capabilities and efficiency.

The new Advanced Analytics feature that is accessible through the user-customizable Lobbies leverages modular tabular analysis models to clearly display business-critical information relevant to the user. End users can visualize their data in real, detailed graphical renderings suitable to the way they access and consume data, reducing the skills needed to make insights available to everyone.

As a market differentiator and ongoing driver for the evolution of IFS Cloud, the platform’s UX has also been updated. New branding capabilities allow the customer to integrate their own look & feel, helping to create a more engaging experience for users. Adding customization and analytical capabilities enables users to join up data, insights, actions and transactions in one place.

Additional capabilities added to IFS Cloud include:

• The Update Studio puts customers in control of the update and cadence of functionality, allowing them to analyze the release update and understand what impact it might have on configuration or customization, before making any changes, which is especially critical to customers in regulated industries. The Update Studio is at the heart of enabling our customers to stay evergreen.
• The Dispatch Console, which is part of IFS Cloud for Service Management, now features capabilities based on four personas of dispatchers, ranging from those that rely on a mostly automated process to those that will complete a whole process start to finish manually. IFS Cloud now gives each user profile the power to make sure they are delivering their Moment of Service™ for their customers.

IFS Chief Product Officer Christian Pedersen commented, “The updates we have built into the latest release of IFS Cloud are meaningful for our customers, both in how customers engage with the software through the UX improvements, as well as the additional functionality that has been added to help them manage and address the issues they face and the opportunities ahead of them. An example of this is the new IFS Cloud Sustainability Hub – there is no customer who does not want to improve the impact they are having on the environment and communities we all work in. Sustainability is a critical item for not only our planet, but IFS and our customers. We are continuing to see the world over that businesses want and need to transform if they are to prosper. Therefore, having regular, meaningful updates to our platform is key to enabling customers to remain evergreen and empowered to continually drive value from their software.”

IFS is committed to delivering an ever-evolving set of solutions for customers along their transformation life-cycles – future-proofing their operations, limiting risk to their businesses, and allowing them to create increasing value to their own customers.

“We’ve been expanding our digital transformation globally with IFS’s help, and since we initiated IFS Cloud six months ago, it’s proving to be key in how we deliver on our ambitions,” said pioneer IFS customer Cimcorp’s Director of Corporate IT, Pekka Nurmi. “IFS Cloud provides a big step forward in technology and capability for us and our customers and will continue to support our global growth strategy. The biggest value provided by IFS Cloud is the ease of use for the everyday end user – our users are excited and even our management has shown particular interest in the new user interface and functionalities."

To find out more about the latest IFS Cloud release, visit: https://www.ifs.com/ifs-cloud/cloud-21r2/

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Further Reading:

• Find out more about IFS @ www.ifs.com/
• Read more about IFS on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/ifs
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Learn more about  of IFS Cloud @ www.ifs.com/ifs-cloud/ 
• Follow IFS on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/ifs

The issue of building cybersecurity awareness is still a concern for many organisations as found in KnowBe4’s State of Privacy and Security Report, which found that a lack of IT security training is directly correlated with the risk of cyberattacks in the workplace.In fact, 45 percent of the workforce believe that they have no need to take additional safeguards regarding cybersecurity because they don’t work in an IT department.

THE RESEARCH SHOWS HOW A LACK OF IT SECURITY TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES IS STRONGLY CORRELATED TO THE RISKS OF CYBERATTACKS IN THE WORKPLACE

The report evaluated the amount of training the workforce was being given about cybersecurity and privacy best practices and then determining how much was being understood by employees. Furthermore, the report investigated how employees were dealing with the realities and security challenges of working from home.

Key findings include: 

• 24% of employees believe that clicking on a suspicious link or attachment in an email represents little or no risk 
• Only 31% of employees believe that allowing family members or friends to use work devices for personal activities outside of work hours is risky or a serious risk
• 31% believe that using the default password on their home router represents a significant level of risk 
• 55% of employees had continuous cybersecurity and data privacy training throughout the lockdowns 

Key sector findings include: 

• Only 14% and 22% of government and healthcare employees, respectively, are very confident that they can describe to their senior management the negative impacts posed by cybersecurity risks 
• Employees in government, healthcare and education have the least understanding about a variety of social engineering threats. When asked about the extent to which employees understand five types of social engineering threats (phishing, spear phishing, business email compromise, vishing, and smishing), only 15% of employees in the government space responded with an average of “very well,” while employees in the healthcare and education industries fared little better: 16% and 17%, respectively.

