My basement flooded a few weeks ago, and my wife was on a mission to get to the bottom of the issue. And like any good husband, I got out of her way, and let here get to the root of the problem.  As it happens, due to unprecedented rain fall over a very short space of time (who says there is no such thing as climate change) the sump pump, the device that protects us against flooding, had failed. Unfortunately, it was not smart enough to alert us to this situation and simply gave up.

And this is a metaphor for the challenges we are seeing from larger disruptions all over the world, from the impacts of environmental, geopolitical, and other types of risks.

Yet, if you work at all in asset management, you’ve probably felt the impact of disruption much more deeply than most. Asset management and field service management are among the operations most hurt by unexpected events as well as environmental, geopolitical, and other types of risk. In fact, when companies aren’t careful, many disruptions to business actually start with an asset failure (like my sump pump).

That’s why asset management is evolving. The future of modern asset management is always on, increasingly intelligent, and now – accessible wherever you are.

Supporting asset management’s role in strong supply chains

As we move to the future, asset management continues to grow in importance. That’s because asset management professionals are responsible for a rapidly growing network of, often very expensive, equipment, and much of this equipment is more complex – and intelligent – than ever before. Advanced technologies such as IOT and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly available and play a role in effectively executing business processes. In field service management, there are a greater number of field service operators, too, spread across a larger range of services and supporting more customers.

Whether you’re managing your own assets or providing asset management services to customers, these operations have never been more demanding of your time and attention. However, despite this growing complexity, many businesses continue to depend on the asset management and field service management software designed for the equipment and processes of 20 years ago. This software isn’t prepared to support the demands of modern equipment – or the disruptions of tomorrow.

The latest generation of asset management software connects business processes by closing the loop between asset strategy and maintenance execution, helps companies make better decisions by contextualizing their asset health and performance data through real-time insights, and supports improved collaboration with the ecosystem through network solutions.

Enabling asset management in the moment and on the go

As you look to the future, it’s time to ask yourself one all-important question: how can my assets be always-on, even if my asset management software and professionals aren’t?

Any asset management software will focus on keeping your assets up and running, but the right asset management software will do so by empowering your workers anytime, anywhere.

A brief look back in time

Early 2020 posed an extreme challenge for those businesses that didn’t have the tools or data integration to continue supporting everyday operations off site. You may now offer your workers some asset management tools on mobile, but do they provide all the features workers need to do their jobs and keep your assets running? Are they integrated and serving the data insights workers need to make fast, accurate decisions?

Modern asset management software is designed for a holistic approach to asset management that empowers you to connect, contextualize, and collaborate. Ultimately, it’s one part of a whole business that doesn’t work as intended when it’s siloed away from other operations.

For example, if you’re a manufacturer, your asset management team should be able to collaborate freely with operators and service providers. The impact of disruption is compounded by silos across the business. In field service management, you should be able to integrate front- and back-office processes for effective collaboration across teams – while keeping customers informed.

Expecting the unexpected with predictive analytics

The seasonally high rain fall in my area wasn’t a complete surprise. However, the failure of my asset (the sump-pump) was. I had no way of knowing that it was going to break down. Why?  Because it didn’t tell me! I didn’t have the data. Why didn’t I have an app on my phone to alert me when the water level got to a certain point? Or when the part started to fail (which was probably several weeks ago)?

In that same way, the right data and predictive analytics can help your business prepare for what’s next in asset management.

For example, AI-based predictive maintenance is designed to help you determine a piece of equipment’s failure curve based on calculated probabilities. With these insights, you can clearly see the equipment’s remaining useful life and quickly make the best decision for your business. Predictive analytics can also reveal the likelihood of service needs for specific operations or customers by analyzing historical data from previous service requests.

AI enhances your understanding of asset operations and helps you make more-informed decisions, especially when these insights are available on mobile for your workers on the go. Embedding AI into asset management can help you get on the path to achieving your most important asset management goals, such as eliminating unplanned asset downtime and increasing resource utilization. Enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions from SAP include AI-powered capabilities such as these.

EAM solutions from SAP, including the SAP Field Service Management solution, can help you create a more-resilient supply chain, deliver service precision, and revolutionize equipment performance. To learn more about SAP solutions and how they help enable modern, mobile asset management, visit us online.

Also, download the ARC Advisory Group report to learn how asset-intensive companies are rethinking their asset management priorities.

Oh! My wife now has a smart pump, and an app on her mobile phone to tell her exactly how it is performing. What else would you get your wife of 30 years on her wedding anniversary.