IFS
BATTLE CARD
Competitor Overview
Website: http://www.ifsworld.com
Year Founded: 1983
HQ: Linköping, Sweden
Description: IFS brings customers in targeted sectors closer
to their business, helps them be more agile and enables
them to profit from change
Company Ownership: Publicly traded (XSTO: IFS)
Financial Information:In Q1 of 2015, Revenues= SKr 782
million: 14.8% of revenues from licenses, 37.3% of revenues
from maintenance and support, 47.9% of revenues from
consulting.
Gartner Overview
IFS, a Europe-based ERP vendor, has several products to support field service
environments. Asset-centric companies that are seeking a full suite plus ERP functionality
will look at IFS Service Management (the combined modules that support service within IFS
Applications). The company also offers IFS Mobile Workforce Management (the former 360
Scheduling product) and IFS Field Service Management (the former Metrix product) to
address other non-asset-centric vertical industries as well as enterprises and SMBs alike. IFS
has been executing well on its aggressive strategy of supporting service businesses in
terms of sales, marketing and support through executive leadership. The Metrix acquisition
gave IFS a new mobile platform as well as a SaaS offering.
Strengths
• IFS Labs continues to develop and incubate innovative technologies that can be applied
directly to field service, including support for a variety of wearable devices and
augmented reality (AR). IFS takes a sensible and realistic approach to releasing
functionality at a pace that the market is ready to consume.
• IFS's dedication to service remains high, as evidenced by such commitments as CEO
sponsorship of a North America-based center of excellence for service. References
reported higher-than-average marks in nearly all categories of software and services.
• IFS has improved its overall corporate financial standing, as evidenced by double-digit
license growth and the increasing contribution of license sales over service and
maintenance. The improvement is also evidenced by the continued building of a
structured partner relationship management program, including the addition of new
service providers and strategic partners to IFS's network.
Cautions
• While IFS has completed the normalization of all mobile applications on one framework,
application delivery remains splintered. IFS Mobile Work Order is currently available on
Android, Windows Mobile and Windows 8, while IFS Field Service Management mobile
app is available only on Android, iOS and Windows Mobile.
• While sales to new customers have increased for all service applications, the products
remain somewhat siloed by functionality and vertical industry. For example, the
adoption of the 360 Scheduling engine has not gained much traction in other
applications, and the use of IFS Talk (the company's social collaboration product)
requires the purchase of IFS Applications.
• IFS has shown limited adoption for large-scale deployments of more than 500
technicians.
FieldOne Advantages
Built in CRM
• IFS Field Service Management does not include CRM out of the
box, but can be integrated to IFS CRM
• FieldOne is built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM
SMS/IVR
• IFS does not offer this functionality out of the box.
One Mobile App
• IFS has two different field service mobile apps with different
functions and the Mobile Work Order app is not available on iOS
• FieldOne has one, all inclusive, mobile app for all major devices
Awareness
• IFS does not have much brand awareness in the field service space.
IFS Advantages
Market Presence
• IFS is a market leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant
Proven Routing Technology
• IFS’s 360 technology is acknowledged as scalable and reliable.
Project Management
• IFS has project management out of the box and has strong
integration to Microsoft Project
Easy IFS Integration
• IFS Field Service is easy to integrate with other IFS products like
ERP systems
Capabilities
FieldOne
Scheduling and
Dispatch
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Real Driving Directions, not point to point
Optimized Routes to meet time windows
Dispatch Technicians
Assignments based on skills
Balancing the Workload
Scheduled service times
Customizable scheduling board based on any criteria
List views, map views, hybrid views
Ability to allocate your people based on requirements and resources with Scheduling Assistant
• Based on real time, GPS data
Drag and Drop Technology when using the scheduling board
Schedule Alerts
• Can prevent specific scheduling events (like those triggering overtime), by issuing a warning,
or suggesting a way to avoid excess cost
• Can be configured by customers
Service Centers
• optimizes scheduling by balancing capacity, skills, working hours and client distance from
locations
Can schedule and manage multiple resources working together on a job
A User can now create “Schedule Alerts” that will be displayed on the Schedule Board and can be
created and related to any record including Contacts, Accounts, Work Orders, Cases
Schedule Board is has a whole new user interface with new features
Schedule Assistant now has real time mode, where the dispatcher can search for available resources
based on their current location using GPS technology
The dispatcher can put the Schedule Assistant into "overlap" mode which will consider the schedules
flagged as "flexible/anytime" as open and the dispatcher can choose to schedule over these existing
movable schedules.
