Whether you’re an integration partner, consultant, system admin, or a mobile worker, there’s something for you in the update.

The release is planned to be generally available in June.

Let’s look at an overview of what’s included in the latest release, divided into three main areas:

1. New mobile app development capabilities
   
   Explore the latest additions that make it easy to build exactly what you need and proactively enhance your apps, including new Resco Power Components for Power Platform, up to 6-time faster sync method, and other improvements.
   
2. UI enhancements
   
   Discover a polished and refined user interface that will enhance the experience for app makers and app users alike, including the new cell resizing feature, improved Questionnaire Designer, or form UI enhancements.
   
3. Mobile workflow improvements
   
   Embrace new features that focus on simplifying frontline processes, including optical character recognition (OCR) in Forms, support of QR codes in Power Apps, and Zebra integration on iPhones.

New mobile app development capabilities

Launch of Power Components

With the latest release, we are introducing a new product to our portfolio – Resco Power Components for the Power Platform.

Resco Power Components are designed to allow you make building business apps on the Power Platform faster and easier. They add a wide range of functionality to your apps immediately without needing to wait for and budget for custom code from developers.

Power Components are code components (PCF controls) that give app makers the ability to extend and customize applications built on Power Platform. They are downloaded once as a solution, installed in an app maker’s environment, and can be deployed across various projects.

Based on popular demand, we have selected the first batch of essential tools – an image gallery, Kanban board, multi-select dropdown list, advanced calendar picker and others. The first batch was released at Resco Next, our community conference, and will be generally available in June.

You can read the full announcement here.

New sync download method (preview/experimental feature)

Syncing large datasets impacts productivity if it takes too long. Therefore, we are working on a significantly faster way of accessing Dataverse data using the TDS endpoint. The new sync engine improves your sync speeds by up to 6 times while increasing reliability.

If you want to opt in and test the lightning-fast sync download, follow these steps:

1. Edit an app project in Woodford.
2. Go to Configuration > Offline Data Sync > Sync Advanced.
3. Enable the “Use TDS download method” option.

Alternatively, app users can enable this feature in the app’s setup. You can also disable TDS download for specific tables in Woodford if they show any issues.

Please note that this is an experimental feature, and it is recommended that you test it thoroughly before deployment in a production environment.

Field usage checker (preview feature)

Identifying where specific fields are used can be challenging in complex projects and can omit effective optimization of sync performance. The new field usage checker will help you identify where are the individual fields used much quicker.

The new functionality analyzes projects and shows you all elements where a field is being used, allowing admins to disable unused fields easily.

This simplifies project management by helping you optimize data fields without disrupting functionality, improving sync performance, and making data management more efficient.

Define score ranges for group results

Evaluating questionnaire responses can be much faster with clear categorization. You can now customize score ranges for each question group and assign distinct labels for different ranges.

This feature allows you to create more effective categorization and evaluation of responses, helping you draw better insights from the data.

UI enhancements

New cell resizing feature in View Designer

You are now able to take advantage of an important change to how cells resize within a row. Previously, you could sometimes experience overlaps of cells in rows, making the content unreadable due to misconfigured anchoring.

Now, newly added cells are set to be responsive by default, allowing you to avoid overlaps and makes scaling smoother.

This means as the row width increases, the cells will proportionally grow, maintaining gaps between cells and from the row edges. If an image needs to be fixed in size, you can turn off the responsiveness and set the anchoring to the left or right.

With these new options you’ll enjoy a smoother, more intuitive design process, ensuring that your layouts look great on all devices without overlaps or unreadable content.

You can learn more about these changes in our recent blog.

Form UI/UX improvements

These enhancements in forms improve experience for mobile workers by providing a more predictable and user-friendly interface, reducing confusion, and increasing efficiency.

Strict layout of cards: A new setting forces cards into their respective columns, avoiding unpredictable shifts, which enhances user experience by maintaining a consistent layout.

Required field markings: Required fields are now clearly marked with an asterisk in forms, reducing confusion and helping users quickly identify necessary inputs.

Confirmation toast: A toast notification confirms when a long questionnaire is saved, providing users with reassurance and reducing the risk of data loss.

Redesigned dropdowns: Improved dropdown navigation in iOS makes adding custom values and searching easier, making the interface more intuitive and user-friendly.

Questionnaire Designer improvements

The updated Questionnaire Designer features new icons and buttons for adding, deleting, and repositioning components. That makes the design process more intuitive and user-friendly for you.

Marking mandatory questions in questionnaires

Similarly to forms, mandatory questions in questionnaires are now clearly marked with an asterisk. Thanks to that, mobile users can identify required fields and ensure that critical information is not overlooked.

Mobile workflow improvements

Faster data entry with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in forms

You can allow users now to populate text fields on forms using OCR, saving time and effort by capturing a photo or opening an image to fill out forms automatically. This will accelerate data entry for mobile workers, reducing manual input errors, and increasing productivity.

Geo-fencing functionality

Field service dispatchers often struggle without knowing exactly when technicians arrive or leave a location. With the new geo-fencing feature, you can get immediate updates when your front-line workers enter or leave predefined locations like offices or service sites.

This feature works reliably across a wide range of devices (iOS and Android) without draining the battery or compromising user privacy. Only the presence at pre-set locations is monitored, not the overall location.

You’ll enhance the efficiency of your field operations with real-time location updates, ensuring better coordination and faster response times.

Improved questionnaire integrity check

Working with incomplete templates or questionnaires can lead to inaccurate data collection from the field. The improved integrity check now detects incompleteness, preventing users from working with incomplete forms.

Ensuring the integrity of data collection enhances the reliability of your insights and decisions.

Resco Power solutions enhancements

These improvements enhance the usability and flexibility of Resco Forms+ solution on Power Platform, making the questionnaires easier to use in various scenarios.

Questionnaire Player – better support for images

Working with images and videos in Resco questionnaires within Microsoft Power Apps and Power Pages is now significantly smoother. You can easily incorporate components like tagged images and image galleries, enhancing the visual and interactive quality of your questionnaires.

