Construction workers are engaged in various tasks such as operating machinery, handling tools, and performing manual labor that requires the use of both hands.

Problem:

These workers need to receive notifications, track time, and access project details without interrupting their work or using handheld devices, which can be impractical and disruptive.

Solution:

Implementing Wristask on smartwatches offers a hands-free solution that enhances productivity and safety, and is easy to adopt without needing extensive training.

Steps:

1. Receiving notifications and alerts:

• Before: Workers had to interrupt their tasks to check their phones or radios for updates, which could be time-consuming and disruptive.
• With Wristask: Notifications and alerts are delivered directly to their smartwatches, keeping them informed without interrupting their work. The wrist vibrations help capture their attention even in noisy environments.

2. Time tracking and attendance:

• Before: Time tracking was often done manually or required the use of a separate device, which could be cumbersome.
• With Wristask: Workers can easily log their hours and breaks using their smartwatches, ensuring accurate and efficient time tracking.

3. Accessing project details:

• Before: Accessing project plans or instructions required workers to refer to paper documents or handheld devices, which could be impractical on site.
• With Wristask: Workers can easily access project details as interactive checklists on their smartwatches’ touch screens. This allows them to view and complete tasks efficiently while keeping their hands free for their work.

4. Safety and emergency alerts:

• Before: Safety alerts and emergency notifications were communicated via loudspeakers or handheld devices, which were not always effective.
• With Wristask: Immediate safety alerts and emergency notifications can be sent directly to workers’ smartwatches, ensuring they receive important information promptly.

Benefits:

• Increased productivity: Hands-free access to notifications, time tracking, and project details reduces downtime and keeps the workflow smooth.
• Enhanced safety: Quick access to safety alerts and emergency notifications helps prevent accidents and ensures a safer working environment.
• Improved communication: Real-time updates and alerts keep workers informed and connected, enabling better coordination on site.
• Ease of adoption: Wristask is user-friendly and easy to adopt, requiring no extensive training for workers.
• Attention in noisy environments: Wrist vibrations help to capture the attention of workers even in loud, busy construction sites.

Conclusion

By integrating Wristask into their daily operations, construction workers in a typical construction company can work more efficiently and safely, contributing to the overall success of their projects.

Curious about how Wristask can work for you? Send us a message and let’s talk!

Príspevok Transforming construction workflows with smartwatch technology zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Príspevok NIVY Watch is also a COVID-19 protection zobrazený najskôr Resco.

There’s been a 20% increase in global demand for smartwatches this year, even despite the coronavirus outbreak. In fact, the pandemic probably further fueled the rise of smartwatch purchases due to people’s rising health concerns. On the contrary, smartphone shipments saw a decline in the first quarter of 2020. These statistics indicate that smartwatches are gaining more and more popularity.

Smartwatch: The successor of the smartphone?

At the moment, smartwatches still depend on smartphones to some degree, as most of them have to be paired with a phone to deliver the full experience. They function as one part of an interconnected system. It’s almost like having a secondary, more easily accessible display on your wrist.
However, thanks to the relentless development of smartwatch technology, this barrier is disappearing fast. And it’s no longer a matter of if, but when. When that happens, smartwatches will be able to work autonomously.

What are the advantages of smartwatches over smartphones?

Easy and quick access
Since you have the device on your wrist, you don’t have to reach into your pocket or search in your bag just to check something. You can conveniently access apps, emails, social media accounts, and contacts just by looking at your wrist.
Keep it safe effortlessly
Obviously, the chance of losing or dropping the device is significantly smaller since it’s tied to your wrist. Moreover, thanks to their size they are much easier to carry around and store.
More data, better insights
Smartwatches provide us with a lot of actionable data, helping us learn more about our habits. As a result, we can identify in which areas of our lives we need to make improvements. As James L. McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research described it: “[A smartwatch is] someone who knows more about what you need than you do.” Ultimately, learning about our habits can help us become more productive.
Health monitoring
One of the reasons behind the growing demand for smartwatches following the coronavirus outbreak is that they are the most accurate generally available health and body monitoring devices out there. As people’s health concerns grew, so did the sales of smartwatches. They help you track your steps, distance traveled, calories burned, sleep patterns, workouts, and heart rate. Some of the more advanced fitness watches even offer advanced REM monitoring, as well as blood oxygen saturation and stress level measurements. Garmin’s Vivosmart 4 also reminds users to take a short breather when stress levels are high in the body.
Free your eyes and hands
One example for both – an Apple Watch can now provide directions by making different vibrations. You’ll feel one kind of buzz when you need to turn right, and a different one when you need to turn left. This way, you don’t have to stare at the navigation on your phone. Instead, you can rely on the sensations you feel on your hand and enjoy the scenery while getting to your destination.

Smartwatches in business

Importantly, smartwatches have still untapped potential beyond our personal lives. Companies can benefit from the huge amounts of data that can be gathered through employees’ use of wearables. Besides, they are much smaller than smartphones, making them even more convenient to use during manual labor outside the office. For example, field technicians can benefit from the convenience of wearables by having it tied to their wrist instead of having to carry their clunky tablets everywhere.
To learn more about smartwatches in the enterprise, check out this blog post where we discuss potential business use cases in more detail.

The future of smartwatches: A new competitor on the horizon?

Before they can fully compete with smartphones, smartwatches need to overcome their current limitations. At the moment, the biggest one is the relatively short battery life. Even the Apple Watch Series 5, which is often considered to be the best smartwatch on the market, lasts only 18 hours on one charge.
However, it seems inevitable that smartwatches will soon have many features of smartphones, making them not simply their accessories, but a viable alternative. The big question is whether the two devices will become direct competitors, or will they be able to co-exist. Or perhaps a third, completely new gadget will emerge, beating both smartwatches and smartphones? After all, with advancements in AR, one of the most exciting and anticipated tech products is smart eyewear, especially smart contact lenses.
Which technology will dominate the smart devices market? The one that will be the fastest to effectively translate key features and capabilities known of smartphones and tablets into a practical product.
We might need to wait a bit longer until we get to know the definite successor to the smartphone. Yet, smartwatches have already brought new ways of enhancing our personal and professional lives that individuals and organizations can implement right now.

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Download the e-book to learn more

If you want to discover how you can utilize smartwatches in your business today, download our free e-book. In it we further discuss:

• The pros and cons of smartwatches and smartphones
• The most important facts business smartwatch app developers need to consider
• How the smartwatch usage of employees (even) during their free time can have a positive effect on companies
• The biggest challenges of smartwatch use across industries
• And more…

Príspevok The rise of the smartwatch: Will smartphones become redundant? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Resco Inspections: User experience reimagined with new-look Questionnaire Designer

In the upcoming Spring Update of Resco Inspections we set out to simplify the questionnaire setup process from top to bottom.
Noticeable at first sight, the Questionnaire designer will receive a fresh new look, enabling smoother and faster navigation.

Part of the overhaul also includes the possibility to set up Smart questions – conditions like question visibility, requirement, and several others, will be directly available on all questions, without having to open the rule editor. So even managers with no technical background can effortlessly set up common business logic.

Innovations: Speed up operations with devices in perfect sync

Field staff will be able to not only complete entire questionnaires on a smartwatch. Now, if they fill out the form on a phone or tablet, the information is also immediately visible in the Inspections app on the synced smartwatch.
Thanks to that, users can always verify the entered data from any device. If unsure about an answer they entered a few questions back on the phone, they can effortlessly check it on another device and make any adjustments if needed – which further improves the collected data’s accuracy & reliability.

Furthermore, in the Spring Update will also introduce the possibility to go back a step when filling out questionnaires on smartwatches. After all, we’re still only human and mistakes can happen regardless the device you’re working on.

Resco Mobile Platform: Reinforce customer confidence with e-signatures on completed reports

From a young age we’re all taught not to sign anything until we’ve properly read the entire document. Whether signing an insurance claim assessment or a simple invoice – people like to see what they sign before they put pen to paper.
Up until now, when mobile reports  required a digital signature, it needed to be captured before the final PDF has been created. With the Spring Update, in any Resco app, digital signatures can be added after the report has been finalized- a signature pad and (an optional) comment section will be displayed underneath the document.

Want to experience the Resco Spring Update early?

We’re working hard on these and many other great upgrades for the Spring Update 2020 – and we’d like you to see them first.
Join our exclusive beta-testing community and you’ll always get a first look at each new Resco release before it’s offered to the general public. You’ll be able to try new features, tell us what works the best for you, and where we can improve. Help us create solutions that ultimately serve you even better.
The first beta of the Spring Update will arrive in just a few short days.
* Please note that the images above are development previews and can be subject to change in the final product release.

Príspevok Preview: Revamped Resco Inspections setup, enhanced wearables sync, and new way of signing reports coming in Resco Spring Update 2020 zobrazený najskôr Resco.

• What concerns workers regarding wearables utilization
• How should companies address these concerns
• Why does it matter to resolve them before technology integration

Employees mostly fear about privacy

Concerns connected with digital technologies are a natural. We’ve seen it for years on the consumer market and it’s even more apparent in work utilization. A survey conducted on 1000 British workers shows, there is one key factor that connects all employees’ main concerns. It’s the privacy of their data.

