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Resource Type: White Paper
Published by:  Field Service News (commissioned by Tesseract)
Title: The Wind of Change: When and How to Implement your FSM System - A Guide to Change Management Best Practices

 

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Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!

Field Service Professional? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry subscription to Field Service News and get the resource "Your Guide to Flawless Field Service - Perfecting Productivity" sent directly to your inbox now

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Synopsis:

Within the last decade we have seen field service shift from being a necessary evil, to a core differentiator and even in some instances, to ultimately becoming the primary revenue stream.

Whilst this shift may not be as dramatic for all companies, you can be sure that almost every company with a field service operation – including you and your peers, will be at least some way along this path. What is also certain is that as you make your way along this path, at some point you will need to take a look at your current field service processes and the technology you are using to support them. Indeed, technology continues to play an increasingly important role in field service.

Your existing field service management (FSM) solution is likely to be well embedded within your workflow already - but as tools like the Internet of Things and Augmented Reality drive concepts such as ‘connected field service’ from futuristic vision to genuine process, an upgrade of your FSM system is going to be unavoidable. The problem is that a FSM solution is of course mission critical and therefore any disruption caused when changing such an important system must be managed and minimised.

With this in mind this white paper explores how to identify key signs that it is time to upgrade your FSM system as well as examining some best-practice thinking on implementation and change management methodologies.

 

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Overview: 

The key topics discussed in this white paper include:

Knowing when to upgrade your FSM system:

Whilst knowing when it’s time to replace your FSM system is based on multiple factors unique to each organisation, there are a number of strong indicators you can monitor to help you make that call at the right time.

A selection of these include...

• Your Own Efficiency
• How does your tech investment compare to industry trends?
• Know your enemy
• Listen to your end-users
• Listen To Your Customers
• Regular reporting nightmares

Change Management Best Practice:

Let’s make no bones about it, a FSM system is mission critical. Whether you are implementing a system for the first time or switching from an older system to a modern equivalent, doing so is a significant change management project. If you are to minimise the negative impact of this program and reap the efficiency and productivity improvements (and see return on investment) as swiftly as possible, then getting that change management process right is very simply a must.

There will of course be different dynamics at play within every organisation, so a comprehensive and detailed plan, put together in a methodical and structured manner is imperative. However, there are certain factors that remain true in almost every change management scenario. Equally, there are widely adopted best practices that can be applied.

Also included in the white paper is a look some key considerations that sit at the heart of good change management:

Understand the task ahead

Change is hard, and without proper understanding of your goals and the challenges you face, successfully managing it can be at best a complicated and drawn out process and at worst an abject failure.

In fact, according to change management guru John Kotter, 70% of change management efforts fail and this is largely due to a lack of preparation, a lack of understanding of best practices or more often than not a combination of both. However, at the heart of every successful change management exercise there is one maxim that holds absolutely true. Change Management is always about people.

Engaging the Head and the Heart

For a change management program to be successful it is absolutely vital we acknowledge that change is about individuals, not organisations. Yes, change will be driven by organisational needs and requirements, but individuals will implement it - individuals will determine its success.

Given this notion, we must next consider how individuals will react to change. Successful change management is as much about feeling as it is about thinking. This is one of the key principals in the Kotter Change Management philosophy and is one that is widely accepted to be an important step on the change management journey.

Principals of Influence

Robert Cialdini’s six principals of influence are certainly also worth considering when planning your change management program and the white paper looks at each of these and how they relate to change management within a field service context. The Six Principals include:

• Reciprocity
• Commitment and consistency
• Social Proof
• Liking
• Authority
• Scarcity

The importance of the change agent:

The white paper explores what a ‘Change Agent’ is and why they are key to successful change management, is another important piece of the puzzle.

Gartner’s Elise Olding neatly sums up this approach stating, “Change resistance is a myth. Employees support enterprise goals when they understand what needs to be done. Change Agents put a face on change and leverage trusted informal leaders to create understanding among employees and influence organisational change”

Breaking down the barriers of resistance:

The goal of a successful change management program should not be to completely eradicate resistance to change - this is an impossible task that will take too much energy. Instead, focus on reducing the impact of resistance, and overcoming it as quickly as possible to move the change management project from concept to full adoption as swiftly as possible.

