Remote Virtual Inspections: The industry's new best practice

With the rise of on-demand, virtual service making clunky digital processes very apparent, field teams are thinking more critically about their customers' digital journeys.

The widespread availability of software solutions augmented by artificial intelligence (AI) have boosted their popularity and uptake within the enterprise space over the past five years.

An IBM survey revealed that 50% of enterprises are already taking action to deploy AI, using it to quickly access insights and automate processes. 

ICwhatUC, a leader in data-powered work solutions for enterprise field service teams, has announced an integration with Salesforce to launch instant remote support through the CRM leader’s platform.

It’s critical to make good use of data, but the real issue for field service organizations is data collection. Between employee time, customer time, and room for human error, it can be a difficult task. However, FSOs have a new weapon in their data collection arsenal: passive data collection.

Calgary-based tech startup, ICwhatUC, has recently secured an additional $1.3M CAD ($1.1M USD) of funding in their spring raise. The round was led by Tom Williams’ venture fund, Heron Rock.

Simply put: manual meter readings are unnecessary when a customer is already on-site. At best, manually reading meters is inefficient, costly, and menial. However, they are also necessary, so they can’t be outsourced or removed entirely. Instead, technicians’ time could be better spent doing these readings without travel or having to split their attention between two tasks. 

When it comes to large commercial projects, utility companies have a significant cost burden just to scope out a project. Whether moving a line, doing road work, reviewing contracts, or planning a service upgrade, there’s a lot of manual work involved that sucks up significant time (and money). 

In combination with weather, vegetation is one of the most common causes of power outages - or even wildfires - that could be termed as an electrical utility’s fault. That makes vegetation management one of the most critical, unseen functions in the electrical utility economy. Unfortunately, many utilities still use outdated processes that are costly on time and money. However, technology is making it easier than ever to keep business humming while keeping people safe.  

Field work businesses are becoming more complex, meaning partners, vendors, and suppliers increasingly play important roles in delivering a great customer experience.

With that in mind, field work companies need to take a holistic view of how they deliver services to customers -  often called the “enterprise experience”. Here’s what that enterprise experience looks like and how it makes life a lot better for customers and employees alike.

In the old way of delivering field work, truck rolls were a revenue generator. But with changing customer needs and increased technological capability, it’s time to question both the real costs and the future necessity of truck rolls.

Companies with a high quality digital experience are 2x more likely to be chosen as a preferred supplier, and utility companies are taking note. The industry has been slowly shifting already, as companies look to digital options as a key way to gain a competitive advantage. Now, changes are quickly expanding throughout whole organizations, from how they interact with customers to how they manage administration and find new business opportunities. 

For decades, field technicians were assumed to be the face of a field work company. They did sales and solved problems face to face, making sure to provide the best possible customer experience. Now, things are different: customers still want great service, but 52% of field service organizations agree that virtual-first and remote services have become the primary way they deliver service. And now customers prefer it that way. 

The majority (78%) of people buy from the service provider who responds first, according to a Lead Connect study. That’s a huge opportunity to close business simply by showing up. However, this presents a challenge in the field service space when driving to a site is part of your sales process. To take advantage of the speed opportunity - closing more business simply by responding first - field service companies need to leverage video technology. 

The field service industry is ripe for the remote-first innovation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only is purpose-built technology ready for this kind of work, but customers and field workers want it. The metaphorical stars are aligning to make it easy for companies to reap the benefits of virtual service.

Increasing safety through virtual assistance has quickly become a top priority for many home service providers, especially as COVID infection rates are once again rising across the country. 

The effects of climate change are becoming undeniable. Weather patterns are changing, seasons are becoming wildly messed up, and entire ecosystems are dying. And the problem is not just environmental, but economic: when we can’t live in certain areas due to weather patterns, or whole cities are destroyed from storms, that harms business. 

The team at ICwhatUC is excited to share that we’ve been selected to participate in this year’s Google for Startups Accelerator Canada cohort, alongside a small group of promising Canadian Seed to Series A tech startups. 

ICwhatUC announced this week that they have been selected as one of the top 100 energy and mobility startups of 2021 by Start Up Energy Transition.

From trucks to equipment to insurance, field work is a pricey business to get into. However, technology is opening up opportunities to lower fixed costs in ways that used to be impossible. In one national field work company’s case, it led to 6-figure savings per day.