Salesforce Adds IoT Insights to Field Service CRM

Customer service management company Salesforce announced the addition of new IoT capabilities to its Service Cloud console. The data collected by IoT tools and traditional CRM enables companies to better determine when to send customer service representatives — and to automate requests. Insights also:

• Help field workers identify equipment needed for a specific job
• Facilitate remote diagnosis
• Allow dispatchers to monitor service team locations

Salesforce IoT Insights for Field Service Lightning allows representatives to use IoT devices to troubleshoot problems before arriving on site. It features drag-and-drop functionality for ease of use.

See also: IDC says AI could boost CRM by $1 billion

“The ability to monitor the whereabouts of customer service reps in Field Service Lightning is similar to how passengers and Uber drivers track each other,” says Paolo Bergamo, SVP and GM of Field Service Lightning. “And with this visibility, it’s really about the direct connection with the customer.”

CRM and IoT can work together to track all kinds of mobile workers and teams, like nurses that visit patients in their homes. A company called Samson Rope uses Salesforce IoT and Field Service Lightning to track the condition of ropes used in fishing and mining. The platform uses predictive analytics to alert the company when a rope needs replacing.

“This Salesforce platform actually puts the data into the hands of the people that need it in a way that helps them be productive,” says Rebecca Wettemann, an analyst with Nucleus Research. “This is about the power of the Salesforce UI and really making IoT data usable. Many customers are [in the] very early days, but in terms of accelerating work-order resolution and reducing inventory costs, this will help them take that next step.”