The true key to successful change management is minimising the impact of resistance in your workforce - and to achieve this we must understand the types of resistance we are likely to encounter.

Generally, these will come in three broad categories which hare explained within the white paper:

• I don’t get it
• I don’t trust you
• I don’t like it

Progressing through the adoption cycle:

Finally, the white paper explains why it is important to have an understanding of the various stages of adoption. In almost any organisation there are generally four groups of adopters that can be plotted on a standard Bell Curve.

Broadly speaking they should be categorised as follows:

• Early Adopters
• The Majority
• Laggards
• Naysayers

 

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Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!

Field Service Professional? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry subscription to Field Service News and get the resource "Your Guide to Flawless Field Service - Perfecting Productivity" sent directly to your inbox now

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Bill Pollock reveals some of the key findings of this year's Strategies for Growth^SM  benchmark survey with a specific lens on the Uk and European market...

 

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Want to know more? Bill will be presenting the results in a webinar hosted by CSDP on Wednesday, 6 December, 2017; to register visit or to download a copy of SFG℠’s companion Analysts Take report, please visit the registration Webpage at: http://bit.ly/2zt4eu0.

 

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Each year, Strategies For Growth^SM (SFG^SM) conducts a series of Benchmark Surveys administered among its global outreach community.

The results of SFG^SM’s 2017 Field Service Management (FSM) Benchmark Survey, as they pertain specifically to the UK/Europe FSM market base, identify the following as the top factors, or challenges, currently driving Field Service Organisations (FSOs) to optimise field service performance (compared to the overall global results) – basically, they have been mandated by their respective managements to “meet customer demands” and “drive increased service revenues”, as summarised below:

• 50% Customer demand for quicker response time (less than 55% Global)
• 46% Internal mandate to drive increased service revenues (more than f30% Global)
• 38% Need to improve workforce utilisation & productivity (less than f50% Global)
• 38% Need to improve service process efficiencies (less than 39% Global)
• 23% Customer demand for improved asset availability (less than f29% Global)
• 23% Customer demand for more accurate service call scheduling (same as 23% Global)[/unordered_list]

However, while some of the key UK/Europe market drivers, such as customer demand for quicker response time and focusing on customer demand and workforce utilisation may be lower than their global respondent counterparts, the recognition that there is a need to improve service process efficiencies is pretty much at par with the rest of the world.

As such, it should come as no surprise that, similar to the 2017 global survey results, UK/Europe FSOs are still planning to invest more in new technologies in support of their respective field forces than other global geographies represented in the overall survey universe.

However, in order to effectively address these key challenges – and strive to attain Best Practices status – UK/Europe respondents then cite the following as the top strategic actions they are currently taking:

• 65% Develop / improve metrics, or KPIs, used to measure field service performance (more than 48% Global)
• 38% Automate existing manual field service processes and activities (more than 36% Global)
• 35% Integrate new technologies into existing field service operations (i.e., iPads, Tablets or other devices, etc.) (more than 31% Global)

These data strongly suggest that there is a pattern of synergy among the top three cited strategic actions that builds a foundation for all of the other actions that will ultimately be taken by the organisation; that is, that nearly two-thirds of the FSOs comprising the UK/Europe services community already recognise the need to build and/or improve their KPI measurement program.

In fact, the percentage of UK/Europe FSOs currently developing/improving their respective KPIs, at 65%, remains higher than even the 62% cited by the survey’s historical Best Practices respondents (i.e., those attaining at least 90% Customer Satisfaction and 30% Services Profitability).

Based on the current SFG℠ survey data, Jerry Edinger, President, CEO and Chairman of CSDP Corporation, a leading Service Relationship Management software developer, explains, “This is why we start every one of our client engagements with consulting.

We ensure that your business processes are designed correctly before automating them. Software alone cannot improve KPIs. We design the exact Field Service Management solution based on the needs and requirements of the organisation.

We detail how a solution automates the entire service delivery and customer service processes into a fully integrated field service management system and maps it into the overall enterprise workflow. Once the consultative effort is completed, we then have a detailed roadmap of how to build the most effective solution to meet the organisation’s field service goals and objectives.”