This improvement makes it easier to collect and analyze visual data, enriching your data collection process.

Questionnaire Player – offline mode

In model-driven Power Apps, you can now use questionnaires offline. This means your team can continue working with questionnaires even without internet access, ensuring that data collection is uninterrupted.

QR codes in Power Apps

You can now scan QR codes to answer questions within Resco questionnaires in the Microsoft Power Apps app. This feature simplifies data entry and speeds up the process, making it more efficient for users in the field.

RFID scanning with Zebra devices

Resco mobile apps now support connecting to Zebra Technologies’ RFD4031 RFID scanner using Bluetooth. The functionality is available for iOS devices.

When a user scans RFID tags, the app can handle this event using JSBridge, providing a list of all nearby RFID tags for further processing.

Use case examples:

• Inventory management: Easily track and manage inventory in real-time by scanning multiple items at once. This is particularly useful in large warehouses or retail environments where speed and accuracy are crucial.
• Asset tracking: Quickly locate and identify assets in a facility, ensuring efficient use of resources and reducing the time spent searching for equipment.
• Field service: Technicians can scan RFID tags to verify equipment and parts during service, ensuring they have the correct items and reducing the likelihood of errors.

Stay informed with the Release Bulletin newsletter

Stay tuned for the official release at the end of May, and explore these powerful new features that will enable you to build mobile solutions faster and enhance the users’ experience.

For a comprehensive overview of all the new features, head to Resco’s Spring Update 2024 on the wiki. Dive in and explore the full spectrum of new possibilities.

Would you like to receive news about the Resco previews and releases directly into your inbox? Subscribe into the Release Bulletin newsletter and get notified about the new features first.

Príspevok Launch of Power Components, 6x faster sync, geo-fencing, and more: Discover Resco’s Spring Update 2024 zobrazený najskôr Resco.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Peter Becher, the Process Area Owner at Krones, to delve into the remarkable journey of Krones with Resco.

Peter Becher, a key figure at Krones, shared insights into his role as the global responsible for the service system and process environment. Reflecting on his pivotal position, Peter states, “In the Resco and Salesforce environment, my role as a Process Area Owner is crucial in ensuring the seamless integration and efficiency of our service systems.”

The quest for a comprehensive field service management solution

As Krones embarked on a transition in their IT system environment, they found themselves in search of a robust solution for their field service management.

Krones explored various options. However, due to the specific need for advanced offline capabilities on certain operating systems, they opted to delve into the Resco and Salesforce combination.

Peter describes the turning point, stating, “The story of how we got to Resco was a bit strange, or mad, or surprising – that’s probably even better. Salesforce recommended us to talk to Resco about their offline capabilities on Windows devices.”

The mobility empowering over 1,500 technicians around the world

The journey, as Peter describes it, was “nothing short of spectacular”.

Within a span of four to five months, Krones delivered the pilot of subsidiary Salesforce Field Service in combination with Resco, setting the stage for a global rollout.

Commenting on the speed of implementation, he notes, “We changed a lot of things in the project approach, moving to a more agile environment.”

Currently, live on all continents, including North America, Krones boasts more than 1,500 service technicians using Resco Mobile CRM as their sole front end.

The success story of the rollout resonates not only in numbers but in the positive feedback received, emphasizing the solution’s usability for sales and service technicians alike.

“It’s really a big success story for our company,” Peter remarks.

Expanding horizons with Resco Inspections

Reflecting on the implementation journey, Peter highlights the flexibility and usability of the Resco solution. With an impressive 25 internal releases, the platform seamlessly integrated with Krones’ environment, proving to be a powerful tool for their service technicians.

The platform’s capability to minimize clicks and touches on smartphones aligns with the technicians’ preference for simplicity.

Recently, Krones expanded its Resco footprint by going live with Resco Inspections+. Peter describes this expansion as a strategic move to replace paper-based and report-based processes, “Resco, in the beginning, was a kind of solution for a challenge that we had – the offline capability for Windows devices. But the other possibility is moving more to that customer 360° view. That’s where we see a lot of possibilities around the Inspections.”

The inspections functionality, with its focus on condition assessment, guided procedures, and integrated processes aligns with Krones’ vision. Peter envisions leveraging checklists, assessments with scoring, automated workflows, and even generating leads or opportunities directly from Resco checklists, further improving their operational efficiency.

Looking to the future

As our conversation drew to a close, Peter expressed enthusiasm for the future collaboration between Krones and Resco. “The journey from our side has been amazing. We’re really looking forward to what we can do together,” he concludes.

The journey, marked by Resco’s continuous evolution from a solution for offline capability to a versatile development platform, exemplifies the tool’s adaptability to diverse business needs.

And Krones, a true hidden champion in the beverage industry, stands as a testament to the transformative power of mobile solutions for the frontline workers.

Príspevok How German manufacturing giant Krones uses mobility to empower 1,500+ technicians globally zobrazený najskôr Resco.

As we approach the full release of Resco’s next update at the end of May 2024, we encourage you to test these new features and provide early feedback to ensure a seamless integration into your production environment.

Let’s dive into what’s new.

Mobile App Development Toolkit

Enhanced View Designer in Woodford

In the Mobile App Development Toolkit, the new View Designer boasts a modernized interface, making it easier to configure and manage your views.

Plus, you can now see all rows at once, simplifying workflow. Create flexible layouts with fields that automatically resize based on available space, improving readability on any device. You can learn more about this functionality in the explanation blog.

Also, map pins customization has been streamlined for better visual representation of your data points.

Location tracking with geofencing

Stay informed when the field workers enter or leave designated areas (offices, service locations, etc.).

Works reliably across devices with minimal battery drain and strong privacy controls.

Identify used fields in Woodford (Preview)

This new tool helps you optimize your synchronization by identifying which fields are used on mobile devices.

