INTELLIGENT SOFTWARE BUSINESS
BPM, mobile, IoT driving
investment in field operations
Field operations are being challenged by data access, technology change, integration, and
standardisation, according to a recent Red Hat-Vanson Bourne study.
Strong technology investment is expected by respondents with an average increase of 25% reflecting
the importance of technology in transforming field service operations.
F
or many industries, from
transportation to utilities,
manufacturing and more, field
workers are pivotal to the success of
business operations, the satisfaction of
customers, and the growth of the bottom
line. Field workers are now at the forefront
of digital transformation where artificial
46
intelligence, smart mobile devices, the
Internet of Things and business process
management technologies have created
new opportunities to better streamline
and transform traditional workflows and
workforce management practices.
To better understand how these
technologies are being applied and the
impact they are having in the enterprise,
Red Hat commissioned research firm
Vanson Bourne to survey 300 IT
decision makers from organisations in
the US, Europe and Asia that employ a
significant field workforce. The survey
examined investment trends, current and
future adoption patterns, use cases and
implementation challenges.
According to the results, strong
technology investment is expected by
respondents with an average increase
of 25% through November 2018,
reflecting the importance of technology
in transforming field service operations.
Top business factors identified as
influencing this investment include
increasing field worker productivity
46%, streamlining or optimising field
operations and processes 40%, and
improving customer service 37%.
When we consider the current trends
that are broadly driving conversations
in the technology industry, artificial
intelligence is one of the leading topics.
While still an emerging category—
currently implemented by only 24% of
respondents—we believe the technology
has great potential across a variety of
industries and use cases. It comes as
little surprise that an additional 30%
of respondents plan to implement
artificial intelligence in 2018, aligning
with an average anticipated increase
in investment of 26% for certain
respondents over the same period.
The artificial intelligence umbrella
encompasses a number of specific
technologies for those respondents that
have either implemented already or plan
to implement to address more specialised
uses cases, including:
Issue 15
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS