Field Service Becomes First Industry to Be Transformed by Internet of Things, Says ServiceMax

PARIS, FRANCE--(Marketwired - November 04, 2015) - Field Service is the first industry to be transformed by the Internet of Things, according to Kevin Ashton^[1], regarded by many as the Father of the Internet of Things. Speaking at MaxLive Europe -- the ServiceMax^[2] European Customer Conference -- Ashton predicted that in the age of IoT, software as a service will shift to 'service as software', with service becoming increasingly interrelated with software in new ways. According to Ashton, this phenomenon will generate both predictive and self-diagnosing service.

Ashton was one of several keynote speakers at the 2015 MaxLive Europe conference. He was joined onstage by global service leaders, including executives from Sony Professional Solutions Europe and Schneider Electric, who highlighted some of the strategic business implications for field service as the killer app for the Internet of Things in keynote presentations.

"The concept of IoT was born out of trying to solve a field service problem back in 1999," said Dave Yarnold^[3], CEO of ServiceMax. "Field service is now the first industry to benefit from the disruption of IoT -- transforming from under-funded afterthought to under pinning new business models, revenue creation, and influencing product design. Moving forward, we will begin to see service outcomes designed into products at the R&D level, as well as the ability for equipment and devices to become capable of recommending companion products to customers for cross sell and upsell opportunities."

New global research commissioned by ServiceMax and PTC^[4], found that forty-five per cent of field service management professionals believe the IoT will likely have the biggest impact on field service by 2020 -- more than big data, smart glasses, augmented reality or any other technology. More than half of field service professionals surveyed say they are already implementing or planning to implement an IoT-based strategy, and seventy-four per cent do not think the size of a company matters when implementing IoT field service strategies in their organisations.

About ServiceMax

ServiceMax leads the massive and global industry of field service management software -- an $18 billion market worldwide. The company continues to reimagine and create solutions for the 20 million people globally who install, maintain, and repair machines across dozens of industries as the only provider of complete end-to end mobile and cloud-based technology for the sector. ServiceMax goes to every length -- from joining technicians on service calls to publishing the industry's leading online publication -- to help customers discover untapped innovation, unleash new revenue streams, drive efficiency, and most importantly delight their end-customer. To learn more, please visit www.servicemax.com^[5].