The 2017 SFG℠ survey results identify the following as the main factors that characterise the UK/Europe FSM market:

• The top future challenges for UK/Europe FSOs with respect to the acquisition and implementation of new technologies are essentially cost-related (i.e., ROI and TCO)
• The top future opportunity/benefit anticipated by UK/Europe FSOs through the acquisition/implementation of new technologies is improved customer satisfaction, primarily through the ability to eliminate internal silos, and provide customers with an end-to-end engagement relationship
• UK/Europe Field Services Organisations (FSOs) are largely driven to meet customer demands for quicker response time, and internal mandates for driving increased service revenues
• A nearly two-thirds majority of UK/Europe FSOs are adding, expanding and/or refining the metrics, or KPIs, they use to measure service performance
• Over the next 12 months, more than two-thirds (70%) of UK/Europe FSOs will have integrated new technologies into existing field service operations, and automated existing manual fields service processes or activities (70%)UK/Europe Field Technicians are increasingly being provided with enhanced access to real-time data and information to support them in the field
• UK/Europe FSOs are providing customers with expanded Web-enabled self-help capabilities (i.e., to order parts, track the status of open calls, and create service tickets, etc.)[/unordered_list]

 

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Want to know more? Bill will be presenting the results in a webinar hosted by CSDP on Wednesday, 6 December, 2017; to register visit or to download a copy of SFG℠’s companion Analysts Take report, please visit the registration Webpage at: http://bit.ly/2zt4eu0.

 

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Noventum has released its FSM Solutions Reality Check report, a comprehensive overview of the leading Field Service Management (FSM) solutions to help organisations select the solutions best suited to their requirements.

According to research and evaluations conducted by Noventum, Field Service Management solutions provided by ServiceMax, Microsoft and IFS are best positioned to provide maximum business benefits to service businesses while the potential risks and TCO are the lowest.

Noventum evaluated vendors and their products by assessing their functional and non-functional capabilities against the industry leading Service Capability & Performance (SCP) Standards to determine whether the solutions can support the key businesses capabilities service businesses need to be successful.

Service organisations that are planning to select a new FSM solution can benefit from the knowledge and data collected to select the best FSM solution for their specific needs and for their specific situation. By using Noventum’s evaluation framework based on SCP this can be done in a much shorter timeframe and with a better and completer set of service requirements and evaluation criteria than is typically the case, ensuring that the selected solution can support all service processes in scope.

 

Through our extensive customer engagements, via product demos and customer references visits, Noventum validated the capabilities of service management solutions to ensure that they meet client’s needs in real world situations.

Visit Noventum’s website to request a copy of the report (http://noventum.eu/whitepaper/fsm-solutions-reality-check).

Join Noventum at Field Service Europe on 6-8 December 2017, with over 55 heads of service speakers.

You can register today http://fs-ne.ws/nCix30gid3o for Field Service, including the including the Service Industry Standards Day with a 20% discount (Service providers only) when you indicate the registration FSEU17FSN

 

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A new study from Vanson Bourne, sponsored by ServiceMax, from GE Digital, the leading provider of field service management solutions, has found that 75% of IT decision makers believe that machines will receive better, preventative healthcare than human beings by 2020.

Leaders surveyed believe advancements in machines having the ability to predict failure, take preventative measures or self-healing actions are widely viewed as beneficial to a company’s bottom line.

For example:

• 46% of respondents say machines requesting help themselves will help their company better manage their equipment assets.
• 39% of respondents say predictive maintenance would help better manage asset equipment.
• 44% of respondents say digital twin with predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence would help prevent major failures.
• 69% of IT leaders surveyed say they would like their own personal digital twin to help themselves and medical professionals regulate their health in non-invasive ways by taking early action and preventative measures.[/unordered_list]

The new study, “After The Fall: Cost, Causes and Consequences of Unplanned Downtime,”  surveyed 450 field service and IT decision makers in the UK, US, France and Germany across the manufacturing, medical, oil and gas, energy and utilities, telecoms, distribution, logistics and transport sectors, among others.

According to Gartner, by 2020, 10% of emergency field service work will be both triggered and scheduled by artificial intelligence. The new study highlights the impact of new technology like artificial intelligence, analytics, and use of a digital twin on how we monitor industrial machines to predict when a piece of equipment will fail and what preventative service maintenance is required.

