Service  companies are trying to move to electronic model of providing services. Paper based operation is too slow to address customer concerns. Field Force Tracker is the most comprehensive software for field service management.  It takes care of everything from customer management to the payment collection for a service company. By using this software, our clients can see major improvement in their productivity and the customer satisfaction.

Until recently, field service organizations seeking to take advantage of a mobile environment often found they had to choose between an on-premise enterprise software solution and a ‘best-of-breed’, specialized field service solution.   The on-premise solution delivered numerous and all-encompassing capabilities but was expensive and lengthy to implement. A cloud based solution provided unique features, flexibility and cost advantages but wasn’t easy to integrate into existing systems.

The choice was therefore often difficult as the advantages – and disadvantages – of each were fairly even. Two innovations however, have shifted this balance – and the benefits – to the side of the best-of-breed application:

• The Cloud which allows companies to implement applications in weeks – not years
• The ‘API Economy’ (Application Programming Interface) that enables best-of-breed, cloud-based applications to integrate with legacy applications – and other cloud-based applications – quickly and easily.

The flexibility and speed of the cloud, along with the APIs have in fact, virtually eliminated the main advantage of the enterprise solution suite – integration of all components into a central data store.

APIs can be delivered by the application provider or through third-party services and enable companies to implement a modular approach for their field service solutions.  They can choose the best field service application, then integrate the data across their organization with APIs.  As a result, field service organizations can leverage all the benefits of a best-of-breed approach while seamlessly integrating data across the organization.

Here we look at the ways that field service organizations can benefit by choosing cloud-based, made-for-mobile, best-of-breed applications.

1. IMPLEMENT FASTER

Cloud-based, best-of-breed solutions can be implemented in just weeks – not the months, or even years that are required for a complex, on-premise application solution.  Cloud-based applications can be implemented much faster because they:

• Eliminate the need to purchase, or make changes to, existing data center server, storage, security and network infrastructure.
• Impact the operations and processes of the field service organization only.
• Reduce data back-up and recovery requirements (delivered as part of the service by the cloud-based field service automation provider).
• Require a smaller, more finite set of data for import into the new system.
• Use subscription-based pricing (pay-as-you-go) that enables a phased approach (installation by group or geography)

2. GET THE LATEST FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS

Cloud-based, best-of-breed field service automation solutions are focused on one thing – delivering the features and functions that field service organizations need to be more productive and profitable.  Additionally, these solutions are flexible and can be adapted to incorporate a company’s existing processes and procedures.

A cloud-based, best-of-breed solution:

• Is designed specifically for field service organizations
• Includes features and functions that are unique to field service organizations – like mobile work order management, field-based quote and estimate creation, customer asset management and field-based inventory management.
• Continues to add new features and functions – without requiring customers to purchase software upgrades or invest in expensive software maintenance contracts.
• Offers flexible features like custom fields and a standards-based API that allows the application to adapt to almost any existing process or procedure – and readapt itself as processes and procedures are altered in the future.

3. LEVERAGE INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE

The companies, and people, that deliver cloud-based, best-of-breed applications have extensive experience in and with the field service industry.  They’ve implemented solutions for hundreds of organizations and helped thousands of end-users to become more productive – and the company more profitable.  As a result, companies that provide best-of-breed applications are often able to help their customers uncover additional ways to leverage mobility within their organization or manage customer information more effectively.

Cloud-based, best-of-breed solutions enable customers to:

• Leverage the knowledge and experience of the provider to improve their organization’s productivity and profitability.
• Discover new ways to manage work orders, satisfy customers, improve processes, increase efficiency – and mobilize their workforce.

4. PROMOTE BUSINESS FLEXIBILITY

Cloud-based, best-of-breed applications enable companies to implement the capabilities they need – when they need them.  They can be ‘plugged-in’ as they are needed, which enables companies to meet the needs of their customers more rapidly and expand into new geographies more aggressively.

Best-of-breed applications:

• Can be implemented quickly, enabling companies to adapt to shifts in markets or customer preferences.
• Are, using today’s API technologies, ‘plug-and-play’, allowing companies to address the needs of specific groups, organizations or even specific individuals, quickly and cost-effectively.

In Part Two of The Eight Advantages of Cloud based Applications we look at the following ways that organizations can benefit by choosing cloud-based, made-for-mobile, best-of-breed applications:

• REDUCE RISK
• INCREASE SYSTEM RELIABILITY
• BOOST COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
• IMPROVE PROCESSES

Field Force Tracker simplifies field service management. The seamless integration of our mobile and web-based field service solutions, speed of implementation and ease of use will mean you are up and running immediately, so your business doesn’t standstill.

Mobile enabled, cloud-based field service software was designed to provide ease of use with incredible flexibility. Along with the ease – and speed – of our implementation and the ongoing support service that we provide we enable companies to take full advantage of today’s mobile field service.

Field Force Tracker’s power mobile apps for iPhone and Android are available to all new and existing Field Force Tracker customers. They can extend the feature set with the enhanced mobile forms capabilities, and better system integration.  Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).