DynamicsCon 2021 Preview: Dynamics 365 Field Service and the promise of mixed reality

In a year still disrupted by Covid-19, the challenges to service teams that must work in on-site and remote customer locations can seem daunting. But field teams now have the very real option to start adopting remote assist technology to accompany  Dynamics 365 Field Service, an approach that aims to limit exposure while still meeting customer expectations and optimizing the time of a company's most knowledgable technicians.

On Thursday, March 18, Sara Jo Larsen, a solution architect at Stoneridge Software, will be exploring this theme in her session, "Dynamics 365 Field Service Focus: Remote Assist for Field Technicians" at DynamicsCon 2021.

"I think the important piece that I want to leave attendees with from this session is that today, especially because of COVID-19, having to be in proximity to where you're fixing things or where you're actually doing your work is becoming less and less of a necessity," says Larsen. "I feel that this [session] is a peek into how we can have experts live anywhere in the world but have access to the technology and the tools to be able to see and repair things from anywhere."

Taking place from March 16-18, DynamicsCon 2021 is a free three-day virtual learning experience for Dynamics 365, Dynamics GP and Power Platform users and professionals. MSDW, a media sponsor of DynamicsCon, spoke with Larsen about her session and how companies can empower their teams with augmented reality-equipped mobile solutions to ensure there's no downtime when it comes to providing onsite service in the field.

Larsen says the main thing that attendees will take away from her session is how remote assist interacts with the Dynamics 365 Field Service app. They'll learn a little bit about the setup, i.e., how to get it installed, details about the licensing, as well as see a brief demo. Attendees will walk away with a better understanding how field technicians can use remote assist in the field.

There are two ways to use [remote assist] as a field technician out in front of a machine, onsite, trying to fix something. They have HoloLens technology, which is a virtual reality headset that they can link into. And they have a mobile device. With both of those applications, they can [connect to] what we call a remote collaborator, who is on a team site ready to receive their call. They can interact by digitally overlapping notations, arrows, and communicating with each other, not just in a flat phone call, but in a virtual way where they can interact and work on a machine together.

However, she notes that using HoloLens in mixed reality situations in field service remains a very new approach.