From utility providers to automobile manufacturers, and from consumer electronics developers to medical device leaders, companies who mass produce physical products are rapidly moving to connected field service solutions to leverage edge, network and cloud technologies that provide unprecedented visibility and control of their factories and onsite implementations.
Microsoft has been a leader in this domain, an offshoot of Industry 4.0, by combining their expertise in real time human communications applications (like Teams) and their expertise in IoT and Industrial IoT with the Microsoft Azure cloud making it possible to analyze information generated at the network edge to understand where machines are performing – or not.
Equipped with features including asset location and management, remote detection of anomalies, automated scheduling recommendations, resource management, service level agreements, and more, Microsoft is powering proven solutions that ensure first-time and sustainable fixes, by equipping technicians and service managers with the right tools and information to resolve the issue.
Managing machines and people together has become a science and an art. The same principles apply, especially at the edge where so much automation is happening.
The bottom line: no downtime means happier customers and higher profits.
Let’s break it down into the essentials:
First, unified real-time communications makes it easier to support machine-to-human interactions, and to make instant collaboration possible. On the same secure networks, organizations can access real-time updates on technician’s availability, on-hand goods inventory, legacy and new telematics systems, location, and scheduling.
Second, predictive field-service and advanced forecasting is making it possible to predict and dramatically reduce failures of machines before they happen.
Third, collaboration platforms like Teams, sometimes integrated with CRM and workflow solutions, like Microsoft Dynamics, make it simple and intuitive to coordinate communications between customers, help desks, field technicians, and experts who can meet in real time to solve problems, helping an onsite tech fix an expensive machine, or by completely avoiding a “truck roll” by working with the company’s operating crew on the factory floor.
ConnX Integrated Multi-Service Global Platform with AI Service Assurance helps tackle the complexities of today’s enterprise communications networks.
Intelligence at the edge and throughout every layer of the network, including how every application is performing, is what makes our platform a great choice for companies who are ready to take full advantage of connecting people, places, and things – to make operations more efficient.
Whether you’re using Microsoft solutions, or any of the hundreds of options out there, by tapping into our systems integration, professional services, project management and expertise we can help advance global connected field services across the most distributed networks. This involves strategy, planning, implementation, and ongoing management expertise which can lead to significant improvements.
I invite you to schedule a meeting (if we have the calendar set up – otherwise “reach out to me”) to learn more about how we are helping our large enterprise clients roll out and manage smarter factories which lead to deeper customer relationships for them as well as entirely new revenue streams with modern maintenance agreements, and unprecedented levels of data that can be fed into future decision making.