The ongoing global pandemic has transformed the way we work, where we work, and how we interact. If there is one major takeaway that can be learned from the prevailing trends, it's that reliable, timely, and efficient service delivery has become more critical than ever. Today, efficient field service management is becoming the top priority for organisations across the globe.
With the infusion of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and mixed reality, organisations are now able to deliver timely service to end customers. This combination is also helping organisations cut down drastically on the requirement for on-site visits, especially during a time of stringent border closures, lockdowns, and travel restrictions.
Frontline workers who were previously entrusted with the task of only emphasising on how to install, diagnose, or repair a device are now also focused on how to get their job done with social distancing measures and minimal in-person contact. According to the Technology & Services Industry Association (TSIA), 78 percent of field service organisations ceased deploying technicians to customer sites during the peak of the pandemic. This was primarily because more than 75 percent of customers were hesitant to have a field technician physically in their homes unless it was absolutely required.
The heart of field service lies in its people-centric approach but physically distancing field service agents from customers has put most organisations in a challenging position. However, this change of approach resulted in an evolution in service delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic compelling field service agents and workers to redefine their overall approach to day-to-day operations. Field technicians usually had to arrange on-site visits only when customers would be away from the site or on break to comply with social distancing measures.
These were just some of the reasons why organisations started investing in tools such as Dynamics 365 Field Service and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist to assist customers while ensuring the health and safety of both the technician and customers. These tools are assisting organisations to deliver exceptional services, be it in-person or remote, and automate tedious case creation and work order processes so they can develop resiliency to survive and prosper in challenging times.
Adoption Of Connected Field Service
During the pandemic, there was a huge shift in the way service organisations pivoted to innovative work arrangements quicker than they expected. One of these pivots was to make a transition to virtual productivity platforms, namely Connected Field Service. These platforms assist service providers to attend and fix concerns faced by customers remotely while avoiding on-site services. The transition from the typical break/fix model to Connected Field Service revolutionised the traditional business model that is now more about going beyond proactive to now even predictive service models to leverage the different facets of the Internet of Things (IoT) diagnostics, scheduling, asset maintenance, and inventory management on a single platform.
Connected Field Service using Dynamics 365 Field Service and Remote Assist allows field service technicians to solve complex cases in a few minutes instead of hours or even days through real-time support from remote experts using 3D mixed reality annotations within the real-world environment of the technician. Thanks to Connected Field Service, service management cases can now be easily created, edited, and managed end-to-end through a unified connected system for tracking issues from ticket creation through to the resolution of issues.
Predicting The Future Of Field Service Management
The requirement for Connected Field Service is expected to grow exponentially which will result in accelerated response times, increased productivity, reduced operational costs, and increased customer satisfaction to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty in the long run.
In the new normal ahead of us, contact-free service is likely to evolve further as more and more customers across the world become advocates of this hassle-free and delightful experience. Furthermore, AI-driven technician scheduling will assist organisations to reduce costs and optimise resources by making sure that technicians with the right skill sets are dispatched, as and when required. AI and mixed reality advancements will spur more growth with leading-edge tools like Dynamics 365 Remote Assist on both iOS and Android mobile devices and the HoloLens 2.
Of course, there will always be issues requiring manual intervention and on-site support but remote work is here to stay for a large segment of work. For jobs that require on-site servicing, AI advancements can optimise the resources by scheduling resources and dispatching technicians with the right expertise.
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