To download the 2021 State of Privacy and Security Report, visit www.knowbe4.com/hubfs/2021-State-of-Privacy-Security-Awareness-Report-Research_EN-US.pdf

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
• Read more about Security on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/security
• Learn more about KnownBe4  @ www.knowbe4.com
• Read more about Webfleet Solutions on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/webfleet-solutions
• Follow KnowBe4 on Twitter @ twitter.com/knowbe4

Tavant, the global leader in Service Lifecycle Management (SLM), announced the expansion of its solution suite to enhance service delivery experience, drive sustainability, and capture aftermarket lifetime value.

The expanded solution builds a single source of information designed to help OEMs and their suppliers improve how they develop, maintain, and service their products.

Powered by AI, the SLM suite will enable manufacturers to gain better insights into end-to-end aftermarket processes like warranty and claims, service parts, field management, predictive maintenance, operating conditions, wear and tear, parts failures, and support. This suite also helps in improving service processes like parts refurbishment, scrap management, parts management, waste management, and optimizing the carbon footprint in the manufacturing ecosystem.

THE NEW SOLUTION SUITE WILL EXTEND AFTERTMARKET LIFETIME VALUE AND OPTIMIZE CARBON FOOTPRINT

“AI and Analytics must be a strategic part of the overall service experience for the manufacturer,” said Aly Pinder, Program Director, Service Innovation at IDC. “In order to make sense of the rich data opportunity within the service lifecycle, organizations will need to rethink all aspects of service lifecycle management including the role of connected machines, devices and efficient processes and how they impact their service business."

“As systems and products become smart and connected, companies today need to emphasize data to drive business decisions. Tavant’s vision is to create a 360-degree view of the service life cycle processes for manufacturers, their channel partners, and customers. Our future-proof SLM suite gives businesses a competitive advantage by enabling exceptional service experiences for their customers while driving high service revenues,” said Roshan Pinto, Head of Manufacturing, Tavant.

“The manufacturing industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Built with a data-first approach, Tavant’s SLM suite is designed to provide a more comprehensive look to the service processes with actionable insights for a far-reaching approach to sustainability and carbon footprint analysis,” Roshan said.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Service Innovation and Design @ www.fieldservicenews.com/service-innovation-and-design
• Read More about Sustainability on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/sustainability
• Read more about Artificial Intelligence on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/artificial-intelligence
• Learn more about Tavant's Service Lifecycle Management Suite @ www.tavant.com/manufacturing
• Find our more about Tavant @ www.tavant.com
• Follow Tavant on Twitter @ twitter.com/tavant

Durabook, the global rugged mobile solutions brand owned by Twinhead International Corporation, will partner with Logic Instrument - Distributor for France - at Milipol, taking place from 19th to 22nd October in Paris

The technology specialist will be showcasing its full range of rugged mobile devices, built specifically for the defence sector, on Stand 5L105, Hall 5A.

Durabook’s range of rugged mobile devices supports defence operations from the front line to assist a range of mission critical tasks

“Military and defence organisations around the world are embracing automation and digital transformation strategies to drive efficiencies, and improvements in operations, decision-making, safety and security - and rugged technology is core to this,” said Twinhead CEO Fred Kao. “As technology evolves, Durabook ensures that organisations can keep pace and adopt cutting-edge innovations by building in as much flexibility and options for expansion as possible into every single device - far beyond that of any other rugged products on the market today.”

“Milipol is one of the leading events for homeland security and safety, so we are proud to have the opportunity to showcase our product range to key stakeholders across the decision-making chain and deliver the brand and its capabilities to new global audiences.”

Durabook’s range of rugged mobile devices supports defence operations from the front line, in-vehicle and in the control centre to assist a range of mission critical tasks. The devices pack in more processing power to handle data-intensive tasks, like geographic mapping, have round-the-clock battery power, and support military standard security and encryption requirements.

