New Research Shows Field Service Adopting Disruptive Technology, Set for Dramatic Growth

Following The Jump From Clipboards to Cloud, Service Departments Are Embracing Wearables, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and IoT

19 July 2016 – London, U.K. – A new independent study from Vanson Bourne, commissioned by ServiceMax, predicts that the field service industry will experience a dramatic proliferation in the next two years given its acknowledged positive effect on reducing costs and increasing customer satisfaction. Additionally, the research reveals field service organizations gearing up for massive adoption of disruptive technology.

Vanson Bourne surveyed 200 IT and field service decision makers in US, UK, France and Germany in companies of all sizes with customer field service departments. The research found that 50 percent of companies are planning to incorporate wearable technology into their field service management capabilities and more than a third (36 percent) want to deploy it within the next two years. While 49 percent are already using tablets and 42 percent are using cloud to manage their customer field service, more than half (51 percent) plan to add augmented reality into their field service management and another half (49 percent) plan to use connected devices.

“Some parts of the field service market have only just made the move from clipboards to cloud,” said Callum Budd, Project Manager at Vanson Bourne. “But thanks to the pace of innovation and the shift of service organisations from cost centres to profit centres, we are seeing an increasing appetite for a big wave of technology adoption in field service.”

The research also predicts a boom for the field service management industry as 86 percent say field services will become a primary revenue driver for them and in an average of two years, and four in five say they intend to work with a third party vendor to help them manage their field service needs. Of those organisations already using a third party to help them manage their field services, 99 percent are seeing a benefit, with 53 percent experiencing reduced costs, and 40 percent seeing an increased customer satisfaction.

“Modern field service management solutions are giving customers the ability to monetise their business in a variety of ways,” said Spencer Earp, Vice President EMEA for ServiceMax. “Most notably, as those in our survey indicated, modern field service management is having a positive impact on areas such as cost control and customer satisfaction. In the next two years, the twenty first century tool belt will include augmented reality and virtual reality, which will be commonplace for the next generation of field service technicians in terms of both training and practice.”

To download a copy of the executive summary and/or the full report findings, click here.

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About ServiceMax

ServiceMax leads the massive global industry of field service management software -- an $18 billion market worldwide. The company continues to reimagine and create solutions for the 20 million people globally who install, maintain, and repair machines across dozens of industries as the only provider of complete end-to end mobile and cloud-based technology for the sector. ServiceMax goes to every length -- from joining technicians on service calls to publishing the industry's leading online publication -- to help customers discover untapped innovation, unleash new revenue streams, drive efficiency, and most importantly delight their end-customer. To learn more, please visit www.servicemax.com.

About Vanson Bourne

Vanson Bourne is an independent specialist in market research for the technology sector. Our reputation for robust and credible research-based analysis is founded upon rigorous research principles and our ability to seek the opinions of senior decision makers across technical and business functions, in all business sectors and all major markets. For more information, visit www.vansonbourne.com.

About the Report

During April 2016, research firm Vanson Bourne interviewed 100 IT decision makers and 100 field service decision makers from the US, UK, Germany and France. To qualify for the research, respondents' organisations could be from any size and sector, but the organisation had to have at least one field service engineer. The IT decision makers and field service decision makers were interviewed using an online methodology and a robust multi-level screening process was used to ensure only appropriate respondents participated in the project.

Media Contact:

Vanessa Land
Devonshire Marketing
Tel: +44 (0)7768 693779
vanessa@devonshiremarketing.com