Uptime as a Service: Highlights From a New Whitepaper

A new whitepaper titled "Uptime as a Service: Driving Service Excellence, Cost Reduction and Growth in the Normal" by Michael R. Blumberg, President Blumberg Advisory Group, Inc sponsored by ThingTech, and FieldAware, was recently released. It examines the trends that have impacted the Field Service Industry's state and a summary of primary research from a joint report by Field Service News and FieldAware titled "Benchmarking the New Normal from Year Zero."  The whitepaper by Mr. Blumberg highlights how these trends have allowed Field Service Organizations (FSOs) to be responsive by implementing core best practices based on the COVID-19 pandemic realities. Mr. Blumberg states that FSO's are now required to fully adopt these best practices as the new normal by concentrating on reducing costs, revenue growth, and Service Excellence. Furthermore, he underscores that the main priority of FSOs is to provide a connected, proactive service experience by utilizing the Uptime-as-a-Service (UtaaS) software solution.

 Three other factors have stressed the need to hasten to adopt new service models apart from the coronavirus (COVID-19). These include loT connectivity, Moore's law, and influence of the Field Service Industry. These trends signify the rapid transformation of field service due to the prevalent digitization of these practices. FSOs seek innovative means to economically distinguish their services, provide value and differentiate themselves amongst the competition.

 Key insights referenced in the whitepaper from the Field Service News study indicate that:

• 78% of respondents believe that their companies are under pressure to lower the cost of their services.
• 76% of Field Service Organizations (FSOs) are concentrating on growth instead of survival this year.
• 70% of FSOs stated that the pandemic had not affected the relevance of service excellence.
• 76% of respondents highlighted that remote services create new revenue streams.
• 39% believe that utilizing a hybrid approach of on-site and remote provide equal value.

 These figures demonstrate several implications on the way forward for FSOs. Firstly, when companies lower their service costs, primarily via improvements in systems and processes, organizations are more productive and do more with fewer resources. This result is significant because there is a current shortage of labor in the Field Service Industry. FSOs can leverage the savings gained by these improvements to offer more competitive pricing and higher quality service.  Secondly, focusing on growth opportunities leads to innovation in meeting customers' needs and creating revenue from that experience. Thirdly, service excellence is a mainstay. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, capitalizing on service excellence is beneficial to FSOs as it provides customer retention. Fourthly, remote services cannot substitute for face-to-face communication, which is evident in almost half of the surveyed participants.

 FSO can achieve a proactive and balanced approach to service through a Hybrid-Service-Delivery model. A Hybrid –Service-Delivery model approach involves prioritizing remote services to restrict on-site visits to only when necessary.  Otherwise, less labor-intensive work or predictable tasks can be resolved remotely. However, if the service request's nature suggests that the service resolution process could be labor-intensive, then on-site dispatch is a higher priority.

 To adopt the UtaaS business model, FSOs must monitor data from assets in the field in real-time and use this data as part of the triage process. They also must have the ability to automate workflows and processes to activate service when needed.  Unfortunately, these requirements pose a significant challenge for a large portion of the Field Service Industry.  According to the research done by the Field Service News, 

• 77% of respondents are thinking about using the proactive offerings in the future.
• 93% believe that it will become more appealing after COVID-19.
• 76% can decipher the data from in the field.
• 67% can receive it in real-time.
• 72% use the data in the triage process.
• Only 36% of FSOs do all three -decipher data from the field, receive it in real-time, and use it in the triage process.

 Influential factors such as Servitization, Moore's Law, and the ongoing pandemic have created proactive, connected service conditions. In recent years, it has become possible for UtaaS powered solutions to become available to enterprise-sized companies and medium-sized and small companies based on the progression of cloud computing and the implementation of loT technology. UtaaS solution was developed by FieldAware and ThingTech, which provides an advanced platform to a wide range of FSOs. It also enables companies to monitor and capture data, track loT workflow processes instantly and handles services. An example of a company that uses this solution is M.E.S.O, a company that valued the UtaaS solution's effectiveness on their workforce's productivity. UtaaS enabled M.E.S.O. to provide a truly proactive, connected service. This result is a testament to the positive impact of the solution and how it creates future growth for the company. To learn more about this proactive, connected solution, download the whitepaper here,

Uptime as a Service: Driving Service Excellence, Cost Reduction, and Growth in the New Normal