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For some time, it seems everywhere you look, companies in or close to the field service software sector are on the acquisition trail. Microsoft's acquisition of field service software company Field One in June was followed in July by the sale of ClickSoftware Technologies to a private investment group, preceded by Oracle’s acquisition of TOA in 2014.

Why the scramble to acquire field service expertise? Well, there seem to be a number of drivers for this round of vendor consolidation, including a seismic shift in the corporate mindset that is seeing service operations transformed from cost centres where the focus is on greater internal efficiencies to one where the KPIs are all about delivering top-in-class customer experience to grow recurring revenue streams. Field service is no longer a silo, but an important cog in the growth of next-generation customer-focused business processes.

Another driver is the relentless advance of cloud computing and cloud platforms for both traditional business activities and mobile operations. The cloud is a great enabler of real-time communications with field workers. Currently, acceptance may be more advanced in North America, but European service organisations are catching up. Service, after all, is now a global business, and Cloud platforms can deliver much of the technology required to lift customer service to that higher level.

Finally, as their existing customer base matures, the large ERP vendors are seeking new revenue opportunities. “Larger ERP vendors are waking up to the vast potential of the global field service market. There are over 20 million field engineers deployed worldwide - that's a significant market opportunity,” points out Neil Lewis, EMEA Sales Consulting Director, ServiceMax.

 

Lewis likens consolidation in the field service marketplace to a few years ago when ERP vendors acquired companies with expertise in marketing and social media. "Now they are looking for companies with expertise in field service.”

For Rue Dilhe, Managing Director of Exel Computer Systems, consolidation in field service is inevitable. “There are restricted  opportunities for the large ERP vendors to sell new systems in manufacturing. The maturing market has already led to consolidation among ERP vendors. Those that are left are now looking at integrating field service into their systems, a process Exel's development team achieved back in 2008. ”

Neither of these field service specialists view the entry of the large ERP vendors into field service as a threat, more of a recognition that the sector is both maturing and set for a period of high growth. Both are also confident that their experience and understanding of service organisations' processes and requirements and ability to offer end-to-end solutions is what matters to their customers.

Integration issues

For service operations to be a revenue earner requires easy integration between systems, points out Dilhe. “Having been in business for 30 years, first in ERP then in field service, at Exel we know how important integration of processes and the latest technology is if our customers are going to deliver the best possible service to their customers.”

Companies which have a manufacturing division and a service arm want them to work together in future, acknowledges Dilhe. “However, while the need for removal of data silos and real-time connection with field workers are driving demand for greater integration between ERP and field service systems, it is not necessarily as straightforward as might first appear for those vendors looking to integrate products through consolidation."

For Exel, ERP and field service can be provided as a truly "fully integrated" single solution as both have been developed together in-house," he points out. "Those looking to integrated two previously disparate solutions will certainly have their work cut out for them. It’s one reason some companies have run field service software outside of their ERP system, he points out. “Updating and integrating field service software into ERP may not be easy, and implementing on-premise ERP into a mobile field service environment can also be a fraught process. You have to a clear understanding of processes, data flows and so on.”

While large ERP vendors do have some mobility solutions, they may not have a solution that meets the demands of field service organisations or one that can be deployed on a global scale,” says Lewis. “Some will build mobility platforms on ERP software. However this may not deliver the end-to-end solution offered by vendors such as ServiceMax, a pure play company focused on cloud-based, end-to-end field service management solutions since 2007."

 

"Large vendors have to manage multiple products and technical stacks,” points out Lewis, which may make them slower to respond to changing customer requirements, new technical developments and changing business landscapes and demands.

What next

The latest consolidation is the acquisition by Microsoft of FieldOne. Some field service companies will already be familiar with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but until now it has had little integrated field service support: software has had to be acquired from a Microsoft software partner, one of which was Field One.