More than two-thirds of surveyed workers are afraid that wearables utilization can lead to surveillance from their employers. Another privacy concern relates to the possibility that devices can be hacked (64% of respondents) and that companies will track employees’ out-of-office data (58%). Unsurprisingly, privacy and security are one of the first things companies should address when implementing wearables.
The consumer market already shows us how this challenge can be solved. Outside of the workplace, people actively choose to use wearables and share their data with developers and vendors. The benefits outweigh the concerns people may have. Similarly, the openness of people to use wearables is what companies should aim to achieve in the workplace.
Clear intentions, transparency, use of proven and trusted software, and regulation compliance are the fundamentals that will lead to higher acceptance of wearables among workers. Let’s take a more detailed look at some of these best practices.

Clear intentions

At first, companies need to make clear why they want to implement wearables. It starts with the realization that their main benefits lie in the ability to improve workers productivity and wellbeing. Managers should not use wearables to micromanage their employees. Instead, their primary goal should be to help employees be more satisfied and productive.

Wearables are most effective when used to provide workers with necessary information when needed, offer an always available data input, keep their hands free to work, or share health-related tips and alerts. You can learn more about benefits of workplace wearables in our previous article.

Transparency and discussion

According to research from PWC, more than 38% of people don’t trust their employer about the use of gathered wearables data. For employers, it is fundamental to establish the trust of workers in the technology. Luckily, with the increasing number of benefits that wearables bring to the workplace, it becomes easier to explain “why”.
Essential for the process is transparency and communication with employees. Before introducing wearables, there should be an intensive discussion about  intentions, plans, goals, and at least one more important topic: employees have to know what data will be gathered and where or how it will be stored.
Companies should incorporate all related details into formal guidelines, regulations, or contracts. The data above shows that a young workforce, mainly millennials, are more open to wearables utilization and new technologies. So, if companies build on this, the integration of the technology will be even smoother and more effective.

Trusted and proven software

The crucial part of wearables integration is software.The right choice of this component can help companies save many concerns regarding privacy, transparency, and security. That’s why at Resco, we also put a lot of effort into security of our solutions. And recently we also brought Resco Inspections to wearable devices, further extending the possibilities for companies to optimize their processes. With proven technology, it’s easier to gain the trust of workers.

Integration of workplace wearables

As wearables’ impact on workplaces grows, there are common concerns related to most new technological phenomenons. But, as the experience from the consumer market shows, it shouldn’t be scary to address these issues. Workers’ understanding of technology and companies’ clear intentions is all that matters.
With common sense in transparency, communication, and regulations compliance, wearables implementation within industries can be straightforward and beneficial right from the beginning. And as wearables start to gain more traction in enterprise, it’s time to get on board as well.
You can start by taking a look at Resco Inspections, available also for wearables.

Príspevok Will employees want to use wearables at work? Here is how to approach this as a company zobrazený najskôr Resco.

1. Enhance data processing and organizational performance by attaching photos to documents

One of the qualities paper forms are lacking is the possibility to attach photos immediately after taking them, even offline. By doing so, the flow of information is much faster, improving organizational performance. It also helps us process the given information quicker since we are visual creatures. It takes our brains only 13 milliseconds to identify and categorize images, which is 60,000 times faster than identifying written words.

2. Simplify to amplify

Technology is here to simplify your work and life, not to complicate it, which is often the case with paper forms. It’s time to forget those sky-high mountains of paper and make the most out of what mobile tech has to offer. By using features such as code scanning and image recognition, you can speed up search processes and prevent errors. The latter is a big step forward since paper forms are 50% more likely to contain mistakes than mobile forms.

3. A single storage of information

Another great thing about mobile forms is that you can have all your data in one place, perfectly organized. Paper-based systems can’t provide the same business intelligence mobile forms can. Innovative technology enables you to analyze data more effectively since you will be working with a single repository of information. This allows you to spot issues faster and, consequently, to solve problems with ease and perform better.

4. Build a more sustainable business model

Globally, there is a growing trend to move towards more sustainable practices – both business-wise and generally, in life. This is understandable and a necessity considering the rising impacts of environmental issues all over the world. According to Restore, a leading document shredding company, “the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. 6,800 of the 10,000 sheets used are wasted.” By shifting paper forms to mobile, you not only do the right thing for the environment but for your assets too, saving a lot of money by making the switch.

5. Access data anytime, anywhere

If you want your business to function at optimal efficiency, you need immediate access to everything that’s happening. When offsite workers are using their smartphones or tablets, you can connect with them quickly and easily, see their progress, and receive all relevant information immediately. What’s more, with mobile tech, employers can create fully customized forms, which employees can easily access and fill out.

6. Increase productivity, decrease costs

In today’s fast-paced world, paper-based systems are inefficient and time-consuming. If the data collected in the field is in paper form, then that form must be sent back to the office before being processed. This process can take a long time. Contrary to that, with mobile forms, you are just one click away from sharing the collected data with all relevant stakeholders. Let’s take a site safety inspection as an example. The employee shows up with a printed form, fills out everything in it, and scans or mails it back to the office where it needs to be typed into a computer. When you replace this system with mobile devices, this lengthy process is reduced to a few simple steps.

These are just some of the most significant ways in which technology can help you and your business achieve more through innovation. If you’re ready to go beyond paper, Resco is here to help. Discover Resco Inspections+

Príspevok 6 ways technology helps you go beyond paper zobrazený najskôr Resco.

• A brief history of a smartwatch technology and what data shows about current sales and user adoption
• What features provide the best value for people and how can businesses profit from them
• What challenges persist
• How Resco technology supports smartwatch adoption across enterprises
• Business use cases for smartwatches utilization
• How can your company start embracing the benefits of the workplace wearables

A brief history of smartwatches

Even though their initial occurrence began in early 2000s, the commercial success of true smartwatches (meaning wristwatches with the ability to connect to the Internet) is still a relatively young phenomenon. Microsoft, IBM, or Fossil were pioneering the market almost 20 years ago. But we can mark 2013 as “the year of smartwatches.”

In that time, devices originating from Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns – Pebble and TrueSmart – started to create a broader public interest in wearable technology. All of this was later backed up by the entry of the big players to the game. Samsung, Motorola, Sony, and Apple with the Apple Watch, established the demand for smartwatches on the consumer market.
More significant money started to flow into the sector, and more manufacturers and users have engaged. However, the young smartwatch market has also already experienced its first crisis. After the first years, it seemed that the technology is not moving forward quickly enough. In 2016, Business Insider even published a story pointing out the struggle of vendors to bring breakthrough features and more value to people. “There is no smartwatch market. There’s just Apple and Fitbit,” BI stated at the end of the article.
Even though the entire sector went through a harsh time in the 2016 – 2017 period, current data shows that tide has turned. In smartwatches’ favor once again.

Sales and user adoption of smartwatches

Reports and analyses from various research authorities show the evolving progress of the smartwatch market in the last couple of years. We see soaring user adoption and increasing sales all around the world. The potential of smartwatches is on the rise, forecasts predict further sales improvements, and enterprises are set to harness the benefits. Here are a few key takeaways from the reports monitoring the smartwatch market:

• Almost 45 million units of smartwatches were sold worldwide in 2018, up from 29 million in 2017, which means 56% year over year improvement (Strategy Analytics)
• Global smartwatch shipments grew 42 percent annually to reach 14 million units in the third quarter of 2019 (Strategy Analytics)
• Smartwatches gain a definite position especially in the U.S. – More than 16% of adults own a smartwatch, including to almost every fourth person in the age of 18 to 34 (NDP Group)
• An overall number of connected wearable devices is forecasted to more than double in all major regions (including Asia, Europe, Pacific area, and South America) between 2017 and 2022 (Cisco Systems)
• Watches accounted for 44.2% of the entire wearables market in 2018 and their share is anticipated to grow further, reaching 47.1% in 2023 (IDC)
• Smartwatches are expected to be a significant part in wearables sales growth with 115 million units sold in 2022 (Gartner)

Data shows that smartwatches recovered from their struggles a few years ago. The market now has established leading vendors, users find more value in their products, and developers have broader possibilities for app development. So, what exactly helped smartwatches to grow and reinforce their position?

Game-changing features

Always connected user
Industry analyst Weston Hendeker considers adding LTE connectivity a tipping point for the sales we saw in 2018. We’ve also highlighted this feature as one of the key points to check before buying a smartwatch. LTE makes wearables more autonomous by allowing calls, messages, or notifications even without a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection to a phone.
More software independency
Independency of smartwatches seems to drive sales to new heights and will be even more important as smartwatch processing power, storage space, and software support increases. Even the latest version of watchOS allows developers to build completely independent apps. Users can install them directly from the dedicated app store without the need for an iPhone. So, the smartwatch’s umbilical cord to the phone is gradually disappearing.
Interest of developers
Software independence and improving user adoption lure more and more coders to the smartwatch market. This sector becomes increasingly financially attractive with upcoming higher enterprise utilization – even though there are still some challenges lying in this field (we talk about them in the next part of an article).
Breakthrough user benefit
To adopt a technology, people need to see an added value in it. And it seems that smartwatches have just found theirs. Evolving health tracking capabilities with ECG monitoring allowing people to oversee their condition and prevent medical problems. Currently, Apple is pioneering this area. However, Samsung and other manufacturers are catching up fast. Advanced health-tracking features are also the reason why NPD predicts that even older generations will find smartwatches more and more appealing.