“In the same way that organisations want zero unplanned downtime with their equipment assets to avoid expensive loss of production or service, we want to mitigate our own human ‘outages’,” said Mark Homer, Vice President Global Customer Transformation for ServiceMax, from GE Digital. “This holistic view of how something is operating – whether it’s a person, an equipment plant or an individual component in a machine – has historically been disjointed and only visible when something goes wrong.

 

Today, organisations are now acutely aware of the value of a real-time view on the health and performance of their critical assets, as well as predictive analytics on when preventative maintenance or intervention is required, and access to time series data, service history and optimisation demands. The research found that more than half of companies are planning to invest in a digital twin in the next three years.

The value of these digital insights in an industrial context is starting to generate interest in preventative maintenance in a human context.”

A copy of the Vanson Bourne Whitepaper and Executive Summary, can be downloaded here

 

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Our world is changing.

Field service technology is evolving at breakneck speed. The role of field service within the wider business has grown from cost centre, to profit centre and is now rapidly shifting towards being the primary revenue source as companies leave behind them traditional break-fix models and adopt outcome based service solutions. SLAs are becoming replaced with guarantees of uptime. An asset in the field can request it's own maintenance call in advance of failure. Expertise no longer needs to be flown in it can now simply be dialled in.

So what does all of this rapid change within the field service sector mean for the field service engineer of the future? What exactly will the field service engineer of 2022 look like and how will he differ from the field service engineer we are accustomed to today?

However, with an ageing workforce crisis looming large as the existing last of the baby boomer workforce reaches retirement, it is perhaps one of the most important question field service organisations must address as they look to replace their leaving 'boomer workforce with a millennial workforce that have wildly different attributes, needs and skill sets.

 

With this in mind Field Service News is working in partnership with field service management provider ServiceMax from GE Digital on a research project that is seeking to establish what field service professionals believe the requirements will be for field service engineers and technicians in the not too distant future.

Now as we reach a half way point through the research we reflect on the interim findings and at the same time to turn to any field service professionals who have yet to take part within our survey and ask you to help us build an even more complete picture of what the field service technician of 2022 will look like?

Findings so far:

1. The predicted ageing workforce crisis amongst field service organisations is very much real

When we hear talk of an 'impending crisis' it may be only natural to think that there is a healthy dose of hyperbole within the headlines. However, in this instance an ageing workforce is certainly a looming problem and unless companies address this issue now it could indeed be a crisis for some.

Indeed, 81% of field service professionals that have participated in our research so far have indicated that the for their organisation an ageing workforce will pose some threat to their service delivery across the next 5 years.

Within that 81% of respondents 13% feel that the threat their company faces is severe stating that it is a 'major issue we are facing that could put our field service operations at risk.' Meanwhile, 45% of those who stated an ageing workforce was a concern stated that the risk was significant and stating that 'unless we address the issue quickly we are likely to face major disruption to our field service delivery.'

The same amount of respondents also stated that they see it [an ageing workforce] as 'a possible issue that we need to be aware of', whilst just 17% of field service professionals that have responded to the survey so far believe that the risk to their business is limited.

2. People skills are becoming increasingly more important in field service technician recruitment

The old cliche of a field service engineer being a reclusive creature often found in dark corners more happy in the company of his tool kit than with those dreaded customers who always just seemed to get in the way of him doing his job are now very much a thing of the past.

Indeed, over the last decade we have seen the field service engineer evolve from the character mentioned above into a role which regularly includes additional elements within the job description such as brand ambassador and trusted advisor. And as we move towards an ever more digital era - where often the field service engineer may be the only face to face contact your customers may have with your organisation - especially in business to consumer industries.

 

So it is perhaps little surprise that we see that 54% of respondents to our survey stated that they 'absolutely place people skills at the top of their list when recruiting new FSEs'.

In fact, alongside those that put people skills at the top of their list of skills for new techs a further 43% stated that they 'certainly pay more attention to people skills today than they would have done a few years ago,' whilst just a nominal 3% of respondents replied that 'whilst people skills are nice to have, technical skills are the major facet they are looking for in new field service engineers."

3. There can be little better for training new field service engineers that the experience of older engineers

Indeed, it seems that this is the accepted wisdom amongst many field service organisations with 59% of our respondents confirming they have programs in place for older technicians to support younger technicians.

