Implement the right Field Service mobile app for your technicians: Xamarin Vs Dynamics 365

With the onset of mobile applications, every sector has been working to not just adapt but also adopt them within the line of business operations. From healthcare to retail, engineering, and manufacturing, all have jumped on the bandwagon in an attempt to meet the changing dynamics of the business world.

Following the same, service companies needs to have a mobile app for their management. Not only the field technicians but all departments must gear up and get accustomed to mobility. But is it only because everyone else is doing, or does the Industry need an app?

Why an app for Field Service Management?

What do we mean by field service or a field technician? Consider that there has been an equipment failure and one of your customers has initiated a request for the repair. Conventionally, you would register the request, and then pass the same to the appropriate technician along with the details of the customer. Also, if required, the details of the technician would be sent to the customer.

Webinar: Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service

Now all of the above-mentioned steps make sense but consumes a lot of time. Also, if by chance the details sent either to the customer or the technician isn't totally correct, it would account for poor customer service. Definitely, you wouldn't want that, right?

Also, there are many industries, such as real estate, oil and gas, and so on, that required field-based work and monitoring of equipment very often. While professionals can go to their work with pen and paper, but manual work requires re-feeding of collected data in digital tools once they are back. Also, such recording and re-entering of data might cause inconsistencies in the data. In their case, field service apps are a bit different and organization-centric.

What is a field service app?

A field service app is one that allows you to stay connected with your customers and the field technicians 24/7. Customers can raise requests on the portal and the app would itself assign the task to the appropriate technician sharing the necessary details.

While paperwork seems to be expensive, an app with all of the data is more efficient and reliable. With a field service app, you not only improve how data is shared and the information communicated but at the same time helps you to:

• Increase the end-to-end success rate of your business: Manage calls, assign technicians, and share all relevant information. The app also sends notifications and alerts ensuring that the technician reaches the right place at the right time.
• Organize route planning: From managing calls to streamlining the workflow, a field service app helps you plan and schedule tasks. Also, it allows you to coordinate with the technician and the customer with ease.
• Improve overall customer satisfaction: one of the most important benefits of using a field service app is to improve the way customers are treated, their issues addressed and solutions provided. To put it this way, an app enhances customer service, improving end to end experience.

Field service apps are equipped with all of the features necessary to serve the customers right. Yet the efficiency depends upon the type of all built and the technology used. While there are multiple technologies used, the two most debated ones include:

●      Xamarin for field service app

●      Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service App

With that being said, we now move ahead to see which one to choose and why.

Developing a field service app

When planning to embed a mobile app in your field service management system, you might find an array of tools and techniques. That is to say, there are multiple ways to integrate the solution. However, not all perform the same way.

We narrow down our discussion here to the top two:

1. Field Service (Dynamics 365):

The Dynamics 365 field service app has been built on the Power Platform backed by Microsoft. It is a SaaS application providing the ease to keep track of the customer's data, their request, and the technician details.

Major features include:

• A flexible environment with the ease to integrate other Microsoft apps with ease.
• Cloud-native solution meaning that it renders remote access to the same as and when needed.
• Quick and easy management of SLAs and Service Agreements.
• The presence of artificial intelligence tools and intuitive technologies ensures the allocation of the job to the right technician. 
• Automated scheduling process. You can also make use of the drag-and-drop interface to assign resources.

1. Field Service Mobile (Xamarin):

Another way of designing a field service app is through the Xamarin platform. Developing application in Xamarin provides a simple, easy-to-use, and cost-effective framework facilitating the design and development of field service apps. It is built on the .NET language and allows field technicians to execute work orders, send estimates to their prospects, sign contracts remotely, work on the dispatch requests, and all other tasks through their smartphone.

With the Xamarin field service app, technicians have the flexibility to remain connected to the head office 24×7 with and even sync all of the data, whether they are online or offline. Xamarin allows you to work in an offline mode. Meaning that if the technician is in the field, a place with no internet connectivity, he/she can still save user data. The app allows them to feed in the data in an offline mode. And as soon as the connectivity restores, the data is synchronized and stored in the central server.

Conclusion

Having said all of the above, it is obvious that both of the methods have their way of building the mobile app. What's best for you depends on your requirements and the preferred technology.

In case you aren't sure which one to pick, head out to our team of experts at Stridely Solutions. Serving the industry for more than a decade now, we have the skills and the experience to guide and assist you in the transformation process. Irrespective of whether you are starting from scratch or have a solution that needs to be modified, our team will help you with all. Get in touch with us now.