MOBILITY IN THE FIELD SERVICE MANAGEMENT SPACE A study conducted by IFS North America APRIL, 2013
THE CURRENT STATE OF THE INDUSTRY BASED ON A SURVEY OF MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVES METHODOLOGY In early 2013, IFS North America and Advantage Business Media conducted a study among executives with industrial companies to determine how respondents involved with field service management access enterprise software from mobile devices while servicing equipment and customers at remote sites. Respondents were from companies with more than $50 million dollars in revenue, and had some involvement with enterprise software selection. Data in this report was further filtered to reflect answers of respondents who stated their companies employ field service technicians involved in maintenance, service management and repair work in the field. Answers reflect how their technicians and maintenance professionals access enterprise data from mobile devices while in the field. 2
THE CURRENT STATE OF THE INDUSTRY VERY LOW LEVELS OF MOBILE USE IN FIELD SERVICE Relatively low levels of access to enterprise data from mobile devices Companies involved in field service management obviously ought to be leading the charge when it comes to mobile access to enterprise data, but study results indicate a relatively low level of penetration of current enterprise mobility technology. Those that do have some mobile access to enterprise data are typically reliant on third-party connection tools like Cisco VPN. This presents a number of drawbacks including an intolerance for interruptions in wireless service, performance and speed issues and additional license costs. This may prevent respondents from making full use of handheld mobile devices for service management. A minority of respondents said they are currently performing work in enterprise software from a mobile device. 3
OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY MOBILE FIELD SERVICE MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCIES AVAILABLE Route optimization and real-time scheduling are only possible with real-time technician access to back end systems used to issue and manage work orders. Emergent work orders, particularly for high-value customers that may have service level agreements (SLAs) in place can be handled more effectively and consistently with real-time mobile communication with the back office, dispatchers and customer service personnel. Mobile technicians need real-time information on parts availability, Without mobile access to inventory levels and locations, first-trip-fix will be difficult to achieve. With mobile access, technicians can ideally view what inventory is available, where it is located and associate problems reported on a work order or trouble ticket to parts that are likely to be required for repair. Some of these benefits depend on excellent field service management or enterprise asset management software functionality, but real-time mobile access is still required to deliver the benefits. 4
OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY MOBILE FIELD SERVICE MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCIES AVAILABLE More advanced field service management software may offer additional mobile benefits: Mobile reporting. Customer satisfaction studies with in-the-field customer surveys. Receiving and shipping optimization. Automatically generated analytics. In-field completion of weekly time and expenses. Verification of customer history and product warranties. Tracking for serialized part inventories and repair stock. One-click customer calling and emailing. 5
MOBILE ACCESS TO FIELD SERVICE DATA 68% HAVE LIMITED OR NO MOBILE ACCESS 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 32% Extensive mobile access 50% Limited mobile access 18% % No mobile access 6
HOW DO YOU ACCESS FIELD SERVICE DATA? HALF USING THIRD PARTY CONNECTIONS LIKE CISCO VPN 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 23% Native apps from our software vendor 28% Homegrown applications 50% Third party tool/vpn 32% Direct Integration % 7
HOW DO YOU ACCESS FIELD SERVICE DATA? 68% HAVE LIMITED OR NO MOBILE ACCESS Respondents were asked As you think about the type of software you use for service, maintenance, asset management, or repair work at remote sites, what methods do you use to access it from consumer mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets? Half of respondents indicate that they are connecting using an intermediary like Cisco VPN. Applications through an intermediary like this are not optimized for the screen formats of smartphones and handhelds, and are usually dependent on an uninterrupted connection, which may not be available at a remote site. A plurality are also relying on homegrown mobility applications and/or direct integrations into their database, presenting both security and performance issues. Less than a quarter of respondents report using native apps designed by their enterprise software vendor. Applications designed for use with the software can offer functionality, usability and security advantages. 8
HOW DO YOU ACCESS FIELD SERVICE DATA? 68% HAVE LIMITED OR NO MOBILE ACCESS Most all vendors of software used in field service management are today offering some type of modern mobility functionality. In many cases, respondents are likely running software that may offer varying levels of functionality to enable field service mobility. But they may not have implemented it yet because: Mobile interfaces require an upgrade to a more current version of the software. Mobility functionality does not meet their specific needs. Mobility functionality does not mesh with their handheld device strategy or does not support the specific type of devices required for the requisite tasks. The company may lack capacity or budget to license or implement mobility functionality. 9
ACCESS DIFFERS BY SOFTWARE TYPE OTHER MOST OFTEN OFFERS EXCELLENT ACCESS 30% 30% 29% 27% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 24% 20% 17% 9% 18% 16% 22% 14% 21% 15% 7% 18% 24% 22% 19% 17% 19% 25% 25% 6% 25% Poor Some Okay Good Excellent 5% 0% ERP CRM EAM SCM Other 10
