A Preview of the Third Annual Field Service Emerging Technologies Report
In the previous report in the "Emerging Technologies" Field Service series, we learned that field service organizations had already made considerable advancements in their technology adoption. Not only had companies deployed hand-held technologies for their technicians, but 55% of the respondents said they had already adopted micro data centers as an edge computing strategy.
After two years of disruption, field service teams are preparing for another year of technology-enabled services. And while many look forward to a return to relative normalcy, most would agree that the procurement function may never be the same again.
To be published at the end of April 2022, this report will explore how field service organizations’ technology strategies have changed over the past year. It will include key insights from decision makers and benchmarking information about companies’ service strategies.
Here are a few of the report’s highlights.
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Field Service Leaders Are Working Toward More Sophisticated Technologies
Most of the respondents to the report (54%) rate the current sophistication of their field service technology as only somewhat sophisticated—at parity with their competitors. However, one-quarter of respondents (25%) rate their sophistication as very sophisticated—ahead of their competitors.
In terms of their progress with their next wave of field service technology implementation, one in ten respondents (10%) indicate they are already assessing the outcomes of their recent implementations. Most respondents indicate they are actively assessing technology solutions (26%) or they are implementing technology solutions (28%) as well.
A plurality of respondents (38%) also indicate they have unique technology or transformation initiatives for unique lines of their businesses. However, nearly one-third (31%) indicate that in one or more cases, they have not yet determined if the new technology or technologies they are testing will help their business.
Organizations Are Weighing Specific Technologies and Strategies
The respondents were asked to consider which two field service technologies are most critical to their success over the next 12 months. Nearly half of respondents (44%) identified augmented reality (AR) and wearable devices for technicians as most critical. Over one-third (35%) identified artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as most critical as well.
Most respondents (68%) believe customer-centricity and personalization will become more important over the next three years. Other key strategies they believe will be important include in-person field service appointments (55%0 and leveraging technicians as brand representatives (51%). This suggests that most organizations still place immense value on face-to-face field service appointments.
Asset Visibility, Costs, and Integrations are Top Focuses
Although most of the respondents are currently satisfied with many of the existing aspects of their field service operations, half are not satisfied with their asset visibility and analytics (50%). Additionally, most are not satisfied with their voice of customer (VoC) capabilities (52%).
When asked to identify their two most-significant challenges when attempting to adopt emerging field service technologies over the past two years, over one-third of respondents identified budget constraints (37%) and integrating new technologies with existing systems (37%), in each case.
Field Service Teams Need More Advanced Analytics Capabilities
When asked to what extent they are using data analytics from their equipment for field service, over one-quarter of respondents (28%) indicate their organizations are "advanced." These organizations are already using capabilities like predictive maintenance, remote troubleshooting, remote diagnostics, or business analytics.
Nonetheless, most of the remaining respondents (48%) indicate their organizations are "intermediate" in their use of data analytics. They use some diagnostics and predictive maintenance capabilities, but not much else. This suggests a significant portion of organizations need to upgrade their data analytics capabilities.
Learn More About the Latest Field Service Technology
You can download the annual Field Service "Emerging Technologies" report at the end of April.
And don’t miss the next event in the Field Service series, the conference for leaders in customer success, service, and support. The event will occur from August 16th to 18th at the Marriott Hilton Head Resort & Spa, SC.
Download the agenda today.