RFID scanning for iOS mobile apps (Zebra Technologies)

You can now connect to Zebra RFD4031 RFID scanners via Bluetooth for streamlined data collection.

Faster Woodford for Dataverse and Salesforce

Experience quicker download times for metadata-heavy actions, like opening an app project or filter editor, in Woodford and Report designer.

Mobile and Power Solutions

Faster data entry with OCR in forms

You can now use OCR to populate text fields on forms.

Capture a photo or open an image and populate form fields automatically, saving time and effort.

Streamlined image handling in Power Apps questionnaires

Work with images more efficiently using tagged images and image galleries.

Scan QR codes in Power Apps questionnaires

Leverage QR codes to answer questions within Power Apps questionnaires, boosting user experience.

Inspections and questionnaires

Mark mandatory questions

Easily identify required questions with an asterisk symbol.

Support for zero instances in repeatable groups

Create questionnaires with optional repeatable sections.

Define score ranges for groups

Set score ranges and labels for group results, providing clearer insights.

Improved questionnaire integrity check

Detect incompleteness and don’t allow user to work with incomplete templates or questionnaires.

New announcements

Power components (New product)

Introducing a new product – Resco Power Components for the Power Platform.

Available in June, these code components empower app makers to customize and extend their Power Platform applications. You can read the full announcement here.

The initial preview will include a Kanban board, image gallery component, and configurable calendar picker.

Guides for Salesforce

With the latest preview, Guides are now available also for Salesforce users, enabling you to manage and organize knowledge across organization.

For more detailed information and full list of the upcoming features, please refer to the developer release notes.

This blog is part of the Release Bulletin newsletter. Subscribe to get notified about the new features and release previews available.

Príspevok Release preview: Test the final release candidate for Resco 17.1 Update zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Understanding G2 Badges:

G2 awards badges based on user reviews and satisfaction. A “Leader” badge means we’re a top choice in a specific category, while “High Performer” shows we’re a strong contender.

Our winning categories

For spring 2024, we were recognized in three key areas:

• Field Sales Leader for our field sales app that empowers salespeople to work on the go.
• Field Service Management for our solution that streamlines scheduling, dispatching, and field operations.
• CRM (Europe & EMEA) for our mobile-first CRM platform that keeps customer relationships strong.

Now for the best part – what did people love so much about the Resco solutions to earn these badges?

Here’s why users are fans.

Offline functionality 

Resco lets mobile workers access data and complete tasks even without an internet connection.

Several reviewers praise this capability as it solves their field sales, data collection, or customer visits reporting challenges. One of the users highlights, “Synchronization with the backend and usage is very fast, even when there are millions of records synchronized to the offline client.”

Mobile support

Resco mobility products are built for frontline use, so users working out of the office can ditch their laptop and get things done from a phone or tablet. This mobility was the core benefit for several reviewers. Matthias, Process Engineer Sales & Service from the Machinery sector highlights:

“We have over 500 service engineers in more than 50 countries, which do our service tasks on ocean going vessels in nearly every harbor around the world. Resco allows us to bring them an easy-to-use mobile solution, where they can track the engineer hours, the changed parts, the measurements and recommendation.“

Seamless integrations

“There is a tight integration with Microsoft Power Platform which gives the ability to develop sophisticated mobile offline applications,” explains a reviewer one of the reasons they decided for Resco.

Solutions integrate natively with popular platforms like Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, giving organizations and software integrators a unified business system to work with.

No-code / low-code development

Users can easily customize Resco to fit their specific needs, even without coding. A reviewer appreciated this feature: “The form designer is very powerful. I can design an offline form that can do anything the customer is asking for. The tools for report design and managing users are very well designed. The API works perfectly, and I can configure the backend database to any need we have.”

Want to see what others are saying? Check out the user reviews on G2.

Príspevok Resco recognized as a Leader and High Performer by G2: Which features did users like the most? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Whether you’re an integration partner, consultant, system admin, manager, or mobile worker, the Winter Update has something in store for you.

Discover highlights from this release, categorized into three main areas:

1. New platform capabilities

Explore the latest additions that make it easy to build exactly what you need and proactively enhance your apps, including new Data model explorer, embedded code editor, and other improvements.

2. UI enhancements and AI-driven innovations

Discover a polished and refined user interface and AI-powered features that will enhance the experience for app creators and app users alike, including new segmented buttons, AI assistant, or export wizard.

3. Mobile workflow improvements

Embrace new features that focus on simplifying frontline processes, including optical character recognition (OCR), local photo saving, and questionnaire repeat command.

1. New platform capabilities to enhance your business app building

Explore improvements aimed at enhancing what your mobility solution can do, simplifying your app-building, and making your apps even better.

Data model explorer

Managing sync settings in complex projects can be daunting. The newly launched Data model explorer is designed to simplify this process for you and all the admins.

Instead of clicking through each entity, now you can see and sort all settings in one place. The explorer is particularly useful in scenarios where quick identification and adjustments of sync settings are crucial for you, ensuring a more efficient and error-free management experience.

Imagine overseeing a project with numerous entities. Instead of navigating through each entity, the Data model explorer allows you to view and sort all settings in one comprehensive view.

Embedded code editor

The new embedded code editor brings an advanced, Visual Studio Code-like experience to the admins’ fingertips. This feature helps you in scenarios when you require to implement a complex business logic.

You can use the new code editor integrated within Woodford for more efficient scripting thanks to functionality including line numbering, syntax highlighting, or HTML / XML syntax validation.

The editor serves as a middle level of customization between no-code customization of rules in Woodford and more complex JavaScript coding. The code editor enables simple re-use of business logic elsewhere in your mobile project by simply copying and pasting relevant portions of the code.

For example, when customizing rules for a unique sales process, the syntax highlighting and command palette provide a clear and efficient coding environment, reducing the time spent on coding and minimizing errors.

“Not Older Than” operator

Filtering data just got more straightforward with the “Not Older Than X Days” operator. This new addition to your toolkit allows you to write much more efficient sync filters for the field service use cases.

