Field service software — 2025 and beyond

Organisations around the globe are facing unprecedented change, thanks to converging digital forces. Now’s the time to rethink processes and adopt a more efficient business model, according to our roundtable participants.

While it’s not uncommon for smaller enterprises to still rely on inefficient paper-based systems to facilitate field service processes, underestimating the significance of converging technologies threatens to leave some businesses behind. The rate of change we have seen since the introduction of smartphones and subsequent mobile devices has been rapid, to say the least, and while we may tire of hearing some buzzwords, such as IoT, the significance of these developments shouldn’t be underestimated.

We wanted to look a decade down the track, so we spoke with a few of the industry’s most knowledgeable, including Jonathan Eastgate, Chief Technology Officer for simPRO Software, as well as David Younger and Ron Hayward from The Service Manager.

FSB: What's the 'next big thing'?

Eastgate: For the field service industry, the burning question for companies today is ‘how do you effectively mobilise the workforce?’ Why? Firstly, because customers now expect faster turnaround times — they want it fixed now. Secondly, because optimised productivity is vital to every business. It’s expensive to maintain a mobile workforce, so you want to keep the billable hours up. It’s just not feasible any longer to have field staff coming into the office to get job cards — they need to be out on site. We’re in the middle of the age of mobility and most customers have embraced this.

The next big thing, however, is the Internet of Things (IoT), which is simply the connection of any device with an on/off switch to either the internet or another device. This ranges from small appliances such as lamps or signs, right through to larger items including refrigerators and diesel generators. With this interconnectedness, we’ll see field services go from a reactive endeavour to a higher prevalence of service level agreements (SLAs) under a more proactive servicing model. It will change the landscape significantly.

Younger: We see the biggest change as being the commercial adoption of the IoT. By way of example, in HVAC&R, on-premises planned maintenance is a timely method for avoiding break/fix situations. Using non-passive RFID, it’s possible to detect heat build-up and vibration, which means that an existing field service schedule function can be alerted and a planned maintenance schedule brought forward to avoid any machine downtime. Break/fix is costly and therefore the least desired situation.

Think about car wash businesses — Australia’s largest supplier of car wash machinery has a contractual obligation to customers to resolve a break/fix situation within four hours. If this doesn’t happen, they are liable for lost income. Utilising the inherent functionality in IoT minimises the likelihood of breaching this agreement. The flow-on effect is that insurance premiums become lower as exposure to risk is mitigated, so it’s far-reaching.

FSB: What about further integration — what else can be achieved?

Eastgate: In the next 20 years, mobile will continue to grow, but the rate of growth will be entirely dependent on people’s attitude to technology adoption. IoT is the ultimate integration — we’ll see everyday household items reporting status straight to service providers and alerting them if there is an issue, in many cases before the customer even notices. This, of course, will trigger a service response.

Hayward: Australia is home to a lot of mid-sized field service businesses that ‘grew like Topsy’. They’ve probably got four or five software applications that don’t talk to each other — a back office accounting system; a spreadsheet macro that the service manager was raised on and lives by; and a new ‘cool’ cloud app that handles OH&S and quality audits, and which works perfectly in the field via tablet but in isolation of the business’ operating system. These systems often feature customisation written by a ‘space cowboy’ who no longer works for the software company that sold it. Companies are left with the burden of additional customised report writing to try and pull the whole thing together and then along comes an overseas ERP vendor with the ‘perfect’ solution. The problem with this is that SME field service companies often cannot afford this type of solution.

As technology changes, platform tariff operators are emerging, covering the total cost of service over the economic life of the technology. They are the new vanguard. These ‘platforms’ take away integration and provide automated tools to anticipate API changes and manage them from within the platform itself. This means that old-style integration processes are no longer required. They are here now and continue to emerge over 2016/17. Remember that hardware (devices/handsets/Wi-Fi/GPS) with its own software is also being disrupted and coming together in black box solutions. Watch this space.

FSB: What do potential buyers need to think about when evaluating all of the available options?

Eastgate: The first thing is to think about whether the business is capable of deploying the software internally and if it can sufficiently adapt to what is being installed. A change management strategy will need to be put in place to ensure a successful implementation. Remember that no one software platform will do exactly what you want and you need to be prepared to adapt.

This will mean looking at the existing processes and capabilities within the business and recognising whether the proposed software offering will improve or replace a particular process. It comes down to a clear value proposition and whether there is a measurable return on investment.

It is also important to consider scalability. Purchasing a program simply because it’s cheaper might not be a sustainable solution. Most companies need a product that will grow with the business and won’t cause unnecessary problems down the track.

Buyers should also look at the vendor’s development commitment — is the software continually being upgraded, maintained and evolving? Is the vendor investigating and investing in development to support IoT?

Finally, consider the hardware being used — is the software device agnostic? You shouldn’t need to reinvest in hardware because the solution on offer won’t work on a particular operating system or device. It needs to be capable of keeping up with changing technology.

Younger: There is a third amazing disruption transition taking place and it’s in accounting — particularly the accounting vendor market. Xero is becoming a network provider, especially in the banking and third-party developer community. Already its banking algorithms are better than most ERP functionalities, which are now left to catch up because of Xero’s disruptive effect. The trading account and its associated working capital is another example — there are now applications that provide ERP functionality at a reasonable price. Using these other best-of-breed applications limits the role of the accounting package in a field service environment to compliance and taxation only.

The second requirement is to ensure that the total cost of delivery is accounted for, which includes the cost of in-house IT. Ideally this should be carried out by new IT managed service providers featuring well-trained experts who value remote control with a preventive focus rather than the ‘break/fix and charge by the ticket’ model favoured by traditional operators.

The ultimate is cloud replacement of internal IT, but provided by a platform tariff operator that is accountable for combined and total delivery. The current exception to this is mobile data costs, which are still the realm of telcos. 4.5G leading to 5G testing over the next four years will spell the end of this and mobile data will be included in the total platform tariff operator’s priced delivery. This is already the case, with some operators in a 48-month contract provisioning for two tablet replacements to ensure best-of-breed technology and experimental data inclusion being factored in for some pilot customers.

FSB: How far in the future should buyers be looking?

Eastgate: Whatever happens in the next five years will set the stage for the next five, and so on. There are definite leap points in the evolution of technology. If you look across global markets, there is a three-year variance cycle between innovators or early adopters and the laggards when it comes to technology. Fortunately, Australia falls into the former category.

Hayward: Technology’s speed of advancement is compounding. Field service, depending on the technician’s workflow, requires a 24-, 48- or 60-month technology update cycle. Platform tariff operators understand this and the first consulting function is to determine the workflow needs of the field service operator and choose one of these cycle options. The replacement of devices (and therefore the operating system) must take place in concert with the needs of the customer. So too, customer expansion may necessitate the platform tariff operator to transfer from one of the three cycle options to another, so flexibility is important.

FSB: Should software be treated as a standalone product, or is it important to consider software at the same time?

Eastgate: The first step is to look at the software alone and pose the question ‘will it work for the business?’ Software is the core of the business and it needs to be flexible in terms of updates and upgrades. The second step is to then work out the hardware requirements and consider the software adaptability in terms of the applicable operating systems.

Younger: We believe that both must be considered. The main hardware vendors (eg, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and the emerging Huawei) will change over time. All have their own agenda in bringing new technology advances to users. There is also an element of planned obsolescence to their behaviour. Having said that, a platform tariff operator has to be responsible and accountable in its delivery and to anticipate these technology happenings, accommodating them into their platform and tariffs. As disruptors in field service, they will emerge to fulfil this industry requirement.

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