IFS is THE vendor focused on helping asset and service-focused companies leverage the power of Industrial AI, and with IFS Cloud 24R1 has delivered new AI-powered functionality that enables customers to improve operational effectiveness and profitability – read on for the details, and watch the video interview from IFS Connect 2024 in Sydney!
IFS is a highly-regarded cloud enterprise software company. Its platform and solitons are for companies around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build, and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations.
IFS Cloud 24R1 is the newest release, arriving at the end of May 2024, and it focuses on three strategic themes, all supported by the powerful IFS.ai Copilot that helps users better understand and use data from across a company’s supply chain and operations.
Before we get to those three themes, which are listed in full below along with more info about 24R1, here is my fireside-style chat with Vijay Jaswal, the Chief Technology Officer of IFS, Simon Niesler, the Chief Revenue Officer at IFS, and Warren Zietsman, IFS Australia and New Zealand’s Managing Director, where we spoke about IFS, AI, IFS Cloud 24R1, productivity, ESG, sustainability, augmented reality, channel partners, R&D, IFS Unleashed, and more!
You can find more information on the IFS Connect conferences here, and on the huge IFS Unleashed Conference in Orlando, 14-18 October 2024, here.
So what is the first strategic theme?
1. Powering Potential: Humans and Technology in Harmony
The power of IFS Cloud extends beyond human potential to asset potential; assets operate optimally, minimising downtime and extending lifespans, resource utilisation is optimised, and operations streamlined. Key features and capabilities include:
- IFS.ai Copilot: improve decision-making and enhance user experience and engagement through the IFS AI-powered assistant. The first data source target for this release is IFS Cloud help and support information. Boost productivity through timely knowledge and guidance.
- Analytics as a Service: gain accelerated time to value and valuable insights while reducing capital expenditure and operating costs.
- Transport Loading: improve the shipment process, supporting greater capacity utilisation, and faster goods loading.
- Task Bundling for Service: increase technician utilisation and efficiency and reduce travel costs and emissions while improving service margins.
- Maintenance Planning and Scheduling new Lobbies: improve visibility, drive efficient asset maintenance operations, and drive asset compliance.
- Driving Profitability: Winning in a Volatile Landscape
2. Business success hinges not just on potential, but on measurable profitability.
IFS explains this release equips its customers to fine-tune global operations, lower costs, reduce waste, and empower the organisation to consider new business models. Key features and capabilities include:
- Supply Chain Customer Scheduling: handle multiple open schedules from the same plant simultaneously, increasing productivity and time savings.
- Advanced SLA Management: increase margins, SLA adherence, and compliance.
- Incomplete & Follow-on Process: service management is enhanced with an intuitive guided technician process for reporting to achieve SLA compliance, avoid penalties, and improve customer satisfaction.
- Business to Business Portal: let contractors record multi-site work, for greater control and visibility while streamlining the communication process between contract and asset owners.
3. Sustainability as a Competitive Edge
IFS explains FS Cloud empowers businesses to not only achieve sustainability goals but also emerge as champions of environmental stewardship, which will resonate with stakeholders from consumers to investors. Optimising resource utilisation, minimising waste, and tracking environmental impact lets customers reduce their carbon footprint. Key features and capabilities include:
- Emissions Tracker: enhancements to accurately track progress against sustainability through easy emissions data collection. Gain a more complete view with the addition of select Scope 3 emissions categories. Also, input kilowatt consumption data from utility supplier invoices.
- ESG Lobbies: now underpinned by Power BI for easier real-time access to focused insights.
- Support for Circular Manufacturing: enhancements cut production costs by supporting the planning of the remanufacturing process. This enables the introduction of new revenue streams and lower carbon footprint.
- Packing Material Management: enable more sustainable operations by handling unit accessories as inventory increasing the use of reusable packaging.