Analysts at Gartner believe the deal as a shrewd acquisition choice, and will add add a strong set of integrated field service capabilities to Dynamics CRM, including work order management, scheduling and contract management. FieldOne’s Sky solution is already built on the Dynamics platform, it points out, easing potential integration issues.

Concerns flagged up by Gartner include whether Microsoft will continue to support multiple device OS including Android and iOS and potential channel conflict with independent field service software vendors who are already in the Microsoft ecosystem.

For Oracle, the appeal of its acquisition of TOA Technologies, the US-based provider of cloud-based field service solutions, would seem to be that it  expands the ability to provide end-to-end customer service solutions into field service operations, providing visibility throughout the customer relationship lifecycle. TOA's field service suite has been incorporated in the Oracle’s Service Cloud online platform.

The future for ClickSoftware  is also seen as part of a larger business suite, following  its acquisition by Francisco Partners Management in July when it became a private company. Gartner believes that once is cloud platform is fully developed, ClickSoftware will be sold on  to a company with a business application suite with weaknesses in field service management.  "The business application suite vendor that ends up without a leading field service optimization capability will be the eventual loser in this scenario, as it will need to buy a second-tier product or develop its own."

 

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This excellent infographic from ServiceMax highlights some of the key facts you need to know about the Internet of things.

How is IoT impacting upon your business? Is it something you are even considering? Do you think connected devices will change the face of field operations as we know it? Is this still tomorrows technology or is it something we should be implementing today?

Take our brief survey and help us build a picture of how IoT will impact field service and you could win one of three £50 Amazon vouchers...

 

Field Service News recently ran a research project in partnership with ClickSoftware looking at the appetite for Cloud based field service management solutions. We had a great response with over 150 field service professionals giving us their insight. As a thank you for taking the time to give us their input all respondents were entered into a prize draw with three £50 Amazon vouchers to be won and we are pleased to announce the winners below:

• James Shepherd - It Director, Stonegate
• Antony Newton - Regional Service Director, Danwood Group
• Jesus Rodriguez - Service Manager, Daikin A.C SPAIN, SA

Thanks again to all of those who contributed to the research and look out for a series of features outlining the findings coming very soon.

 

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Why not help us with our current research project exploring the potential of IoT in Field Service sponsored by ServiceMax? Once again there is a prize draw with three £50 Amazon Vouchers available!

Click here to take part in our research into IoT and Field Service now and you could be the next winner!  

 

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What should businesses consider when deciding whether an On-Premise or a Cloud solution is the best fit for their business? In Part One, we explored the attractions of the Cloud. In Part Two we take at look at why some field service companies still prefer an on-premise solution.

Judging by the amount of publicity recently about the Cloud and its benefits for business, you might think that every company is planning to migrate IT systems to it, including ERP and field service software, or at least thinking about it.

Filter out the noise, though, and it becomes apparent that there is resistance out there and for reasons other than mere reluctance to adopt a new way of managing the company's IT infrastructure. So why might on-premise still be best for your company?

Connectivity

A hosted cloud-based field service may not suit your business, advises Simon Spriggs, account manager Exel Computer Systems. "One reason many companies retain an on-premise ERP solution is the unreliability of their broadband connection. Broadband speed has a major impact on the efficient running of the business. It's not just field-service data going to and fro down that pipe, but everything the company does electronically. If the connection to the Internet fails, you won't be able to communicate with your engineers, manage workflows or give customers real-time information."

[quote float="left"]One reason many companies retain an on-premise ERP solution is the unreliability of their broadband connection.

 

Legacy systems

"Organisations which have made a big investment in data flows are naturally reluctant to migrate all their activities to the Cloud," points out Steve Mason, Vice President International Sales for Streetsmart, Click Software's service management app for SMEs and SMBs. While Click has been one of the pioneers of Cloud solutions, it also has a long heritage of providing on-premise solutions to customers who prefer to keep their activities behind the company walls. Mason likens the current debate to similar discussions that took place when companies migrated from investing in their own mainframes to having virtual servers. "It took time to build trust in those virtual systems. Moving all your processes to the Cloud is a major step: it takes time and people to plan it without disrupting normal business activities. Companies may well have more urgent priorities."

