2015 North American Mobile Workforce Management Product Line Strategy Leadership Award

Transcription

1 2015 North American Mobile Workforce Management Product Line Strategy Leadership Award 2015

2 Background and Company Performance Industry Challenges The North American mobile workforce management (MWM) market is substantial and expanding. Its solutions are designed to track, manage, automate, optimize and analyze the performance of the mobile field service worker a company s front line interface with their end-customers and assets. While Frost & Sullivan independent analysis suggests that market growth is being driven by a number of interesting factors, industry vendors and their channels continue to also face key challenges. In the context of product line strategizing, industry challenges for vendors include: 1) Effectively addressing customer concerns regarding implementation costs and return-on-investment (ROI), 2) Carefully creating an effective ecosystem of technology and channel partners, and 3) Having the flexibility to regularly adjust one s product portfolio to address a wide and evolving set of customer needs. The annual Frost & Sullivan Mobile Enterprise Applications Survey reveals that 53 percent of North American businesses have already deployed mobile workforce management solutions to at least some degree. Another 23 percent plan to introduce the solution within the next 1-3 years. However, cost concerns remain a top-of-mind purchase barrier for a significant percentage of prospective customers. Interested prospects particularly point to the following as barriers to purchase: overall cost of implementation, new mobile device expense, and any required software customization expense. As a result of these concerns, prospects also view the ROI for mobile field service management solutions as remaining unclear. A well-structured product line recognizes these concerns and offers a variety of price points to choose from. It also provides pricing models that help minimize capital expenditures and professional services requirements. Successfully navigating the mobile workforce management market (also known as the mobile field service management market) requires establishing strategic partnerships. Partnering with top-tier technology peers can be an effective way to stay at the cutting edge of developing new MWM capabilities and solutions. One must also carefully identify and evaluate distribution channel voids, creating channel partnerships that effectively position and market one s product portfolio to the desired target segments. Finally, best-in-class mobile workforce management vendors report to Frost & Sullivan that they clearly recognize that their market is constantly evolving, and that static product portfolios will quickly fail. Customers are growing more demanding; technology costs are becoming more affordable; and mobile capabilities are now expected to be ubiquitous, user-friendly and affordable. In addition, MWM needs can vary widely, making modularity and scalability top priorities for today s business customer. A significant portion of current mobile field service management users are moving upmarket in terms of tastes and needs, and their vendors must be able to satisfy these expanded and more sophisticated needs or give way to competitors that can. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

3 Product Line Strength and Customer Impact of ClickSoftware Breadth ClickSoftware recognizes that a range of field service needs exist in today s business sector. They have created their own version of Maslow s Hierarchy for the service sector that neatly portrays the different levels of field service management, starting from the most basic levels of connection to the highest level of field service execution, which focuses upon service optimization: Level 1: Connectivity with field resources and customers Level 2: Visibility into field and basic reporting Level 3: Reporting and analytics Level 4: Decision support Level 5: Intelligent optimization In the past, ClickSoftware has successfully focused on addressing higher level needs. With its StreetSmart acquisition (formerly Xora, early 2014), Frost & Sullivan agrees that ClickSoftware is now able to offer comprehensive solutions for every level of this service hierarchy from an impressive set of prepackaged connectivity, visibility and basic reporting offerings for the SMB segment to more complexex enterprise solutions that address demand forecasting and planning, shift management, scheduling and dispatch optimization, and performance analytics. Mobilization is a key capability throughout. As a result, the company now offers one of the broadest product lines in the North American market; including the ability to efficiently extend MWM benefits from service providers to their subcontractors. Competitor 1 also offers a broad portfolio of offerings; however, neither Competitors 1 nor 2 address SMB needs as thoroughly as ClickSoftware can (given its acquisition of StreetSmart resources). Scalability Businesses grow. Needs change. Service requirements can expand. The smaller business needs a modular set of apps to pick and choose from, while larger companies are looking for solutions that fill their need for field intelligence/analytics and service optimization and differentiate them against major competitors. Building upon its StreetSmart portfolio, ClickSoftware has moved into the SMB sector and is now able to offer a suite of modular SMB apps that include software for timesheets, job dispatch, mobile forms, mileage recording and tracking, and even ClickSoftware s artificial intelligence service, ClickButler. These software applications are typically priced on an affordable monthly per-user subscription basis, and users can be added or subtracted as Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