The Schedule assistant can now be configured to allow enough time at the end of the day for the Field
Agent’s drive home
IFS
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Drag-and-drop Schedule Board with dynamic color management
Interactive scheduling and real-time dispatching of resources
Simple visualization of the schedule, manual allocation, and semi-automated scheduling to full
dynamic workforce optimization
Support for OpenStreetMaps™ and Esri ArcGIS™ in addition to Bing®, as well as the ability to easily
visualize an engineer’s maximum allowed travel when making manual allocations
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IFS Dynamic Scheduling Engine
• Using the most sophisticated mathematical techniques and algorithms, it can solve
extremely large scheduling problems with multiple constraints and deliver highly optimized
plans in seconds
• The IFS DSE implements your business rules to automate 95%+ decisions
• SLAs, overtime, skill sets and parts needed to create the best possible scheduling scenario
• Constantly monitors what is, and is not, happening; enabling instant reaction to events,
including any rescheduling or rerouting required
• Truly dynamic scheduling means that schedules are more efficient: it constantly improves,
rather than restarting periodically
• Links activities together in hierarchical activity groups – whether a series of sequential tasks,
or multiple actives that must be scheduled at the same time
• Supports crews, utilization percentages, pre-requisite and co-requisite tasks, resource
proficiency, location awareness, and on-location incentives
• Now caters to even more complex scheduling problems including linear assets (scheduling
jobs with different start and end locations), rural area travel, part pick-up, stock drop-off
and territory balancing
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Advanced Resource Planner
• Integrates with IFS DSE
• Simple to use, graphical user interface
• Powerful shift templates make it easy to create complex working patterns
• Generate individual rotas that are comprised of all the requirements for work to be done
during a defined period of time
• Check and validate rosters against working time rules
• Plan staff to work on complex projects to meet deadlines
• Supports the extremely difficult manning requirements of oil rigs, ships/vessels, high-tech
machinery, and other complex industries
• Numerous resource planning enhancements enable skills matrixes, work time and shift
directives, flexible crews, and even unique bespoke rules to be utilized
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Target Based Scheduling
• Focus on the KPIs that are important for the Dynamic Scheduling Engine (DSE) and optimize
the ones that affect your business
• Review proposed changes and their impact before implementing
• Ensure service level agreements (SLAs), travel percentages, productivity levels, and other
goals are met
• Target specific customers or types of work for improved performance
• In adverse circumstances (bad weather, traffic problems) refocus the operation within
minutes by automatically adjusting scheduling parameters, and see what impact this will
have on your KPIs
Capabilities
FieldOne
Automated Routing
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IFS Hierarchical Travel Matrix
• Quickly determines the travel time and distance between jobs using real-time geographic
coordinates
• Very fast lookup of travel times between locations for fast, accurate scheduling
• Uses road network data including constraints like one-way streets and dual-lane highways,
but can also be created for rail or travel on foot
• Allows for different speed settings according to a vehicle’s type
• Can incorporate travel profiles that allow longer travel times at certain times of day and
days of the week
• Takes temporary road closures into account
• Schedules automatically updated based on the progress of a resource on their journey to
their next job, so one resource being stuck in a traffic jam will not jeopardize customer
service
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Balances many different factors when routing(SLAs, route conditions, location, skills, expertise, and
customer preferences)
Uses a FieldOne developed routing engine that uses algorithms to compare potential outcomes
Support global networks in multiple languages
Manually override automatic scheduling decisions as needed
Street Level Routing (SLR)
View optimized schedules on virtually any mobile device with native apps for all major mobile
platforms
True Cloud on-demand resources including CPU, memory and disk and real-time failover protection
Optimize the schedules of both employees and partner resources in a single system
Resides in Microsoft Azure data centers meeting all major compliance requirements
The new routing engine admin screen gives the user the ability to set and change routing engine
configuration and rules.
The new Routing Engine can optimize your organization’s schedules continuously or you can choose
to have it optimize routes scheduled for tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.
You have the ability to have specific routing schedules depending on territory or time of day or year.