Mobile workers in these scenarios often need to see recent tasks, work orders, or bookings in their apps. The newly introduced “Not Older Than X Days” operator let you set up this filter to effectively display only the most recent and relevant data, based on the date of record creation or change.

Plugin search and sort

Managing your Dataverse plugins is now easier with the ability to search and sort. This enhancement is particularly useful if you handle numerous plugins, allowing you to quickly find and organize the plugins as needed.

Sync optimizations for faster operations

Keeping your data synchronized is now more efficient. The ability to customize download page sizes and Salesforce-specific optimizations mean you spend less time waiting for syncs to complete.

New language options

Expanding our language support, Woodford now includes Dari, Hausa, Kinyarwanda, and Central Kurdish to support nonprofit organizations and their mobile workers operating in the areas.

2. UI enhancements and AI innovations for app creators and app users alike

Discover a polished and refined user interface and AI innovations that will enhance your experience, making tasks easier and your work more efficient.

Form UI improvements: Cards, segmented buttons, and chips

Interacting with the Resco’s mobile app is now more intuitive and efficient thanks to multiple UI and UX enhancements.

The new cards on flexible forms offer a clearer overview of related fields, making it easier for mobile workers to process information at a glance.

Text input fields can now be formatted as segmented buttons which allow you to improve navigation for users when using dropdowns and multi-selections.

Additionally, controls that allow you to select multiple options can now display selected items as chips. This feature provides a more intuitive and visually appealing way to display selected options.

The introduction of these UI improvements allows you to streamline data entry, reducing the likelihood of errors, and enhancing overall user interaction with the app.

AI Woodford assistant

Navigating through extensive documentation is faster and more intuitive with the AI Woodford assistant. Trained on our whole Wiki and Academy resources, this tool helps you when you’re looking for specific information or troubleshooting.

By providing quick, AI-powered answers to your questions or prompts, it significantly reduces the time and effort needed to find solutions.

For now, it is provided on request base, so don’t hesitate to contact our Support to enable it.

AI-powered enhancements in Resco Guides

AI-powered enhancements in Resco Guides offer several valuable features:

• Guides creation and localization: You can effortlessly convert existing documentation into digital guides, saving time and resources. This means you can digitize manuals, SOPs, or guides much quicker, streamlining your app development process.

• Automatic translations: Instantly localize your guides with the automatic translation feature. This is ideal for businesses and workers in multilingual environments, ensuring everyone has access to crucial information in their preferred language.

• Automatic tagging: Keep your tagging consistent across users with AI-driven automatic tagging. This feature ensures a standardized approach to organization and retrieval, making your app more user-friendly.

• AI Guides assistant: Guides, Finding out what Guides users what  need is now easier with the AI Guides assistant. The guides assistnat can quickly search for a relevant guide using a prompt. It can locate relevant information easier and faster, whether they’re performing a new task or seeking guidance on machinery troubleshooting.

Faster style editing in Questionnaire designer

Editing question styles is now just a click away in Questionnaire designer. You can now access the Style editor directly from a question, which eliminates the need of remembering and searching for styles.

The new contextual button is particularly beneficial when you are making quick, on-the-fly adjustments to questionnaires, allowing for a more efficient and user-friendly experience.

Import & export wizard for questionnaires and reports

With the latest update, you get better control over transferring reports together with related questionnaires in Inspections and Forms+. The new Import & Export wizard allows you to precisely select versions and associated reports, ensuring you have exactly what you need.

For example, you can take advantage of this new feature when updating questionnaires across different teams or projects, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

Questionnaire designer options dialog

Essential questionnaire settings are now consolidated in one place, allowing you to quickly modify the main setup of any questionnaire.

You can control settings features like scoring or data mapping, rules version, JSON compression, and more.

3. Mobile workflow improvements simplifying the frontline tasks

Start to use the new features with a focus on simplifying frontline processes, automating repetitive actions, and providing user-friendly tools to enhance productivity in the field.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in Inspections+

Retyping text from physical labels is now much faster and more efficient for mobile workers. The OCR feature in Inspections+ allows them to capture text from labels, plates, or panels in seconds and automatically fill in questionnaires.

Imagine inspecting equipment and needing to record serial numbers. With OCR, the workers can simply take a photo, and the text is digitized instantly, speeding up the process and ensuring accuracy.

Workers can freely choose which text string to use and fill in. Furthermore, they can edit the input and use the OCR capabilities even when offline.

Photo saving in local storage: Enhanced accessibility

Users can now save photos taken through the Resco mobile app directly into their device’s gallery.

That comes in handy for mobile workers who need to store images for future usage or to send via email or messaging apps like WhatsApp. By having immediate access to these photos in the local storage, sharing and referencing becomes more straightforward and efficient.

Questionnaire repeat command

Filling out multiple, identical questionnaires has gotten quicker with the latest update.

With the ability to automatically open a new identical questionnaire after completion, tasks such as registering multiple individuals in situations like humanitarian aid become much more efficient.

Reuse answers in repeatable groups

This feature allows selective reuse of answers in repeatable groups, streamlining the data entry process.

For example, when conducting surveys where several responses are identical, you can choose to pre-fill answers to selected questions. This then saves time and reduces the risk of errors when filling out a questionnaire.

Conclusion

Whether you’re managing complex projects, entering data on the go, or seeking AI help, these new features are here to make your work easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable.

We invite you to join the upcoming webinar to explore these enhancements in detail and discover how they can enhance your mobile business apps.

For a comprehensive overview of all the exciting new features, head to Resco’s Winter Update 2024 on the wiki. Dive in and explore the full spectrum of new possibilities.

Príspevok Explore the latest innovations from the Winter 2024 update, including AI-driven enhancements and UI improvements zobrazený najskôr Resco.

This blog delves into four key tips drawn from his seasoned experience shared during the recent resco.NEXT 2023 conference. The story of Tom and Fearless Leader solutions can help other ISV partners envision a roadmap to crafting successful business solutions.