Further to this an additional 16% of our respondents stated that they are currently devising such a strategy whilst just under a quarter of companies stated that they didn't have anything in place to harvest the knowledge of their older technicians before they walk out of the door.

 

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How does this compare with your own experience?  If you haven't done so already please do take just a few minutes to complete our research survey.

PLUS! not only will you help us build an even clearer picture of what the key thinking is around what the field service engineer of 2022 will look like, but thanks to our partner on this project ServiceMax by GE Digital, we have a number of prizes to give away including three £50 Amazon vouchers plus a number of free tickets to Maximize Europe conference (worth $215 each!) - but you can only find the entry for the prize draw at the end of the survey so if you want to win - you better complete the survey ASAP!*

 

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Click here to go to the survey now 

 

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*Prize draw available only to field service practitioners and dependent entry is dependent on consenting to T&Cs

Jan Van Veen guides us through the findings of the research his organisation have recently undertook to establish what drives momentum and continuous improvement amongst service organisations...

More and more manufacturing companies are recognising the huge potential in services and understand that pursuing these opportunities, is not easy.

Growing a solid service business, affects its business model, and therefore requires active support and buy-in, with the service department- from many stakeholders and the management board.

As a business leader, you are likely to recognize the following:

• Ongoing performance issues with few adequate and sustainable interventions.
• A slow execution of strategies and projects, with limited results.
• Too little attention for preparing future success in a rapidly changing corporate world.
• Lack of collaboration and alignment between departments.
• Lack of ‘buy-in’ for driving service business.
• Lack of members, within an organisation who understand the impact of IoT, Big Data, cognitive computing, and globalisation- failing to actively to collectively upon it.

In my experience, the biggest obstacle for companies is their ability to adapt to, and drive necessary change. Common approaches, such as change management and leadership, more communication and training, stronger business cases, and increasing the ‘sense of urgency’ has unfortunately made little difference.

But, just imagine how it would be if everyone in your company was eager and passionate about driving changes, adapting to them and seizing new opportunities. If colleagues from all departments joined forces and collectively got things done.

Imagine not needing to push, mould, or fight resistance.

What if your people were so engaged and committed that they naturally drive success and change? This may sound unrealistic, but what if you could actually achieve it?

This very idea inspired me to investigate into manufacturing companies. I delved into the ‘key success factors’ for quicker, easier, change and adaptation.

Not only was this for long-term business and service innovation, but also streamlined strategy execution, project implementation, and immediate intervention for performance related issues. My aim was to find the root cause for the lack of change, growth, and adaptability in businesses.

During the year 2016, I conducted research with a range of manufacturers.

Most of the 89 participants in the research were manufacturing and technology companies in the for B2B sector.

They ranged in size from 500 to over 10,000 employees, and into multi-billion US dollar annual revenues. They are typically driven to make significant changes by external influences such as Internet of Things, Big Data, algorithms, commoditisation, globalisation, and so on.

The Findings:

The results of the research indicated that most companies lacked ‘momentum’ for continuous change and adaptation.

Typical symptoms of this are:

• Inadequate levels of collaboration between departments and teams.
• Inadequate levels of coherence of initiatives and strategies across the organisation.
• Inadequate levels of engagement from employees.

The organisations still maintain the traditional ‘top-down’ plan and control management approach,Inadequate levels of engagement from employees which induces resistance to change, therefore reducing ‘momentum’.

The most successful companies withhold more momentum, and are more capable in adapting to, and driving change- making them thrive. Typically, they benefit from higher growth figures, stronger service businesses, better customer loyalty and higher people engagement.These companies have adopted stronger ‘sense and respond’ management practices, which prevent resistance towards change, from the existing status quo.

So, what is Momentum?

An organisation has Momentum when its people are fully engaged. They continuously drive change and sustainable growth in line with an overall strategy but without detailed centralised control. They have an emotional connection to a bigger purpose and feel confident to make interventions in products, services, business models and performance. They are sensitive to threats, opportunities and obstacles and quickly adapt to them. Above all, they are eager to work as one team and use change to generate energy, not burn it.

How to get more Momentum?

The research report provides an overview of the Momentum Framework, which is based on the best practices from the most successful companies.