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Manage terms and conditions
Apply different billing rates
Manage automated renewals
Track asset location, maintenance needs, and repair history using barcodes or serial numbers
Track warranties against assets
Recurring PM schedules
Special pricing
Agreement, recurring, billing
RMA, RTV, Equipment management
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Service Contract Management
• Enforce response times, coverage schedules, callbacks, assignment, PM’s and escalation
rules
• Modify pricing with contract-specific adjustments or overrides
• Establish invoicing rules for advance, arrears, full or partial period billings
• Establish technician scheduling and compensation plans
• Improve contract visibility and concession tracking
• Manage warranty details and identify potential revenue sources
• Create contracts to meet customer or market specific requirements
• Manage contract line items at the customer, site, product or asset level
• Prorate line item additions, changes or cancellations
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Warranty Management
• Support for multiple warranty types including OEM, product and third party
• User-defined business rules to automate charge-back procedures
• Query according to customer, serial number, date, type, product and region
• Track service calls under warranty, total warranty cost, and in-warranty product returns
• Track asset history, revisions, readings, location, PM’s and configuration
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Service Project Management
• Reliably capture field data remotely
• Integration and centralized management of project resource, project management and
demand service requirements (featuring a single management view)
• Build a project in Microsoft Project and import it to IFS Field Service Management
• Easily assign tasks to teams or engineers along with automatic notifications and alerts
• Record service technician “actuals” in real time
• Synchronize with and export to Microsoft Project at any time
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Ability to integrate with IFS CRM
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Service Agreements
Project Management
CRM
IFS
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Powered by Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Natively integrated with your field service solution to make a single, unified system
Capabilities
FieldOne
Mobile
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Social Collaboration
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Knowledge Base
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Native Apps available for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch), Android (phones or tablets), Windows
Phone, Windows 8.0 and 8.1 RT, and browser versions for all of your legacy mobile platforms
Central management and development console
Features no code customization
Full Offline capabilities
View and update accounts, contacts, products, work orders, schedules, customer equipment, leads,
opportunities, and activities
Update Personal or Team Schedules
Photo capture for “before and after” job or any other entity
Full mapping and direction capabilities
Attach files to work orders or other entities
Update status and other job related information
Update and complete service tasks
Record materials used (with pricing automatically applied)
Multi-Currency Support
Multi-Region Support
App based mobile payments
Bar Coding
Employees and partners can set their own working time from within the mobile application or request
time off to be approved by a manager
Can scan or swipe credit cards
Can run SSRS reports
Integrate with SharePoint
HTML5 charts and multiple dashboards
Chat with real-time push notifications
Automatically refresh lists
IFS
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Ability to connect using personal and team profiles, directories, org charts, status updates, sharing,
liking, commenting, following, groups, document collaboration
Communicate with Voice, Video, IM, Discussions, or Email including native integration with Skype
Provides ready access to product manuals, technical support documentation, maintenance histories,
repair notes, announcements
Single point of access for all information
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Business Intelligence
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Field Service Management Mobile
• Native mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Android devices
• Mobile Work Order
• Smartphone, tablet or laptop
• Online or Offline
• Synchronization technology works in the cloud, underground or onsite
• Can quickly accept jobs
• Use GPS to find nearby parts & get directions
• Embedded maps and turn-by-turn navigation
• Order parts
• Enter labor & expenses
• Take pictures
• Notes & payments
• Fill-out checklists
• Capture signatures
• Automatic calculation of estimated time of arrival using GPS location data
• Accurate time tracking and expense reporting
• Flexible and intelligent surveys
• Forms and workflows
• Ability to record videos and edit/mark-up pictures
Mobile Work Order
• Native mobile apps for Android and Windows
• Uses GPS, signature capture and camera
Interactive graphical scorecards and dashboards
Variety of tables, charts, and views to visualize data in a way that best suits your purposes.
Out of the box reports and business user-friendly tools for custom reporting
Sophisticated predictive analysis, segmentation, and recommendation algorithms
Access data from any third party source
Graphic representations of real-time business insights that can be modified and expanded upon.
Capabilities in data cleansing, deduplication, and profiling functionalities
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Single view of the customer including service history, contacts and addresses
Expedite problem resolution using embedded Knowledge Management functionality
IFS FSM automatically recommends solutions to a given problem as information is being entered by
customer service staff or customers
Solutions include attachments (FAQs, product manuals, etc.), service notes and sync with mobile
Target Based Scheduling
• Enables managers to set business goals and KPIs that automatically adjust the behavior of
the scheduling software through a simple dashboard that continuously monitors actual
performance versus business targets like SLAs , on-time completion percentage
Predictive Analytics
• Integrates with IFS DSE
• Predict KPI results using investigations that are modeled after real-life scenarios
• Explore different scenarios using multiple data sets from within IFS Mobile Workforce
Management or imported files
• Calculate how many staff you require to meet a specified set of KPIs
• Assess the impact of taking on or losing staff on your KPIs
• Stress-test your organization against the workload for busy days, holiday periods, weekends
Capabilities
FieldOne
Inventory
Management
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Real-time updates to ensure inventory is accurate
Ability to manage inventory and update stock history for any location
Multi warehouse/ truck
Ability to integrate with an ERP System
Full journalizing
Allocation
Employee Tracking
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FieldOne Sky TraQ can allow field agents to share their current location real time with all stakeholders
and send alerts when in route to job site using Glympse technology.