Larger companies will have made a significant investment in Enterprise-class software ERP and won't want that diluted by going to the cloud, accepts Mason. "Companies will have customised legacy software they are reluctant to adapt or processes they are not yet ready to change. They may also have a long-term contractual commitment to their systems integrator or software supplier."

When ERP systems were developed the need to incorporate mobile workforces was minimal" points out Neil Lewis, Consulting Director, EMEA Sales, ServiceMax. "Mobility projects were silos within a company. Today, not only are there much larger numbers of mobile workers, they need greater integration with those on-premise ERP systems from customer databases to accounts."

 

ERP solution providers have bought mobile solution providers to bridge the gap between ERP and mobile, he points out, but integrating old and new technologies is never straightforward. "How do you ensure the same employee can access the ERP from the office and from their mobile device. It might require modifications to the ERP or to the mobile system to get it to work and that is trickier with some ERP system than others. ServiceMax operate a single platform that automatically takes care of any device the field engineer is using. Configuration is done in one place and automatically deployed to the various devices."

Half-way house

Some companies have adopted a half-way house strategy in which they retain on-premise ERP, but migrate some activities to the Cloud, particularly those with a large customer-facing elements such as CRM and field service. "CRM was in the first way of Cloud migration because the need to deliver excellent customer service required greater integration with internal data silos than is often possible with legacy ERP systems," points out Mason. "Start with those apps which will leverage the most immediate gains to the business, make data streams more agile and easily-accessible from mobile devices, " advises Mason.

The complexities of integrating mobile workflow processes into legacy data streams is one reason field service solutions are often in the Cloud while ERP systems. "If your field service solution is browser-based, a lot of the integration issues are taken care of," remarks Spriggs. "It also future-proofs your investment."

Most of the field service software companies can integrate a Cloud-based field service app or platform with on-premise ERP systems. "Solarvista LIVE will connect to virtually any on-premise system via our NET technology which is designed to connect on-premise systems (private) to systems in the cloud (public)," points out Paul Adams, Marketing and Development Director, Solarvista. "Our connection tools support the major communication protocols, so you can be sure your data is secure."

"We have found that the service management industry is a diverse bunch with different requirements so we offer the ability to Pick ‘n’ Mix," says Colin Brown, Managing Director, Tesseract. "Some customers take the rental and support option but would rather install the software on their own server; other customers require remote hosting and support but they prefer to buy the software and others want the whole SaaS package of hosting, rental and support. With all three options, the internet and/or an intranet are the delivery routes."

 

Whether on-premise or Cloud solution, productivity will be affected if engineers are unable to work unless they are connected, so any mobile app should facilitate that, says Adams. "Our Mobile apps are designed for field-based users and operate on an occasionally-connected basis."

It's a mistake to assume that all field service platform solutions include off-line capability and automatic synchronisation, warns Lewis. "Engineers need to be able to download their jobs for the day, update schedules and customer history, for example, without being connected, and to have all that data automatically synchronised without manual intervention when communications are restored."

Security

While concerns over security have abated somewhat, some organisations remain sensitive about their data being in the hands of a third-party. With on-premise-solutions, all software resides behind that wall. Your own IT people can check authorization attempts and manage system access. There's always some risk involved in moving systems and data outside the physical walls of the business, which is there is so much emphasis on choosing the right Cloud platform provider and on service level agreements if you do go that route.

Some service organisations operate in industries where there are strict compliance and regulatory rules. Some sectors require high levels of access security, making on-premise solutions the pragmatic solution. However, bear in mind that asking mobile workers to go through myriad layers of protection to gain access to the system will have a detrimental effect on productivity.