Christian Pedersen, Chief Product Officer, at IFS commented: “With this latest release of IFS Cloud, customers will benefit from a new level of meaningful AI capabilities and innovation that is truly relevant to their industry and impactful to their business. The IFS.ai Copilot is the natural next step for IFS Cloud users to engage with and benefit from the AI capabilities we have embedded into IFS Cloud. We’re offering so much more than generic AI – our industrial AI approach means customer can effectively manage supply chains and improve their operations. We’re creating an environment where technology and human ingenuity come together.”
Pedersen added: “At a time where regulation in Europe and the US is making companies take action in how they set and manage their Sustainability commitments, we are offering new AI powered capabilities that both help companies improve their operations and report progress. As we look ahead, it’s clear that IFS.ai will continue to be a catalyst for change, driving businesses forward with purpose and passion within the industrial setting. The future is not just bright; it’s AI powered, composable, and cloud-enabled, and it’s here now.”
What’s an example of IFS.ai being applied?
IFS shares that the new capabilities in 24R1 provide powerful industrial AI functionality, but also packed into the release is new industry-specific tooling. Take for example Aerospace and Defence.
New Aircraft Release to Service functionality automatically detects and flags missing mandatory components and overdue maintenance tasks for compliance and risk reduction, and Aircraft Airworthiness Status Insights provides visibility and control of fleet status and aircraft in maintenance to enable aviation operators with additional efficiency and productivity gains. The new release offers similar benefits to customers in other asset and service focused industries.
To find out more about the latest release of IFS Cloud including industry-specific capabilities and enhancements, IFS has made its 24R1 Release Showcase available here, with a great video presentation.
Ok, so let’s learn about Gartner’s 2024 Market Share report of All Software Markets worldwide:
Here we find that IFS ranked #1 for Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) market share for the third consecutive year in this Gartner Market Share report.
Kevin Price, Global Head of Enterprise Asset Management at IFS, said: “Our third consecutive #1 ranking on EAM from Gartner is clear evidence that we are getting it right – by consistently listening to our customers and delivering value for them. We are very proud to have retained this position, hot on the heels of our Q1 2024 financial results which revealed the best start to a year in IFS history, with annual recurring revenue up 26% year-over-year.”
Price added: “Asset-intensive enterprises continue to move to IFS because our total customer-focus and industry depth means we provide compelling use cases that are fast, easy to implement and deliver value quickly. Customers can achieve this from a single composable platform that offers advanced functionality, AI innovation embedded, and flexible deployment options.
“And our best-of-breed EAM delivers incredible value for those customers who want to modernise their maintenance operations. Existing customers are also expanding their use of IFS technology to transform, grow, operate more efficiently and more sustainably, and provide those outstanding Moments of Service for their own customers.”
The report provides an overview of worldwide enterprise software spending, including EAM, stating that: “worldwide enterprise software spending grew by 11.1% to $786.4 billion in 2023 from $708.0 billion in 2022. Customer experience and relationship management (CRM), database management systems (DBMS), and security remained the largest software markets. Analytic platforms emerged as the fastest-growing application software market with a 14.4% growth rate, and networking software emerged as the fastest-growing infrastructure software market with a 14.2% growth rate.”
IFS reports it offers two powerful and flexible EAM solutions. IFS Cloud EAM is a composable solution with embedded IFS.ai capabilities that address the unique demands of complex asset-intensive environments through a single integrated platform. Since it is composable, it is easily combined with ERP and Service Management capabilities to automate the management of assets to control maintenance, optimise performance and support ESG goals. It is designed to meet the current and future needs of asset-intensive industries such as Energy and Utilities, Construction & Engineering, Manufacturing, Services, Aerospace & Defence and Telecoms.
IFS explains its IFS Ultimo EAM solution combines a fully integrated environment, health, and safety (EHS) and operations suite with out-of-the-box industry-specific solutions built for manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare. Designed for organisations that manage industrial and fleet assets alike, IFS Ultimo offers rich functionality for planning, monitoring, optimising, and executing maintenance activities and automating workflows.
More information of how IFS supports asset-intensive industries is here.
Over at YouTube, you’ll find plenty more videos at the IFSdotcom account, which you can see here.
Here’s a couple of videos to watch:
