The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is meticulous in selecting partners. And they discovered Resco in the best possible way – through a recommendation by one of the world’s largest companies. 

Putting their capabilities and skills to the test 

“UNHCR heard about us from Microsoft, with whom we have collaborated for many years. They were familiar with our focus on offline applications,” says Andrew Lorraine, CEO of Resco – a company whose vision is helping mobile workers become more efficient. 

We faced an initial challenge: using a mobile or tablet app to locate refugee family members registered in remote refugee centers – all without an internet connection! 

“We managed to do this by searching for the registered members and their contacts in various Resco apps via Bluetooth. At that time, we had no idea that it was a UNHCR project. When we found out, we were excited and motivated for our support to grow into a genuine partnership,” added Andrew. 

Initial version in just 3 months 

We quickly passed the test with flying colors, and Resco’s developers then set about developing a RApp (Rapid Application) to register refugees even without internet access, using the Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit. The major challenges were achieving data quality, app performance, and ease-of-use for field workers. And all that without internet connection. These technical hurdles were overcome, and fine-tuning of the app took just three months.  

And what did the UNHCR employees think? “The RApp reduced refugee registration time from fifteen minutes to just four, compared with other online apps that we used. The Resco platform has radically reduced our dependency on pen & paper as we move towards deploying digital tools,” said David Birt, Chief of Development & Support Unit at UNHCR.  

Every minute counts in crisis situations – with a large number of people, minutes add up to hours or even days of waiting.   

On-site feedback from Cameroon 

Cooperation between Resco and UNHCR was not a one-off provision of software; the application is constantly evolving. In recent years, nine people have worked on the project, but practically the whole company participated in its development.  

Resco employees’ exploratory visit to Cameroon also provided valuable on-site feedback. In the towns of Beroua and Batouri, they experienced the UNHCR’s work with refugees first-hand. 

“We were grateful for the opportunity to experience something completely new, both in how we view our day-to-day work and our overall perspective of the world. We also gained key practical insights about our technologies in the field,” noted Andrew.  

This journey also proved to be an enriching personal experience. Our employees found that stepping out of their comfort zone – professionally and personally – is always a good thing. 

“It was inspiring to see how the UNHCR team and the refugees handled these challenging circumstances with dignity and perseverance. This experience gave us the opportunity to reflect on our own lives and strive to provide more help to those in need,” concluded Andrew about the Africa trip.  

The Ukraine war brings crisis to our doorstep 

The partnership between UNHCR and Resco was inevitably marked by the war in Ukraine, where the RApp app is also used. Programmers got even more essential on-site information, and UNHCR opened an office in Bratislava in response to the situation. This resulted in even closer collaboration on further improvements, making life easier for both workers and, most importantly, refugees. 

The app goes beyond registration and staff can leverage the offline platform to sync with critical assistance programmes and protection services. 

Among other things, we soon plan to expand the app to help those seeking to return home after the threat has passed in their country.  

Príspevok Mobile app as lifeline in crises: Registering refugees even without internet connection   zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Do your external users need a Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Power Platform license or not? What is an “external user?” The questions seem simple, but there are multiple points to consider.  Ben Vollmer, an industry veteran, provides practical insights to help you make an informed decision when defining your external user strategy.

Licensing Microsoft Business Applications to external users is a commonly misunderstood area of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Apps licensing guide. Ben Vollmer, along with Jakub Bajla and Eduard Kesely from Resco, brings some common sense to this topic by guiding you through the core concepts and providing real-life examples.

The term “external user” has been part of the Microsoft vocabulary for about 20 years. Despite its longevity, it’s often misunderstood.

External users are individuals who interact with a system but are not part of the organization that operates the system. Examples include customers accessing a portal to view their account information or caretakers accessing a relative’s medical records online.

The webinar starts by breaking down the terminology. Ben explains the difference between an external user and an outsourced user and explains what it means to be working “for you” or “on your behalf”.

Do your users need licenses? Important points to consider

Ben encourages viewers not to skip the details when considering whether a user can take advantage of external user access to Microsoft Business Applications or not. The details draw the fine line between being in-compliance and out-of-compliance with the Microsoft licensing guide. He suggests considering:

• Who owns the license? 
• What is the external user doing?
• Multiplexing
• Access to graphical user interface (GUI)
• License reassignment rights

Good news: Resco supports all scenarios

If you use Resco, you can rest assured our products offer options to make sure you stay compliant with the Microsoft licensing guide – no matter which group your users fall into.

Ben Vollmer is joined by Eduard Kesely, Resco Head of Product. Eduard describes the three types of projects you can build with our Mobile App Development Toolkit:

1. Anonymous External Users: These users access the app without authentication, receiving the same content universally. Typically this is for marketing purposes involving publicly available information. Setup involves creating a common user in the backend and customizing specific projects in Woodford which will be used for these types of users. (Usage scenario is for customers who need to access common information of the company)
2. External (Portal) Users: These users log in to access CRM content tailored for them. This setup requires defining a security role in CRM and using Woodford to configure the project with authentication entities and registration methods. (Usage scenario is for suppliers of the company who are not part of the company and directly do not contribute to the business of the company)
3. Standard User Project: A project for authenticated users, with unique content for each logged in user based on security role and permissions.  (Usage scenario is for contractors, seasonal workers, and sales representatives directly working on behalf of the company)

For in-depth information about Resco and external users, please visit our Wiki: https://docs.resco.net/wiki/External_users

To discuss your specific scenario, please contact Resco at sales@resco.net.

Ben Vollmer, Strategic Advisor at Resco

With a distinguished 16-year career at Microsoft, Ben held several leadership positions within the Dynamics 365 business unit. His extensive background spans consulting, sales, product development, and product management, covering a diverse range of industries and markets. Ben is recognized as an industry veteran, known for his pragmatic approach to solving complex business challenges.

Príspevok External users demystified [takeaways from a webinar with Ben Vollmer] zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Read the story of Kate, an administration manager at an elevator service company that went through digital transformation. 

Many companies still rely on paper documents. They know all too well that paper is not effective, and the process is frustrating. However, digitization is daunting.  

Managers fear digitization will be time-consuming and expensive, requiring frequent maintenance. They also fear slow adoption rates that prolong the process.  

The good news is that digital transformation is becoming less demanding with the advent of low-code platforms. 

Digital transformation changes (work) lives  

In recent years, companies are increasingly choosing to build on Microsoft Power Platform. This platform cuts costs and development time with low-code tools. We at Resco make building on Power Platform even easier with our Power Solutions that enhance the core Power Platform experience. With tools like this, the decision to digitize becomes much less distressing. 

To show you how technology for business applications can change lives, let us introduce you to Kate, an admin manager. Observe her day-to-day work before and after the elevator service company she works for went through multiple steps of digital transformation. 

Love watching more than reading? Watch Ludovit Bobula, Product Manager at Resco tell Kate’s story. 

It’s hard to keep track of paper documents 

Kate’s job is to keep all the inspection questionnaires in the company up to date and available for technicians in the field.  

Whenever there is an update, she needs to make sure all the inspectors are using the latest version.  

Despite Kate’s efforts, many technicians do not use the updated questionnaires; when they do, many still use the old questionnaire paper sheets. After completing a job, they must file job records with Kate, yet they often do not. This is obviously frustrating for Kate.  

Seeing Kate struggle, the company decides that digitizing the entire process will be a good idea. 

For business technology people like us at Resco, this is an exciting day. Now our technology can help someone make their work better. 

Managing changes to the questionnaires 

Kate’s company found an implementation partner. They recommended digitizing the questionnaires using Power Platform.  

In Kate’s field, the legislation often changes. This makes it necessary to make changes to many of the questionnaires at once. The implementation partner needed to ensure that Kate can access and change the documents on her own, without needing to reach out to an administrator or consultant with every single request. 

This is why they chose Resco Forms+. This solution allows business users to design their questionnaires in a drag and drop interface. Whenever Kate wants to make a change, she opens the Questionnaire Designer, changes the questions, publishes her changes and all the technicians have access to the updated document instantly on their mobile devices. 

The implementation took a couple of months. The adoption was quick – thanks to Resco Forms+, the digital questionnaires are easy to work with for the field technicians and they can use them on any mobile device.

Resco Forms+ has helped Kate to keep all the company’s elevator inspection forms updated and organized in one place. If she needs something more advanced, she can ask the partner to set it up. 

Discover Resco Forms+

Generating inspection summaries, contracts, and invoices 

Now that Kate has the most tedious work process sorted out, she can look at other types of paperwork that pass through her hands – namely service reports, contracts, and invoices. 

She needs to go through collected data, complete what is missing and manually create all these documents. To do it, she copies information from various sources and pastes them into a Word template. She then emails the document to a client or stores it in a folder.  

That is the old system, and many people still use it. But digitization with a good implementation partner can offer a much more comfortable and efficient system.  

Kate’s implementation partner recommended using Resco Docs+. This solution automates document generation and delivery in Power Platform. 

Kate can design her invoices, contracts, and reports, and set up Power Automate to fill them with data from Dataverse. She can then set up the PDFs to be generated, saved and/or sent to any place she chooses. 

For example, she can design a finished work order report, and then have it automatically generated every month and sent to her and her department leader. Resco Docs+ on Power Platform saves Kate time and effort spent on repetitive, tedious tasks. 

Discover Resco Docs+

Providing guidance for technicians where and when they need it 

The final problem Kate deals with is sharing knowledge between inspectors. As in many organizations they use Words, PDFs, and Share Point.  

Kate, as the administrator, is responsible for keeping these documents updated, yet she is not out in the field. If something changes, she might not know about it. 

The implementation partner suggested using Resco Steps+ on Power Platform. With this solution, Kate can build a knowledge library with step-by-step instruction guides. She can enhance the text with images and videos and make the guides available on frontline worker mobile devices. Thanks to the digital guides, Kate has been able to lower error rate and speed up onboarding.

Discover Resco Steps+

Everything in one ecosystem 

Resco Power Solutions are ideal for a company like Kate’s – one that has both office and frontline workers and needs the documents, inspection forms, invoices, and training materials to be available in a reliable and accessible system. 

Kate can now incorporate any changes and legal requirements without having to wait. Although she is not a developer, she can use no-code tools to set everything up. And if she has advanced requests, she can always reach out to her implementation partner.  