 

IT resources

Don't under-estimate the IT skills and cost of investing in an on-premise solution, advise our experts. "Do you have the resources to manage IT requirements internally, including server management? What is the budget and the available IT resource to manage things on-premise going forward?" These are key questions, says Simon Spriggs. "If there are any concerns about the level of IT commitment required, the Cloud may be the way to go. However, it is worth remembering that the service model is always a more expensive option long-term than the outright purchase mode." This is especially true if you already have server agreements in place, he adds.

In conclusion

As with many aspects of field service, the starting point when deciding whether to adopt an on-premise or Cloud strategy for your IT needs should be to ensure you have a full understanding of your business processes and requirements and those of your customers.  Do listen to the pros and cons but ultimately only you can decide which is best for your organisation.

 

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What should businesses consider when deciding whether an On-Premise or a Cloud solution is the best fit for their business?  In this two-part series, Sharon Clancy gets some advice from the experts.  First up, we explore the attractions of the Cloud... 

There's been a lot of publicity recently about cloud platforms: for enterprises it's been about whether you migrate legacy business functions to it; for SMEs and SMBs it's about using the Cloud to become more competitive. There's also been a lot of talk about browser-based field service management apps - software-as-a-service, or SaaS.

Is it all just noise, or something your company needs to get to grips with?

Let's start with defining what we are talking about: Cloud and SaaS can be used as  interchangeable terms, but there is a difference. A Cloud solution is when some or all of your IT requirements are hosted by a platform provider who takes care of all the necessary infrastructure, including security, server stability and maintenance, data storage and so on. SaaS is another layer on a Cloud platform.  A permutation that has been adopted by some field service organisations is to have on-premise legacy IT and ERP systems integrated with a Cloud-based service management SaaS solution. SMEs and SMBs, on the other hand, might use a Cloud  platform for all their business functions, including accounting, HR and service management software.

Be agile

One business trend is that companies of all sizes need to be more agile in responding to their customers' changing needs, and agility is one thing the Cloud delivers in spades.

"For SMEs, Cloud-based solutions give them access to great technology, making them more agile. For many, it also allows them to ramp up their operations, and grow the business quickly, even to International level," says Steve Mason, Vice President International Sales for StreetSmart, Click Software's web-based management app for SMEs and SMBs. "For larger organisations, a Cloud solution can liberating, allowing much faster reactions to changing business requirements."

 

On-premise can mean less agility, points out Neil Lewis, Consulting Director, EMEA Sales, ServiceMax."Deployments of new services and processes are slower. When an old business process needs to change or a new one introduced, it takes much longer to do it internally, from getting the project on the internal IT roadmap to actually developing the app. There are typically many layers of the on-premise architecture that need to be changed in order to implement the processes. This in turn has an adverse effect on the companies' abilities to introduce new products and services quickly."

In many sectors, the business model is changing from being based around product life-cycles to a servitization model and predictive rather than reactive service, he continues. "That transforms field service into a agile, responsive customer-focused operation which can have a real impact on the bottom-line."

The Cloud means smaller companies can now access affordable solutions without the overhead of enterprise class software, points out Paul Adams, Marketing and Development Director, Solarvista.

Outsourcing IT

Enterprises are now looking at moving their entire structure to the cloud because it eliminates the need to manage a large IT infrastructure in-house," says Mason.

"On-premise solutions demand investment in infrastructure upkeep including databases, applications, coding and system upgrades. In the Cloud, all these issues go away," points out Lewis.

SaaS: a perfect fit for service management

SaaS is actually a good practical fit for service management, says Colin Brown, Managing Director, Tesseract. "Most independent service companies have recurring revenue streams which actually fit neatly with renting the software. Relatively small companies can now compete with larger rivals."

 

A browser-based field service solution is essential, regardless of whether you opt for an on-premise or a cloud-based platform, advises Simon Spriggs, account manager at Exel Computer Systems. "This will future-proof your investment should you decide to move business activities to the cloud in future. It will also help eliminate many integration problems."

