by Derek Korte | Feb 14, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
These days, field service firms don’t always need to send a technician in a van to fix a problem. From training to dispatch, field service is becoming more virtualized than ever. So we spoke with Denis Pombriant, a prominent customer relationship management analyst...
by Field Technologies Online | Feb 13, 2012 | Strategy & Leadership
We’re all guilty of it, at least a little. We fall into the trap too easily, and soon we’re saying things like “functionality” and “ruggedization” without a hint of irony. But as Sarah Howland, editor of Field Technologies Online...
by Ian Stewart | Feb 13, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
We’ve written a lot here at the SmartVan about the benefits to field service pros of adopting consumer computer tablets like the iPad. But we kept coming back to the same concern: Is it tough enough? Certainly there are a lot of field service jobs out that call for...
by Derek Korte | Feb 10, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
TomTom, the Dutch company known for its GPS navigation units, announced last week that it has partnered with a British car insurance company on a program that offers to lower drivers’ premiums based on data that TomTom records about people’s behavior...
by Corey Lewis | Feb 9, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
When electronics giant Honeywell announced on Monday that it was suing start-up Nest, a Silicon Valley darling that makes next-generation thermostats, they also thrust so-called “smart thermostats” in to the collective mainstream. Take a look at the...
by Meghan Bender | Feb 9, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
Did you know that right now there are advanced underwater robots working in some of the most extreme conditions, deep in the ocean, to keep our underwater gas and oil machinery working properly? As a field service professional, that’s probably got you wondering...
by Darren Weiss | Feb 8, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
We’re in an age in which consumers expect their gadgets to have brains. There’s smart phones, smart dishwashers, and smart coffee makers. Add to that the fact that so many of us are looking for ways to cut our energy usage, and it’s no surprise that the latest device...
by Jessica Stillman | Feb 7, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
For fleet managers, knowing how and when different vehicles hold their value is important for optimizing overall cost and fleet performance. We spoke recently with Eric Ibarra, a 20-year auto industry veteran and the manager of residual value practice for Kelley Blue...
by Ian Stewart | Feb 7, 2012 | Strategy & Leadership
We wrote in this space recently about Comcast’s much-publicized effort to halve its customer-service installation time window from four hours to two. It didn’t take long for that to get trumped. Time Warner Cable’s president, Rob Marcus, told...
by Mobile Enterprise | Feb 6, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
Sometimes it’s nice to have numbers to back up what you think you’re seeing. So when you think to yourself, ‘Wow, everyone’s got a tablet,” you can be sure you’re not crazy. Anyway, rest easy: It appears you’re right. Mobile...
by Ian Stewart | Feb 3, 2012 | Strategy & Leadership
For those of you in the cable-installation game, some interesting numbers emerged this week from the FCC, to which the National Cable and Telecommunications Association is required to submit quarterly statements updating the agency on the progress of CableCARD...
by Derek Korte | Feb 3, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
Ever felt that uneasiness when upgrading smartphones, tablets, and the other mobile devices your field service workers use? These devices are important, to be sure, but they tend to give a manager a low sense of dread upon realizing they’ll probably have to replace...