The story of Fearless Leader

A decade ago, Tom embarked on a journey to transform sales solutions in the food and beverage industries. As the owner and managing director of Avento at the time, Tom initiated the development of what would later become Fearless Leader.

Born from this vision, Fearless Leader now helps to fulfill the needs of frontline workers such as sales representatives, inspectors, and medical professionals. It integrates mobile capabilities within the framework of Microsoft and Resco technologies, benefiting not only frontline workers but also their managers and back-office users.

Over the years, the solution has acquired a user community of over 1,500 individuals across 45 customers in Belgium and beyond. In the preceding year, Avento was acquired by Cegeka, and the company’s scope widened to pharma and medical industries.

Cegeka has also achieved the 2023/2024 Microsoft Business Applications Inner Circle award, placing it among the top 1% of Microsoft’s worldwide partners.

With these achievements under his belt, Tom Moortgat’s experience serves as a guide on crafting successful micro-vertical solutions combining Resco and Microsoft business tools. Let’s delve into his insights shared at resco.NEXT 2023 conference.

Love watching more than reading? Watch the full Tom Moortgat’s session from resco.NEXT 2023 to learn about his experience. 

1. Begin with the user in mind

When constructing business applications, Tom emphasizes the pivotal role of user-friendliness and simplicity, “What’s “important about solutions that you build for customers is how easy it is to use them. It’s a top argument. It must be very easy to use.”

It’s no coincidence that the key phase of development began even before the idea of Fearless Leader was born. “We started talking to the market while building the solution,” Tom remarked. Armed with a tablet, he initiated conversations with sales managers at industry fairs and conferences to gain knowledge about their needs.

From that point, the focus on user-friendliness became a cornerstone in the journey of constructing efficient and impactful business applications.

Fearless Leader has an interface made for easy navigation, ensuring that all users, regardless of their technical expertise, can integrate the solution into their daily tasks. “It has to be helpful for the person who uses it every day, every morning to the evening and not just for management with their reporting,” Tom asserted.

2. Don’t forget about offline, even in 2024

In an era dominated by 5G discussions, Tom remains an advocate for offline functionality despite seemingly abundant 4G and 5G connection, “We are in the year 2023 [at the time of conference] and offline is still the topic. Who would have thought of that?”

He illustrates the practical necessity of offline functionality in certain industries, such as food and beverage with supermarkets providing only limited connectivity.

“If you go into a supermarket, there are now solar panels on the roof, but there is no 4G or 5G connection yet. Maybe that will change a bit in the future, but often there is no connectivity as soon as you walk into a supermarket,” he explains.

For sales representatives operating in such environments, it would mean a challenging user experience and an inability to fulfill their work.

During his presentation, Tom emphasized the necessity of the right combination of tools and platforms to achieve seamless offline functionality. It’s a field where Resco and Microsoft complement each other. “We can have Dynamics 365 and SharePoint connected, and Resco takes it all offline. That’s very good and future proofed,” Tom noted.

And it’s the futureproofing of the solution that makes another important topic in Tom’s presentation.

3. Opt for flexible development

Tom draws attention to the challenges faced by traditional, custom-developed apps, particularly when dealing with supporting every new iOS update or device.

“We have replaced many apps that were built previously. Why? Because at a certain point, those apps didn’t work on the new iOS anymore,” he noted.

This observation underscores the obsolescence and escalating costs associated with custom-developed applications. That’s where systems and tools like Microsoft Power Platform and Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit provide solutions for ISV partners.

Mobile App Development Toolkit makes customization easy, eliminating the need for complex coding or ongoing maintenance. This ensures that the ISV partner can adapt and improve their solutions without the hassle of constant maintenance.

As Tom positioned it, “What we did was we made one solution compatible for all those industries – food, beverage, pharma, medical – which makes it very interesting for us for maintenance and support because it’s one whole system. It’s configurable for a food person as well as a pharma person.”

New device support is especially important for ensuring seamless experience for frontline workers. “For instance, many sales reps use their smartphone with their calendar in their car to check the visits that they have to do that day. It’s connected to Waze and then as soon as they go into the supermarket, they have a tablet, and they continue their work with it as the app runs the same on any device.”

Tom underlines the economic advantage for clients, stating, “For them, it’s important that they take the licenses, a few days of work training, but they don’t have to buy new hardware.” This cost-efficient approach positions no-code / low-code development tools as a powerful ally for ISV partners, enabling them to provide future-proof solutions without imposing significant financial burdens on their clients.

4. Leverage advanced functionality

The incorporation of Azure Maps, Google Maps, and Resco technology stands out as a key functionality in Fearless Leader, allowing sales representatives to optimize their routes and maximize their efficiency.

In a live demonstration, Tom showcased how this technology translates into tangible time savings and increased visit capacity. “The sales reps must plan their day and they must do that very effectively. It’s the only result that counts,” he emphasized during the presentation.

Additionally, Tom highlights the flexibility to add languages upon request, ensuring adaptability to the specific linguistic needs of different markets.

Fearless Leader goes beyond language barriers with its comprehensive multilingual support. Tom notes, “We use all languages by default, English, French, Dutch, German, and we also now have Italian in it.” This inclusivity allows the solution to cater to a diverse frontline workforce.

“And there’s reporting, of course, behind it. You want to know as a manager ‘where are my guys? How many visits did they do? Is our assortment delivered?’ So the reporting is there as well,” explained Tom, listing several new features used by Fearless Leader during the presentation.

In conclusion

Tom’s journey with Fearless Leader provides multiple important insights for ISVs: Keep it simple, don’t forget offline, go for flexible development, and spice it up with the latest features.

Think of these tips as your roadmap to cook up successful solutions for the unsung heroes – the frontline workers. If you are hungry for more insights, watch selected sessions from the resco.NEXT 2023 conference for free, and get ready for the 2024’s event edition coming to Vienna.

Príspevok 4 tips to master industry-specific software solutions as an ISV: Insights from Tom Moortgat zobrazený najskôr Resco.