Don't be lured into thinking that a Cloud solution is the answer to everything, warns Spriggs.  "Key questions to ask include: what is the budget, what is the available IT resource and what is the reliability and bandwidth of the Internet connection."

Reliable broadband: not an optional extra

The reliability and bandwidth or your Internet connection is crucial for any Cloud implementation, our experts agreed. "Some companies have an unreliable or slow broadband connection and that impacts on delivering cloud-based services," points out Spriggs. "If the basic connection to the Internet fails, it doesn't matter what back-up the hosted platform provider has - you won't be able to communicate with your engineers, manage workflows or give customers real-time information."

 

Security

Most companies will conduct financial due diligence before choosing a Cloud partner. However, all the field service experts we spoke with emphasised that it is equally essential to thoroughly check the IT capabilities of the company hosting those cloud services. "You are outsourcing the running of your business systems to the Cloud, not abdicating responsibility for them, so make sure your provider is fully compliant with the latest security standards " urges Steve Mason. "A public cloud platform will give you baseline protection - indeed, the level of security is much higher than most individual companies could afford because the companies invest a huge amount and employ security experts to keep up to speed with the latest threats."

A public Cloud platform as other advantages says Mason. her "Business continuity is crucial for mission-critical apps such as field service. On a public Cloud, the infrastructure is multi-layered so there is built-in resilience should one site go down which in turn means there will be no impact on your business.

 

There is a natural nervousness about hosting FS apps externally, the need to keep confidential data in the cloud and also about the complexities of integrating those cloud-based apps with internal ERP systems, admits Lewis. "However these concerns are not relevant any more with the evidence of many large organisations globally who have strategically moved to the cloud in the last 5 to 10 years. These range from governmental organisations to large global banks.

The Cloud is, in effect, a hosted server platform, points out Colin Brown. "Cloud data centres handle all the expensive, complex fire walls and demilitarized zones that keep information safe. If you are concerned about resilience, our advice is to invest in back-up servers.

It's important to think about what happens if servers goes down, agrees Neil Lewis. "Smaller vendors may be able to host your app but check if there is seamless back-up to ensure workflows continue as normal? Indeed, is there any back-up at all?"

Resilience is critical for mission-critical operations such as field service. For SMEs, cloud solutions provides a sophisticated level of IT infrastructure management including backup, disaster recovery, security and environmental concerns that they could never achieve otherwise, points out Paul Adams.

 

Asking what IT roadmap your provider has will whittle out some of the less capable vendors, advises Lewis. "Smaller platform hosts may not have the resources to invest in platform development, so ask what their roadmap is - for example, to develop the platform to integrate with multiple ERP environments to handle new technology."

Finally, businesses shouldn't undervalue the support offered by SaaS providers, says Colin Brown.  "Access to the software is controlled by the supplier, so all the software upgrades are installed and installed correctly and often, as is the case for Tesseract customers, free-of-charge of charge. Furthermore, as the data as it is hosted remotely, employees are no longer able to “play” with it, which reduces system errors

Look out for Part 2, where we'll  exploring the benefits of on-premise solutions and how they  integrate with field service management solutions.

 

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How do our experts match up with your own opinions? Don't forget to enter our survey on Cloud computing in Field Service now and have a chance of winning one of three £50 Amazon vouchers! 

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In our recent webinar run in partnership with ServiceMax, we explored two of the biggest topics in field service in 2015.

Firstly Nick Frank, Principal of Frank Partners explored how field service companies can harness the potential of IoT.

Whilst many of us may have heard the examples of the likes of Rolls Royce, General Electric or Alstom being held up as key case studies of how IoT can improve the way field service operates, Frank was able to bring us some really interesting examples of smaller companies harnessing the technology to improve their workflow busting the myth that such an approach is the sole domain of the blue chip international companies.

Our second speaker, Patrice Eberline, Vice President of Global Customer Transformation for ServiceMax looked at perhaps the greatest challenge field service companies have faced in decades. The threat of an ageing workforce.