These are just the first steps in digital transformation. Imagine how many more ways there are to cut the tedious tasks and concentrate on ideas with real impact. Taking these first steps in digitizing workflows allows a company like Kate’s to harness the power of AI. By feeding it with relevant data, Kate and her co-workers will get insights they can use to make strategic decisions.  

Everyone’s workday is a bit better, thanks to well-performing technology.  

This is the kind of thing that makes us happy at Resco.  

Read more about the Resco Power Solutions

Príspevok How low code platforms make digital transformation easier zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Ben Vollmer has recently joined Resco’s team as the Strategic Advisor. He brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at industry-leading companies, IFS and Microsoft, both leaders in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Customer Experience, Field Service, and Enterprise Resource Planning.  

We sat down to explore the future of business applications and discussed his perception of the role of AI technology and the needs of future generations of frontline workers. Read Ben’s take on the areas where business applications could do more for the people using them. 

The role of AI in tech

Ben Vollmer shared his perspective on artificial intelligence, emphasizing that AI will become critically important when it empowers people to make better decisions instead of replacing them.

“The best examples that are available right now are anomaly detection, next logical purchase suggestions, and optical character recognition. With Large Language Models being rapidly developed, the ability to distill information into knowledge will be a critical thing that will be used to help enhance experiences for frontline workers.”

Ben emphasized the need to expand AI beyond the office and use it to meet the unique demands of deskless workers.

“So far, AI is benefiting only desktop workers. A huge technological focus shift from desktop workers to frontline workers needs to happen. We are caught up in servicing desktop workers because it is easy. They have internet all the time! In the next couple of years, the whole industry will improve in looking at mobile workers as well. “

The next thing Ben Vollmer sees taking off is interactive AI – the ability of apps to talk to and use other apps. We have too many applications on our phones that act in a silo and don’t and won’t exchange data with other applications. “Our users don’t just use one app on their phone. We have to make sure we have an amazing end-to-end process and exchange to benefit the people who use the software.”

Using AI is too challenging for people without a technical background. “In a desktop scenario, some of Microsoft’s Copilot innovations are very impressive. You can go in and start describing what you want, and it starts building it for you. But it still needs you to be able to articulate your needs quite precisely.

Only when non-technical people feel comfortable using automation scripts will it happen for the rest of the world. There is a ton of work to do here,” he added. “It has helped with knowledge work but has yet to help with non-knowledge work.”

Micro-verticals and super apps

When looking at the market, Ben Vollmer sees two dominant trends emerging. “The biggest trend I see going across the market is micro-vertical. People no longer want to buy something that is ‘for manufacturing.’ That is too broad of a topic. They say: ‘I want just discrete industrial manufacturing,’ or ‘I want sales for my business.’ So, then you get start seeing business apps specifically for micro verticals to meet specific needs while fitting inside a company’s overall IT landscape.”

“I have seen a lot of people deploying just things that help drive their business and solve specific problems. They don’t want to wait for three years for the development cycle.”

Another trend Ben Vollmer described is the rise of the super app. “It is something that matches everybody’s needs. You can use it to do everything you want to. For instance – take iMessage on the iPhone. They have one of the world’s largest banks with the Apple Card. You can send money over iMessage. You can interact in rich ways, which means you never leave iMessage. Your iPhone has become a super app. 

Other examples are Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WhatsApp, the social platform X, and WeChat. In China, WeChat is used for everything, including financial transactions. The development of business apps usually copies the development of consumer apps. So, you must look at consumer apps as the path to look down.”

So many apps think their user interface is the one seen by the customers. But as we have seen with Teams, Zoom, and WeChat, we need to work to make sure we can engage with our end users in a way that makes sense for them. 

Designing for new generations of workers

When asked what should guide solution architects when designing solutions, Ben replied that they should focus on exercising their sense of empathy.

“Where I live, we have a food chain called Waffle House. They make all their office workers go out and spend at least one day a month in the restaurant. The biggest thing for solution architects, for companies, is to have empathy for the end user. It is easy to say: I go to the office daily. This is what work feels like for me. They should always go out and sit with people. To understand how they work and how they operate.”

Where does Ben Vollmer look for trends? Not in the rearview mirror. “You have to look at people and what they need.” 

Ben Vollmer has over 25 years of experience in product management. After spending 14 years at Microsoft heralding Field Service, he joined IFS to enable customers to maximize the three moments of service: customers, people, and assets. He has joined Resco as a Strategic Advisor to the Board and the CEO and continues working as an independent consultant for technology companies.

Príspevok What does the future of the business apps market look like, according to Microsoft’s Field Service legend Ben Vollmer? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

You don’t have time to waste when you use a mobile app for work. You need it to be accessible and well usable. Adela Halmo, a UX researcher at Resco, explains how we address our users’ needs, from the initial research interviews to the implementation stage.

At Resco, our focus is on providing software solutions for frontline workers. Can you explain why UI/UX is important for them?

Frontline workers operate in the field without the convenience of a fully equipped office. They are constantly on the move and often under time pressure. These people need to concentrate on delivering high-quality work they are experts at.

We don’t want to burden them with complicated work apps. Our goal is to make them intuitive.

The Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit works very well from a technical point of view. We have a top-notch offline mode and customizable synchronization. We strive to make all of this as user-friendly as possible for frontline workers.

Why is usability so crucial?

When an app is usable, it is easy for the workers to figure it out. They don’t require extensive training or support.

Using their work app should leave them satisfied and self-confident. They shouldn’t feel frustrated, as that could negatively impact their interactions with customers.

How does the UX/UI of mobile apps differ from desktop apps?

Mobile devices are ubiquitous. People rely on them as their primary devices for accomplishing tasks. For deskless workers, they are clearly the most practical devices in the field. They can’t imagine running around and doing their job with any other device.

My colleagues who worked at Resco two decades ago foresaw this trend and couldn’t ignore it. They adapted desktop applications for use on mobile devices. Supporting frontline workers is not new to us.

Thanks to our extensive experience, we know that mobile applications have different standards compared to desktop apps. Most importantly, mobile apps require users to navigate efficiently and quickly, even with gestures. With larger screen space, desktops can display more information. Mobile app interfaces often prioritize essential information and use responsive design techniques. Mobile apps are typically designed to adhere to specific platform UI guidelines and conventions, ensuring consistency with other native apps on the platform and providing a familiar user experience.

How does this translate to the user interfaces of mobile devices?

Let’s emphasize the usability concept once again: making the apps user-friendly is crucial so that anyone can work with them.

When discussing field service, our users work in challenging conditions. They often wear gloves or work in harsh sunlight. Therefore, the apps need high contrast, large touch targets, and so on. Workers should not struggle to tap exactly where they intend to. They need to have their apps in their hands and have complete control over gestures that help them accomplish their tasks.

Speed is paramount in the field. Everything must be designed to allow workers to operate their apps quickly.

Resco has been in the market for 24 years. During this time, user interfaces and the entire experience of using technology have evolved. How do user requirements change?

Users want their apps to be as simple as possible. In the past, there was a focus on creating visually appealing interfaces with shadows and gradients. However, nowadays, fewer people prioritize aesthetics. The primary expectation is for apps to be easy to navigate.

Additionally, users prefer having everything in one place, so they don’t have to use multiple apps. That’s why they can take pictures directly in Inspections+, use a QR scanner, or write notes.

When field users encounter a problem, they want to avoid calling colleagues or rummaging through Sharepoint. They can access Steps+, which provide all the necessary documentation directly from their apps.

You work as a UX researcher. How do you get to know the user’s needs?

To be honest, UX research is quite challenging in B2B.

While reaching people who use desktop tools is relatively easy and allows for direct implementation of their requirements, reaching mobile users is more complex. Typically, there are implementation partners and managers involved. However, this research is highly valuable as the ultimate goal for a UI/UX researcher at Resco is to see frontline workers using the application.

Apps created with the Mobile App Development Toolkit cover many scenarios. They are not single-purpose apps that everyone uses more or less equally – like social networks. With each case being unique, user requirements are very diverse. It’s fascinating to us.

We try to cover as many scenarios as possible in our research. On top of it, we are always thankful for customer feedback. If you communicate with your frontline users, everything they say is relevant to us. It is the most valuable feedback we can get. If you want to share it directly with me, you can reach me at adela.halmo@resco.net

Most importantly, all our users are united by the fact that they want to work quickly and simply. We try to follow that.

What are the methods of UX research in Resco?

We ask a lot of questions. We perform user interviews, either exploratory or focused on a specific topic. Before we even get to the topic of Resco, we ask our users about their work, their scenarios, division of tasks.

We ask them what they want to achieve with our tools, what they enable them to do, and what we can improve.

These are not feedback loops but rather deep conversations about how they feel when they use our app, how they relate to it, or whether they are comfortable with it.

We also interview the admins that use our web tools to build and customize apps for frontline workers.

When we have new ideas for improving our applications, a UI designer and a UX designer develop a prototype. It all starts with a wireframe. UX design takes place in the Miro application, and UI design in Figma. We play with how everything should look so the design is consistent with everything we offer. We are striving to make everything look as simple and standard as possible.

We cooperate with the developers early in the UX design phase. We must ensure all the features we creatively design fit into our code and the data model.

Throughout the whole process, we are in touch with product managers. They are in charge of the product on a broader scale and evaluate the impact of the new features.

Then we test our prototype for usability. Basically, we watch how people react to it. During usability tests, we don’t ask questions. We observe users as they perform tasks and record their immediate reactions. We want to see how the prototype is worked with, where there are pain points, and if we can improve the prototype immediately in the next iteration.

After the usability testing, the features are coded and offered for preview. With our new release cycle, we have a preview each month. We encourage everyone to try it right away and give us immediate feedback.

The partner or customer must know what was done and how they can set it up. We provide documentation on our wiki.

What have you been working on recently? Is there anything you are especially proud of? Why is it important for the users?

We are redesigning forms. You can imagine a form as a detail of one record: for example, a screen with the name of the company and all the details about it.

Forms are an app component that every user works with every day. We analyzed how they are currently coded and how they should look according to the design system. We are making them more straightforward to interact with.

I would also like to point out our work on data mapping. Data mapping gives field workers, managers, and consultants an easy way to update existing records in a database directly from a questionnaire. They can also create new records or populate their questionnaires with data from the database. The update makes it easy to set up data mapping without coding using a simple wizard. A big part was released in January, and soon we will release more.