The collaboration between Resco and Microsoft is a testament to such digital integration’s power.

Previously, we explored how the fusion of Resco and Azure Custom Vision’s AI digitized health and safety processes in the construction and oil & gas industry.

Now, let’s shift our focus from safety inspections to field service and equipment recognition.

The use case: Equipment recognition in field service

Efficient equipment recognition is a critical aspect of field service operations.

Technicians need to identify and validate various equipment pieces swiftly and accurately, whether for maintenance, repair, or replacement purposes.

This process often relies on manual documentation or memory, leading to potential errors and delays. But now you can combine Resco (including the new Power Platform solutions) and Azure Custom Vision to create a faster and more comfortable solution for frontline workers.

The solution: Smart forms and AI working together

Field technicians can employ mobile forms in Resco Inspections+ or the newly announced Resco Forms+ to capture images and details of equipment on-site, creating a comprehensive visual database.

This solution enables inspectors to collect and evaluate data digitally. Technicians can fill out information about work progress or create reports without needing to rewrite data or use desktop devices.

All data is synced with the core databases of organizations thanks to native integration with Microsoft’s platforms and data management tools, including Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse.

Integrating Azure Custom Vision’s AI empowers workers to automatically identify and classify equipment, eliminating the guesswork and significantly enhancing efficiency.

For example, if they find a defective part, they can easily document it with a photo and quickly secure a replacement. No time is wasted searching for the correct part, as the system performs this task automatically.

This technology can also be used for other questions, like looking up items in a product list. If the captured image matches a tag in the pre-trained model, it becomes the answer. This saves time and ensures accuracy in various field service tasks.

Technical integration: Synergy of Resco and Azure Custom Vision

Let’s assume you’ve already pre-trained your Custom Vision model for the image recognition of various spare parts typical for your industry.

Accordingly, you’ve also established a link between this model and your mobile project in Woodford. You’ve also created an existing questionnaire template used during technician visits to monitor assets (e.g., elevators in our case). If not, find the steps to do this in our documentation.

Now, let’s find out how to leverage custom vision to identify and find a missing part in a lookup view.

Imagine that during your site visit, you find out that some parts are subject to corrosion. You must photo-document the defects and simultaneously secure the supply of new spare parts.

Compliance with all technical prerequisites and picking up the proper production types and models are mandatory. You’re already capturing the defective part, why not speed up the process?

Use the “image recognition” question format in Questionnaire Designer to capture the spare part. If the captured image matches a tag in the pre-trained model, the tag’s name becomes the output answer.

This outcome may be applied to other questions as well, such as a lookup question pointing to the product list in our case.

If there exists any product with the name matching the recognized tag, the lookup is automatically filled in with detected part. No other data input from the technician operative is necessary.

Why it matters

Operational agility: Instant recognition optimizes equipment-related tasks, enabling technicians to take informed actions.

Enhanced productivity: Real-time evaluation and automatic recognition saves time for field technicians, boosting overall efficiency. At the same time, it saves them a mental capacity needed for remembering or finding the correct equipment.

Compliance and records: Digital data collection, paired with visual documentation, strengthens data integrity and regulatory compliance for field service organizations.

Code-free integration: The native integration with Microsoft platforms and no-code development enables IT teams, consultants, and partners to seamlessly leverage digital forms and AI’s advantages without spending resources on coding and maintenance.

Conclusion: AI as the booster of efficiency

The solution combining Resco and AI enables technicians to scan and recognize equipment efficiently through image recognition, bridging the gap between the physical and digital realms.

This capability not only accelerates workflow but also ensures accuracy and consistency in equipment identification.

But the combination of AI recognition and mobile forms isn’t just limited to equipment recognition.

It can be an accelerator of processes in various fields:

Inventory management: To streamline retail and warehouse operations by scanning and cataloging products accurately, reducing errors, and optimizing restocking processes.

Quality control: Enhance quality assessments in manufacturing by automatically identifying and categorizing product defects, increasing accuracy.

Retail and e-commerce: Simplify product searches for shoppers by allowing image-based product identification, making the shopping experience more efficient.

Healthcare: To improve patient data capture and medical image tagging for healthcare professionals, simplifying data retrieval and analysis.

If you’re intrigued by the prospects of integrating Microsoft business apps with Resco mobility, reach out for more information.

Príspevok How Resco and AI offer faster, more accurate equipment recognition in field service zobrazený najskôr Resco.

You’ll encounter these enhancements across all our products, encompassing Resco Inspections, Resco Cloud, Resco Guides, and all supported systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Salesforce.

Whether you’re an integration partner, consultant, system admin, or mobile worker, this update has something for you.

Discover the highlights of this release, categorized into three main areas.

1. New capabilities enhancing your business apps

Explore these exciting additions that enhance what your mobility solution can do, simplify your app-building, and make your apps even better.

Virtual tables

Simplify the connection of various data sources through virtual tables, natively integrating SQL Server and SharePoint. Custom virtual tables can be created using OData v4 custom data providers from a large scale of applications.

File columns

Simplify data management with the support for file columns in Dataverse, ideal for handling larger files.

Form commands

Execute commands directly from rules, reducing manual intervention and enhancing user interactions.

Distance calculations

Ensure workers are in the right place at the right time with distance calculations for automated check-ins and improved scheduling.

Calculated fields in Resco Cloud

Effortlessly calculate values with defined formulas using calculated fields in the Admin Console.

SyncStats analyzer

Fine-tune synchronization performance with 30+ indicators for problem identification and resolution.

2. UI enhancements for app creators and app users alike

Discover a polished and refined user interface that will enhance your experience, making tasks easier, and your work more efficient than before.

Accelerated theming

Save time and maintain consistent designs with automatic color palette generation and dark theme support.

Revamped form style editor

Customize your app with a redesigned form style editor that streamlines styling for individual components.

Redesigned toolbar

Simplify form building with a modernized and icon-based Questionnaire Designer toolbar.