Why does it matter for enterprises?

Improving features and sensor utilization further opens the possibilities for their use within the work environment. Companies can monitor employee’s stress level or fatigue and adjust their processes effectively. LTE feature also enables field workers to stay connected and updated in the field.
Increasing user adoption also brings considerable implications for enterprises. People are getting used to smartwatches, different navigation through their OS’, interaction with apps, or data input. They become more common for general audiences, which is an essential step in the overall recognizability of the technology. It creates a broader space for their utilization in a work environment. Companies don’t need to spend big money on workers’ training as they already know the basics.

This will also mean a more straightforward job for developers in terms of interface and overall user experience considerations. The more common smartwatches are, the easier people adjust. Additionally, with fast-growing user adoption, especially in the U.S., the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy may be an exciting option for companies soon – cutting down on both required resources and implementation time.

What challenges persist?

There are some prevalent challenges that manufacturers, developers, businesses, and users face. Today, some of the key concerns are:

Power delivery

The overall battery life of smartwatches is one of the critical challenges prevailing in the market from the beginning. The small form factor of wrist devices doesn’t accommodate much space for individual parts, which also results in a smaller battery. Users, therefore, have to cope with battery life starting from one day and averaging in 3 to 4 days of endurance.

Platform fragmentation

Compared to smartphones, smartwatches don’t yet have as polished of a solution as iOS or Android. Apple, with its watchOS, is essentially the gold standard of the market. But then, there are several challengers, led by Samsung (Tizen), Fitbit, and Wear OS devices, with a highly fragmented market share. Therefore, for developers, it can be challenging to decide whether to support just one platform or spend resources and effort on another as well.

Bear in mind that although Apple Watch has the highest sales, it only accounts for one half of the market. So, a lot of users would still be left behind. Especially in the more affordable devices, with a price tag under $300.

Slower enterprise adoption

Smartwatches yet haven’t reached the predicted potential in professional use. Companies are still evaluating smartwatch utilization in many aspects: Security, future support, implementation cost, ROI, and efficiency are some of them. These concerns slow down overall technology adoption. Therefore, vendors and developers need to focus on helping businesses with their integration.

It’s clear that issues like battery life and developers’ support are still yet to be fully resolved. However, over the years, technology has already matured enough to be beneficial not just for an increasing number of consumers but for businesses, too. Opportunities for enterprises to implement smartwatches into their work processes grow. And to support this inclusion, we have started to provide a solution available to companies no matter the industry.

How Resco supports smartwatch utilization in business

At our annual resco.next conference in Roma last year, we showcased our new concept of indoor activity tracking. By using smartwatches, businesses can gather location, activity, and even body function data to gain new insights into the work of mobile staff. What’s more, within Resco Autumn’s and Winter’s update, we brought one of our key solutions to smartwatches.

Resco Inspections on wearables enables technicians, manufacturers, inspectors, and other employees to keep their hands free for a task but still have digital features within their reach. A voice control allows them to input data without the need to tap on the display. Technicians working in heights, car mechanics fixing an issue, or manufacturers wearing gloves can all benefit from smartwatch utilization.
A discreet form factor also provides companies with the necessary flexibility during their work processes. Smartwatches can help workers to fulfill their tasks where tablets and smartphones prove ineffective.
Resco Inspections questionnaires on wearables are fully customizable, secure, and ready to be used even offline. We have made them available for watchOS and WearOS platforms so companies can benefit from them on a variety of devices.

Use cases for enterprise smartwatches

Over the past few months, we’ve encountered smartwatches across several innovative scenarios with a wide range of tasks:

Use case no.1: Discreet data input during mystery shopping

Company: Outsourcing job agency
Workflow: Workers visit shops where they’re tasked to perform mystery shopping. As they complete the task, they log all findings into a predefined questionnaire on their smartwatches. This way, they can discreetly finish the job and immediately sync data online to a CRM system where the back office can see the results in real-time.
Smartwatch requirements: LTE connectivity, elegant design

Use case no.2: Workplace analysis and optimization in manufacturing

Company: Automotive manufacturer
Workflow: Employees enter the workplace by holding their smartwatches close to a reader, which will record the time of their arrival. Smart beacons in production halls connect to the watches and register the movement and position of workers within the factory. Sensors in smartwatches track the productivity, exhaustion, and stress levels of the workers and give appropriate recommendations based on the results. Operators analyze the collected data and then optimize work processes to increase productivity and worker safety.
Smartwatch requirements: lower price point because of large volumes needed, long battery life, health & movement tracking features, strong build

Use Case no.3: Hands-free interaction with smartwatches during maintenance

Company: Wind power plant operation and maintenance
Workflow: Certified technicians climb into wind turbine constructions and locate the place of the issue. As they get through the necessary steps of the repair, they fill out a predefined questionnaire – using only voice commands and keeping their hands free to resolve the problem and ensure their safety. Without cellular connection, the device saves the data and automatically sync when an LTE network becomes available.
Requirements: Voice control support, LTE connectivity, strong build, long battery life, excellent display visibility in direct sunlight

Where to start?

As you can see, there are numerous situations where smartwatches can improve productivity, optimize processes, increase worker safety, or reduce administration in a company. With smartwatch, enterprises can now utilize digital technology in scenarios that demand even more discretion or flexibility than attainable with smartphones or tablets.
Get to know our state-of-the-art Field Service 2.0 technology enabling you to stay ahead of your competition and drive business growth with the help of smartwatches.

Príspevok Smartwatches in the enterprise: Everything you need to know about this evolving market zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Avento

This year’s Innovation winner was also a finalist in the Partner of the Year category. Avento deserved its spot in this list as well, because apart from being innovative, they also have implemented many successful Resco projects, and we really appreciate their proactive and professional approach.

To guide businesses through digital transformation, Avento’s staff are not only pure-blooded IT specialists but skilled change managers too. They enable effective collaboration between a client’s back office and field teams, so the latter can always fully concentrate on the customer.

On top of state-of-the-art technology, Avento also provides coaching, training and specialized communication to ensure successful digital transformation. Its FMCG365 solution helps companies such as Henkel, Brewery Boon, Duvel Moortgat, Detry, Field Resource, Het Anker, Limarc, The Java Coffee Company to claim and maintain leading positions in the FMCG sector.

Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
FMCG365

COSMO CONSULT

For more than 20 years COSMO CONSULT has been updating business processes and IT structures by implementing and supporting various business solutions. We have been working closely with their Austrian and German offices. They are a finalist in the Partner of the Year award because of their professional approach and business success. Check out a recent customer success story they did with a Resco customer – Containex.
Apart from implementation, COSMO CONSULT provides workshops, training, webinars and to ensure that our customers can benefit from rapid knowledge transfer.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
Fair-Contact Manager

Cloud Innovation

Belgium partner Cloud Innovation is this year’s finalists in the Innovation category with its Salesforce-based Retail Execution app, incorporating Resco Inspections technology – CPG 360.
It is used by sales teams working on product introductions, placing orders, timely discussing promotions and checking contractual agreements related to product availability, pricing & usage of promotional materials.
We were impressed by how can Resco technology be creatively combined with two more 3rd party solutions, like a live route planner with real-time traffic information.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
CPG 360

GFI

Gfi Informatique is a key player in value-added IT services and software in Europe, that through its differentiated approaches occupies a strategic position between global firms and niche markets.
They were a finalist in the Innovation category, with their custom solution Eficienza Health for the healthcare industry, which facilitates collaboration between Sales teams, Marketing and Medical departments.
We really liked how the solution handles complex price calculations, creatively uses switch form triggers and successfully integrates data with specialized 3rd party healthcare solutions.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
Eficienza Health

Key2Act (formerly known as WennSoft)

The only American partner on this list is also one of the most experienced ones.
Key2Act has used Resco technology and enhanced it with their industry and technical know-how to create MobileTech – a mobile solution which connects to Microsoft Dynamics GP. It enables technicians to track their appointments, quickly view data on customers and equipment, and efficiently complete the appointment and then process the invoice/payment in the field. It also enables field workers to manage service calls and job appointments, access full customer and equipment history, and capture opportunities for additional work. It is used for construction, equipment management, service management, fixed assets management and mobile dispatch of field technicians.
Key2Act made to it to the list of finalists in this year’s Partner of the Year award because of the number of successfully implemented MobileTech projects, which could be counted in hundreds.
Last year, we had the pleasure to attend their Synergy conference.