What else are you up to? Are there any exciting projects in your pipeline that you can already share?

I mentioned redesigning the forms. Admin users put the forms together in Woodford’s Form Designer, which has already got a significant UX change, and we plan to continue it. We want the people designing forms to do as little work as possible. We want to come up with useful defaults. And when the designers decide to change something, they will know exactly what they are changing in the application to prevent them from accidentally setting things they do not want. Also, there is a rather big conceptual switch between how we looked at the Style editor until now and what it will enable in the future.

One area we are focusing on is the color in the Theme editor. Until now, users could set any colors they wanted. They could have accidentally produced a colorful app that didn’t follow accessibility standards.

Of course, we want to accommodate customers who have their branding colors. They can choose one color, and we will recolor the entire app for them.

With this change comes the possibility of having a dark mode.

What are the trends in the UI/UX industry that shape your priorities?

We are implementing Material Design. It is an open-source design system from Google that standardizes every single component in mobile applications. As I see it, even Microsoft’s design system is largely influenced by Material Design.

We want the users that come into contact with our apps to experience the least possible shock.

We are also influenced by trends in features. AI is a big trend; of course, it is starting to be addressed in customer feature requests. We already took part in implementing AI in creating work instructions and automating inspection summaries, and there is more to come.

Discover the Mobile App Development Toolkit

Príspevok UX researcher: Frontline workers require their apps to be straightforward zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Modern fish farming is a high-tech industry. Technology helps with feeding procedures, visualization of important events, and automation. A well-managed environment contributes towards the welfare of the fish.

From pen and paper to a robust software solution

ScaleAQ has been on the market for 40 years and started out using pen and paper.

The company owns a lot of internal equipment – forklifts, welding machines, etc. These assets need weekly or monthly service. As you can imagine, paper documents sometimes got damaged or even disappeared.

Christian Våge, Team Lead Electro/Automation, ScaleAQ, explains that they started to inspect their assets in 2017 with the help of Resco.
“We quickly saw the benefit and added customer equipment as well,” says Mr. Våge.

Inspecting the fish pens

Now they use Resco Field Service+ along with Inspections+ to inspect the fish pens too. Field engineers sail in small boats and fill in the inspection forms directly at sea. Resco Field Service+ mobile app, fully integrated with Dynamics 365, allows field engineers to work on any device, even with low or no internet connection.

A lot of maintenance work needs to be done on each recurring inspection. Sometimes the inspection is not finished in one go, and the engineers need to make a second visit. There can be different people on each visit. Information needs to be passed on.

Resco Inspections+ allow the field engineers to access the questions that have already been answered. All the answers are reused, only the ones they need to focus on are highlighted.

The technician does not need to reenter questions that have already been entered. It speeds up the inspection, saves time, and increases efficiency.

Data collected during the inspections are securely stored on the mobile device thanks to Resco’s signature offline capability and synced with MS Dynamics once the field engineer becomes online again. Once synced, the documents are stored on SharePoint and also at a customer portal, where customers can review them.

Assembling the fish pens

ScaleAQ has built many fish pens over the years. They come in different specifications, and many of them are unique. When they are being assembled, they demand a unique inspection every time. The inspections must be carried out with the correct template of questions.

To make it easy for the field workers, Resco mobile app pulls out the data about each pen from product cards stored in MS Dynamics and builds an inspection questionnaire dynamically. This process guarantees each asset is inspected with the right inspection template and questions.

Moreover, the questions dynamically change based on the answers that are already given.

Everyone can rest assured the collected data is relevant to the specific asset. This increases the quality and accuracy of the data. Accurate data account for better decisions that lead to the competitive advantage of ScaleAQ. The data is subsequently analyzed in the back office.

And when the pens are being moved between locations, field engineers see the exact info they need to assemble them.

Back-office workers do not need coding skills to put together responsive questionnaires and analyze the outcomes. They can take advantage of the Inspections+ no-code capabilities.

All data in one system

As ScaleAQ grew, its partner seamlessly integrated it with Dynamics 365 Sales and Customer Service. They have incorporated other back-office systems as well.

All the company data is created and stored in one ecosystem. This way, ScaleAQ avoids data silos and makes sure all the employees and vendors are on the same page.

Sustainability

ScaleAQ has overcome many hurdles thanks to its robust software solution. The biggest challenge at the moment is the state of the ocean and the fish. That’s why they promote circular aquaculture and are focused on sustainability.

With the Green Platform Project SirkAQ, they are developing solutions to reuse, repair and extend the life of plastic from fish farming equipment and to use recycled materials in new products.

Thanks to technology, they have a detailed overview of all the processes. That helps with good management of resources and sustainable operations.

After all, there can be no aquaculture without a clean ocean and healthy fish.

Field service+

Resco Field Service+ with Inspections+ help companies to become more efficient and sustainable – not only in aquaculture but also in manufacturing, property maintenance, or the energy sector.

If you got interested in the ScaleAQ story, in how they use advanced mobility to drive efficiency, and you’d like to explore how it can benefit your business, book a demo with us, and we’ll provide you all answers and tailored consultation.

Príspevok ScaleAQ makes fish-farming more efficient thanks to advanced mobility zobrazený najskôr Resco.

It is going to be a little technical, but the reward is worth it, so let’s dive right in.

What scenario you can cover with this flow

Back-office user manually selects any number of rows in Account table. Then clicks on “Generate Report button” and Accounts Overview PDF is automatically generated and saved on SharePoint.

Prerequisites

• The setup can be done only by an admin
• Report Template is created in the organization
• You have these licenses:
  • Power Automate license for the admin
  • Resco license
  • Dataverse Admin License

Step 1: Create a new flow and a trigger

First, go to make.poweautomate.com and click on the “New flow” and “Automated cloud flow” options.

You can name your flow now or just click on “Skip” (you can name it later).

For a trigger, enter “http request” into the search bar and choose the “When an HTTP request is received” option.

For a Request Body JSON Schema, insert this JSON:

{

“type”: “object”,

“properties”: {

“GUIDS”: {

“type”: “string”

}

}

}

The provided JSON is a representation of an object with one property called “GUIDS”.

Within the code, we define what this trigger should expect to receive from the button we’ll create later in PowerApps.

Let’s break it down further:

“type” & “object”: This indicates that the root element of the JSON is an object.

“properties”: This keyword is used to define the properties of the object.

“GUIDS”: This is the name of the property. In this case, it represents a globally unique identifier (GUID).

“type” & “string”: This specifies that the value of the “GUIDS” property should be a string. A string is a sequence of characters, such as letters, numbers, and symbols.

Step 2: Create a variable

The next step we will need is a variable. Go ahead and click “Next step” and search for an “Initialize variable”.

Select an appropriate name for the variable. In this case, we are going to name it “varGuids”, select its Type as “String” and Value is going to be “GUIDS” from previous step/trigger.

Your variable should look like this:

Step 3: Compose – edit format of GUIDS

Right now, we have received our GUIDS of records we selected in the view.

The only thing that keeps us from using a Resco Reports connector in our flow now is that the connector expects those GUIDS to be in the slightly different format – in comma-delimited list of record IDs.

That’s why our next action is a step called “Compose”, where we take those GUIDS and use an action to get a subset of characters of a given string.

Click on “Add new action” search for “Compose” action, then click on “Inputs”, switch to “Expressions” and start typing function called substring.

Add the () after the function, switch to “Dynamic content” and choose the variable “varGuids”.

Add “1” after the variable, and add another function called “sub()”, where we define the length of substring. In the () add another function called “length()” and inside of () there will be our varGuids variable again.

After this, just add “2”.

The whole expression should look like this:

substring(variables(‘varGuids’),1,sub(length(variables(‘varGuids’)),2))

Step 4: Resco connector – the star of the show

When we got this out of the way, we can now proceed to adding Resco Reports connector as an action.

Type in “Resco Reports” to the search bar and choose the “Generate a report on multiple rows” action.

You might be asked to provide you Dataverse resource URL, please do so.

After you provided you Dataverse URL, you can now setup Resco Reports action.

In Report ID, choose the correct Report from your organization that you defined in Report Designer.

In this case, it has to be a report for list of records.

For the comma-delimited list of record IDs, choose “Outputs” from the “Compose” action, and then your preferred format. You can chose PDF, HTML, Word or Excel.

The action should look something like this:

Step 5: SharePoint configuration

The next action we need to do is to create a file in SharePoint.

Type in “Create a file” and choose the action related to SharePoint.

In this step, you will define your SharePoint site and the folder path from your site. You can set up a file name as well.

The only thing that you must have the same as in our example is the file content. Choose the “Report content” option from the “Generate a report on multiple row” step in our flow.

The step should look like this:

And now you have it. You can now select multiple records on the list view, click the button, and your report for those records will be generated and saved to your SharePoint site.

Step 6: Create and define the button

We have successfully created a flow, all we need to do now is to add a button to the view.

Navigate to the make.powerapps.com again, go to the “Solutions” and choose a solution you want to add a button in. Click on three dots and hit “Edit”.

Create a JS file in your computer with this script:

function GenerateReport(selectedIds) {

var formattedGuids = “{” + selectedIds + “}”;

var req = new XMLHttpRequest();

var url = “[INSERT URL OF YOUR FLOW HERE]“;

req.open(“POST”, url, true);

req.setRequestHeader(‘Content-Type’, ‘application/json’);

req.send(JSON.stringify({

“GUIDS”: formattedGuids}));

Xrm.Utility.alertDialog(“Single PDF report will be generated from the selected rows. It will be saved in SharePoint.”);

}

Do not forget to paste you flow URL from the trigger of the flow.

The next thing we want to do is to create a web resource, which we will use in the configuration of the button on the list view. Click on “New”, then select “More” and “Web resource”.

Choose the JS file we created earlier, type in the Display name. Type should be automatically changed to JavaScript (JS). Click “Save”.

Navigate to the apps, choose the app you want to add a button in and click on “Edit”.

Find a view where you want to place your button, click on three dots and then on “Edit command bar”.

Select the main grid and click on “Edit”.

On the upper left side, click on “+New” and choose “Command”.

The next settings for button are up to you, but here are some examples:

• For the label, type in “Generate Report”.
• For Icon, choose “Use Icon” and “PdfIconFile”.

