The cloud is becoming an essential part of business operations. Nearly 90 percent of businesses use the cloud in some form, taking advantage of its flexibility and prowess in streamlining processes and communication.
Field service companies are no exception. According to the Service Council, 84 percent of field service executives have little or no reservations about using a cloud-based service, and many have already adopted it. In fact, the cloud provides distinct advantages, particularly for field service businesses. Cloud-based software helps simplify field service processes such as dispatch, scheduling, billing, payroll and more.
So if you’re on the fence about implementing the cloud into your business, here are five reasons to make the switch.
FLEXIBILITY
One of the primary benefits of a cloud-based solution is the flexibility it provides. Your business needs change from time to time and legacy IT systems aren’t easily adaptable. Your IT needs may grow during busy seasons or particular events.
Cloud software makes it easy to expand capacity during highs and scale down when things are back to normal.Without the cloud, your internal system may have trouble handling increased demand and may require costly upgrades just for temporary spikes in service.
MOBILITY
Working in field service is all about being mobile, and cloud-based software is uniquely equipped to meet the needs of workers in the field as well as managers. You can access cloud-based apps from any mobile device, and vital data such as customer information, billing, and scheduling is updated in real-time.
Cloud software also improves collaboration when managers and workers are in different locations. Because anyone can gain accesses to necessary information from any location, people can easily work together and complete tasks faster and more efficiently.
LOWER IMPLEMENTATION COSTS
Installing an on-premise IT field service solution can be quite costly. It requires you to make significant investments in servers, storage, communication infrastructure, security, racks and enclosures—not to mention the cost to maintain, monitor and update the system.
With a cloud-based solution, all the infrastructure is in the cloud, making implementation cost significantly lower. The infrastructure is shared by multiple companies and users, which keeps costs low.
LOWER IMPLEMENTATION COSTS
If you implement a field service IT solution on site, not only does it require a significant financial investment in hardware and software, it’s also time-consuming. You have to find the right servers, storage, and equipment and take the time to configure it. Then, you have to integrate the software into your existing IT infrastructure and test it. Then it requires ongoing updates, testing, and backups.
The cloud saves you the time and the headache. It requires no hardware besides your computer and mobile devices, and integration consists of simply ensuring the cloud solution works with your system. Maintenance, updates, regular backups, and security patches are included in your cloud subscription.
The cloud is also quite reliable because data centers and storage aren’t limited to your headquarters. The cloud is often sturdier than in-house systems, which is good news for service companies who make responsiveness commitments to their customers. Without a cloud solution, if your office network is down, field technicians won’t be able to meet service requirements. But with the cloud, technicians can always access dispatch apps and service customers because the cloud is less likely to fail.
EASY TO SCALE AS NEEDED
As your business grows, you often need to expand your technology resources to meet your needs. With traditional IT systems, this means purchasing new hardware or additional software licenses for more users. Many software providers require you to purchase a minimum number of licenses. So, let’s say you want to add five users, you may be required to purchase 10 or more licenses.
With a cloud-based solution, you use and pay for only the number of users you need. You can scale up or down as needed. In addition, cloud software allows you to better leverage your IT resources. Because the cloud requires less IT management, you can use your IT resources for purposes other than managing field service software.
Migrating your field service to the cloud not only makes your business run more efficiently, it also saves you time and money with the added benefit of scaling your business with ease.
Businesses of all types are using the cloud, and field service is catching onto the trend as well. Remain competitive in your industry by streamlining your processes and improving productivity with a cloud-based software solution like Visual Planning. Our team of experts will help you easily transition to a solution that fits your field service needs so you can serve your customers without worrying about your IT system.