For more information, visit www.durabook.com.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Find out more about Durabook @ www.durabook.com/
• Read more about Durabook on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/all-about-durabook
• Learn more about Logic Instrument @ https://logic-instrument.com/en/
• Follow Durabook on Twitter @ twitter.com/Durabook
• Follow Durabook on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/company/durabook/

Plexal, the innovation company established by Delancey, is working with the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to support the diversification of the UK’s telecoms market and stimulate the creation of products and services from SMEs and startups. The announcement was made by Minister of State at DCMS Julia Lopez at techUK’s Our Network Future event yesterday.Through its LORCA programme, Plexal has worked with leaders from the telecoms market to assess where there could be opportunities for SMEs to provide products or services.

Plexal has now identified SMEs that will take part in a 12-week sprint aimed at developing robust  business cases, technology roadmaps and investment plans. The aim is to create a diverse commercial ecosystem for private 5G networks that enables large and small vendors to play a role.

THE SMEs WILL WORK WITH PLEXAL AND THE GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOP OPPORTUNITIES AND TO OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS THAT EXIST IN PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE TELECOMS INDUSTRY.

The SMEs will work with Plexal, the government and industry to carve out and develop opportunities and overcome any barriers that exist for startups to play an active role in the telecoms market. These barriers could include making sure the products are interoperable and have robust cybersecurity built in.

Plexal is looking at current and future 5G private networks in two categories: 

• Fully private, where the value outcome remains isolated from the public 
• Private today, but will need to integrate to the public network to realise all the benefits 

The sprint will support the UK government’s aim of developing a domestic capability for 5G and making sure the telecoms market includes a diverse range of vendors – including a larger number of small and medium-sized companies.

Commenting on the innovation challenge, Andrew Roughan, managing director of Plexal, said:

“We think there’s a big opportunity to understand and develop the role of SMEs in the telecoms market. Our open collaboration model, which is bringing industry, the government and SMEs together in a pre-competitive environment, is a novel way to approach the challenge of how the UK creates a diverse telecoms market that supports the creation of homegrown, sovereign technology.”
Plexal is an innovation company that delivers programmes for both industry and government, including NCSC For Startups, Cyber Runway, LORCA and London RoadLab. Plexal also works with industry to solve their innovation challenges and partner with startups.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
• Read more about Telecommunications on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/telecommunications
• Read more articles about SMEs on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/smes
• Learn more about Plexal  @ www.plexal.com
• Follow Plexal on Twitter @ twitter.com/Plexalcity

Following the initial success of the partnership between global cloud enterprise applications company IFS and leading cloud-based iPaaS provider Boomi, IFS is now unveiling enhanced connectivity to empower IFS Cloud customers to accelerate time to value.

The IFS-Boomi partnership, announced in February, 2020, has already attracted investments from numerous IFS customers looking for a faster and more efficient way to integrate and interconnect their business solutions' landscape with minimum effort and a low total cost of ownership.

CUSTOMER DEMAND FOR INTEGRATION PLATFORM AS A SERVICE CONTINUES TO GROW

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about IFS on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/ifs
• Learn more about the IFS-Boomi partnership @ www.ifs.com/solutions/boomi/
• Find out more about IFS @ www.ifs.com/
• Learn more about Boomi @ boomi.com
• Follow IFS on Twitter @ twitter.com/ifs

 

Webfleet Solutions, Europe’s leading telematics solutions provider, is introducing WEBFLEET TPMS to the market.

The joint development between the telematics leader and its parent company Bridgestone, a global leader in tyres and rubber providing solutions for safe and sustainable mobility, provides predictive tyre management integrated into the award-winning WEBFLEET fleet management solution.

Designed for heavy commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, WEBFLEET TPMS utilises sensors that continuously monitor tyre pressure levels and tyre temperature.

THE SOLUTION CONTINUOUSLY CHECKS TYRE PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE AND ALERTS BOTH THE DRIVER AND THE FLEET MANAGER IN CASE OF ISSUES TO HELP PREVENT ACCIDENTS OR COSTLY DOWNTIME

The information is sent to the WEBFLEET Telematics Service Platform for analysis. When an issue is detected, WEBFLEET alerts the fleet manager in the office and/or the driver in the cab in real time. This allows them to take action before the issue evolves into a more serious problem that could lead to accidents, disruptions and costly vehicle downtime.

Paul Verheijen, Vice President Product Management of Bridgestone Mobility Solutions, said: “The majority of heavy truck breakdowns on European roads are caused by tyre-related issues such as underinflated tyres.

“Manual pressure checks are time consuming and slow leaks are very difficult for drivers to detect. WEBFLEET TPMS is not only digitising and automating this entire process, but it also directly enables the fleet operator to make fast, informed decisions to improve road safety and reduce tyre-related costs and downtime.”