Flexible header and supporting text in questionnaires

Create detailed section descriptions within questionnaires for improved content clarity.

Supporting text and Placeholder in forms

Enhance forms with supporting and placeholder texts, saving time and reducing errors.

3. Workflow improvements simplifying the frontline tasks

Start to use the new features with a focus on simplifying frontline processes, automating repetitive actions, and providing user-friendly tools to enhance productivity in the field.

Image editor

Simplify image editing on mobile devices with annotation, cropping, and text enhancement features.

Tagged image support

Precisely define asset locations with tagged images, improving efficiency for technicians.

Full-text search in Guides

Quickly find information within guides with keyword and phrase searches.

Guides localization

Provide content in multiple languages to your workforce, promoting better comprehension.

Take your business to the next level with Resco

This release streamlines app building, introduces new capabilities, and improves workflows, empowering you to transform your ideas into practical solutions for real-world frontline needs.

It’s also thanks to your valuable feedback. If you’re eager to get early access to the latest additions and want to be part of shaping these features before they’re officially released, join the preview community.

For a comprehensive overview of all the exciting new features, head to Resco’s Fall Update 2023 on the wiki. Dive in and explore the full spectrum of new possibilities.

Príspevok Resco’s Fall Update 2023: 100+ improvements for your mobile business app development [Summary] zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Whether you’re an integration partner, consultant, system admin, or mobile worker, the Fall Update has something in store for you.

Discover the highlights of this release, categorized into three main areas:

1. New capabilities

Explore the latest additions that make it easy to build exactly what you need and proactively enhance your apps, including full support for virtual tables, a distance calculator, or a new sync analyzer.

2. UI enhancements

Discover a polished and refined user interface that will enhance the experience for app creators and app users alike, including new accelerated theming, dark mode, or revamped Questionnaire Designer toolbar.

3. Workflow improvements

Embrace the new features that focus on simplifying frontline processes, including a new image editor, localized guides, or full-text search.

1. New capabilities empowering your business apps

Explore these exciting additions that enhance what your mobility solution can do, simplify your app-building, and make your apps even better.

Full support of virtual tables in Dataverse

Digital operations within companies usually require multiple platforms, systems, and apps. Sometimes it’s hard to integrate and connect all the data without extensive coding.

To make the connection of various data sources easier and faster, Resco now fully supports virtual tables in Dataverse. You can use all write operations related to the virtual tables, including creating, updating, and deleting the displayed data within the context of the Resco solution.

Microsoft supports SQL Server and SharePoint as virtual table sources out of the box. Custom virtual tables can be created using OData v4 custom data providers from a large scale of applications. Resco can then integrate with their data seamlessly.

Support for file columns in Dataverse

The newly supported storage method increases Dataverse compatibility and makes processing of data collected by Resco tools easier for you.

You can now use a file column to save documents when managing your integration. They present a versatile alternative to traditional notes and are ideal for larger files.

Executing form commands from rules

Thanks to the Fall update, you can reduce the number of clicks required to perform tasks in the Resco mobile app. The key to this efficiency lies in the ability to execute commands directly from rules.

You can now set the app to trigger command logic as a response to a field change or button click. The capability allows you to create dynamic, responsive workflows that adapt to user interactions and data changes.

This way, it’s possible to reduce the need for manual intervention and make complex tasks more intuitive for frontline users.

Woodford admins can also move repeatedly used business logic to commands that can be subsequently called from rules as snippets.

Also, it’s possible to hide commands from the menu, ensuring that users only execute commands through predefined rules, and providing a consistent and controlled user experience.

Distance calculations

Whether in sales, construction, or maintenance & repairs, being in the right place at the right time is important for frontline workers’ productivity and great customer service. The new functionality for distance calculation, now available on all mobile platforms, will help you ensure that.

With distance calculation, you can set virtual boundaries around work areas, ensuring workers’ presence at any location of interest. For example, this allows you to set up a solution for automated check-ins, enhance security, and streamline work order scheduling.

Calculated fields in Resco Cloud

Calculated fields efficiently derive their value from other fields, bringing higher versatility to your solution. Imagine the need to automatically calculate the total price of equipment or other complex computations within your mobile app.

With calculated fields, you can now effortlessly define these fields in the Admin Console, setting up formulas to calculate their values.

SyncStats analyzer

Fast synchronization is critical for successfully deploying digital data collection in the field. And the latest release brings a powerful enhancement to make it easier for you to analyze and fine-tune this performance.   

The brand-new SyncStats analyzer allows you to use 30+ indicators to identify the most frequent problems and provide statistical information about sync performance across devices and users in the field.

This addition is part of our ongoing effort to empower admins and consultants to fine-tune synchronization. When shared with Resco, the outputs of this tool can significantly speed up the resolution of complex support cases.

2. UI enhancements for app creators and app users alike

Discover a polished and refined user interface that will enhance your experience, making tasks easier, and your work more efficient than before.

Accelerated theming

Maintaining consistent and visually appealing designs across multiple projects can be a time-consuming and complex task. Design updates are often challenging, especially when applied across various elements within an app.

With the latest release, a more straightforward way of selecting colors is available in Woodford, saving you a ton of time when designing an app.

Now, you can select a single brand color, and Woodford uses Google’s proven Material Design algorithm to automatically generate a matching color palette for you.

Moreover, you can even let users switch the app into an automatically generated dark theme. The algorithm ensures that the generated colors offer sufficient contrast and meet accessibility requirements so that you can design an app theme without the extensive administration and time required.

Furthermore, we kept the possibility to customize color settings in detail and made it more straightforward by introducing color tokens. They allow you to define named colors (tokens) once and use them in various locations within the app.

It’s the answer to simplifying the design process and ensuring design system consistency.

Tokens are most helpful and efficient in these situations:

• You plan to update your product’s design or build a new product
• You want to maintain or update styles in the future easily

Revamped form style editor

To simplify the customization of your business app, you can now use a redesigned form style editor with neatly organized parameters into dedicated tabs and new custom styles tailored to specific component types.

