IFS, the global enterprise applications company, announces major updates to its enterprise service management (ESM) offering comprising IFS Field Service Management, IFS Mobile Workforce Management, and IFS Service Management.
The latest version of IFS Field Service Management (5.6.2) is available now and includes a number of enhancements including:
* Microsoft Azure – IFS Field Service Management (FSM) now runs natively on Microsoft Azure enabling customers to dynamically scale system resources based on actual usage. Currently available as an IFS Cloud – Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution and later this year as an IFS Managed Cloud solution requiring minimal customer IT support.
* Mobility – IFS’s investment in mobility continues at a rapid pace with enhancements including automatic calculation of estimated time of arrival using GPS location data, flexible and intelligent surveys, forms and workflows, as well as the ability to record videos and edit/mark-up pictures. Initial tests have shown a 92% decrease in sync times and a 500% increase in maximum file sizes.
* Notifications & Wearables – Following incubation in IFS Labs, the Android client now supports notifications with Android’s notification bar, raising visibility of key events to the users while allowing them to accept or reject job assignments directly from the notifications. Notifications also are pushed to connected Android wearable devices such as Samsung Gear and other smart watches
* Dynamic scheduling – IFS FSM now supports crews, utilisation percentages, pre-requisite and co-requisite tasks, resource proficiency, location awareness, and on-location incentives – powerful optimisation capabilities to increase scheduling efficiency.
* Knowledge management – IFS FSM automatically recommends solutions to a given problem as information is being entered by customer service staff or customers. The system now considers user rankings and actual usage. Additionally, solutions now include attachments (FAQs, product manuals, etc.), service notes and sync with the mobile devices; extending knowledge management from call centre to field service.
The new version of IFS Mobile Workforce Management (5.7) is also available now and offers the following enhancements:
* Support for increasingly complex scheduling problems – IFS Mobile Workforce Management (MWFM) now caters to even more complex scheduling problems including linear assets (scheduling jobs with different start and end locations), rural area travel, part pick-up, stock drop-off and territory balancing.
* Increased support for dispatchers – Enhancements have been made to support organisations implementing dynamic scheduling in phases, from simple visualisation of the schedule, manual allocation, and semi-automated scheduling to full dynamic workforce optimisation.
* Map providers – Additional enhancements have been made in mapping and visualisation, with support for OpenStreetMaps and Esri ArcGIS in addition to Bing, as well as the ability to easily visualise an engineer’s maximum allowed travel when making manual allocations.
* Target-based scheduling – IFS MWFM enables managers to set business goals and KPIs that automatically adjust the behaviour of the scheduling software through a simple dashboard that continuously monitors actual performance versus business targets like SLAs , on-time completion percentage, and the like.
* Advanced resource planning – IFS MWFM now supports the extremely difficult manning requirements of oil rigs, ships/vessels, high-tech machinery, and other complex industries. Numerous resource planning enhancements enable skills matrixes, work time and shift directives, flexible crews, and even unique bespoke rules to be utilised.
Updates to IFS Service Management released in IFS Applications 9 include the following improvements:
* Enhanced user experience – Multiple UX enhancements have been made including embedded visualisation providing graphical representation and embedded analytics along with improvements that increase accuracy in call logging while ensuring minimal data entry to help organisations increase first-time fix rates and user adoption/satisfaction.
* Remote warehouse – New capabilities aid management of service inventory and logistics, including definition of part assortments for engineers or groups of engineers, automated refill from internal or external sources, and automated material allocation to meet specific work order material requirements.
* Dynamic scheduling – IFS Service Management now supports multi-dimensional SLAs, region and locality-based assignment of resources, location and asset availability, resource preferences, utilisation percentages, person proficiency, location awareness and on-location incentives.
* Mobility – A number of mobile enhancements have been made to IFS Service Management providing engineers with a complete solution to manage and execute all stages of their work orders, with or without connectivity. The mobile app contains a built-in designer that enables easy screen configuration and is coupled with smart forms, intuitive workflows and robust security – a flexible and powerful mobility solution that maximises customers’ return on investment.
“We are very excited about announcing the new features and capabilities of our enterprise service management solutions, which provide unique value to our customers and companies in IFS’s targeted industries,” Tom Bowe, IFS industry director for enterprise service management said. “Our software enables optimised end-to-end service delivery and intelligent mobile workforce management – that is our mission and our passion.”