New IDC PeerScape Examines Best Practices in Launching Successful Connected Service Initiatives for Manufacturers

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.

According to IDC Manufacturing Insights, connected products are not only top of mind but proliferating across manufacturing segments. As manufacturers move down the path toward creating products that have inherent connectivity to support added functionality, they also open up the possibility for many new types of aftermarket opportunities or what IDC refers to as connected services. A new report, IDC PeerScape: Manufacturing Practices to Launch a Successful Connected Service Initiatives (Doc #259360), presents five best practices culled from research and numerous conversations with manufacturers in the past year to enable manufacturers to launch successful connected service initiatives.

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Manufacturers are increasingly turning to services as a means to improve profits, increase customer satisfaction, and differentiate from competitors. Connected services leverage connected products to unlock the data-captured insights coming off the products and provide a variety of additional opportunities for manufacturers. According to the new report:

• By 2020, onboard service revenue will grow at double the pace of product-related revenue.
• It is no longer a question of whether manufacturers need to offer connected services but what services they should offer and how quickly they can launch them.
• Connected services will redefine the manufacturer’s role and cumulative value throughout the customer life cycle.

Designed to help IT and line-of-business managers understand how to drive operational excellence for competitive gain through connected service, the new PeerScape presents best practices to help manufacturers develop a solid foundation for identifying, launching, and operating a connected service initiative that delivers customer value and positive business impact. By adopting some or all of these practices, organizations can maximize the benefits from connected service and establish profitable differentiation in the market.

According to the report, to date, many of the plans for connected service are in the ideation/development phase because of the significant amount of change required in processes, functional alignment, and technology to support a comprehensive connected service operation. Early adopters have been successful in launching some of the less disruptive connected services, such as product monitoring, and are using these as test beds for more complex initiatives. IDC Manufacturing Insights expects full deployment of a manufacturer’s portfolio of connected services to take as many as three years for early adopters and up to five for companies that have yet to begin. There is no denying, however, the sense of urgency in the market for manufacturers to be well on the path toward identifying and piloting connected service initiatives.

“Identifying and launching successful connected service offerings is perhaps the greatest area of potential opportunity that manufacturers have to deliver shareholder and customer value through connected products. With the adoption of connected products in full swing by manufacturers across many segments of the market, there is increasing pressure for organizations to understand how to capture value in the form of cost savings, new revenue sources, or even new business models,” said Heather Ashton, Research Manager for IDC Manufacturing Insights’ Service Innovation and Connected Products Strategies Practice.

For additional information about this report or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with Heather Ashton, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-378-2674 or sarah@attunecommunications.com. Reports are available to qualified members of the media. For information on purchasing reports, contact insights@idc.com; reporters should email sarah@attunecommunications.com.

IDC PeerScape
IDC PeerScape reports provide IT executives and their enterprise partners with practices that have the most impact on the success of a technology initiative. They help mitigate project risk and increase the likelihood of the initiative driving business value by capturing practices from peers that should be emulated.

About IDC Manufacturing Insights
IDC Manufacturing Insights assists manufacturing businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing asset intensive, brand oriented, technology oriented, and engineering oriented manufacturing industries. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-mi.com, email info@idc-mi.com, or call 508-988-7900. Visit the IDC Manufacturing Insights Community at http://idc-community.com/manufacturing.

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