The instant notifications that are triggered when abnormal tyre pressure or temperature is detected are colour coded. The colours reflect the severity of the issue, which helps users to determine the right course of action.

The WEBFLEET TPMS sensors are precise and easy to install, as they can be fitted without removing the tyre. They enable the TPMS solution to detect under or over inflation before it’s visible. While properly inflated tyres increase safety, they also offer better fuel efficiency and an optimised tyre service life. All of this translates to less CO₂ emissions and extended tyre life.

“With WEBFLEET TPMS, we are reinforcing our market leadership in connected transport solutions,” added Jan-Maarten de Vries, CEO of Bridgestone Mobility Solutions.

“By adding real time tyre insights to WEBFLEET, transport companies have control and visibility over their entire fleet operation – all from one interface.

“For years, business fleets have been using telematics solutions to understand and leverage their vehicle data. Now, we are using this telematics data to optimise tyre performance. Our TPMS solution is just the beginning of further innovations in connected tyre technology enabled by the combined strength of Bridgestone and Webfleet Solutions.”

Watch this videoto learn more about TPMS please visit: https://www.webfleet.com/en_gb/webfleet/fleet-management/tpms/

 

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Parts, Pricing and Logistics @ www.fieldservicenews.com/parts-pricing-and-logistics
• Read more about Fleet Technology @ www.fieldservicenews.com/fleet-technology
• Learn more about TPMS @ www.webfleet.com/fleet-management/tpms/
• Learn more about Webfleet Solutions  @ www.webfleet.com
• Find out more about Bridgestone @ www.bridgestone.co.uk
• Read more about Webfleet Solutions on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/webfleet-solutions
• Follow WebFleet Solutions on Twitter @ twitter.com/Webfleetnews

Demand for UK trades has boomed since the end of the initial lockdown in July 2020. Plumbers, electricians, building-maintenance firms and other trades making up the UK’s 1.3-million-business field-service sector have seen their workloads increase by 70 per cent year on year, according to a new report published by field service management software provider BigChange.

BigChange’s State of the Field Service Sector report, now available at Field Service News, reveals that three-quarters of trades businesses saw demand increase in the year to July 2021. Almost one in five (18 per cent) took on over double the work they did in the 12-month period before. BigChange’s research indicates that demand for Plumbing & Heating, Plant Hire and Drainage increased fastest.

THREE-QUARTERS OF UK BUSINESSES SAW DEMANDS AFTER THE FIRST STRICT LOCKODWN ENDED, BUT MANY ARE STILL SUFFERING THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, COMPLIANCE ISSUES AND SOARING COSTS

Despite soaring turnovers (up 79 per cent on average) and average price increases of 47 per cent, fewer than half of trades businesses (48 per cent) said they were profitable in the year to July 2021. Debts have increased by 117 per cent among the worst performers in the sector, and one-in-eight firms fear they will fail within a year as Covid complications, compliance issues and surging costs continue to hit hard. 

Most businesses surveyed (81 per cent) said that the pandemic had continued to impact their finances negatively in the last 12 months. 67 per cent said their margins had been squeezed by the cost of complying with new regulations, and rising prices for materials, fuel and labour are cited as ongoing problems by more than 70 per cent of respondents. 

Richard Warley, BigChange CEO, comments: “While demand for the trades has boomed since the first lockdown, this backbone of the economy is not as strong as it might look. Only half of firms are profiting from this extra work. There’s a big difference between growing and growing stronger.” 

“Many trades businesses have seen profit margins hit by a perfect storm of Covid, compliance and rising costs. One-in-eight fear they won’t last another year, partly because they’ve taken on more debt and racked up colossal overtime bills meeting customer demand. 

“The strong, profitable businesses are succeeding by working smarter to stay in control of their operations, keeping a lid on costs, and making their teams more productive. They are using technology to improve management oversight, plan better and automate processes, and improving communication and response times as part of efforts to make the customer experience their new source of competitive advantage.” 

You can access Big Change's State of the Field Service Sector white paper here:

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
• Read more about the impact of COVID-19 in the Field Service industry @ www.fieldservicenews.com/covid-19
• Read more about BigChange on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/bigchange
• Learn more about BigChange @ www.bigchange.com
• Follow BigChange on Twitter @ twitter.com/bigchangeapps