As GE prepares for its Mind and Machines Internet of Things (IoT) conference, it added an interesting item to the agenda with the purchase of field service powerhouse ServiceMax for $915m (Press Release). ServiceMax has previously had a footprint in several GE businesses (since Sept 2010) and now GE expects to connect and extend its Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) vision and Predix platform into the field.
The Killer App for IoT is Service: GE Digital Acquires ServiceMax
Topics: Internet of Things, News, ServiceMax, IoT, GE Digital, Industrial Internet of Things
Machines in Service Series Part I: The IoT Won’t Do Everything
“…the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” – Franklin D Roosevelt (1933 Inaugural Speech)
Topics: customer service, Internet of Things, Field Service, Perspective, IoT, machines, service excellence
Field Technician Notes Part 4: Thoughts on Technology
One of my favorite quotes of all times: “The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter.” Often attributed to Cicero or Mark Twain, this was originally used by Blaise Pascal to highlight the challenges with being brief.
Topics: augmented reality, mobile field service, Field Service, Perspective, IoT, field service technology, field technicians, Virtual Reality
ClickSoftware held its annual user event in Miami a few weeks ago. Given that ClickSoftwareis one of the biggest providers in the field service space (over 700k resources optimized), it was vital that we were present to track updates and announcements. This was also the first ClickConnect user event held as a private company (Our commentary) and under the helm of new CEO, Tom Heiser.
Topics: mobile, News, Field Service, IoT, clicksoftware, clickconnect, utilities
The Evolving Escalator of Value: My Visit to Aftermarket Europe
In late October, I was extremely pleased to visit and serve as the chairman for Aftermarket 2015 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This is an annual conference for service leaders put together by the Copperberg group and my comrade Thomas Igou. The audience is primarily made up of senior-level service leaders of European organizations or the European units of global organizations.
Topics: Service Strategy, customer service, Field Service, Perspective, IoT, aftermarket, Europe
Topics: Sean Jordan, Scheduling & Routing, iPad, Internet of Things, Service transformation, Pitfall Avoidance, Service Parts Management, Mobility, BioTek Instruments, ERP, Technology Evaluation, iPhone, CRM, Technology Investment Trends, Field Service, Contract & Warranty Management, voice of the customer, Mobile Hardware, Logistics, Perspective, knowledge management, Repair Depot, GPS, big data, IoT
Early Takeaways from PTC Live Global 2015: Integrating the Voice of Products
This week we’re tracking the PTC Live Global event in Nashville. There are a lot of announcements made and discussions being held across all of PTC’s businesses, but our major focus resides with PTC’s updates on IoT and Service Lifecycle Management. Today’s post will focus mostly on strategic business announcements made in keynote sessions that impact service organizations.
Topics: Internet of Things, Service Management, ColdLight, News, Field Service, PTC, ServiceMax, Perspective, ThingWorx, LiveWorx, IoT
Notes from Maximize 2015: Elevate, Connect, and Succeed
It’s been a busy couple of weeks with some major events in the service management and field service spaces. Hence the slight lag in my reporting. Between May 13-15, John Carroll and I had the opportunity to attend Maximize 2015, ServiceMax’s major user event in San Francisco, CA. The event was extremely well attended with over 600 participants from brands such as Coca Cola Enterprises (Europe), Schneider Electric, and GE Software. Several TSC members and research panelists were also in attendance.
Topics: GE Software, SightCall, maximize, News, Field Service, PTC, ServiceMax, Perspective, IoT, Coca Cola Enterprises
The Internet of Things Establishes a New Normal in Service
The Internet of Things (IoT) delivers a significant boost to organizations looking to provide better service and maintenance. Data captured directly from equipment and machines allows servicing organizations to better predict future failures and resolve them prior to occurrence. In cases where incidents do occur, intelligent failure analysis and diagnosis allows for intelligent dispatch of the right resources to ensure that the issue is resolved effectively on a first-visit.
Topics: Internet of Things, connected products, Field Service, Perspective, connected service, remote service, IoT
Today we heard the news that ClickSoftware was being acquired and taken private by Francisco Partners. Personally, I have covered ClickSoftware and worked with their team over the course of the previous 10 years and wish them the best as they enter this new journey. ClickSoftware has been, and continues to be, a key player in the field service automation space, and I look forward to tracking their progress moving forward. Over the course of the previous 12 months, two major software providers focused on field service, in TOA Technologies (by Oracle) and ClickSoftware, have been acquired. Most of the field service providers that started off as scheduling optimizers have now been accounted for. There aren’t many independent enterprise-focused field service software companies left.
Topics: field workforce, mobile field service, News, Field Service, Perspective, IoT, clicksoftware