IFS announces fourth-generation mobile solution for service and maintenance

IFS, the global enterprise applications company, has launched its fourth-generation mobile client for service and maintenance, running on Android smartphones and tablets.

The solution offers robust service management functionality, supporting offline mode, through an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

The new solution leverages the best-in-class field mobile technology of Metrix Mobile for Android, which IFS gained through the acquisition of Metrix earlier this year. The solution is built into IFS Applications, offering a complete mobile solution for field service and maintenance management. Being designed and optimised for the Android platform, the new version complements IFS’s existing mobile solution for the Microsoft Windows Mobile platform.

“We are very excited about how quickly we have been able to marry Metrix Mobile with IFS Applications, presenting a beta release of the combined solutions only five months after the acquisition,” IFS VP Research & Development Thomas Säld said.

“The solution offers a remarkable user experience with a look and feel that is very comfortable and easy to use. More importantly, however, it can easily be configured to reflect the user’s work process. Our customers can simply plug and play with the solution as standard functionality, ensuring quicker time to value and easy product upgrades. With this launch, we are executing on our goal of becoming the global market leader in the mobile service and maintenance management space.”

The solution handles the complete process — from the moment the order is received by a technician, until it is reported and sent back to the server from the mobile device. Work status updates are logged on the work order and instantly sent back to the dispatch center. The field technician can capture photos, retrieve map-supported driving instructions and complete the job by filling in time, material, and expenses. Through flexible query functionality, any data captured in the field—from work safety instructions to customer care data — is easily configured per customer and type of work process.

Mobile workforce management is a prioritised area and one in which IFS has invested heavily during the past years. Today’s announcement is a milestone in IFS’s product history as it combines the ERP infrastructure of IFS Applications with the market-leading resource optimisation capabilities of IFS 360 Scheduling and the best-in-class functionality of the Metrix Mobile solution. The end result is a complete mobile workforce management system that leverages unparalleled product synergies.

“During the past years, we have delivered a number of solutions that target the rapidly growing mobile workforce,” IFS CTO Dan Matthews said. “Among these are the mobile-friendly and touch-screen optimised IFS Enterprise Explorer user interface and IFS Touch Apps, a series of cloud-based smartphone apps for the mobile individual. We are now proud to add a fourth-generation mobile solution for the professional service and maintenance crew to the list. Mobility will remain a strategic investment theme for IFS going forward.”

IFS is a public company founded in 1983 that develops, supplies, and implements IFS Applications, a component-based extended ERP suite built on SOA technology. IFS focuses on industries where any of four core processes are strategic: Service & asset management, manufacturing, supply chain and projects. The company has 2,000 customers and is present in approximately 60 countries with 2,800 employees in total. Net revenue in 2011 was SKr 2.6 billion.