Important part about configuring the command starts here:

For the Action, select “Run JavaScript”, for the Library, choose the JS file that we added to a WebResourse.

Next, type in the name of the function from the JavaScript web resource, in this case “GenerateReport”.

Click on “Add parameter” and choose “SelectedControlSelectedItemsIds” from a dropdown list.

Since it’s a button for generating a report for multiple records, we don’t want it to be visible unless at least one item is selected on the list.

Therefore, for a visibility, click on the dropdown, and select “Show on condition from formula” and then click on “Open formula bar”.

Paste following function to a formula bar:

CountRows(Self.Selected.AllItems)>0

Make sure to Save and Publish it.

How to get in touch

And that’s a wrap! In this blog, we demonstrated how to create a flow, which generates the Resco Report for multiple records in your Dataverse org and saves this report in your SharePoint.

You can trigger this flow by clicking on your custom button.

If you want to learn more, or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I’ll be happy to follow up.

Príspevok Save time and effort: Create PDF report for multiple rows in Dynamics 365 with Resco Reports connector zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Since joining Resco in 2018, Tomas has been instrumental in implementing projects and helping our customers thrive within the Dynamics ecosystem. In this blog, he shares the three most interesting mobile requirements he has encountered during his time at Resco.

1. Risk Matrix component in Inspections+

The client wanted to add a Risk Matrix component to their Inspections+ questionnaire form. The problem was that this kind of question didn’t exist in the Questionnaire Designer tool.

To create a Risk Matrix question type, Tomas had to be creative and find a workaround. He decided to add several Option set questions with the pre-defined values and applied custom formatting via Styles in order to mimic the desired layout of the Risk Matrix component.

“The whole process from the requirement analysis through the implementation until the quick test took about two to three hours and demonstrated the flexibility of Resco. I was able to create the solution without any coding, using Resco’s no-code/low-code tools,” explains Tomas.

Resco’s solution not only covered the client’s need for functionality and layout but also design. The original component had several color scales ranging from green through yellow to red, each representing a different level of risk. The flexibility of the Resco Questionnaire Designer tool in terms of design allowed us to meet these demands, making the user adoption process much more accessible.

When the client saw the result, they were very pleased with it. The partner only added one minor rule to the solution to ensure that mobile users could only select one question in the matrix, and the rest were not editable. This solution demonstrated Resco’s platform’s adaptability and provided value to the client by meeting their specific requirements.

2. Complex custom mobile report

The potential client’s requirement was the ability to generate a mobile report with a custom layout upon the completion of the Questionnaire form.

Resco mobile reports are a very important and popular feature among Resco customers and partners. This feature allows users to quickly generate a PDF or Word document, or other output, which shows the results of the work orders field workers complete in the field. This output can be easily shared with clients or saved in the system for archiving.

A potential customer was interested in using Resco Inspections+ feature, but they wanted to see some output from it as well. The customer shared a scanned paper form with a complex layout they used for their work.

While the Resco Report Designer is a powerful and flexible tool that offers many configuration options, it requires some time to learn how to use its full potential and build really complex reports. Resco developers have improved the usability of the tool in recent releases, investing in making these technologies more user-friendly.

“Thanks to this, I was able to replicate the customer’s paper form using the Report Designer tool, creating a faithful copy of the form,” Tomas says.

The client was impressed with the custom mobile report during the demo and was pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of Resco technology. Such custom reports are recommended for users in highly competitive environments who need to quickly generate customized reports and send them to clients. They are also very useful for clients who need their reports to comply with strict legal requirements.

Although it can take several days to create a complex report, the effort is worth it as it can be updated very quickly once completed.

Mobile reports are the bread and butter of field data collection, but their generation isn’t solely a task for frontline workers. The ability to access and quickly create reports is important for field managers and back-office employees to review data and steer the information flow.

That’s why Inspections+ new feature, utilizing the Resco Power Automate connector, allows reports to be generated directly from Dynamics 365 and Dataverse. And makes it simple and fast.

3. Complex validation rules in Woodford

A potential client was planning to replace their current custom-built backend system and mobile app with something more standard. One of their requirements for the demo presentation was the ability to configure multiple validations in the mobile app without any programming, in a no-code/low-code way, to make the mobile app smart and foolproof.

The challenge was to ensure that the mobile application was user-friendly, with various validations and checks to prevent potential problems from the user entering incorrect data or conducting inspections for which they were not trained.

To address this challenge, Tomas used Resco’s customization tool, Woodford, and specifically its Rule Editor – a complex, flexible and no-code component for implementing custom business logic.

“I needed to create a multi-level validation that would check several actions within the application. Although the potential client wasn’t sure such validations could be created in the given timeframe, I was able to successfully demonstrate and present them, receiving positive feedback,” remarks Tomas.

The easier we can make things for users, the better the results, and the fewer errors there will be. Companies can save a lot of money by preventing repeated inspections due to technical incompetence.

The app Tomas presented demonstrated the combined power of Microsoft Dataverse and Resco. During the presentation, the client was surprised by the significant advantage of customizing Resco’s mobile application without programming.

Setting up an app without the need for custom code leads to faster development, lower costs, easier and cheaper maintenance of the system, and a better user experience. Companies often overlook costs hidden in the future maintenance of the custom code. However, these costs can be significantly reduced by applying a no-code/low-code approach where it’s suitable.

Make the most of Resco by staying in the loop

“I highly recommend attending our product webinars, where we showcase and demonstrate new functionalities. Additionally, I encourage our customers and partners to provide us with their feedback, which drives us forward, helps us better understand the real-life scenarios and keeps our focus on the features that bring a high value to our customers,” advises Tomas.

You can also follow us on social media such as YouTube and LinkedIn, where you’ll find the latest updates about our features and events. And if you’re interested in the technical aspects of our solutions, check out our technical blogs and subscribe to the Resco newsletter, where you’ll find valuable Tech tips.

By following these tips, you can ensure that you’re utilizing Resco to its full potential and staying ahead of the game in terms of mobile capabilities.

Príspevok Challenge accepted: Three unique customer demands solved with Resco zobrazený najskôr Resco.

All in all, an offline mode means your field workers are not looking at the loading icon on their screen when they are in a hurry and need to work.

Watch Trevor Metcalfe, North America Marketing Manager at Resco, explain the five hidden benefits of offline in detail.

The benefits of offline

1. Speed

A mobile client that doesn’t rely on server-based logic, data, or connectivity is much faster and more responsive for the user under all conditions.

Even with perfect 5G wireless, a mobile app that relies on this signal to operate is still more sluggish than a fully offline capable client.

2. Consistency

The mobile experience is only as good as its worst-performing scenario. Imagine you are in the field and need to update an inspection ticket or look up a historical client work order.

If you are waiting seconds or minutes until you can complete the task, it’s not only frustrating and inconvenient at the moment. It also erodes your faith that the app will work in the future. It may mean a field-based employee decides not to add data or might decide to wait until they are back in the office/closer to a better wireless region.

3. Convenience

Having all the functionality a field-based worker needs right there on the device means they never have to think twice about getting the job done with a workflow they can trust.

Field-based work can be challenging enough, but imagine having to tweak your workflow to get your job done based on whether you have a serviceable wireless connection or not.

With an offline-capable client, a worker can get their job done and let the data sync and other server-side actions take care of themselves later.

4. Efficiency

If field-based workers can be confident that they can do everything they need in real-time, it’s a huge efficiency driver. They are not wasting time waiting for connectivity. They are inputting data and doing their job at the optimal moment.

Suppose someone has to wait until they get back within wireless coverage or even until they are at a PC. This not only extends their working day, which can impact job satisfaction. In that case, it means there is a gap between when they do the job and when they record the full details for the system of record. This can result in details being forgotten, work being rushed, or potentially not being tracked at all.

This was the case at Southern States Toyota Lift, an authorized Toyota Forklift dealer in Florida and Georgia, US. The salespeople used Excel spreadsheets. When they digitized the processes using advanced mobility, the company revenue increased by $350k/month thanks to improved efficiency of data input and processing.

5. Security

For certain organizations, security is a major consideration. The ability for field-based workers to be able to work with a full offline dataset and only sync when they are within a sanctioned network environment is massive.

Both customer and provider can be assured that the highest data security models are being upheld.

How to recognize an app with an effective offline mode

Not all offline modes on apps for field workers are equal. So, how do you recognize an excellent offline mode?

First and foremost, it is customizable. An admin can make sure field workers can access precisely the data they need in the offline mode. This makes the app quicker and more responsive.

An important feature is the ability to set up your synchronization. You only want to send and receive what’s required – ideally in an optimal storage format.

A stable and customizable offline mode is crucial when you store and transfer a lot of data. Thinking about it early on will save you a headache as your organization grows.

At Resco, we are developing software with an offline mode in mind. Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit can handle millions of records and complex tables. Our customers and partners have control over what is being synchronized.

Simply said, Resco puts the five hidden benefits of offline into plain sight.

Príspevok The five hidden benefits of offline zobrazený najskôr Resco.

But synchronization can be the make-or-break technology for your whole digital initiative.

With megabytes or even gigabytes of data, it can be tricky to set up and it’s a challenge for situations when moving between online & offline locations.

Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit offer several tools helping you to maximize the efficiency of synchronization.

Let’s take a look at the most important ones and their specifics.

Tools for analyzing

Sync Log

The Sync log is a powerful tool. You can use it to analyze the time spent on each synchronization step and adjust it based on the requirements.

For example, you notice that the sync is taking too long and find out that one entity is downloaded without restrictions, even when the user doesn’t need all the data.

The most common way of figuring out the cause of any issues is to look into the log from the device. You can find it in the “About“ section of the app.

The option “Diagnostic Sync Logs” must be enabled in the Woodford project, under “Settings” in “Configuration”, or as “Log Sync Details” in the Mobile CRM app’s Setup.

We recommend using this option only if you’re in the process of fine tuning. Enable this to ensure that your log includes as much detail as possible. However, in general, don’t leave this option enabled in production.

After publishing the project and synchronizing with the app, you will see the changes.

Scroll down to the latest synchronization (which you can find thanks to the date and time in its name), where you will see what entities have been synchronized, how many records are there for each entity, and other processes which happened during synchronization.

You can find detailed information about the structure of our log files and an in-depth analysis on our wiki: Log files – Resco’s Wiki

Sync Dashboard

The Sync Dashboard is our monitoring tool for administrators that collects information about every synchronization. It presents them in an understandable way with charts and the ability to see each synchronization log individually.