4 required. For enterprises, ClickSoftware offers solutions that address planning and forecasting, shift management, scheduling and dispatch, mobile field execution, and performance measurement. The pricing strategy here typically focuses upon an annual license fee that reflects the number of field resources being managed, optimized, and analyzed. In addition, the ClickSoftware and StreetSmart portfolios are being integrated from both technology and marketing perspectives. This is particularly relevant given that the Frost & Sullivan annual survey reveals that the majority of current MWM users are satisfied with their solutions and plan to expand their deployments within 12 months. Previously, StreetSmart users who were convinced of MWM s value and wanted to move upmarket in terms of capabilities had to purchase a completely new field service management system. Now, they can simply add the more sophisticated ClickSoftware capabilities they need. Technology Leverage ClickSoftware continually incorporates leading-edge technologies into its product offerings, including: Mobility Machine-to-machine (M2M) Cloud services Big Data Artificial intelligence Decision-making algorithms Prescriptive analytics The company has partnered with other technology leaders to produce innovative solutions. One of the most recent is ShiftExpert, a shift management software application with a wearable component, developed in its ongoing partnership with Salesforce.com. ShiftExpert is one of the earliest MWM wearable solutions and is designed to be used on a Samsung Gear II smartwatch (with others to follow), allowing the worker to clock in and out of activities, send messages, and manage shifts. The company is also adding gamification to its ClickMobile solution in 2015 with its new Achievement Center app. This intends to help with change management and policy compliance as companies move into the new world MWM. In the area of artificial intelligence, ClickSoftware continues to enhance its unique ClickButler solution, defining a new set of Butlers (focused on safety, efficiency, or customer contact) that can be created and used by customers. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

5 Competitors 1 and 2 also place a high priority on technological innovation, having established partnerships with tech leaders and having made significant strides in areas such as proactive M2M monitoring. However, ClickSoftware s endeavors in the area of AI, the new wearable form factor, and gamification places the company at the forefront of technology leverage. Features The ClickSoftware portfolio offers a comprehensive suite of features, which allows customers to deploy the mix of capabilities that best meets their field service management needs. ClickSoftware has refined and defined a Service Chain Optimization platform that addresses the complete field service management time horizon: Before the Day of Service, customers can utilize Demand Forecasting, Resource Planning, and Shift Planning solutions to develop forecasts and align resources with planned demand. During the Day of Service, Job Scheduling, Field Execution and Intra-Day Scheduling solutions enable field resources to enjoy optimized scheduling, efficiently execute work tasks, manage exceptions, and report status from the field. After the Day of Service, Actionable Performance Analysis and Machine Learning solutions measure performance, analyze data, and enact continuous improvements. Many of these same functions are also available to smaller businesses on a prepackaged, more basic basis. All of these features allow better connections and communications among techs, end-customers, and the business. ClickSoftware has also identified another opportunity to leverage its StreetSmart resources selling them in tandem with its enterprise solutions to enterprise service providers that are looking for an economical, integrated way to manage their large networks of small, third-party contractors, via its Service Networks for Contractors. Price/Performance Value ClickSoftware offers a high level of value for the prices it commands, ranging from its peruser per-month price points for small business offerings to its annual subscription and perpetual licensing arrangements for more complex enterprise solutions. As discussed earlier, annual Frost & Sullivan research of North American businesses reveals a lack of clarity around MWM business impacts. While current MWM users are experiencing significant improvements across a number of indices such as field service response times, competitive advantage, and customer engagement levels these results have not been reaching prospective customers, who continue to point to unclear ROI as a major reason for not deploying MWM solutions. Frost & Sullivan appreciates the fact that ClickSoftware is directly addressing this confusion in its sales and marketing materials Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

