The role of field service technicians has been an important one in capital and asset intensive industries, OEMs, for many years. These technicians are responsible for functions including installation, maintenance repair and sales. A field service management software refers to the optimization of all processes related to field staffing. These include dispatch, availability of information, billing etc. For automating these processes, several field software solutions are available.

Ideal service management software would be like an enhanced CRM, with a lot of integration in the backend. Sales and service personnel should have mobile access to data, such as service history, customer information, contracts, inventories, products, offers and inventory. This real-time interaction with the back-end system of an organization also optimizes service workloads, and helps staff schedule.

The integration of front-end and back-end FSM systems, customized applications and software is a major development task once all components are installed. It can deter some FSM solution users from using the solutions because they require custom capabilities for each stage of the cycle.

FSM application costs and development effort can both be reduced using standard FSM modules and then customizing these to suit in-house needs. FSM is easier to integrate with other programs and software. This allows the software to be used at every stage of the service lifecycle. This allows for the cost-effective addition of additional components and functionalities.

Field service software vendors and customers alike must focus on cost-savings and innovative service. In order to achieve mobile RIAs with efficiency, it is essential that you adopt flexible platforms and integrate tools based on metadata.