Automated
Communications (IVR)
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Schedule an SMS or IVR (Interactive Voice Response) activity and set a send time
Portals
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Partner Portals
Partner access to relevant functionality
Internal access to all partner activities
Customer Portals
• Customer self service
• Customer access to documentation
• Targeted messages based on customer’s interests and preferences based on past
transactions
IFS
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Intelligent service parts search and requisition based on flexible fulfillment logic
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Returns
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Service Parts Logistics
• Rules-based replenishment, parts handling and costing logic
• Automate manual activities such as pick, pack, ship, receiving and put-away
• Browse inventory by site, region, part, status, usage, product line and team
• Calculate stock levels based on historical usage and estimate new part min/max
• Freeze-forward inventory during physical and cycle counts without any downtime
• Configure stock locations for static or dynamic bin functionality
• Reduce administration by having the right part in the right place at the right time
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Spare Parts Management
• Rules-based replenishment, parts handling and costing logic
• Automate manual activities such as pick, pack, ship, receiving and put-away
• Browse inventory by site, region, part, status, usage, product line and team
• Calculate stock levels based on historical usage and estimate new part min/max
• Freeze-forward inventory during physical and cycle counts without any downtime
• Configure stock locations for static or dynamic bin functionality
• Reduce administration by having the right part in the right place at the right time
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GPS Tracking in FSM Mobile
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Web portals for secure customer self-service, technician and 3rd party access
Customers & third-party repair vendors can track items anywhere in the process using secure Web
portals
Logistics
Quickly identify service return logistics, acquire authorization and process shipments
Track repair tasks, turnaround, time, labor, parts and cost
Automated alerts to crucial events and status changes
Standardize each step of the repair process and measure standard hours vs. actual hours vs.
billable hours
• Delegate work efficiently based on capacity, specialization and schedule
• Automate technicians’ workload
• Enable technicians to troubleshoot the product, review similar cases, replace a part, log repair
time, change the unit’s revision, reassign the unit to another technician, and move the unit to
another inventory location
Technology
FieldOne
Platform
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Microsoft Dynamics xRM Framework
Native connection to Microsoft Outlook, Office, Office 365, Microsoft SharePoint, Windows Azure, Skype
Multi-currency capability
Available in more than 41 languages
Configuration
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Point and click customizations
Central mobile development tool
Mobile Technology
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No code customizations
• Uses point click interface
Security Capabilities
• No middleware
Mobile Device Management Tools
• Divide mobile devices into groups and apply different security rules
Mobile Application Management Tools
• Lock the application remotely with just one click
• Wipe out data from the app remotely
• Business hour restrictions
-Native Android and windows apps
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True Cloud Deployment
• Dedicated cloud on Microsoft Azure and multi-tenant cloud through Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
On-Premise Deployment
Hybrid Deployment
-IFS Field Service Management (FSM) runs natively on Microsoft Azure
-IFS Cloud – IaaS™ on Microsoft Azure
-IFS Managed Cloud™ on Microsoft Azure
-On Premise Service Software
-Hybrid Deployments
Infrastructure
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Microsoft xRM platform has been benchmarked at 150,000 concurrent users
Multi-tenant offers a 99.9% uptime SLA
Microsoft guarantees external connectivity at least 99.95% of the time
Integration
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Integrated platforms include:
• SAP R/3
• mySAP
• SalesForce.com
• Oracle ERP (Siebel)
• Oracle CRM
• Dynamics AX
• Dynamics NAV
• Dynamics GP
• Dynamics SL
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Deployment Options
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IFS
-Microsoft .NET WCF services driven by XML and a web service interface
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Integration with Microsoft Project
Have integrated with:
• Oracle
• SAP
• Microsoft Dynamics GP, NAV, AX, CRM
• Quickbooks
100% Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) for simple application integration