It also shows when there are any errors or warnings present. The administrator can see what exactly caused them by clicking the icon and solve the issue at hand.

You can find more information about how to set up the Sync Dashboard in your environment and how to use it on our wiki: Sync Dashboard – Resco’s Wiki

Storage Analyzer

This tool helps with deeper analysis by showing statistical data about the app’s local storage.

You can find it in the setup of your app:

You can see multiple reports focusing on database storage and binary documents (blob storage).

Here we are providing detailed information about what each component takes into storage for you to look at and adjust as necessary.

You can find detailed explanations for each of the Storage Analyzer reports our wiki: Storage analyzer – Resco’s Wiki

Audit

You can do two types of auditing: server auditing and mobile auditing.

Server Auditing

It can be quite helpful to see what changes were made to records or entities to help determine additional steps to improve synchronization, and when tracking other issues.

You can enable auditing on your back-end server.

For more information, see our wiki article: Auditing – Resco’s Wiki

Mobile Auditing

This type of auditing shows changes in the app itself. Here you can find out how often users create records and what changes they make.

Auditing – Resco’s Wiki

That creates individual records for each change you want to track, so we suggest using maintenance in Woodford to prevent unnecessary cluttering.

Maintenance – Resco’s Wiki

Fiddler

This is an external free tool that we regularly use when trying to analyze the traffic between the server and the app. You can use it too for our Windows (store and desktop) apps.

It helps with figuring out what data was synchronized with the server and it’s also handy for finding bottlenecks.

You can find more information on how to set up Fiddler on our wiki: Fiddler – Resco’s Wiki

For a brief introduction to Fiddler Classic including some practical tips and tricks, enroll in the Fiddler Classic course in Resco Academy.

Tools for configuration

Sync filter

When you want to limit what data is being shown in the application, Sync filter is just the tool for that.

With it, you can set each entity to show only the records relevant to a user and make the synchronization process as quick and smooth as possible.

When selecting most entities in Woodford, you will find that they have a sync filter.

You can set up your conditions for the filter, and after a full synchronization (deleting data in the app’s setup tab and synchronizing), you will see the changes in the app.

It is also possible to edit the filter directly by exporting it as an XML file and adjusting it yourself.

You can find more information about the Sync Filter on our wiki: Sync Filter – Resco’s Wiki

Also, we have plenty of examples on how to utilize the sync filter here: Sync Filter examples – Resco’s Wiki

Advanced Sync Setup

When you want to go into more in-depth synchronization, you can set up the behavior of the Sync Downloader and configure how the records are downloaded.

This is an XML configuration file that can be found in the Woodford project under “Settings” inside “Configuration” on the top of the panel named „Sync Config“.

You can modify the download process to your liking based on many parameters.

For an exact and detailed explanation of how to work with Advanced sync setup, visit our wiki page: Advanced sync setup – Resco’s Wiki

Blob Storage

In Resco Cloud, you can you can use external storage for binary documents to save space in your database (such as Azure Storage or AmazonS3).

Blob storage takes this into account and downloads the documents from this storage during synchronization.

For more information on how to set it up in your environment, look into our wiki article: Blob storage for Resco Cloud – Resco’s Wiki

Document Filter

For when you don’t want to download all of your files into your app, but want to have them present on-demand (with internet connection) you can use this blob filter.

It can be found in the Woodford project under “Setting” inside “Configuration” on top of the „Blob Filter“ panel.

You can set varying max sizes for different file formats based on specific entities and much more.

For examples and more information about this tool, go to our wiki page: Document filters – Resco’s Wiki

Woodford Config Setup

Last but certainly not least is the Woodford configuration setup. It contains an amazing number of specific configurations for setting up your environment to your needs.

This is present in every Woodford Project under “Settings” on the left panel.

To pick a few specific configuration settings that are worth mentioning here:

• Max Upload Attachment Size – The maximum size of an attachment (documents, notes, email attachments) in bytes that can be created, captured or attached in the app.
• Background Download – Always download records in the background. If True, foreground sync switches to background after executing the upload & customization update. No impact on background sync
• Auto Sync – Set up an automatic sync
• Max Sync Records – Max number of records per entity to download. This is a hard limit that violates data integrity (a more restrictive sync filter is a better way to reduce app data)
• Show Sync Warnings – Show sync warnings alert after sync completion or just silently write them to the sync log (in case of multiple warnings, only the first one is shown)
• # Records/Upload Request – Max number of upload requests sent in one batch to the server

For more information about each setting, see our wiki article explaining the whole Configuration tab: Configuration – Resco’s Wiki

How to start

Fortunately, Resco solutions provide a range of tools that help optimize and manage data synchronization.

But if we can recommend what should be the first step in making your sync better, it’s enrolling to Resco Academy courses.

They provide an in-depth look at data synchronization and insights on how to maximize efficiency when using different tools.

These courses will be a great place to start:

• Introduction to Resco Architecture
• Woodford Basics
• Synchronization & Sync Dashboard
• Logs and troubleshooting

If you are ready to enroll in one of these courses, you can register to Resco Academy for free.

Príspevok 10 tools to improve your synchronization speed and management zobrazený najskôr Resco.

With evolving technology, the data we obtain about our environment is richer than ever before. It also seems that we keep having less time and more choices. To keep up, we need something that would help us to comprehend information and make decisions faster.   One way to close the gap between the digital and the psychical world is augmented reality technology. AR is used across industries and helps, for example, shoppers to pick the right clothes, technicians to fix machines efficiently, allows medical students to try out surgeries digitally. We can now view 3D images, manipulate virtual objects, and even create entire digital worlds that exist alongside our own.. Since the starting era of computer technology, people have dreamed of a future where it can enhance what they see and experience in the world around them. Augmented Reality (AR) is bringing that future a little closer by using digital technologies to overlay information onto the physical world. You might find it like a science fiction movie, but AR is already being used in different ways that positively impact our lives. With its ability to bring your ideas to life, AR is proving to be a valuable tool for both individuals and businesses alike.Let’s look at what exactly AR is, how it works, in what forms it exists, and how it can help people receive information.

What is augmented reality?      

Augmented reality, or AR, is a technology that allows digitally generated 3D objects to be overlaid in real-world scenarios using an AR device. The virtual object shows up on the screen in the real environment together with the device’s camera input. This way, the users can interact both with the physical world and the virtual object enriching the experience with data. However futuristic it may sound, nowadays, it is pretty easy to encounter AR technology. While still developing, it is estimated that worldwide spending on AR technologies will reach $45.1 billion by 2022. The technology is being used across industries, including marketing, healthcare, education, product development, manufacturing, etc.

Brief history of AR

The world’s first head-mounted display was created by Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull in 1968. This device used primitive computer graphics to create an image of what lay beyond the user’s line of sight.

The video place was an artificial reality lab created in 1975 by Myron Krueger. The mission of this company (which later evolved into projecting human figures onto screens with digital content such as projectors and cameras) continues today as well.

In 1980, Steve Mann developed the first portable computer that could be used while you are looking into it. It was called “Eye Tap.” The technologies allowed him to record images and superimpose others on top for an interactive experience.

The first Heads-Up Display was developed in 1987 by Douglas George and Robert Morris. It displayed astronomical data over the real sky, which helped pilots avoid eye fatigue while flying at night or during foggy conditions.

Thomas Caudell and David Mizell, researchers for the Boeing company, came up with a term that would eventually be known as augmented reality in 1990.

With Frank Deigado and Mike Abernathy’s team of scientists, in 1999, they created new navigation software that could generate runways and street data from a helicopter video.

In 2000, the Japanese scientist Hirokazu Kato developed ARToolKit, an open-source SDK that works with Adobe programs like Photoshop and Illustrator to create 3D graphics on your computer screen.

In 2008, Wikitude, a company that specializes in artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology, created an app for Android mobile devices called AR Travel Guide.

With Google Glass, from 2013, gamers can wear augmented reality goggles that let them see their surroundings through HD screens.

The difference between AR, VR and MR 

While augmented and virtual reality are often grouped together, they don’t work the same way and serve different purposes.   

As mentioned before, augmented reality (AR) includes a virtual overlay in a real-life environment. The user still sees the physical world, only his view is enriched by AR animation and data. Almost any person with a smartphone can get access to AR, no additional devices are necessary.  

Although augmented reality usually gets all the spotlight, there is another AR – assisted reality. Unlike augmented reality, it is a reality first experience. Information isn´t overlaid on top of the real world. Instead, the user sees a screen within their immediate field of vision.

On the other hand, virtual reality completely immerses the user into a virtual, computer-generated scenario. When a user puts on a VR headset, the screen eliminates any interaction with the real-life environment. However, it often does simulate a real experience by employing visual or auditory stimulation. To experience virtual reality, you need special equipment such as computers, headsets, or gloves. 

Mixed reality combines the elements of AR and VR so that digital objects can interact with the real world. They are designed to be anchored to the real environment. Thanks to the interactivity element, MR overlaps with AR and is sometimes used interchangeably.

How does augmented reality work? 

AR projections can be displayed on various devices: various screens, glasses, handheld devices, smartphones, and headsets.   

For the computer-generated perceptual information to show up correctly, it calculates the position and orientation of the surrounding objects in real life. Usually, it works like this: Based on the type, AR can use depth sensors, accelerometers, cameras, gyroscopes, and light sensors to collect data on the user’s surroundings. They measure the distance to the objects, speed of the motion, direction and angle, and overall orientation in space. The data is then processed to show animation in a real-time and relevant location. 

Types Of AR 

There are four most popular types of augmented reality: marker-based, marker-less, projection-based and superimposition-based AR.  

• Marker-based AR 

Marker-based AR (also called “image recognition) requires a marker – a photo, QR code, or something similar – to initiate the AR animation.

The device will scan the marker with a camera and calculate the overlay’s position. The marker is static, allowing users to move around and inspect the object in 3D from various angles. 

• Projection-based AR 

As the name might suggest, projection-based AR visualizes digital images into physical space. It uses synthetic light to show visuals on surfaces.

It may be interactive – the most known would be a projected digital keyboard that allows users to type. However, it also can be non-interactive.

Those can look like a holograph – a light projection of objects where you can also see their position and depth. 

