Smart Field Force Management Aimed at Communications Service Providers
SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. – (December 5, 2019) -- Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ GS:VRTU), a global provider of digital strategy, digital engineering, and IT services and solutions that help clients change and disrupt markets through innovation engineering, today announced new capabilities, including augmented reality (AR) based test and diagnostic capabilities to improve the efficiency of field force workers and help them improve customer service while reducing average handling time.
Traditional Communications Service Providers (CSPs), wireless providers, internet, cable, and satellite operators, along with other managed service providers, typically have a large contractor-based field force that must be trained to diagnose and make repairs using a massive portfolio of products and equipment.
Virtusa’s Smart Field Force Management Platform addresses these issues by helping technicians quickly locate problems with minimal training. Using AI, the platform provides guided resolution paths for frequently encountered issues. The application is able to automatically co-relate and initiate diagnostic tests based on the type of issues reported. Using machine learning, the system is being trained to recognize 20,000 different devices. This allows field engineers to diagnose problems with minimal training. Automated job closure notes allow better capturing of issue resolution in the field, which in turn enables better analytics for the product teams to improve product performance and capability over time.
Using the new Virtusa Smart Field Force Management Platform, CSPs can expect:
More Efficient Workforce – Using route optimization and remote test and diagnostic capabilities to reduce field operations by 60 percent, while delivering a 30 percent improvement in service engineer efficiency by identifying the main fault location and common faults.
Save Time and Money – Up to an 80 percent reduction in CapEx by consolidating eight devices into a single mobile platform, making it quick and easy for service engineers to identify issues.
Better Customer Service – Using detailed root cause analysis to reduce repeat service calls by 50 percent, while providing a 45 percent reduction in Customer-Premise Equipment (CPE) issues through guided resolution steps.
The new platform is already in use by a large CSP in Europe that provides fixed line, mobile, cable, and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers. The solution enables over 4,000 field technicians to use a single application that quickly identifies the main fault location eliminating the multiple devices engineers use to diagnose these issues.
“Customers today have a wide range of options for how to consume products and services from CSPs,” said Frank Palermo, EVP, technology, media, and telecommunications, Virtusa. “Additionally, innovations around 5G will bring both immense opportunity and challenge. The Smart Field Force Management Platform will help improve customer service and reduce costs, enabling CSPs to better compete in this increasingly crowded market.”
“Smart Field Force Management also provides real-time and historical performance data to further enhance the diagnostic capabilities across network and customer equipment,” says Ravi Kumar Palepu, SVP, TMT solutions, Virtusa. “Technicians are now able to quickly identify faults across the network and devices avoiding guesswork and expensive equipment replacement.”
To learn more about Virtusa Communications offerings, please visit: virtusa.com/industry/communications/