Metadata Technologies

Our only Asian partner in this list is based in Dubai, UAE. The company participated as a finalist in the Innovation category, with their custom solution Property-xRM.
This custom Resco solution is used for property development companies to manage their end-to-end sales process right from lead generation to selling of property. It covers the business’s critical sales, leasing and facilities management functionalities for the Commercial and Residential real estate sector. It also leverages the technological advancements from Microsoft, including Outlook email integration, customizable workflows, mobility features, social media integration, along with a complete stack of Microsoft products like Office 365.
We were especially impressed by its 2D & 3D floor plan visualization and the ability to identify property invitees using QR Codes.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
Property-xRM

Navicon

Our most experienced and successful partner from Russia was a finalist in the Partner of the Year award. Navicon has successfully implemented over 500 various IT projects for both Russian and international companies. Some of their clients include Sberbank CIB, Heineken Russia, R-Pharm, Sanofi, Bayer, Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting, and many others.
Established in 2002, the company has currently over 250 employees on staff and focuses primarily on the pharmaceutical, FMCG and retail, manufacturing, distribution, and professional services industries.
Among all companies headquartered in Russia, Navicon is the only one listed by Gartner as a CRM vendor for pharma and biotech companies.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
Navicon Pharma CRM

NORRIQ

NORRIQ offers consultancy and technology that streamlines and supports all processes of companies throughout the entire value chain. They are specialists in ERP, CRM, BI and e-commerce.
The company was founded in Denmark in 2007 and today has grown into an international company with 11 offices in 7 countries and implementations in 46 different countries, but we’ve been working mainly with the Belgium branch. NORRIQ is a finalist in the Partner of the Year award because of the number and scope of projects implemented. In total, they have over 5,000 customers internationally. They are a regular guest at our resco.next conference.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
Pharma 365 Sales
Drink IT 365

ORBIS

This year’s Partner of the Year winner was also a finalist in the Innovation category, with their custom solution Mobile Offline Visit Planning. This solution helps sales reps across a wide range of industries to plan their appointments as efficiently as possible. It allows searching for data, both graphically via a map-supported radius search and according to flexible criteria, such as customer potential, customers with open activities, customers near site, and more.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
ORBIS ConsumerOne

Rimrock Corporation (FIELDBOSS)

Rimrock Corporation was a finalist in both Partner of the Year and Innovation categories.
Established in 1989, Rimrock Corporation is a boutique consulting firm specializing in Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and FIELDBOSS contractor management business applications. They also specialize in hosting GP within Microsoft Azure. They have gold competency in Gold Enterprise Resource Planning, and Silver in Cloud Customer Relationship Management and Small and Mid-market Cloud Solutions.
When it comes to innovation, we were impressed by the capabilities of its end-to-end solution for elevator and HVAC contractors.
Resco Partner Marketplace listings:
FIELDBOSS Elevator Contractor Management
FIELDBOSS HVAC Contractor Management

Sycor

It would be hard to find a Resco partner with more Microsoft competencies than Sycor – 12 Gold and 3 silver. It’s no wonder they are a finalist in the Innovation award with their custom Resco solution e.Folder.
This solution takes digital sales presentations to a new level. It allows sales representatives to access their latest marketing materials centrally and offline. The presentations are launched directly from Microsoft CRM: With full integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement, sales reps automatically know which presentations we’re already shared with CRM contacts. With a handy feedback function, they can quickly see how the product demonstration has arrived to the customer. Also, every single slide in sales presentation will automatically track the duration of your viewing – giving the marketing team vital information to streamline their presentations continually.
Resco Partner Marketplace listing:
Sycor.eFolder
Sycor.LifeSciences
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We are truly grateful and honored to be working with partners from around the globe that are so innovative, hard-working and customer-centric.
Can’t wait to see who will take the spotlight next year!
Until then – keep on innovating and helping customers transform and grow.
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If you have any questions about Resco Partner Awards or partner co-marketing, feel free to reach out to me.

Príspevok Partner Awards 2019 – Revealing the finalists zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Most Valuable Professionals (MVP’s)

The winners receiving their award from Resco’s Tomas Gregor, Marketing & Business Development Director and Anna Kontsekova, Partner Channel Lead
The Resco Most Valuable Professional Award went to individuals that have been actively sharing their business and technical expertise with Resco mobility solutions. They stand out from the crowd, go the extra mile, and do things we don’t take for granted. ​

The winners for 2019 are…

Jeremy Higgins, Owner at Higgins One
– for playing an instrumental role in various successful Resco mobility projects in North America, and developing creative custom solutions based on Resco technology.

Andreas Schulz, General Manager at ORBIS
– for being an outstanding ambassador of Resco solutions, and guiding ORBIS in becoming the premier Resco partner in the DACH region.

Sven Peleman, Founder & Managing Partner at Cloud Innovation
– for creating a unique mobile solution powered by Resco technology and valuable feedback that continuously helps improve Resco functionality.

Torsten Harden, Senior Solution Architect at Sycor
– for promoting Resco mobility at various conferences, sharing technical and industry knowledge.
This Resco MVP Award positions the winners as global experts and ambassadors of Resco and gives them access to different types of exclusive content, training, and more.

Innovation Award – AVENTO

Tom Moortgat, Managing Director at AVENTO receiving the award from Resco’s Head of Product, Juraj Mojik
And the award for Innovation went to Avento for developing an advanced vertical solution FMCG365 that is built on Resco and addresses complex business challenges in the FMCG/retail sector.

The solution encompasses sophisticated Resco features, such as push reporting, multimedia management, route planning, and also artificial intelligence for an automatic share of shelf calculation.

Avento has successfully implemented FMCG365 to customers like Charlier Brabo Group, Het Anker and Vache Bleue.
Avento delivers this solution to both; Dynamics and Salesforce backends.

You can find more information about this year’s most innovative solution on Microsoft AppSource and Resco Partner Marketplace and on its very own product page of Avento’s website.

Partner of the Year – ORBIS

Andreas Schulz, Managing Director and Henning Sittel, Senior Manager at ORBIS, receiving the award from Resco CEO, Miro Pomsar

ORBIS has been a top-performing Resco partner for many years now and has constantly been delivering successful enterprise mobility implementations based on Resco in the DACH region.

Their 30-plus years of experience with international projects in various sectors and seven years of Resco experience makes ORBIS one of the most skillful and reliable partners we have.

ORBIS is also a gold Microsoft and SAP partner and a member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Microsoft.
One of the most successful offerings is ConsumerONE, which is a CRM solution for the consumer goods industry and commerce powered by Resco and Microsoft Dynamics. It supports all levels of customer relations between trade, wholesale, and manufacturers in a central information system. The solution integrates business processes across the company.
ORBIS ConsumerONE brings benefits to the areas like:

• the development of markets (shelf availability, product range monitoring, product launches, etc.)
• the support of shop systems (attracting new customers in B2C) and
• complex mapping of upstream and downstream condition management structures.

Throughout the years, ORBIS has delivered Resco to dozens of customers, including DMG Mori, Bystronic Laser, Heidelberger Druckermaschinen, and Ruhle.
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Stay tuned for the second part of this blog series – next week we will honor the finalists in the Innovation and Partner of the Year award categories.

Príspevok Partner Awards 2019 – Revealing the winners zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Dissecting the Resco DNA

What’s at the heart of Resco? Mobile apps? Enterprise mobility?
With 20 years of experience under our belt, we can honestly say neither of those is the complete answer. In fact, it’s something way more elementary, at least at first sight: Innovation.

Resco started with mobile development because the market at the end of the 20th century offered unexplored opportunities when creating software for Pocket PCs and PDAs. We moved to enterprise mobility after hardware has matured enough to offer intriguing challenges for business use cases. And we’re still helping organizations with our products today, because the relentless tech evolution keeps bringing exciting scenarios that need to be tackled in and out of the office.
This desire to innovate and improve has driven Resco forward for the past two decades. With the uncharted territory that wearables, augmented reality, or artificial intelligence offer to organizations of all shapes and sizes, we don’t see our excitement for innovation waning any time soon.

Innovating through technology

Wearables. Augmented reality. Artificial intelligence. These three innovations are making their way to businesses, and Resco will be expand on them. Why?

Over the last year, smartwatches outsold regular watches. Google has bought Fossil, one of the largest traditional watchmakers. Apple is already working on the sixth generation of its market-leading Apple Watch. And all major manufacturers are starting to incorporate virtual SIMs, cutting the smartwatch’s umbilical cord to the phone.
Resco is ready to answer the challenge – starting by bringing Resco Inspections to smartwatches today, expanding the rest of our portfolio to wearables in the soon, and exploring standalone watch apps over the coming months.

The same goes for augmented reality and artificial intelligence. Zuzana Curajova, Resco Inspections Product Manager, explained that bringing voice-controlled tools to the users’ field of vision and freeing up their hands isn’t stuff from science fiction anymore. It’s a powerful feature you can already utilize with Inspections on HoloLens. On phones and tablets, Tagged image now enables you to snap a picture and add interactive tags with question fields anywhere on the photo, providing more detail and context.
On the other hand, AI image recognition eliminates manual search across all Resco-based apps. More AI-enabled functionality is also on the way, to make business activities even faster, more detailed, and accurate.

Becoming a puzzle master

What can you build using Resco tech and products? Almost anything. However therein lies a challenge best described by Andrew Lorraine, Resco’s Partner Strategy & Field Service Manager, when reminiscing about his younger years.
“The admission test to join the elementary that I went to was really interesting. At 5 years old, we were given a puzzle to put together. The only instructions were that the puzzle should resemble a farm and that we had 5 minutes to do it, “Andrew described.