• Marker-less AR 

Marker-less augmented reality does not need a marker to be in a fixed point in space.

The placement of the virtual object is based on the user’s real physical environment.

Correct detecting and mapping surroundings require more advanced technology than marker-based AR, such as GPS or compasses. It is also known as “location-based” AR, as it adds information based on a certain area. 

• Superimposition-based AR

Superimposition-based AR replaces a portion or the whole of a physical object in the view with an augmented one.

Object recognition plays a significant role in this, as the app must be able to recognize what object to show.

For example, this is used in medicine, where doctors can see the X-ray view of a patient’s broken bone on the real image or locate veins better.

Essential Components for AR to Work

Augmented Reality technology is growing more advanced every day, but there are a few essential components that it needs to work on to be effective.

• Sensors

AR relies on sensors to understand the environment around it. Using a combination of GPS, accelerometers, and gyroscopes, AR apps can figure out exactly where you are and what direction you’re facing.

From there, they can superimpose digital content on top of the real world. In any case, without sensors, AR wouldn’t be possible.

• Algorithms

Algorithms are responsible for mapping the physical world and determining where digital content should be placed.

Designing algorithms that can accurately map the world is a challenge. The world is constantly changing, and so are the algorithms that power AR.

• Output Devices

They provide the user with information about the virtual world created. The most common output device is a head-mounted display (HMD).

AR technology requires lightweight output devices that deliver high-resolution images and video without causing undue strain on the user’s neck or eyes.

What is SLAM Technology?

SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) refers to the technology that allows digital content to be accurately placed in the real world.

Using a combination of sensors and computer vision, SLAM tracks the user’s movements and produces a map of the surrounding environment.

This map is then used to place digital content, such as 3D models or virtual objects, in the real world. 

Uses of AR

AR has various potential uses, from entertainment and gaming to education and training. AR is already being used by some industries, such as retail, healthcare, and manufacturing.

But how does AR facilitate these industries? Let’s take a look: 

• Healthcare

With technology integration like AR, the healthcare industry has revolutionized and has become more efficient and effective.

Surgeons use AR to provide real-time guidance to surgeons during complex procedures. It could also be used to create immersive educational experiences for medical students. 

Additionally, AR could be used to create virtual models of patients’ organs, allowing doctors to get a better understanding of their anatomy. 

• Retail

Retailers always look for new ways to engage customers and create an interactive shopping experience. Augmented reality (AR) is one technology that is being used more frequently in the retail sector. 

AR involves superimposing computer-generated images onto a user’s view of the real world.

For example, customers can view products in their homes before making a purchase, or get a virtual tour of a store before visiting in person. 

• Entertainment

Augmented reality (AR) is one of the latest technologies that is starting to make a big impact in the world of entertainment. AR can be used from enhancing live performances to create interactive experiences for users.

For instance, AR can be used to project images and information onto surfaces; providing viewers with an immersive experience. Additionally, AR can be used to create games and other interactive content.

Examples of AR technology 

AR becoming commonplace might seem like a thing of the distant future. In reality, it is far more common than you might think.

• Snapchat & Instagram filters

Probably the most popular example of AR in everyday life are the filters used by social media apps.

These include everything from illustrated flower crowns or retro picture filters to “beautifying” filters.

The user´s face is detected with the help of AI. After that, the filter is digitally overlaid on the face. Thanks to AR and AI, these filters can look very real.

• Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go, the mobile game that took the world by storm in 2016 and grossed more than $6 billion in revenue by 2020, is a prime example of AR.

The game combines digital technology with physical involvement – the players catch cartoon characters virtually present in real-life surroundings.

• Maintenance assistance

AR equipped maintenance solutions that aid users can be very helpful while troubleshooting.

They are also a great help to beginner technicians with limited knowledge about the equipment they are servicing.

Apps like this are often used in the manufacturing, automotive or field service industry.

Assisted reality devices such as RealWear are equipped with an HD camera for visual documentation and a powerful microphone that workers can use even in noisy environments such as construction sites or manufacturing halls.

Workers can follow manuals, complete inspections, or make calls while keeping their hands free. Resco’s app for RealWear is offline enabled, can be adapted to the client’s needs, and directly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Resco Cloud.

• Interior decoration apps

When you want to remodel your home, you don´t need to go and buy new furniture.

Instead, you can try it out in one of the many interior decoration apps that allow you to virtually impose a picture over your surroundings so that you can try out if the new piece of furniture would fit.

The furniture retailer IKEA has gone even further and created IKEA Studio – an app that uses the iPhone´s LiDAR sensor to capture 3D plans of your home so that you can virtually redesign it.

It is currently in beta, but it was built in preparation for the arrival of Apple Glass, so we know that we can expect an even more immersive AR experience in the future.

• ASOS See my fit

The online fashion retailer ASOS is always quick to innovate.

When the pandemic started and model as well as photographers could only work from home, ASOS launched the See My Fit feature in collaboration with the AR company Zeekit.

See My Fit allows users to digitally fit clothing onto models with sixteen different body types, sizes and heights.

Metaverse & AR

Metaverse and AR are two cutting-edge technologies often spoken about in the same breath.

And for a good reason – they both hold immense potential for transforming the way we interact with the world around us. But how are these two technologies connected? And do they have a place in the future?

Metaverse is a virtual world that exists online, while AR is a technology that overlays digital information in the real world. Both technologies have the power to change the way we work, play, and communicate.

Metaverse can be used to create virtual workplaces, where employees can collaborate from anywhere in the world.

AR, on the other hand, can revolutionize shopping by allowing people to try on products before they buy them.

According to statistics, the total market value is forecast to climb from $30.7 billion in 2021 to around $300 billion by 2024. Looking to the future, it’s clear that both Metaverse and AR will majorly impact our lives.

Future of AR

AR is still in development; there’s no doubt that AR has a bright future ahead. But what to expect from this technology in the years to come?

First and foremost, we can expect AR to become more common among people. As the technology develops, it will become increasingly affordable and easy to use.

You can also expect AR to significantly impact how you interact with the world around us.

With the advent of 5G, AR can provide much higher-resolution real-time information, making it more realistic and immersive.

In addition, 5G will enable AR applications to be used in more remote locations, such as construction sites and mines.

So, what does the future hold for AR? There’s no telling exactly what will happen, but one thing is for sure: it will be an exciting adventure.

Príspevok What is augmented reality and how does AR work? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

To leverage the opportunity, we deployed a lean approach to process flow known as Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) in WennSoft (formerly Key2Act). This cyclical approach to process flow facilitates continuous improvements.

And with this method, we have optimized several processes in the technician’s workflow. For example, we reduced the number of clicks to complete a procedure called Job Safety Analysis (JSA) from 47 to 15. That’s a 68% reduction of clicks and increase in efficiency.

To better understand the PDCA model and how we achieved these optimizations, let’s go through each of the steps of PDCA.

What is Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) method?

Organizations and individuals use the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle for carrying out a change in business processes. The method consists of four steps, each designed for a specific purpose:

1. Proposing a change
2. Implementing the change
3. Measuring the results
4. Taking appropriate action

The concept was first proposed by American physicist Walter Shewhart in the 1920s and further developed by William Deming in the 1950s.

PDCA is similar to Kaizen philosophy and Six Sigma methodologies.

How we implemented PDCA at WennSoft

Step 1: Plan – Document the current processes

The first step in the process flow is using the current mobile processes as the Plan. We begin by analyzing procedures already ‘in production’ without making any changes.

Step 2: Do – Get a picture of the processes in action

In step two, it is important to capture how the current processes (Plan scenario) progress in action.

With any mobile solution, you want to reduce the number of clicks necessary to complete a process.

For example, in our mobile solution, we had a mobile user recording their current process when working on an appointment. In this scenario, it was important to let our mobile users do what they typically do without interfering.

We needed to better understand how they use the solution without jumping in and providing suggestions.

Step 3: Check – Analyze the results

Now, with having a picture of the current situation, it is time to convert that into data that can be analyzed.

We rewatch the video recorded in ‘Do’, and anytime the user clicks or must enter text, we write it down as a new step.

Once all the steps are written down, we go back and group them based on what is the common task that these steps are completing, or what is the user trying to do. From these grouped tasks, we compile an overall process flow.

This step provides data for the process snapshot and provides a baseline with actual numbers (how many clicks/steps to complete a task, how many tasks to complete the overall process).

Step 4: Act – Implementation

If our plan provided the number of steps and process flow procedure to optimize this workflow, we could implement software changes and work on training staff on the updates.

However, since this was our first time using the PDCA cycle for planning, and our workflow is not yet optimized, we moved on and began the cycle again.

The second cycle of PDCA:

Step 1 (second cycle): Plan – Try options by changing the order or adding customizations

To further optimize a workflow, you need to start the PDCA process again by returning to the first step – Plan.

From the collected data, we review which tasks take the most steps and ask:

• Can the process be reordered to reduce steps?
• What tasks or steps cause the most frustration?
• Is there customization that we could implement to reduce the steps?
• Can Resco Inspections reduce some steps?

The answer to these questions may not be clear all the time. So we come up with a new plan to try and continue with PDCA to find out.

Step 2 (second cycle): Do – Get a picture of the plan in action

In this step, we try the new plan and record the steps and tasks it takes to complete the same process.

Step 3 (second cycle): Check – Analyze the results

It may surprise you that the best case you thought of is not actually the most optimized. That’s why the PDCA process is so helpful. It gives us tangible data for comparison.

Step 4 (second cycle): Act – Implementation

If we are satisfied with the latest plan then we work on implementing it into production, otherwise, we start the cycle over again with the knowledge we gained from the last cycle.

Our experience with PDCA

For example, we have a process where technicians complete a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) when they arrive on site. They need to identify potential hazards and determine if the site is safe to continue working on.

After utilizing PDCA in this scenario, the number of clicks it took to complete the JSA, and produce the resulting report, was reduced from 47 to 15. That’s a 68% reduction of clicks and increase in efficiency.

Specifically, in our usage of the PDCA review, we were able to reduce the number of clicks for a process by over 50%.

While not only is this a huge increase in efficiency, the other benefit is the ease of use and satisfaction of mobile users. That is not as easily quantified but equally important.

Try PDCA to improve your processes

The PDCA process is a great method to use regardless of how well your mobile workflow is currently viewed.

