Since its emergence onto the market, Field Service Management (FSM) solutions haven’t stopped evolving. The constant incorporation of new developments and improvements has contributed substantially to the fact that businesses and departments dedicated to offering maintenance services and support have increased their prestige and specific weight. And what will 2020 bring in the field services sector and in the management tools orientated towards this activity? Experts seem to agree on the points that we see in this article below.

2020, a year of evolution in Field Services and in FSM solutions

As we said at the beginning of this article, FSM solutions such as Task4Work have not stopped evolving since their emergence, incorporating technological and functional developments that facilitate the work of professionals from the field services sector. In the technological field, we only have to think about the impact technologies have had, continue to have and will have, including:

• Cloud Computing

• Mobility

• Internet of Things (IoT)

• Virtual reality

• Self-driving cars

• Etc.

In addition to these technologies, Field Services companies will have to adapt to new regulations and standards that will help them to:

• Be more sustainable

• Boost their digital transformation

• Increase the optimisation of their business processes 

Bearing all of this context in mind, different experts from the Field Services sector (managers, analysts, consultants and other specialists) predict that the main trends in Field Services for 2020, in both software and the rest of the resources and processes of these businesses will be as follows:

1. Increase in mobile apps. A report from the consultant, Gartner, claims that in 2020 75% of Field Services companies will use their own apps in their day to day work. The installation of these apps on the technicians’ mobile devices will contribute to improving their efficiency and to reducing the response times of the company in dealing with requests from their customers.

2. Increase in importance of the Internet of Things. In 2020, it is anticipated that there will be 26 times more connections between machines than between humans themselves. Thus, in 2020, Field Service Management systems like Task4Work will register a significant increase in information coming from connected machines. Thanks to this information, businesses will be able to adopt a much more proactive than corrective strategy.

3. Greater control of tasks by Artificial Intelligence. The control of service processes will be increasingly managed by AI tools. According to expert analysts from Gartner, in 2020, they will start to be 20% of the total (planning, various automations, management of work orders), which will enable artificial intelligence to cover processes that the technicians themselves cannot complete. Finally, voice activated intelligent assistants, such as Alexa or Siri, can facilitate the work of technicians, offering the information they need without having to take their hands off the machine they are repairing.

4. Empowering of the customer thanks to the increase in self-service capabilities. In 2020, customers will increasingly play more of a role in the services they receive, providing information to streamline their requests or even resolve them by themselves. For this purpose, FSM solutions will incorporate chats, support via social networks, databases of knowledge and specific self-service portals.

5. Integration of intelligent uniforms. In 2020, technology will be increasingly present in the uniforms of workers from Fields Services companies. They will protect technicians who carry out dangerous tasks, and transfer information to the company’s FSM systems about the activity of each technician who wears them, issuing alerts that will help to prevent accidents or poor executions of jobs that may cause injuries.

6. Impetus of augmented reality. Some field services companies already rely on augmented reality to facilitate the work of their technicians, both when they are repairing and when they are training. In 2020, the Field Services sector will increase the integration of this technology in its systems and devices (mainly smartphones, tablets and augmented reality glasses). In this sense, IBM claims that 35% of manufacturers on a global level will implement intelligent vision platforms to improve operational efficiency and productivity.

7. Greater use of drones and robots in services. Technicians from Field Service companies will increase the use of new resources that technology offers them: drones and robots. Firstly, the use of drones to carry out the monitoring of machinery which is difficult to access will increase. Secondly, the use of robot assistants to carry out mechanical tasks or for risk environments for humans will increase.

8. 3D printing technology within easy reach. The significant reduction in price of 3D printers is a big incentive in 2020 for Field Services companies. This technology will contribute to streamlining repairs, since in a large number of cases, it won’t be necessary to order parts from suppliers. The technician who is sent out will be able to print them thanks to a 3D printer installed in the car or van of the company that they use to travel around in.

9. More intelligent service vehicles. Although we still can’t talk about 100% self-driving vehicles, it is possible to say that in 2020 technician’s vehicles will be much more intelligent than their predecessors (GPS, crash resistant systems, automatic parking, etc.). Furthermore, the improvements in connectivity will enable vehicles to send and receive information about services of the planned route for the technician. 

For the development of our FSM solution, Task4Work, at Intelligence Partner we are permanently informed about the latest trends and developments in the Field Services sector. We analyse them in depth and, if they fit our philosophy of support and maintenance services, we incorporate them as soon as possible to our advanced Task4Work software of Field Service Management.

If you want field services to have an important specific weight in your organisation, contact us and we will explain how to do it. Our experts will study your case and will show you the best way to triumph.