It has long been noted that the System Integration industry prefers the solution concept to the individual product, but this is not the only transition taking place. In this shift of customer demands, and thus of operator focus, from product to service, the development of powerful and reliable software has become a priority for manufacturers
Here is a summary of some thoughts shared over the past few days with the customer service representatives of a well-known Italian distributor: software is increasingly being asked not only to read data and give an overview of an installation, a product, the efficiency of a system, but also to be able to intervene directly to update a firmware, repair an anomaly, release a block. This means not only saving time, energy and money to physically reach the installation and carry out the necessary checks, but instead activating these services remotely, i.e. without having to travel. The main change is precisely in the model, in the transition to the service, and to the concept of ‘pay as you get’: by means of software, we can in fact unlock additional services, customise functions, and ultimately pay for the services one really needs, without perhaps acquiring a package we will never use.
A mode of access to the service to which we are already accustomed, just think of our everyday purchasing decisions when, for example, we define the version of Netflix that suits us best. And that is already having many repercussions in the very serious and important area of agreements and contractualisation, which brings with it a real resolution in the relationship between the vendor, distributor and or retailer, and the customer. And we are only at the beginning, because Artificial Intelligence, applied to service optimisation, will certainly enable new and still unforeseen scenarios.