This document describes the following topics of the Momentum Framework:

• The three Momentum Perspectives, driving the underlying philosophy and culture.
  • People drive change
  •  Capabilities drive performance
  • Future success lies beyond business as usual
• The Momentum Practices, consisting of the following three sections:
  • Compelling direction
  • Strategic dialogue on all levels and across all departments and teams
  • Continuous learning, as an organisation and individual

Are you interested in driving more Momentum for easier and efficient ongoing change, just like the industry leaders? Download your free report now @ www.moremomentum.eu/report

 

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The 'uberization' of field service is a topic gaining much traction of late, could the gig economy alleviate pressures for field service companies meeting ever increasing customer expectations of shorter appointment windows or will it present too much of a challenge in terms of maintain brand standards in an age where customer satisfaction reins supreme?

This excellent infographic from ClickSoftware reveals some interesting findings from a recent research project they've undertaken on this topic...

 

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Want to know more? A full white paper based on this research is available to Field Service News subscribers. If you are a field service professional you can subscribe now for free and get this white paper sent straight to your inbox. Simply click here to subscribe now!

 

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Resource Type: Research report
Published by:  Field Service News and ServiceMax
Title: IoT, Servitization and Field Service (2016)

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Synopsis: 

In 2015 Field Service News and ServiceMax teamed up on a research report to look at the appetite for IoT as a mechanism for field service delivery, now one year on we return to the topic to see if the clear desire for IoT has translated into real-world application and ask just how key is IoT to the growing trend of servitization....

With responses from over 120 field service professionals, this exclusive independent research project undertaken byField Service News, in partnership with ServiceMax aimed to cut through the hyperbole and establish if IoT is truly set to become a standard tool within field service delivery.

In addition to this we focussed our research on the apparent symbiotic rise of IoT and Servitization to try to understand further just how closely these two important trends within the field service sector are linked and how emerging technology and strategy are intertwined...

Download this report to find out:

• Is the clear appetite for IoT in last year's research is translating into real-world implementations?
• What are the key reasons field service companies are adopting IoT?
• How important is IoT in the move to a servitized business?
• What are the key perceived barriers to adoption for IoT and can they be overcome?
• What is the recommended approach to IoT from those who have already adopted the technology?What cultural impact will IoT have amongst field service companies?

Overview: 

In 2015 Field Service News and leading FSM software provider ServiceMax teamed up on a research project to assess the appetite for IoT as a tool for improving field service delivery.

Now one year on we return to the topic to see if the clear desire for IoT based field service delivery has turned to reality and if so what impact is it having on the growing trend towards servitization as a business model...

When we looked at the potential of IoT in field service last year we were confronted by what can only be called a genuine phenomenon beginning to emerge. One that could potentially change the way companies approach field service delivery entirely.

Indeed, whilst field service technology has been evolving at great pace across the last decade, much of the developments that have arrived - such as enhancements in artificial intelligence driving ever more sophisticated scheduling engines or mobility tools enhancing field service technicians workflows and eliminating unnecessary paper based administration, have been focussed on improving efficiencies and boosting productivity.

 

IoT on the other hand has the potential to completely revolutionise the processes and methodologies of field service delivery, and in doing so shift the service model into a new paradigm where contracts involving tightly adhered to SLAs are replaced by guarantees of uptime.

In this brave new world of servitization, service is no longer the supporting player there just to add value to a product. Instead, the product is now the facilitator for companies to deliver advanced services.

And this is largely made possible by the IoT giving us the ability to monitor assets in the field and react to fluctuations outside of accepted working parameters, delivering proactive maintenance to ensure that the asset continues to deliver its set outcome.

The benefits of such an approach are a more consistent and reliable solution for the customer and a more profitable business which is closer engrained to customers for the service provider - a win-win if ever there was one.

But whilst the theory may sound great, how is this translating into reality?

This is what this year’s survey set out to understand. Building upon last year’s research project which was predominantly focussed solely on IoT this time we have widened our focus somewhat to understand not just if companies are now actively adopting IoT, but what is their motivation for doing so and just how closely is that

Further reading within the research report: 

• Overview of previous studies
• Year on year trends that have emerged
• Other technologies being employed by field service companies
• The cultural impact of IoT
• Servitization as a key driver for IoT adoption
• Best practice for IoT implementation
• Expert insight from Athani Krishna and Davw Hart, ServiceMax

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Resource Type: Research report
Published by:  Field Service News and ClickSoftware
Title: Is field service finally moving to the Cloud (2016)

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Synopsis: 

In 2015 Field Service News and ClickSoftware teamed up on a research report to look at the appetite for Cloud based Field Service Management (FSM) systems. Now 12 months on we've come together again on a fresh project to see what trends are emerging...

