New advancements in technology always amaze me. Promises of faster delivery from days to minutes, instant access to information and people, and the ability to get more done with far less effort — become reality and effectively change how work gets done.

As technology continues to evolve, so does the field service delivery landscape.  Smarter and faster tools like mobile solutions, for example, help to drive better processes and collaboration that enhance your customer’s experience, and ultimately, your bottom line.

Current street buzz is on 3D technology. Is 3D technology the new wave that will hit the field service landscape? Quite possibly, according to Smart Van that highlights how 3D printers and scanners could very well be the next big thing.

Do you agree? Which of the latest technology innovations do you think will impact you and how you deliver field service today?

Guest Blog: Scott Epple, OnForce Product Manager

We’re living in pretty exciting times.  Most of us carry around small computers with us everywhere we go.  The same computing power that used to take up the size of a large room, now fits handily in our pockets.  Smartphones are connecting us to the people and places we care about, helping us be productive anywhere, and making our lives easier in ways we never imagined.

Advances in technology are also changing the game in field services, and OnForce is playing center field.  We believe the smartphone is the new must-have tool for field service pros, and we’re leveraging mobile platforms to advance what’s possible for technicians on the go.

We launched our iPhone app at the end of 2011 and quickly followed with a beta release of our Android app in February.  Our technicians are now equipped with powerful, responsive mobile apps running on their iOS and Android devices.  It’s enabling them to work better and smarter than ever before.

As a service buyer, the benefits of this innovation for you are huge.  You need pros who are responsive, timely, efficient, and productive.  OnForce’s mobile apps are helping field service technicians make impressive gains across all of these attributes.

We’ve seen amazing adoption so far, with over a quarter of a million actions being completed through our apps.  Here are just a few ways OnForce Pros are taking advantage of our mobile apps to improve their level of service:

* Faster response:  Pros are reacting to new opportunities 68% faster through OnForce mobile apps compared to other methods.

* Improved efficiency: Pros report saving an average of 12 minutes per work order on administrative tasks.

* Greater reliability: OnForce mobile users have seen 200% greater year-to-date improvement in their on-time arrival performance compared to their competition.

Service buyers have long come to OnForce for our trusted network of field service pros.  This network just got a lot more powerful.  And we don’t plan to slow down: our Android app will be available publicly in the Google Play store Spring-Summer 2012.  We’re going to continue to push the bounds of innovation in field services and we’re glad you’ve chosen to join us for the ride!

I’m having a great day here at OnForce today — why, you ask? Our iPhone app for OnForce Pros just hit the app store!

The app is designed to be a hyper-efficient way for OnForce Pros to access OnForce while on-the-go, and it fully supports all the activities needed to review and accept new work orders as well as to handle open work orders.

In a way, today is both an end and a new beginning for us. It’s the culmination of months and months of extreme effort and a lot of impressive teamwork. And this is the beginning of some big new things for OnForce.

As field services is a mobile activity by its nature, an app for our Pros is a very natural extension of our offering. And I believe, at my core, that there are still huge opportunities to leverage technology to make field services dramatically more efficient. Today is a big deal not only because our mobile app is a vastly improved way for Pros to access OnForce while in the field, but also native apps and the smartphones they run on represent a new platform upon which we’re able to build some fundamentally innovative and valuable new things. Things that will help our service buyers and OnForce Pros connect, engage and work in new and better ways that weren’t possible just a few years ago.

This (and caffeine) is the kind of stuff that inspires and energizes us and gets us excited about coming to work in the morning! We’re really proud and want to sincerely thank everyone inside OnForce and in our community who helped get this app designed, built, tested (and beta tested) and launched.

The app is now available in Apple’s App Store and is compatible with iPhones running iOS 4.2 and above — more details about the app are here.

Android users, don’t fret! We definitely didn’t forget you. In fact, our team has already made great progress on the Android version and we hope to have a beta available very early next year. If you’d like to help test the Android version, just reply to this blog post with your email address or user ID and we’ll get in contact with you.

Thanks for listening and stay tuned – we have a lot of great stuff in the works that I think you’ll love.

Service buyers are constantly re-evaluating the balance between in-house staff and independent contractors in order to get the best business outcomes. They let us know what’s working and what isn’t and where they could use some help. Peter Cannone, CEO of OnForce, talks to buyers all of the time. Over the years he has discovered that buyers who get the best results tend to be those who follow certain guidelines. He recently shared these guidelines or “tips” in an article posted in Network Work titled: “5 tips for getting better results from your IT contractor.” I think he makes some great points that are worth sharing here: 5 tips…

I’m going to be on the road over the next couple of weeks and I thought I would take the opportunity to make some appointments with people outside of my home territory.  If you’ve got something you want OnForce to hear, I’d love to meet with you!  Even if you don’t, I’d love to learn more about your business.

So, here’s my schedule for the next several weeks:

• San Francisco/San Jose area: Next Monday, April 18th afternoon/evening.  May have some slots Tuesday or Wednesday as well.
• Philladelphia: April 25th afternoon/evening
• Providence, RI: May 12th

Toby Metcalf has graciously agreed to help organize while I’m in the air.  If you’re interested in getting together, please send an email to Toby at toby.metcalf at onforce.com.  Be sure to let him know when you are available.  Depending on interest we’ll set a final time and place.

See you soon!
Bill Lucchini
Chief Operating Officer