If your workflow is currently working well, there may still be areas of opportunity for you to uncover for fine-tuning.

If your current workflow is a constant frustration for users, there may be gaps, opportunities in the process, or mobile customizations you identify.

PDCA is a simple process to follow, and the flexibility of Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit paired with Inspections+ provides ample possibilities for different plans to try.

This is a great exercise to review on a yearly basis, especially as new features and functionality become available. Try it out, you may be surprised by what you find.

This blog has been written by Nicole Zabel, Software Developer at WennSoft

Príspevok We reduced 68% of clicks in a technician’s mobile process. I’ll tell you how (WennSoft Partner Story) zobrazený najskôr Resco.

At the same time, they have a cognitive and emotional effect on users’ attitudes or behavior,leveraged mainly in marketing and branding.

Color, shape, size, orientation, and movement can signal that these elements likely share a common meaning or functionality.

Well-chosen colors define the semantics of visual planning and scheduling, too.

They reduce the time needed to understand the message, which leads to greater agility and better-informed decision-making.

There is a ‘but’ however

Too many contrasting colors contribute to disorganization and incoherence.

A large number of colors increases the unpredictability of tasks and the error rate — so reducing the number of colors in the coding of information will also reduce the cognitive burden of the user and help to make the interaction smoother.

Also, keep in mind that some individuals may not be able to distinguish between certain colors (most often blue and red) due to color blindness.

Resco Schedule Board

Current design

Based on our research on colors, we looked at their use in the component that is the most colored in the Resco application.

It’s a component that gets a slight improvement in usability each quarter.

Schedule Board in the default Field Service project contains a lot of colors, tints & shadows, both the background of the calendar and the tasks in it.

So we’ve done a little research with three participants who do not use the Schedule Board but understand its purpose and the dispatcher’s role.

The research results suggest that several colors’ meanings are challenging to deduce. The most significant problems included:

• the recognition between green and blue tasks (both were perceived as “OK”),
• the recognition between various tints of blue tasks (“maybe the light blue tasks have already been done, while the dark blue ones are still in progress”),
• incorrect guessing of the meaning of sharp yellow and dark yellow,
• purple color which didn’t carry any obvious meaning (“something leisure”, “maybe some administrative work”),
• sharp red color which attracted too much attention and was perceived as related to the pink color.

New design

Based on this research and analysis of other similar calendar tools, we propose a color change in the Schedule Board in the default projects to enhance the experience of users.

When the box in the calendar is wide enough, we will also display an icon that can help users better understand the meaning of the color.

We also want to inspire you to think about their meaning when defining your own colors, not to define too many of them, and to always think of the users for whom they should be a visual aid and not a cipher that they have to crack with a legend.

It is not important that Planned tasks are marked in a strong color — green, as in the current state.

These tasks are fine, all necessary steps have been taken by the dispatcher, they only need to be completed, so we painted them gray. We left the green color to the Completed tasks — it is the most ideal state that can be achieved, employees should be rewarded for them, and their results should be evaluated (e.g., reports from inspections or the result of a sales appointment).

Time-Offs, currently sharp red, should not attract so much attention. It is only a message to the dispatcher that an employee will not be available, but he does not have to do anything about it, so we painted them gray, and we added a stripe pattern to them to further reduce their priority over planned tasks.

Particular attention should be paid to tasks that require the intervention of a dispatcher:

• Canceled tasks for which the dispatcher should find out what problem has occurred — pink,
• Pending Approval tasks, which require the dispatcher’s confirmation of the newly proposed time — yellow,
• Proposed tasks have to be confirmed well in advance by the contractor and the dispatcher must pay attention to this — yellow with stripe pattern (which indicates waiting).

Finally, we marked all tasks that are In Progress in blue. We have added the stripe pattern to those statuses that mean that the worker isn’t currently performing his primary work activity, but is either ‘Traveling’ to the customer or is ‘On break’.

Other In progress tasks can have a solid color, as the worker has either Arrived and is preparing tools or talking to the customer or is Working hard.

Originally, we were also thinking about color differentiation: darker and lighter shades of blue distinguishing statuses even more, so there is no need to rely on the icon.

However, there would be too many visual elements distinguishing the statuses of In Progress tasks, so we decided to stick to the stripe pattern and icons.

Of course, our new design needed user testing, too. We again showed the Schedule Board filled with tasks of all statuses to three participants, other than during the first testing.

We first asked them to interpret the colors themselves, and then provided them with a list of all the statuses to assign to the colors. Findings are the following:

• The visual similarity between the Planned tasks and the Time-off slots seemed strange to the participants.
• The red tasks with an exclamation mark – Violations – indicated an overdue or a high priority to two participants.
• The pink tasks with a cross – Canceled – were also perceived as a conflict in the past or as declined by contractors.
• There was a problem with the yellow tasks. Participants were not able to find a semantic symbol in yellow color initially.Later, the clock icon and the stripe pattern helped them to understand that the Proposed tasks mean that the dispatcher must wait for the contractor’s response.

  However, the exclamation mark caused the Pending Approval tasks’ design to indicate less severe violations or a priority slightly lower than the red tasks.

  Although the real meaning is a little different, our original goal – to direct the dispatcher’s attention to Violations and Pending approval tasks via colors and icons – has been accomplished.

  On mouse over, a dialog with a verbal expression of the status is displayed above each task.

• Without help – the list of all statuses – it was sometimes quite difficult for the participants to deduce the meaning of individual types of blue tasks.

In the second part of the testing, i.e., when the participants had a tool in the form of a list of all statuses, the success rate was satisfactory: 85 %. The icon turned out to be an important aid in interpreting meaning. We have decided to additionally mark the Canceled tasks by striking out the task name. To prevent semantic grouping of Planned tasks and Time-off slots due to the same color, we have replaced the gray color of scheduled tasks with white.

Final words

As you can see, color is a really strong carrier of information. In visual planning, the benefits of colors are even greater than elsewhere in UI design, and the user sometimes can’t even imagine planning without their support.

Thanks to the usability testing of the current and new colors in the Schedule Board, we were able to assess well the meanings of which colors are understandable even without a legend, which require longer thinking, and which we must necessarily change because they evoke a completely incorrect or no semantic association.

In this way, you can think about the colors in several places in the application, e.g. in the Style editor, with which we can support visual hierarchy of certain data to promote their noticing or understanding in views and forms.

Príspevok The power of colors: How we use it to create a better user experience, and you can too zobrazený najskôr Resco.

You don’t want your users to scroll up and down or tap through several screens. And at the same time, you want only high-quality data entering your database.

But how to ensure that your app has these capabilities?

The rules can be one part of the answer.

By using rules, you can show the relevant data for your users, pre-populate fields, verify inserted values, and do many more to improve the user experience in your solution.

Our customization tool Woodford allows you to do a lot of tweaking when it comes to rules and business logic.

But what if you still need more advanced improvements?

Here’s where Resco JavaScript Bridge (JSBridge) might come in handy.

And that’s why we’ve developed a new course where you can learn how to work with JSBridge in Resco.

What will you learn in Resco JSBridge course #2

In our second course dedicated to Resco JSBridge, you’ll go through the various use cases focusing mainly on UI elements – forms and views.

In addition, you’ll also get a short walkthrough for using the Resco JSBridge in Questionnaires and Route plans. Here’s what you will learn:

• Different ways to effectively work with the organization’s data
• How to manage On Change or On Save events on entity forms, and how to modify or add commands
• How to modify entity views using JavaScript, how to handle events and manage commands
• How to tweak lookup windows, questionnaires, route plans, and more

To make this topic easier to understand, most of the use cases consist of a short description, script example, script description, and screenshots of the script in action. It also includes some tips and hints for successful execution.

In this example, you see the script and the result of the executed script in the app:

Who’s it for?

The course is designed for anyone who wants to go above and beyond Woodford rules.

It focuses mainly on Resco advanced users, especially individuals who are developing and designing Resco solutions.

If you feel like getting a leg up before you start with scripts, enroll in the Introduction to Resco JSBridge.

You will get recommendations for source code editors and tools to use for versioning and debugging while also learning what you should be aware of when starting with your first code.

Where to start?

Enroll in Resco JSBridge #2

, which is available in Resco Academy – our free training and learning platform.

Its library includes courses on various subjects from introductory to advanced, from business-oriented to entirely technical.

For Resco JSBridge documentation, visit Resco Wiki.

Príspevok Learn how to enhance your mobility solution with JavaScript in the new Resco JSBridge course zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Watch the video to find out more about:

• Who are FIELDBOSS and what makes them successful
• How did the partnership with Resco help their business
• What led them to create a custom solution built on Resco
• How did they build their Resco practice over the last 10 years
• What are they doing currently

Join Andrew Lorraine, Resco´s CEO, and Jonathan Taub, president at FIELDBOSS and experienced Microsoft and Resco professional, to learn and get inspired.

Start your successful journey with Resco today

Become our partner

Take your partnership to the next level

Contact Resco

Príspevok Ten years of FIELDBOSS success: discover how to make the most of partnership with Resco zobrazený najskôr Resco.

In my career, I‘ve often been asked: “Which technology should we use when we want to enable employees to use their mobile phones or tablets and stay connected with Dynamics 365?”

Well, there is no simple yes-and-no answer.  

Different approaches like native development, framework/platform-based, or custom web-based development have advantages and disadvantages. Especially when it comes to discussing Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit and Power Apps in my technical area of D365. 

I know there are more options out there, but I work with two of them daily. I will share a little bit of my experience and personal views on those two great technology platforms. 

Resco and Power Apps 

Resco is easy to set up in your Dynamics 365 environment, and you can start with your app right away, either by using templates or building it from scratch with the easy-to-use configuration tool. That, in principle, works similarly to the model-driven approach for Power Apps.

Unless you need deep development knowledge or have specific requirements, both options show their strengths. If you start creating some logic in the app, you have a solid and feature-rich rule engine on the Resco side where you will still be able to create complex logic, buttons with functionalities, and row scripts without using any code or code snippets.

One good example was a project requiring the implementation of specific rules to create a new record and prefill the data (fields) from many related records based on several criteria. Although this might sound straightforward, it wasn´t a question of simple conditional logic. It was much more.

Using many fields, navigation tabs, and hidden fields on the form supported by different rules, onLoad, onSave, onChange variables, the rule engine’s full capabilities, and supporting buttons enabled the project team to fulfill this with the out-of-the-box features of Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit.