However, as Eberline explained whilst there is undoubtedly a potential crisis looming, there is also an excellent opportunity. Whilst the baby boomer generation is preparing to walk out of the door, ma new generation, the millennials, are potentially a perfect fit for field service. In her presentation Eberline outlined exactly what traits millennials have that makes them so suitable for field service and what we need to do attract them to work for our companies and to field service in general.

 

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In our recent series of articles we have asked if recruitment is going to be field services greatest challenge and explored why despite a negative press millennials are in fact a natural fit for field service.

The reason for this series is to introduce some of the themes ahead of our next webinar which is being held tomorrow at 4pm GMT. You can register for this webinar by clicking this link.

In the final part of this series we look at how we can attract millennials to our organisation.

“Gone are the days of where a company’s participation in regional hiring events or advertising in a paper or even a website is going to bring in a throng of great candidates.” Comments ServiceMax’s Patrice Eberline.

“This generation has different hot buttons and therefore requires different bait to entice them to your company.”

Eberline is a firm believer in having to understand the mindset of millennials and restructuring our approach towards recruitment if we are to attract the best-of-the-best to our companies.

“In order to attract this generation we need to support the notion that recruiting is a two way street. In addition to screening for skills and fits we need to  pay attention to supporting their hot buttons also” She explains.

In our forthcoming webinar Eberline will outline seven of these hot buttons which consist of:

Company Values Mission and purpose.

“At every opportunity underscore your companies higher purpose so they can pull context from social media.” She states

“The values, the mission, the benefits of a company should not be ignored in the recruiting process. Remember that these candidates have an unlimited amount of information and access to that information via the web. They will likely come to an interview with a great deal more knowledge than you might expect.”

The social media presence of your brand.

“Social is where they live we can’t ignore it.” Says Eberline “Use this as an outlet to educate candidates, to pull candidates in, to outline your values, just reach out because they will in turn be reaching out. This is the generation that makes that fan base weak or strong through social and it’s not afraid of liking or unliking so this does play a part in recruiting.”

Work life balance

“Something very important for millennials but it does not necessarily mean they are looking for an easy ride.” She insists

“On the contrary millennials are going to work very, very hard for you. That energy they bring is incredible but they are going to respect your respect for work life balance so don’t forget to include that in the conversation. “

Mentorship and training

“Mentorship and training is huge for millennials who really value face time.” Explains Eberline

“Now this may give us some unique challenges as many in field service are managing remote teams. However, if we put a TM at the end of FaceTime it becomes the app. Bring technology in to the mix to enable one to one time ads millennials value learning from others.”

Teamwork and shared goals

“Setting up situations and setting up role expectations that support their collaborative nature that shouldn’t be ignored.” Eberline comments

“Being able to encourage collaboration is something that will bring this generation to you and keep them with you longer.

Variety of experience and growth potential

“Variety is the spice of life.” She adds “They want to experience it all and they want to experience it as much as possible in their work world as much as in their private life. “

Social responsibility

“Millennials gravitate to companies with a strong social responsibility.” Eberline explains “So if your company has that outreach, if it has that as part of its company values then highlight it.”

 

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To hear more from Eberline as well as an additional feature from Nick Frank looking at monetizing IoT in field service click here to register now.  

 

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Our next webinar on the 20^th May at 4pm BST which will look at two of the key discussions in field service currently. Click here to register now!

Featuring exclusive sessions from both Nick Frank who will be looking at how we can harness IoT in field service and Patrice Eberline of ServiceMax who will be sharing her insight into the challenges of an ageing workforce and how we replace this talent with a Millennial generation of workers this webinar promises to be a valuable event for field service professionals looking to the future.

In the first part of this series that looks ahead to the webinar and gives us some insight into what we can expect from the sessions we explored the dangers field service companies are facing when it comes to an ageing workforce and the potential knowledge leak that we could face as our accomplished and experienced field service technicians begin to edge closer to retirement age.