“However, we could never test our customers by asking them to put together a Resco puzzle. That’s because every single Resco customer would fail. Not because they weren’t creative, or intelligent, or capable. They’d fail because one Resco customer might see a farm, while the next one would see a dinosaur, another would see a pirate ship, the next would see outer space – there simply isn’t only one correct way.”
Indeed, for every customer or partner, Resco represents a puzzle with hundreds or thousands of pieces that, when put together, can resemble nearly anything.
“But all partners & customers – our Resco puzzle builders – do have something in common: like Resco, they are innovators,” Andrew continued. “They want to take their work, their tools, and their mission directly out into the field. To fix things. To deliver better service. To connect with their customers better. To sell better. To help people. And to master technology and harness innovation in a tangible way, customers from all kinds of industries turn to Resco.”

Supporting partner growth

Building their Resco puzzle ultimately helps customers & partners to grow their business. And when talking about partner growth, nothing beats an actual example.

Take Avento, as introduced by Resco’s Partner Channel Manager, Anna Kontsekova. The company specializes in sales processes in FMCG. They implement Microsoft Dynamics & Salesforce, and all their mobility is built on top of Resco. But not only did they create a custom solution – they are continuously improving it and enhancing it with new capabilities, such as AI and others.

This enabled Avento to become renowned experts in their industry, acquiring customers like Heineken, Coca Cola, or Henkel. Today, they help over 500 FMCG brands, across more than 40 countries.
Avento is based in Belgium, and they have been partnering with Resco for more than 7 years. Currently, they have over 40 customers who are running their mobile solution built on Resco. Furthermore, three years ago, when Resco expanded into the Salesforce ecosystem, Avento took the offered opportunity. Up until now, they’ve implemented their mobile solution to 300+ Salesforce users with many more in the pipeline.

And these days, they are also expanding their operations, opening a new office in France.

That’s how innovation & mobility drives our partners’ growth. And to help more partners achieve success, we’re launching resco.academy – an educational platform making enterprise mobility know-how easily accessible to partners worldwide. Stay tuned as more details on resco.academy will follow very soon

The bottom line: Expanding into the world

Resco, as a company, has hit several milestones throughout 2019.
Our headcount has grown from 70 to 100 people, and we’ll be moving into new spacious offices at the end of Q1 2020.

On a global scale, 50 different employees traveled to 50+ events. Translated to miles, we went around the planet more than 6 times in the past 12 months. And all this travel resulted in approximately 5,000 conversations with you – our partners, customers, and prospects.
Ultimately, we’re now serving over 2,800 corporate customers worldwide with 250,000 licensed users.
If you couldn’t make it to resco.next this time, make sure to keep an eye on our blog and website as more news from the event will follow shortly.
And to those who joined us in Rome – thank you for attending, you’re making the entire conference an extraordinary experience once again.

Príspevok 5 takeaways from Resco CEO’s keynote at resco.next 2019 zobrazený najskôr Resco.

After gathering feedback from companies utilizing Resco Inspections+, we have been able to identify benefits that might be less obvious, but more tangible.

The real benefits of exchanging paper for digital forms

Better data quality

Quality data can offer valuable insights into business operations and prevent all sorts of economic damages. What constitutes ‘quality’?

• Completeness – mandatory data is not missing
• Conformity – data maintains a set standard, such as data type, size or format
• Consistency – data reflects the same information and is in sync across teams and/or points in time
• Accuracy – the degree to which data correctly reflects the real-world object or event
• Timeliness – data is up-to-date

Digital forms can improve data quality across all these dimensions. Completeness can be achieved by simple inclusion of mandatory fields, without which the form can’t be submitted. Conformity of data is a direct result of form and input field settings, and as an added benefit, users don’t have to be trained or reminded of what input format to use.

This also naturally results in consistency. Accuracy can be improved in several ways, for example, by scanning codes instead of using manual input. Or simply by omitting the transcription process, where information is copied manually from paper forms into a system. And submitting the data directly in digital form improves timeliness and means quicker availability for the back office.

Business process standardization

Standardization reduces losses, increases transparency, and simplifies employee training. The bigger the company, the bigger the need to set internal standards of work across departments. Digital forms can undoubtedly help since, by design, they are more standardized than paper.

The issue of data conformity from the previous section already touches on this subject. By requiring a certain answer format or process flow, you are already making the first steps towards more unified workflows.

Another example might come from a common confusion amongst end users over answers which aren’t distinct enough, such as marking a service as “Standard” or “Pro”. Instead of recurring training sessions on how to correctly fill out the paperwork, the forms can help them make the decision, or even include a rule that will pre-fill the fields based on the information already provided.

Increased business compliance

Digital forms can also help with adherence to law and regulations. Creating and managing compliance checks is just the start. Timeliness of data means the data is available when it is expected and needed, for example, for quarterly or yearly reviews. Digital forms can also ensure worker safety by guiding them through processes and reminding them to follow regulations.

Resco Inspections+: Custom mobile forms for enhancing your business

Whether you need it for inspections, audits, quality control, compliance checklists, surveys or inventory management, Resco Inspections enables you to build flexible digital forms that run smoothly on any mobile device – tablet, phone or smartwatch – so you can comfortably work in the field and meet your business goals. Start your product tour or Schedule a demo today.

Príspevok 3 unexpected business benefits of digital forms zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Radomir Vozar: To put it lightly – we wanted to build a successful company and make a fortune And nobody was really offering mobile software back then.

Eduard Kirchner: For me, it was a natural way of realizing my ambition as a young man, shortly after university. We chose software because all three of us had an IT background from our studies and I still see software and technology as my hobby. And why mobility? At the end of ’90s, the first PDA devices were making their way to the market and we’d seen incredible opportunities in this area.

Marcel Saffa: And it was also about building a business with fellow friends from college.

What was the original focus of the company, back in 1999?

EK: The very first idea we had, was custom development of mobile software and to use the internet for distribution. Then it morphed into various mobile applications for end users. And after a couple of years, we also started to create app development tools for enterprise customers.

MS: At the time, we’d seen the potential of mobile devices, but they were lacking suitable software. We’d created the first versions of Resco File Explorer and Resco Keyboard apps and we were looking for ways to get them to potential customers. We wanted to offer our solutions globally, so in our first efforts, we utilized external portals offering shareware software.

The first breakthrough came after almost a year – when Windows Mobile was released and Compaq introduced iPaq pocket PCs. They became incredibly popular and we were one of the few companies that offered software for it. That enabled us to acquire our first customers.

But probably the most important turn of events in those early days came just a few months later. We were featured on Handango – one of the very first online software stores to sell mobile apps for personal digital assistants and smartphones. This collaboration successfully lasted almost 8 years. We’ve gained experience on how to present, market and sell our solutions on a global scale, plus it brought us our first opportunities on the American market.

And even though in the early days we only had the end user applications, we soon added games, developer tools, and started developing for PalmOS as well. Especially the developer tools have later set the direction towards enterprise mobility.

RV: You could say that in the early days, as a three-man operation, we tried everything we could – creating mobile software for quite different areas. In the end, market development showed us what was worth focusing on going forward.

Which factors have had the greatest impact on how the company has evolved over the years?

MS: As is the case in similar situations, many changes have been determined by the market. For example, the average cost per app has changed significantly with the arrival of iOS devices in 2007. While apps for Windows Mobile devices cost an average of $15, the iOS app price was $1. Also, Windows Mobile device sales have declined significantly and so has dipped interest in our consumer software. Around this time the company truly started to focus on enterprise mobility for iOS and Android.

RV: But this transformation wouldn’t be possible without the entire team working at Resco by then.

EK: Precisely – the amazingly talented people, flexibility and vision are what allowed the company to grow and adapt. Even to most challenging situations, such as the revolutionary changes in the world of mobile technology, the events of September 11, or the global economic crisis in 2008-2009.

When did you realize that your products have worldwide potential?

RV: Already during that very first year of the company.

EK: Quite early as well. The Internet as a communication tool and a platform combined with the rise of mobility allowed to envision numerous intriguing opportunities.

MS: For me, there were several moments at different stages. Both applications and development tools have gradually climbed to the top of the sales charts. We have won several awards from various tech media around the world, and even from Microsoft. In the CRM era, we communicated more intensively with partners and customers to obtain invaluable feedback. It enabled us to create products that appeal to large globally-known companies. All of this indicates that Resco’s enterprise mobile solutions really have extensive potential.

Which Resco achievement are you most proud of?

RV: For me, it’s the team of people that works here and the family-like atmosphere they create in the company every day.

EK: And with that come both the small victories and milestones we have achieved as a result. I firmly believe that we’ll keep tackling challenges that will make us proud in the future. For example, in the area of corporate social responsibility, or like our assistance to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

MS: Resco is celebrating 20 years, during which it achieved a lot of success and also experienced a few challenging moments as well. But I’m also most proud of the fact that Resco has become an environment which has brought together many extremely clever and creative people. That’s what makes Resco unique. And thanks to this immense potential, I believe Resco is here to stay for at least another 20 years.

What is the most significant experience/knowledge that these 20 years of business brought you?

MS: That business is not an easy thing at all, and without smart and creative collaborators, no success can be achieved.

RV: And that regardless of where you come from, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome.

EK: Overall, 20 years in business brings a lot of various experiences. But if I were to highlight just one thing, it would be the importance of surrounding yourself with people who have both exceptional personal and professional values and qualities. People you can learn from and who create the core values of the company.