Typically, this would need development, and performance would be one of the concerns. I can say that as a user, you see no difference between this “complex” form and another standard one. 

And yes, when you work with Power Apps, you can use business rules, workflows, and flows (Power Automate). You can easily add other data sources in your environment to create flows you want to run while doing a separate thing in the mobile app. But in the offline case, some of the flows in the cloud will not be executed.

The offline use case 

This leads me to one of the key differences between the solutions. In the case of being offline, you have a lot of possibilities to define the synchronization filter on a very detailed level in Resco.  

It can take care of the cases where you have a hierarchy of records that you need to have access to whenever you need them.  

In the past, I worked on a project with the requirement to work fully offline. We needed to synchronize a specific set of related records and sync back the edited and the new ones, including mobile reports.  

The tricky part was reducing the number of synced records from a million to, let´s say, 150 we needed. This was possible due to the capabilities of the sync filters – the initial load under 3G connection took approximately less than a minute and a “delta” sync less than 30 seconds. 

Time to market and development speed 

Another difference is the time to market. You can build a fully functional, offline-capable app within a short time frame and use it as the base until you add specific processes or even coded parts, which can be used in the hybrid or fully custom mode in Resco. 

Another example is the fast development of a working proof of concept (PoC) app. The requirement was to replace an old legacy application for desktop/laptop devices with a new mobile application for phones. 

The entire project took half a year, including business process reengineering, scoping, etc. Still, we developed the first working app within 3 days, including a big part of the complex synchronization mechanism. 

Reporting 

Reports are another hot topic which is very important to customers. If you have the data at hand, you can create a feature-rich and nicely designed report right on your mobile phone or tablet.  

Again, you can do this very easily on both mobile platforms. With the circumstances I described before, Resco delivers a more feature-rich report editor where you can again use the rule engine and design features.  

Signing off reports directly in the field 

From previous projects, I can tell some good insights where users needed to have the possibility to create mobile reports, in offline or online mode, for their customers to be signed off.  

One of the requirements from a customer in the field was to sign off a job. As we already have a good example, most likely a PoC report, we could implement this report within 2 hours with rules, repeaters, fields from different entities (nowadays also known as tables), and a branded design. 

I remember that day as one of the team members said “And when did you build this?” Well, we did it today (8h). The team member was amazed at what was possible with Resco Mobile Reports. 

Usually, when I get the requirement to create reports in Dynamics 365, I use other third-party/ISV solutions. 

Building complex reports 

Another requirement was to build a complex report using a repeater. You can imagine how many stages we have had to receive the correct data of the original record and all the related ones based on several criteria.  

The business benefit is that a user can use reports directly from very simple to highly complex ones and in the same way the administrator can create and design them in one single tool and can test them more or less just in time.  

Well, that took a little longer to build, but it was achievable with the report rule engine and the help of Resco, where we also had the chance to deliver feedback to Resco to extend the capabilities of the reports and its engine.  

The business benefit is in this case that users can put complex data structures into a report on different criteria. Imagine an invoice with many different lines (prices, quantity, details) dependent on specific criteria like location (currency), selected items and related data. 

With the model-driven or canvas app approach, you can do the same or similar things, create a fully custom-built app based on Dataverse/Dynamics 365, build it as you wish with the necessary low-code skills, and even extend it with many custom parts.  

The difference from my point of view is that you will soon need low-code capabilities, so really some coding skills to get to the same stage when you use a model driven/canvas driven approach. 

Which one to choose? 

So, you might see there is no 100% choice I can suggest to you for one of the tools as it all depends on the circumstances from where you start: 

• What module of Dynamics 365 is already in place?
  Vote: Depends on current solution and strategy

• What kind of solution is already in place? (I mean the customized ones)
  Vote: Depends if you already have Resco in place or not? Are you custom by standard or fully custom?

• What is the ultimate goal of the mobile app? (Offline scenario, multi-app solution, stay out of the box and standard, or go custom)
  Vote: Heavily custom… for Resco

• Do you use an older version of Resco Field Service App which was already customized?
  Vote: Resco Field Service+

• Do you already have a highly customized Model/Canvas driven app or Resco app?
  Vote: Power Apps

• And much more elements come into consideration…
   

Obviously, I can recommend what you can or should do in some cases, but in others, the specific scenario needs to be analyzed and discussed. 

If you would like to have a fully offline-capable app with custom logic and a specific UI/UX, then Resco is the right choice.

If you already have Resco in place, and this applies especially to Field Service+ as the Field Service Module was highly customized, use Resco Field Service+. 

If you start from scratch, you need to think about the “big dream” or “vision” – what will or should the future solution look like, is the one you have easy to use, and will a standard solution be delivered? Do you need to wait for various new features which have been announced? As you see, there are a thousand questions. 

So, I would like to invite you to discuss this topic, share your thoughts on this, give me your view with all the pros and cons. Only by knowing the different perspectives and experiences, we can analyze, define, and create the best solutions for the customers. 

This blog is a part of the Resco partnership program available to Resco partners and MVPs. Want to know more or contribute to the community with your article too? Reach out to partners@resco.net for more information.

Príspevok Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit and Power Apps – A short overview based on my 7+ years of experience zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Why should I integrate Resco with Dynamics 365 Business Central?

To provide your field staff with state-of-the-art mobile tools (dynamic questionaries, custom reporting, offline capabilities, and much more) that will help to streamline information exchange and create operational synergy across your organization.

What Resco license do I need? What’s the price of the Resco Cloud connector?

Resco licensing and pricing overview is available here and the connector can be downloaded free of charge from the Power Automate library.

What Dynamics 365 Business Central license do I need to set up an integration

Integration with Resco Cloud works with all Dynamics 365 Business Central licenses. Furthermore team members in the field don’t need to have a Business Central license – the Resco Mobile App User license is all they need. However, system admins will need a basic Power Automate license to set up the integration. You can check out the Power Automate pricing here and the license is also free for all Office 365 users.

Is the connector available to try?

Yes. If you don’t have a Resco license, you can use the connector with any Resco free trial for the standard period of 30 days. However if you already have a Resco license, you can use the connector free of charge, whenever you like as it is a part of all our licenses.

Why should I use Power Automate instead of other integration options?

Power Automate is an easy to use and convenient tool that doesn’t require extensive coding and technical expertise to set up integration. It helps you create automated workflows between your favorite apps and services to synchronize files, get notifications, collect data, and more.

What kind of data operations does the Resco Cloud connector support?

The connector enables to seamlessly create, read, update, and delete records between Resco solutions and Dynamics 365 Business Central (or any other third party solution with a connector in the Power Automate library). You can find more details here.

Does the Resco Cloud connector support triggers?

For now, the connector does not support triggers. However, there is a workaround available. For more details please visit our Wiki or Microsoft’s documentation  page.

The List records action returns a maximum of 1000 records. Can I receive more?

If you would like to get more records, you have to use paging and the Skip token input parameter. See detailed instructions here.

In case you have any further questions, feel free to contact our team anytime, or drop us a line at mobilecrm@resco.net.

Príspevok FAQ: Integrating Resco with Dynamics 365 Business Central via Power Automate zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Here is what you need to know about these changes and how to proceed with the OAuth authentication process.

What has changed?

Last year, Microsoft has started to deprecate the older WS-Trust authentication method for connecting to Dataverse (formerly Common Data Services), replacing it with the more secure OAuth process. This also affects Resco mobile apps and Resco CRM sync with Dynamics.

Therefore, users signing in to Resco mobile apps must now proceed with the OAuth2 authentication method by default. Multi-factor authentication is also available.

Accounts used for external projects and location tracking also need to use OAuth authentication instead of WS-Trust. For these accounts, the ROPC flow (Resource Owner Password Credentials) is used, and the accounts have to meet certain requirements.

How to sign in with OAuth2 in Resco apps?

Before using the OAuth2 authentication method to connect Resco apps with Dynamics 365/CRM Online, you have to grant the app access to the Microsoft Azure Active Directory.

Azure Active Directory is used to verify that the application can access the business data stored in the Dynamics 365/CRM Online tenant. To grant global consent for all users to access the data, use the following link.

However, you need to be a Global Administrator of your tenant to issue a global consent. It’s not enough to have only a System Administrator role in Dynamics 365/CRM Online.

Additionally, all app users connected to their Resco mobile apps as Standard User, with multi-factor authentication enabled for their user account, must also switch to OAuth2. This is also required if they receive an error message like the one below when accessing the CRM:

“Due to a configuration change made by your administrator, or because you moved to a new location, you must use multi-factor authentication.”

How to proceed with authentication of external projects and location tracking

The deprecation of WS-Trust by Microsoft impacts the authentication of external projects and location tracking as well. Instead of a legacy login using WS-Trust, all customers must switch to OAuth using ROPC flow (multi-factor authentication is not suitable for this use case).

However, in order to use OAuth, users must grant their consent. There are two types of consent:

• Individual consent for a particular mobile user
• Admin consent (organization-wide)

For external projects and location services, individual mobile user consent is sufficient:

• For external projects, consent is required for the account used for authentication and licensing.
• For location tracking, consent is required for the account used when you register your organization for location tracking.

Consents can be further limited by scopes. In these cases, consent is only required to access Dynamics. The scope is https://{hostname}/user_impersonation, for example https://resco.crm4.dynamics.com/user_impersonation. As {hostname}, use the hostname of your Dynamics instance.

There are several ways how consent can be granted:

• You can synchronize your Resco Mobile CRM app with this account. However, this will grant consent with more scopes than required for external users or location tracking scenarios.
• A simpler way is to open the following link in a web browser, log in, and grant consent. Go to:this address.Make sure to replace {hostname} with your Dynamics hostname. Some organizations don’t allow individual user consent; in that case, you must log in as a global admin and grant consent on behalf of your organization.

• There’s also a direct link for admin consent. In this case, you have to log in as a global admin. As your tenant ID, use either the domain name or GUID; and also use the correct Dynamics hostname.

After the successful configuration of OAuth , you should be able to log in into your apps as quickly as before, but now even more securely.

What else is new?

If you want to learn more about the security of Resco mobile solutions, you can find additional documentation at Resco wiki.

Príspevok How to set up OAuth authentication for Resco apps connecting to Microsoft Dynamics 365 [Guide] zobrazený najskôr Resco.