Having connected with over 150 field service professionals in this exclusive independent research project Field Service News, in partnership with ClickSoftware are pleased to present this detailed research report which digs deep into the findings to uncover the trends within our industry when it comes to the adoption of Cloud based field service management systems.

Download this report now to establish how your own companies approach to the Cloud sits in context with the wider trends that are evidenced by your peers, colleagues and competitors...

Download this report to find out:

• Are field service companies now finally turning to the Cloud as the platform for FSM systems?
• What are the driving reasons for Cloud adoption?
• What are the benefits being felt by those who have made the move to Cloud based FSM systems?
• What are the barriers to adoption for Cloud based FSM systems?
• Is security still the number one concern around Cloud based FSM systems?
• What percentage of those now using the Cloud would recommend it over an on-premise solution?

Overview: 

In this white paper, co-published by Field Service News and ClickSoftware, we shall review the data from our latest research, providing year-on-year comparative analysis to identify what new trends have emerged and how attitudes towards the Cloud have evolved amongst senior management within the field service industry.

Previously identified trends:

To begin let’s briefly recap the findings of last year’s research (which was the second time we had focused on the use of Cloud within a field service context as a subject for our research.)

Whilst the headline findings of that project identified that a large majority of field service companies (74%) were still using on-premise solutions, there was clear evidence that a shift to Cloud was on the horizon.

There were two key findings that supported this hypothesis.

Firstly, there was the overwhelming evidence that the Cloud was proving to be a success amongst those companies that had made the move away from traditional on-premise solutions. In fact, when we asked those respondents who had made such a move ‘would you recommend a Cloud based field service management solution over an on-premise solution?’ 100% of them replied that they would.

However, the findings were perhaps even more telling when we turned to those companies that were still using on-premise solutions.

Amongst this group of respondents, we found that over two-thirds of companies (69%) admitted they would consider moving to the Cloud when they next upgraded their FSM solution.

 

Such findings led us to arrive at the hypothesis that eventually we would see a widespread move to the Cloud. It was our prediction that we would potentially see a complete pendulum shift, with up to 75% of companies using Cloud based FSM solutions within the next five years. Last year’s research also identified that concerns around the security of the Cloud were the biggest potential barrier to adoption.

In fact, 38% of respondents that were not using a Cloud based FSM solution stated that they felt that security was the greatest issue with Cloud. Yet that same research also highlighted that this is generally not the case -     security issues were less prevalent than both connectivity and integration issues amongst companies actually using a Cloud based FSM tools.

It was our assertion last year that there was a need for greater education and understanding of the security of the Cloud, particularly at the enterprise level amongst executives within the field service sector - so that perception and reality could become more closely aligned. Once this was achieved we would likely see the shift to Cloud becoming the most widely used platform for FSM systems gaining greater momentum.

So how have the opinions of field service professionals changed across the last twelve months?

Year-on-year trends:

The headline finding of this year’s research is that we have indeed seen a continued shift towards more companies using the Cloud for their FSM systems. When comparing data from 2014, 2015 and 2016, we have also seen increasing year on year growth.

Indeed, the number of companies now using Cloud based FSM systems is well over a third, with 36% of our respondents stating that they are now Cloud users. This is a year on year increase of 8% in terms of companies using the Cloud for FSM systems.

Not only does this show a continuing move to the Cloud, but it is also a relatively significant increase in the year-on-year growth we saw in the previous year’s research. In fact, the increase in companies moving to the Cloud within the last twelve months is almost three times more than it was in the previous year (9% vs. 3%)

This would certainly add weight to our conclusions last year that Cloud was gaining traction as a platform for FSM tools, and that we would see this continue to increase as companies begun.

Further reading within the research report: 

• The question of security
• The benefits of moving to the cloud
• Remaining barriers to adoption
• Cloud in other areas of business
• Expert insight from ClickSoftware's Marina Stedman & Paul Whitelam

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Click here to access to the research report

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