In your opinion, what will be the next technological game-changer with the potential to radically change both consumer and business experiences?

EK: From my point of view, it looks like the next “big thing” will be artificial intelligence.

RV: In business, the ever-expanding automation – robots will replace people for most of the mundane work assignments. In the consumer area, I’m afraid sometimes we are already too much like robots when people are not interested to form their own opinions and experiences.

MS: The computing performance has increased rapidly over the last 20 years. The power of today’s devices allows many tasks to be solved automatically by a computer and not human intelligence. And even though AI is still in its infancy, we can already quite successfully replace humans in text, speech and image recognition processes.

There have also already been quite successful experiments with autonomous control. In conjunction with IoT and 5G technologies, automated intelligent operations and services will be created on home, enterprise, or city levels. The mobile phone, as a device that is always at hand, will monitor and manage these solutions. The result will be new industries and better services for both customers and businesses.

What was your first mobile device and what device do you use the most today? What do you think will be used 20 years from now?

RV: The first one I don’t remember. Currently, I’m mostly using a Samsung smartphone. And recently, I also find myself using my Garmin smartwatch ever more often.

EK: An Ericsson GA628 mobile phone and Casio Cassiopeia PDA were my very first mobile devices. These days I’m mostly using my iPhone X.

MS: I think my first phone was a Nokia 3310 – no Internet and the only game was “Snake” Today it’s mostly my iPhone, which largely replaced the role of a personal computer.

The future is unpredictable, but some suggest that around the year 2040, the smartphone will be an inconspicuous device with a holographic projection screen. It will most likely use cloud storage and external data centers. Which means it will be permanently connected to the network. And since I’m an optimist, I believe it will be an intelligent guide, helping us navigate a vast array of information.

Príspevok How did it all start? Resco co-founders discuss 20 years in business zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Vehicles on the rise

Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050 (United Nations). It’s safe to assume that the number of cars in urban areas is going to increase too. More than three billion vehicles are predicted to be on the planet in 2050, compared to around one billion today, mostly because of mass-motorisation in emerging countries.

The cost of congestion

More vehicles, more congestion. According to INRIX, in 2018, congestion cost each American 97 hours and $1,348. Each year, INRIX also compiles the list of the most congested cities in the world. In top ranking cities, such as Bogota, Moscow or Los Angeles, the yearly cost is more than 200 hours.
Bad weather is especially expensive. According to Federal Highway Administration of U.S. Department of Transportation, companies lose around 32.6 billion hours each year due to weather-related congestion, and the cost of weather-related delays ranges from $2.2 billion to $3.5 billion annually. Bad weather also puts safety to the test – 21% of all vehicle crashes are weather-related.
However, there’s a silver lining. As INRIX often states in their yearly reports, congestion is usually higher in times when economy is booming.

The state of field service

Gartner predicts that 10% of all field service work will be triaged and scheduled by AI by 2020. However, 52% of field service companies still plan their operations manually with pen and paper and only 30% leverage GPS tracking (SoftwareAdvice). The disparity is understandable – not only is field service a wide field, but automation is still not a common practice, as companies battle with both affordability and missing know-how on how to implement it properly. What it all boils down to is that by facing these challenges and following industry leaders and upcoming standards, field service companies can quickly rise above their competition in the same category by being there first.

Bottom line

With more vehicles on the road each year and higher demands on the quantity and quality of work, field service companies need to consider how to digitalize and streamline their operations so that:

• They can quickly respond in case of an unpredictable situation on the road
• Scaling is possible (imagine multiple managers assigning work orders to an even bigger number of employees on paper versus with one software system)
• Easy reporting and back-tracking is available (imagine trying to figure out who was where a month ago)
• Needless time is not lost on reccurring tasks, such as manual appointment scheduling

If you think you are lacking in one or more of these points, you may be interested in Resco Routes. This all-in-one system will help you improve efficiency and spend more time where it counts by using real-time location monitoring, scheduling and timesheet management. All of that without buying extra hardware.
Resco Routes is coming on June 12, 2019. But you don’t have to remember that. If you leave us your email, we will notify you immediately after the trial becomes available.

Príspevok Route planning: Essential statistics for field service (Infographic) zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Woodford

New rule methods and variables

Expanding the possibilities of adding custom logic to entity forms and lists.
Save and SaveAfter methods – the Save method enables to create, update and save entity records directly from rules; Save After ensures that the primary entity is saved first; this can be used for creating a Task once a new Lead has been created, to follow up on that Lead in a week’s time.

Open method – enables to open the entity form for a record or lookup variable; so e.g. a parent Account form can be opened from Contact’s form on a tap on a command

MessageBox method – enables to show the user a menu with different options to choose from; the user selects one and this option is then used further within the rule; for example, the user can be asked to confirm changing the status of a record (“Do you really want to complete this Appointment? Yes / No”) or can be presented with a list of actions to choose from (“What do you want to do with this Appointment? Complete / Cancel / Delete”).

Commands form variable – allows to explicitly enable or disable a command from OnLoad and OnChange rules; it can be used instead of the CanExecuteCommand rule to simplify logic

New list view rules

Configurable for every list view in Woodford.
OnButton rule – a rule is executed when a list row button (standard or custom) is clicked, e.g. a rule can be used to create a new record, update an existing record, etc.; this allows admins to define custom buttons and handle their actions in rules instead of needing to use JavaScript

OnCellClick rule – rule is executed when an editable/clickable cell is clicked; can be used as the OnButton rule, but because it is called before the cell editing starts you can use it to prevent the edit (e.g. revenue is editable only on open opportunities)
OnChange rule – a rule is executed when a record’s property is changed from a list via in-line editing; e.g. user enters a price of a product and the app will automatically calculate the sales tax, or user enters an email address and it is validated against a specified format
OnSave rule – a rule is executed before the list is saved; it is the final chance to validate data or optionally cancel the operation; e.g. a notification window appears when user hits the Save button, asking to approve or cancel the save

Sync Dashboard

Comprehensive monitoring of synchronization gets additional options. Please note: requires enabling Mobile Audit for synchronization in Woodford.
Sync conflict resolution – synchronization conflicts are visible and can be resolved directly from the Sync Dashboard; this reduces the need of users to manually resolve their conflicts, because these can be resolved remotely by administrators; there are several places in Woodford that control this feature (Mobile Audit of synchronization must be enabled and Conflict Strategy on selected entities must be set to Manual Action):

• Log Conflict Details – enable this option to see which values produced the conflict; default is disabled
• Remote Conflict Resolution – enable this option so that remote user’s (admin) resolution is executed on the device; default is enabled

New filter options – Woodford users can now filter, and review synchronizations based on platform (iOS, Android, Windows) and by sync result (OK, warning, error, conflicts)

New chart options – charts displaying platform breakdown, sync results, hourly synchronization overview are now available

Export data as CSV – synchronization sessions can be exported from Sync Dashboard in CSV format and can be further processed in various BI tools

Device Control

Woodford’s Security section has been renamed to Device Control.
Project details for each device – system admins can view the exact project each mobile device uses (including the project’s name and publish date) and each device’s last sync status, this provides precise overview of the projects used on each device by each user, and if there are some users without an important project update, they can be approached to perform synchronization.

GitHub integration

Commit projects to GitHub – as Woodford can now be integrated with software version control service GitHub, changes to mobile projects can now be pushed as commits to GitHub; using these services greatly improves the lifecycle management of projects, so that work can be shared easily, progress can be tracked and changes can be monitored

Restore projects from GitHub – users can choose from the latest version or earlier commits; projects can be committed to one GitHub account from multiple organizations, e.g. a project will be added from a testing organization to GitHub and then utilized at the production organization

Additional Woodford enhancements

Flatten project hierarchy into a single project – combine child and its parent project(s) into a single project; useful for transferring the project between environments, e.g. Development to Production
Import Views/Charts from Dynamics365 – import views and charts from Dynamics 365; this feature was previously available only in Silverlight version of Woodford
Import Salesforce.com layouts as forms – import page layouts from Salesforce.com as separate forms; the app will choose the correct form (layout) at runtime automatically via the form selector rule
Clone Forms – clone existing entity forms in project; use the form selector rule to choose a form in the app at runtime; for future maintainability, please first consider making a single form dynamic by hiding fields
Import/Export views, forms, charts as XML files – import and export views, forms and charts as XML files; useful during development as a quick backup and for moving between environments
Create New or Open Existing record from Home – add a home item for creating a new record or opening a particular record; in the app the user can quickly create a new record without opening the entity list
Simplified adding of global JavaScript file in Home – adding a HomeReplacement or UIReplacement IFrame is greatly simplified through a specialized dialog; admins can also add a new special item which works just like HomeReplacement, but is hidden automatically
Customize Home Design – admins can customize the design of Home screen; this feature was previously only available through Silverlight version of Woodford
List Rules validation – during publish and on validate command, the list rules are checked for errors; for example, the validation will flag a rule that is using a removed field or style
Allow list inline-create for unrelated entity list – inline creation of new records is also available for unrelated lists
Enter and Delete keys are handled in more situations – more Woodford actions are available through keyboard shortcuts; you can confirm simple dialogs via Enter; view cells and form items can be removed via Delete key
Restore configuration from parent project – the project configuration can be reset to parent project values using a new toolbar action
Geocoding mass assign GPS to records without per record confirmation – GPS positions of records can be automatically applied, without checking every record manually; this restores the behavior of Silverlight version of Woodford

