What Gartner's 2020 Magic Quadrant Says About The State Of Service

By Tom Paquin

This week, Gartner once again released its Magic Quadrant, evaluating Field Service Management software vendors on their ability to effectively provide solutions to their customers. You can download a copy of the report, compliments, of IFS, at this link. 

The report is, as always, not just an assessment of the various vendors in the service industry, but also an overview of the state of the service market today, and what’s clear to me through Gartner’s market assessment is that service is becoming even more vital than it has been to the success, continuity, and growth of businesses in all sorts of different industries.

So knowing all this, and preparing for the future, what has Gartner identified as major market trends, and how can you prepare your business? Here are three areas noted in the report that you should be considering for your business today.

Outcomes-based Service
As Gartner writes, “Of 54 respondents, one-third were already offering this model, up from 19%, and 34% indicated that they intend to offer this model within the next 12 to 24 months.” This means that more than half of organizations will be moving towards an outcomes-based service model. This is an obvious move for forward-thinking organizations. By building their business plans around outcomes, rather than selling warranties, you build long-term contracts that extend beyond the lifespan of a given product, and you offer your customers something more valuable than the promise to resolve issues. It’s something we’re eager to discuss here, and do some with some frequency.