6 by presenting customer case studies that list hard-number, measurable reductions in important cost categories such as travel time, field service costs, fuel costs, the engineer: customer ratio, cancelled jobs, tech no-shows, customer complaints and overtime costs, as well as the impact on customer satisfaction, churn reduction and upsell potential. Customer Purchase Experience ClickSoftware solutions currently support over 700,000 field resources on a global basis. This extensive market presence is based in part on the ease and responsiveness of the customer purchase experience. First, ClickSoftware has established close channel partnerships with major systems integrators (SI) and now with top-tier wireless carriers. Both of these categories are highly rated by today s businesses as trusted mobile solution partners, with larger enterprises rating SIs highly, and smaller businesses consistently identifying wireless carriers as their top-ranked go-to partner. As a result, no matter their size, businesses are provided with a safe avenue for evaluating and implementing ClickSoftware products. ClickSoftware s intensifying relationship with wireless carriers especially differentiates it from other top competitors and provides key positioning with the SMB business sector. Second, as mentioned previously, multiple pricing plans are available, depending upon the type of services that the individual customer prefers. Third, ClickSoftware continues to offer its customers SaaS, on-premise, and public and private cloud delivery options, and will work with the customer to transition from one to another as needed. While a significant portion of new customers are opting immediately for cloud-based solutions, ClickSoftware is willing to let its current on-premise customers set their own pace as the market moves steadily toward cloud products. Conclusion Mobile workforce management apps focus on helping field service organizations deliver best-in-class support to their end-customers. The field tech is a company s front line representative, often offering the only face-to-face interaction with its customers and assets. In an effort to optimize this interaction, ClickSoftware has successfully initiated a series of strategic initiatives to expand and refine its MWM portfolio, including executing a key acquisition, forging top-tier channel and technology partnerships, and demonstrating excellent marketing sensitivity and expertise. With its strong overall performance, ClickSoftware has earned the 2015 Frost & Sullivan 2015 Product Line Strategy Leadership Award. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

7 Key Benchmarking Criteria For the Product Line Strategy Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently evaluated two key factors Product Line Strength and Customer Impact according to the criteria identified below. Product Line Strength Criterion 1: Breadth Criterion 2: Scalability Criterion 3: Technology Leverage Criterion 4: Features Criterion 5: Supply Chain Reliability Customer Impact Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Criterion 5: Brand Equity Best Practice Award Analysis for ClickSoftware Decision Support Scorecard To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below. RATINGS GUIDELINES The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Product Line Strength and Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies. Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

8 The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players in as Company 2 and Company 3. DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR PRODUCT LINE STRATEGY LEADERSHIP AWARD Measurement of 1 10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent) Product Line Strategy Product Line Strength Customer Impact Average Rating ClickSoftware Competitor Competitor Product Line Strength Criterion 1: Breadth Requirement: Product line addresses the full range of customer needs and applications Criterion 2: Scalability Requirement: Product line offers products at a variety of price points and functionality levels Criterion 3: Technology Leverage Requirement: Demonstrated commitment to incorporating leading edge technologies into product offerings, for greater product performance and value Criterion 4: Features Requirement: Products offer a comprehensive suite of features to serve customers at multiple levels of functionality, ease of use and applications Criterion 5: Supply Chain Reliability Requirement: There is sufficient control over the supply chain to ensure availability of key components and thereby the availability of products in the product line Customer Impact Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar offerings in the market Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

9 Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company s product or service, and have a positive experience throughout the life of the product or service Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality Criterion 5: Brand Equity Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty Decision Support Matrix Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard, analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at best-in-class levels. DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR PRODUCT LINE STRATEGY LEADERSHIP AWARD High ClickSoftware Competitor 1 Competitor 2 Customer Impact Low Low Product Line Strength High Frost & Sullivan We Accelerate Growth

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