Now in this the second part of the feature we take a closer look at the generation that will be replacing them and try to understand just what it is about the so-called millennials that makes them tick and why they could just be a perfect fit with the field service industries.

There are a lot of traits that define millennials, and despite the sometimes negative perception of them, Time Magazine famously running a cover defining them as the Me, Me , Me generation for example, actually many of these traits are highly positive.

As Eberline exlpains there are perhaps three key traits that truly apply to both the modern workplace and more pertinantly modern field service as we march forward from 2015 and beyond

“The first trait is that they love technology.” Eberline asserts. “In fact Millenials have grown up with technology so much that most only have a cell phone, no landline at all. They have also fully embraced social media as a truly integrated part of their lives”

Indeed there are many statistics which certainly back up this assertion.

52% of Millenials have over 500 facebook friends, whilst 91% make all of the check-ins that you see whether it be going to a concert, a restaurant or applying to a job public to there network.

 

“This is an expansive group that loves technology” Eberline continues “Beyond this, this is a group that has access to millions of pieces of digital content and they are consuming this content eagerly on both tablets and phones. Google is where they live” she adds

“What is truly important to consider” Eberline comments “is that they tend to believe that technology can be the key that brings people and society together”

If we consider the fact that in just five years, not a particularly long way away at all in fact, millenials will comprise of 50% of the workforce. So it is truly imperative that we really begin to understand their way of thinking, and we start to do so now.

Without doing so, we may really struggle when it comes to adapting what is one of the biggest generational shifts in work force personel for many, many decades.

And it is not just a matter of the technology this generation are born seemingly ready to use. The second key trait Eberline identifies is that the millennial generation have a “truly boundless energy and they genuinely want to make a visible impact on everything around them, be it their work, their community and even on society in general.”

“This is a confident group” Eberline states “They’ve been reared in a world where they’ve been given constant attention and support”

Indeed millennials are shown to place a higher priority on helping people in need than on high paying job roles.

Indeed the council of economic advisors in October last year published a report that highlighted this benevolent side to the millennials nature The report went as far as to claim that Millennials are much more likely than any previous generation to state making a contribution to society is very important to them.

 

Again as we return to their potential role within the field service industries this could be another highly important factor to consider.

The third trait that Eberline highlights is that millennials are highly collaborative and creative creatures by default.

“They truly do live in a world of We rather than a world of Me” Eberline expands “and because of that they crave a life of rich experiences based on relationships rather than leverage. They value the creativity and they value the feedback they get for bringing that creativity to the workplace.”

With these three traits it is relatively easy to build a compelling case for millennials to be a perfect profile of candidate for the field service industries.

As Eberline explains “If you think about these three traits technology, impact in society and creativity millennials are a very, very good fit for field service if they are cultivated, coached and developed appropriately.

So as fears of losing both talent and knowledge loom largely on the field service horizon it appears that whilst our young knights in shining armour may be more likely to brandish a smartphone than a spanner. And whilst they may not have all of the answers it’s not a problem – theres almost certainly an app for that.

Look out for the next part of this series where we look at how we can attract this new workforce of millennials to the field service industries.

 

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Want to know more? Join Patrcie Eberline and hear her presentation on millennials in field service PLUS Nick Frank’s session on how we can harness IoT in field service for our next webinar on the 20^th May @4pm BST. You can register for the webinar by clicking this link.

 

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Click here to find out more about ServiceMax in the Field Service News Directory

 

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Kate Lovery of UK based, field service focussed Gas Engineering, Catering Equipment and HVAC specialist maintenance company Service2 outlines how they developed their business since selecting ServiceMax field service software.

In this video published by ServiceMax Lovery explains what has changed, why it has been a success for Service2's clients, how they are using the tools to help them build and analyse their field service operations, how the ServiceMax field service solution addresses the needs of their field service operations, and of course why they chose the ServiceMax field service solution.

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You can also read Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland's exclusive interview with Lovery which first appeared in Field Service News March/April 2015 issue by clicking here.

 

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