Resco mobile app

Automatic grid on forms – when enabled the application will display form fields next to each other in one line, based on the configured column width (in pixels) and available space; this enables to better utilize available screen real estate, e.g. in landscape mode on smartphones because on the forms, there can be multiple items in one row instead of just one as it has been until now

Automatic image resizing – if the user attaches an image larger than the maximum image size defined by the system admin, the app will automatically downscale the image (e.g. if the width of an attached photo is 1500 pixels and the maximum allowed width is 1000 px, the app will automatically resize the photo’s width to 1000px; height will be adjusted as well according to original width/height ratio)
Route planning for Salesforce.com – users who integrate the Resco mobile application with Salesforce can now utilize route planning to create and re-schedule service appointments
Hide in-line buttons on outside touch (iOS, Android) – if the user swipes left to bring out the in-line action buttons for a record on a list view and then taps a different part of the screen, the in-line buttons will roll back, and the list view remains open on the screen
Show/hide quick navigation bar (Windows 10) – users can tap/click on the form’s header to display or hide the navigation bar with shortcuts which can take them to various sections of the form (e.g. on an account form, the navigation bar contains shortcuts to general information, map, related contacts, quotes and more); on the flexible form UI this allows for quick switching between visible sections

E-mail integration

Single-sign-on utilizing CRM credentials for Exchange – if a user utilizes the same credentials for CRM and Exchange login, he/she can sync Exchange with the Resco mobile app without having to enter the credentials again; supports both standard and OAuth authentication
Exchange auto-discovery (Windows 10) – the Windows 10 version of Resco’s app can automatically check whether user has an Exchange account, utilizing his/her login credentials
Meeting response includes location – when users respond to a meeting request, the meeting location and additional details are shown in the body of the e-mail
Exchange Home item can be now hidden in Setup – The Exchange Home item is automatically visible in the app if exchange-integration is enabled in Woodford; now the Home item can be configured as hidden

Salesforce integration

Woodford – available in any browser on Mac or PC
Sync Dashboard – available in any browser on Mac or PC
Mobile Report Designer – available in any browser on Mac or PC

Synchronization

Non-blocking sync cleanup – users can now continue working with the Resco mobile app even during sync cleanup process
Incremental with sync filter synchronization option – this new synchronization option prevents the app from downloading records which would be deleted immediately afterwards, because they don’t match the sync filter; however, this will prevent correct cleanup of stale records; records that do not match the sync filter will not be discovered and will not be removed from the local database
Disable record downloads – optional sync-filter can completely disable the download of records (primary-key is null); this can be used for “upload-only” scenarios
Faster and less frequent cleanup phase – cleanup will be execute only if records were downloaded. The cleanup query is optimized for simple sync filters.
Optimized Sync Analyzer for Salesforce.com – faster and utilizing fewer API calls to save resources
Enabling complex security setup – the app can synchronize with organizations with more than 5000 permissions per user
OneDrive supporting both business (AzureAD) and personal (LiveID) login – previously the app supported only personal (LiveID) logins; now both are supported
Not downloading N:N entities marked as online-only – many to many entities’ online-mode setting was previously ignored, now the application applies it during sync
Download the new version of Woodford here.
Get the new version of the Resco mobile client for iOS, Android, or Windows.
Learn more about Resco’s Spring Update 2019 here.

Príspevok What’s new in Resco’s Spring Update 2019: Complete overview of features & capabilities zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Miro and I were incredibly grateful for the chance to experience something totally new, both in terms of our daily work and our own knowledge of the world, while also gathering critical feedback and helping with the first deployment of these tools in Cameroon.

Our travels took us first to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, where we had a quick introduction to the country before driving east to the cities of Bertoua and Batouri.

We spent the bulk of our time helping the local UNHCR registration teams prepare their Resco-based tools for field work (the Rapid Application “RApp” for offline registration activities and the Resco Field Server to aggregate local registration data).

Then we had the chance to accompany these teams out to villages and refugee camps, offering us an incredible opportunity to see how the Resco tools work firsthand while also learning much more about the realities and challenges faced by refugees in their daily lives.

After taking a few days to decompress after this whirlwind experience, what were some of the biggest takeaways from our Cameroon mission?

1. UNHCR works tirelessly to bring assistance and recognition to refugees facing tremendous hardship.

All of the UNHCR staff we worked with were incredibly energized and motivated to help refugees in need. Their enthusiasm was contagious and they do great work under challenging conditions.

2. Technology can help you accomplish what was previously impossible…

Crisis situations often cause refugees to settle in locations where there is little infrastructure and zero connectivity. Resco’s offline platform held up very strongly in the most remote, disconnected environments that we’ve ever been a part of and helped provide better services to the local refugees.

3. …but there’s still more work to do.

Both speed and accuracy are crucial in these crisis situations, so we’ll use our experience in the field to improve RApp’s UI and performance and make registration activities even more efficient.

4. The Resco Field Server component of the project deserves special recognition.

Having local teams of registration officers syncing RApp to their Resco Field Server – enabling their work offline while also complying with strict data requirements from the local authorities – is an interesting option for some of our private sector and non-profit partners to consider for their own Resco projects.

5. Stepping outside of your comfort zone, both professionally and personally, is always a good thing.

From the UNHCR staff to the refugees themselves, Miro and I drew inspiration from the way everyone handled these difficult circumstances with grace and perseverance.  This experience offered us a chance to bring some perspective to our own lives while also striving to do more to help those in need.

Looking into the future, Resco and UNHCR plan to deepen our partnership by improving RApp and the Resco Field Server while also mobilizing more UNHCR processes via the Resco platform.

The experience we gained from this mission will absolutely help us along the way, and we’re grateful to our UNHCR hosts for their warm welcome and collaboration.

All of us at Resco feel a tremendous sense of pride seeing our work used for good and we look forward to helping UNHCR use their Resco tools worldwide!

If you’re interested to get a better picture of what it was like for us, check out our photo gallery here.
Andrew Lorraine is Resco’s Field Service Business Development Manager and participated alongside Resco CTO Miro Pomsar in this mission to Cameroon. You can read more about UNHCR’s reliance on Resco technology at this blog post.

Príspevok Our mission to Cameroon with the UN Refugee Agency – 5 key takeaways zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Streamlining the refugee registration process

Resco and UNHCR have been working together to vastly improve the refugee registration process as well as the comfort and outcomes for refugees in some of the most remote, disconnected environments on the planet.
After first meeting to investigate the Resco platform at the resco.next 2017 conference, the UNHCR and Resco teams (with the involvement of Resco partner PowerObjects) prototyped the first version of “Rapid App” (RApp) in a matter of months. RApp, a customized version of the Resco Mobile CRM application, provides local UNHCR officers with a completely offline application for refugee registration. The goal is to collect refugees’ personal information using the offline app, and then sync it with the larger, global refugee database once the teams return to areas with stable internet access.
RApp itself is a core component of PRIMES, a suite of UNHCR applications that provides a centralized repository of all relevant identity data of persons of concern, accessible from anywhere by UNHCR staff and partners with appropriate access rights.
Just a few months after the initial prototype, the RApp pilot implemented by Power Objects was deployed in Spring 2018 in the Amazon region of Brazil, with tremendous results. The Resco technology used not only included RApp, but also a local Resco Cloud server that aggregated all refugee registration information and then synchronized the thousands of registrations back to the UNHCR’s global database. This Resco platform approach not only saved time and data costs, but it offered tangible proof that refugees could be registered at a much, much faster rate – helping provide them with more comfort and efficient services in an extremely stressful situation.

Expanding across South America and Africa

The success of the Brazil pilot spread quickly throughout UNHCR, as RApp rapidly expanded to 15+ countries across Africa and South America in just a few short months. To further strengthen the partnership, Resco welcomed UNHCR representatives to resco.next 2018 in Prague for more planning and discussion. Daniel Buzatu, ICT Business Systems Coordinator at UNHCR, enthralled the audience during the event’s keynote by showcasing the work he and his team are doing around the world with PRIMES and Resco.

We ended 2018 with plans to expand RApp’s role to cover more than just refugee registration – including modules for child protection, sexual gender-based violence, resettlement, legal & physical protection, and voluntary repatriation.

Stay tuned for our live travel journal

So what’s in store for Resco and UNHCR in Cameroon? This Sunday, Miro and I will depart Vienna for Paris, followed by a flight Cameroon’s capital Yaounde. Following a short stay in this city of 1.3 million, we’ll travel east to Bertoua, the capital of the Cameroon’s Eastern Region. Further travel will take us to the town of Batouri, the home to several refugee facilities serving refugees from the Central African Republic, where we will assist in the country’s first deployment of PRIMES.
For regular updates from our mission keep an eye on Resco’s Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin channels, starting on Monday, March 4. Our daily travel journal will take you behind the scenes of the entire operation as it happens and you‘ll be able witness the impact of mobile technology in some of the most challenging conditions in the world.
Note: Title image courtesy of ©UNHCR/Omotola Akindipe

Príspevok On a mission to Cameroon with the UN Refugee Agency zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Essentials & Nice-to-have’s

What should your solution definitely include? Since “inspection” is a very broad term, some capabilities might be more or less important, depending on the case. Still, we came up with a list of features we consider the most useful.