ACCESS DIFFERS BY SOFTWARE TYPE OTHER FARES BEST Other likely includes specialized Field Service Management (FSM) software. But if this is the case, an excellent rating of 25% would be rather low given that FSM software ought to be highly optimized for mobility given that technicians are working offsite. It is surprising that mobile access to CRM is not rated more highly. Only 14% of CRM users characterized their access as excellent. Ideally, CRM and field service management tasks would be supported by the same set of applications to optimize customer service. 30% of users of both ERP and EAM/CMMS software reported fair to middling levels of mobile access to enterprise data. 11
CURRENTLY WORKING VIA MOBILE DEVICE 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 39% 61% % 0% Yes No 12
ON THE WHOLE, A POOR MOBILE EXPERIENCE MORE THAN HALF USING VPN OR OTHER INTERMEDIARY 70% 60% 50% 40% 66% % 30% 20% 34% 10% 0% Yes No 13
ON THE WHOLE, A POOR MOBILE EXPERIENCE MORE THAN HALF USING VPN OR OTHER INTERMEDIARY On the whole, there is some correlation between respondents who report using VPN or other intermediary and whether or not respondents report performing work on a mobile device. About half of respondents who report using a third party connection like VPN report performing business functions on mobile. Among respondents who said they get mobile access through a direct integration to APIs or the database of their enterprise software, 72% reported performing work in enterprise software on a mobile device. 14
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM Field service management is one industry where excellent mobile access to data and functionality in an enterprise application is very easy to cost-justify. In the years ahead, we expect more companies involved in field service management to use mobile applications developed by their software vendor as opposed to other solutions. These may take different forms including: Native apps for a mobile device operating system like Android or ios. Interfaces designed for mobile use on touch screen devices like tablets. Native apps for handheld devices may be more suitable for many field service management settings. 15
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM Native apps need to deliver specific functionality to maximize their utility. The interface must be optimized for the screen size and designed for the specific tasks field technicians perform. Data must be shared with back end systems used for maintenance and field service. These systems may include specialized field service management software, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) or enterprise asset management (EAM) applications. Off-line capability must be provided so apps tolerate interruptions in connectivity, and can synchronize with the database once the connection resumes. 16
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM Native apps must synchronize and communicate over any IP network supported by the device. 3G, GPRS Wi-Fi Bluetooth Cradle or regular LAN Communication must be encrypted for security and optimized for performance over the slowest of network links. 17
BENEFITS OF CLOUD MEDIATED NATIVE APPS Self-provisioning, and require minimal involvement from IT as apps can be downloaded from public app marketplaces. No need for VPN or other employer provided technology, reducing cost and increasing usability. Apps can be designed to be secure for use over public Internet. They can be developed for a variety of consumer platforms most notably Android and ios. 18
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM 19 In order to realize this vision of native apps on mobile devices, there are certain technological and security hurdles that must be surmounted. 28% of respondents report using homegrown applications to access data on mobile devices, and 32% say they are getting to that data through integrations directly with their enterprise data, either through application programming interfaces (APIs) or directly with the supporting database. Encryption of data is one way to limit the exposure of enterprise data to mitigate security risks of accessing enterprise data on small, hand-held and even privately owned devices. Care must also be taken to eliminate access for mobile devices owned by employees who leave the company. Another strategy is to use a cloud intermediary that connects the mobile app to the enterprise application. This cloud provisioning means access to enterprise data can be stopped at the cloud intermediary so even if the app still exists on the privately owned device, a CIO can exercise central control over access.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM This cloud intermediary can also increase stability of the combined application/app system by allowing the apps to work with a variety of versions of the enterprise software. One-off integrations of homegrown or commercial mobile apps, however, likely need to be uplifted each time enterprise or field service management software is upgraded. As field service operations move to take advantage of mobility, this is one potential cost they will want to take into consideration. 20
STABLE AND SECURE CLOUD DELIVERY IFS Cloud Public Cloud Corporate LAN/ WAN / VPN Cloud Uplink Cloud Uplink Cloud Uplink IFS Applications 7.5 IFS Applications 7.5 IFS Applications 8 21
CONCLUSION OPPORTUNITY FOR TREMENDOUS EFFICIENCY GAINS Companies currently involved with field service management report relatively low levels of and quality of access to enterprise service and asset management data from mobile devices. While 82% of respondents said they had at least some access to data from mobile devices, less than 40% said they were currently using this access to perform work. This would indicate that the method of connection, the nature of the apps and general levels of performance and usability may prevent respondents from enjoying the business benefits mobility has to offer. More information Charles Rathmann Analyst 262.317.7419 chuck.rathmann@ifsworld.com 22
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