• Offline mode
  We may live on the verge of 5G, but chances are your workers are going to regularly visit places without proper internet connection, such as warehouses, underground parking lots, offshore powerplants, historical buildings, etc.
• Attachments
  The option to include pictures, audio, or video documentation should be a given.
• Signatures
  The option to add legally-binding signatures is sometimes a must, without which the company can’t actually switch from paper to digital.
• GPS stamps and the option to check-in and check-out
  The proof of your inspector being on site.
• Barcode scanning
  Although not a must-have, the option to quickly search for products or spare parts is a useful feature that speeds up processes and minimizes human error.

Questions to consider when choosing your tool

1. What backend do you use?

How are you storing or planning to store your data? Do you opt for a stand-alone cloud solution that wouldn’t require additional considerations regarding data storage, or do you want to integrate your solution with another systems? This will heavily influence your decision. For example, if you utilize a CRM-based system, you might benefit from a software that is built on similar logic and works well with entities such as Contacts or Appointments.

2. Who will be creating and managing your forms?

If you want your forms to be created and updated by managers, team leads, i.e. people who know the business side of things, instead of IT admins, pick a solution that doesn’t require coding skills and allows you to adjust the solution without tampering with metadata.

3. What kind and number of forms will you be designing?

Let’s talk about the actual forms you will be preparing and using.

• Are the forms long?
• Are they complex, with sections or even whole papers that get skipped based on the situation, i.e. do you need business logic?
• Do you require a slightly different form for each product model?
• Could you benefit from inheritance systems once you move to digital?
• Do you need to maintain your forms in more than one language?

Consider all these questions, try out product demos and choose a solution that allows to design forms, organize them, and make changes easily.

4. What kind of reports do you need?

So, you have designed your questionnaire, assigned it to a field inspector, who collected the data and sent it back for evaluation. What happens now depends on your end goal. Do you want easy to read dashboards and overviews that will give you the gist of it without losing too much time on configuration? Or do you need custom reports, option to go through the answers one by one, or tools for some serious data crunching? Consider this when choosing your solution as well. You don’t want to end up with a software you have to constantly bend to get the answers you need.

5. Last but not least: What about end users?

The app that will be used by the inspectors to carry out the task will probably consist of more than just a list a questionnaires. Think about your end users, their workflow and work circumstances. Do they use phones, tablets, or laptops? Do they have easy access to contact information and addresses? Once they arrive on site, does the app guide them through the inspection? Since you are already providing them with an app with a list of their appointments, do you also want to include an option to request absence? Or do you want any other special functionality?
Based on your case you might want to choose a solution that doesn’t just allow you to design the forms, but configure the actual app as well.

Conclusion

So, what mobile inspection tool is the best? As with most things in life, the answer is “it depends”. To find the right fit, you have to carefully go through your process, from form design to data analysis, and identify your key needs. The biggest mistake is to consider only one part of the process and then choose a solution that is difficult to incorporate with the remaining parts. E.g. a solution that might work great for the back office, but is hard to manage or even unusable for your workers in the field. We hope the five questions above will help you avoid this mistake and make an informed decision.

Resco Inspections: A powerful solution that adapts to you

Resco has recently announced its own tool for field inspections. Resco Inspections offers:

• a powerful questionnaire designer with a vast array of question types and business logic, that will allow you to bring even hundreds of forms into the digital form with ease
• native integration into Dynamics 365 and Salesforce, or an API for integration into other 3rd party solutions
• a fully customizable Inspector app for your mobile workers, capable of running in full offline mode
• and more!

For more information, visit the Resco Inspections page, get the free 30-day trial, or contact us for a demo.

Príspevok How to choose the right inspection tool for work on the go? 5 questions to guide your decision zobrazený najskôr Resco.

• Create & brand state-of-the-art business apps from scratch or connected to an existing system, without expert coding skills, thanks to a re-vamped Woodford HTML
• Collaborate on a single project within an entire team
• Release the app on chosen marketplaces
• Monitor how the app & users perform with Sync Dashboard

Monitor how the app performs and behaves

Resco’s Winter Release ‘18 brought along many updates to our Mobile Business Apps Platform. One of the most significant ones: Sync Dashboard, helps you monitor how your app and its users behave in terms of synchronization.
Whether you utilize solutions built solely on Resco’s platform or integrated with Microsoft Dynamics CRM/365 or Salesforce – your data are in a constant state of flux. Often, large sets of data travel from one environment to another.
Data synchronization is one of the most important things within Resco’s mobile app. The prime benefit of sync is the abstraction over the network layer. Resco users synchronize their data on a regular basis, especially in the offline mode to avoid any data loss. Any change made in the offline mode on a single device needs to be synced (uploaded) to the backend system – and vice versa (downloaded to the app). Check out a quick overview on data sync on our blog.
When such big sets of data “travel from point A to point B”, some of them can “get lost” on the way. You might be familiar with common sync issues like incorrect data or synchronization errors.

Meet Sync Dashboard, a solution for all active users

Until the Autumn Update ’18, when an issue appeared after a synchronization, you would have to send a log manually via the About section in the app. Only after that you could have started analyzing what was happening to your users and devices. Since the release, logs can be automatically sent to the server.
Winter Release ’18 brought yet another enhancement: a brand-new tool called Sync Dashboard.

“We wanted to give you the tools to be more proactive and find out what’s really happening with your users even before they contact you and report a problem. That is why we introduced Synchronization Dashboards represented by charts and lists that give you information about how your users behave in terms of synchronization.” – Juraj Mojik, Product Manager at Resco

Sync Dashboard gives admins a 360° overview of sync details – that can be further filtered according to chosen preferences. Here is what you can find out:

• How many of your users have sync errors?
• How long does each synchronization take?
• How many of your users perform incremental syncs, how many full synchronizations?
• How many records are being synchronized at once?
• What’s the average length of synchronization?
• What are the sync errors?
• …and more

Note that this is a separate tool and needs to be enabled in Woodford first. All you have to do is to open the auditing section that is a part of every mobile project in Woodford – make sure that Auditing and Log synchronization event are enabled.

Once this adjustment is all set, published and your project is applied, your users will start sending you sync data automatically.
Additionally, as of the Spring Release ’19, this comprehensive monitoring of synchronization gets brand new upgrade, called Sync conflict resolution.
Sync conflict resolution – synchronization conflicts are visible and can be resolved directly from the Sync Dashboard; this reduces the need of users to manually resolve their conflicts, because these can be resolved remotely by administrators; there are several places in Woodford that control this feature (Mobile Audit of synchronization must be enabled and Conflict Strategy on selected entities must be set to Manual Action):

• Log Conflict Details – enable this option to see which values produced the conflict; default is disabled
• Remote Conflict Resolution – enable this option so that remote user’s (admin) resolution is executed on the device; default is enabled

Let’s have a closer look at Sync Dashboard in practice

Launching the Dashboard

Microsoft Dynamics CRM/365 & Resco Cloud users: Within your organization’s configuration console
Salesforce users: Sign in here with you Salesforce credentials and click ‘Open Sync Dashboard’
Resco Cloud
Microsoft Dynamics 365/CRM
Salesforce

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After the launch, you will get a clear-cut overview of sync details.

Sync Dashboard consists of three main parts:

1. Filter
2. Sync details for users & devices and Sync times for a given period – based on selected filters
3. A list of all users’ logs with details

What you can view:

1. Session
2. Day
3. Device

What you can filter:

1. Start and end date
2. Users
3. Sync Type
4. OS Type
5. Sync Result (OK, warning, error, conflicts)

How to use the Dashboard

You can use Sync Dashboard simply to track sync details or if you’ve lately noticed any sync changes. For example, if you realized, there have been more errors within the last month than usual. You can analyze which users and devices are affected, or compare the results with the previous month, etc.

Example:

Let’s say you simply want to compare how do different platforms & devices behave during a full synchronization.
You can compare the amount of errors, average sync times between your Windows, iOS and Android users and much more.
So, how were your users & devices behaving last month?

1. Select the time period: last month
2. Choose a sync type: full sync
3. Select OS Type: compare them all
4. Choose an Item Type: for now, we’d like to see all of them

You can display all of this within the Session View.

Note that charts are interactive. Click on a selected result (Windows) and the filter will be automatically updated, too.
As of the Spring Release ’19, charts displaying platform breakdown, sync results, hourly synchronization overview are now also available.
In the bottom of the page you will see a list that entails each synced project’s Name and Date, User, Device and other details that you can explore further.

Use the Day View, if you’d like to see the same results – but divided into separated charts and lists for each day of your selected time period.

And finally, the Device View shows the results broken down across individual devices.
On top of all, your synchronization sessions can e exported from Sync Dashboard in CSV format and can be further processed in various BI tools.
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We encourage you to give Sync Dashboards a try and stay tuned for the upcoming updates.
Should you have any further questions, we are happy to help at mobilecrm@resco.net.
 

Príspevok Introducing Sync Dashboard: Monitor synchronization details of your users & devices zobrazený najskôr Resco.