While still allowing the creation of generic styles that apply to all component types, we’re introducing the option to define dedicated styles for specific components like text fields, dropdowns, or buttons.

This means that only the relevant style properties for the selected component type will be displayed, simplifying the process of styling individual components.

When you choose a style for an item, you’ll see only the styles compatible with that particular item, whether they’re dedicated or generic. We suggest you consider minimizing generic styles and explore the convenience of creating dedicated styles for individual components, making app customization more straightforward.

Redesigned toolbar in Questionnaire Designer

Listening to your feedback, the redesigned toolbar of Questionnaire Designer in Resco Inspections provides another way of simplifying the form building.

The modernized and enhanced toolbar now gives you simpler navigation and more confidence with tools as it relies preferably on icons. The global settings were shifted to dedicated setting windows where you can find all related options under one roof.

Flexible header and supporting text in questionnaires

Now, with the new flexible header and supporting text feature, you can create more detailed and informative section descriptions within your questionnaire.

This improves the clarity and understanding of the content, ensuring mobile workers are well-informed, which helps them progress smoothly.

Supporting text and placeholder on forms

A similar capability is now available on forms. You can now make them more intuitive for mobile workers by providing additional information using supporting and placeholder texts. They are available for all detail items and can save frontline users time and mitigate errors during data collection.

3. Workflow improvements simplifying the frontline tasks

Start to use the new features with a focus on simplifying frontline processes, automating repetitive actions, and providing user-friendly tools to enhance productivity in the field.

New image editor in the mobile app

Field and mobile workers can now simplify image editing thanks to the new Image Editor in the Resco mobile app. This tool simplifies on-the-spot image editing, allowing users to instantly annotate, highlight, and add context to images on their mobile devices.

Field workers can easily annotate with free-hand drawings and shapes, zoom in for a closer look, crop images in two simple steps, and improve text visibility. All that helps them enhance efficiency, communicate clearly, and issue resolution in the field.

Tagged image support on Dataverse

Imagine a field tech coming to repair an assembly line machine at a big factory. While he knows the site’s location, the asset’s exact position is often buried in notes or not specified at all.

With the Tagged image functionality, now also supported on Dataverse, managers and mobile workers can precisely define the asset’s location. This will make it much easier for technicians to find the assets and save time.

This can significantly improve your mobile experience if it involves floor plans (maps of factory floors with annotated locations), electrical wirings and pipes, vehicle or complex machinery photos with defects highlighted, and many more.

Full-text search in Resco Guides

Frontline workers can now quickly and easily find the information they need within guides thanks to full-text search capability. With the full-text search feature, they can instantly search for keywords or phrases related to the equipment, machine, or problem they’re encountering. This enables them to quickly access step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting guides, or relevant documentation, saving time and effort.

Guides localization

A company with frontline workers is often spread across different regions and deploys different languages. With the Guides localization feature, you can now provide content in multiple languages, ensuring that each worker can access critical information in their preferred language.

This promotes better comprehension, adherence to procedures, and overall effectiveness in their roles, regardless of their language background.

Take your business to the next level with Resco

This release streamlines app building, introduces new capabilities, and improves workflows, empowering you to transform your ideas into practical solutions for real-world frontline needs.

It’s also thanks to your valuable feedback. If you’re eager to get early access to the latest additions and want to be part of shaping these features before they’re officially released, join the preview community.

For a comprehensive overview of all the exciting new features, head to Resco’s Fall Update 2023 on the wiki. Dive in and explore the full spectrum of new possibilities.

Príspevok The Fall Update is here with 100+ improvements for your mobile business app development zobrazený najskôr Resco.

In today’s digital age, technology provides multiple ways of automating and simplifying work tasks.

And the latest accelerator of frontline work transformation is AI.

A recent study shows that 65% of frontline workers believe that AI is their ally. They envision a future where technology can lighten their load and amplify their impact.

The collaboration between Resco and Microsoft exemplifies the potential of such digital integration.

This article looks at how Resco Inspections+ and AI in Azure Custom Vision can digitize health and safety processes for the construction industry. And the resulting solution provides benefits in terms of speed and accuracy of safety inspections.

The use case: Safety inspections on worksites

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Inspections are a common and important part of several industries. Helmets, goggles, or protective clothing are all part of mandatory equipment in oil & gas or construction industry.

It helps workers prevent injuries and mitigate safety hazards. But it is also important for organizations, as it helps them ensure safety and comply with regulations.

For example, one of the biggest OSHA fines in 2022 included penalty for failing to provide eye and head protection on a construction site. The fine totaled $321,956. The risk of work injuries on oil & gas rigs is even higher, making it critical to use new tools for safety improvement.

PPE inspections are often done with pen and paper, which creates a risk of losing or damaging the reports. Some field workers use spreadsheets that aren’t integrated with the core backend systems of organizations. This creates extra manual work for workers and it’s a complex task for organizations to keep all documents in order for years.

The solution: Mobile forms and AI that automate tasks

Mobile forms in Inspections+ enable inspectors to collect and evaluate data digitally. Inspectors can take notes, photos, or videos on site, providing visual proof of health and safety measures. 

The native connection to Dataverse, Dynamics, or Power Platform allows inspectors to sync data in real-time with their organization’s main database. Doing so mitigates data silos and allows organizations to set up a single source of truth.

The AI can automate and optimize related processes. For example, it can make evaluation of workers wearing protective equipment quick and error-free.

The integration: Technical part of integrating Inspections+ and Azure Custom Vision

The integration allows users to classify images in questionnaires or entity forms using Azure’s Custom Vision service. It requires an Azure Custom Vision subscription and at least one model for classifying images.

It is necessary to pre-train this model prior to use in the mobile app. The main steps for setting up Custom Vision include creating a new project, selecting project types and classification types, and obtaining the prediction URL.

You can read more about the process in the technical documentation.

The connection to Azure services itself is set up in Woodford. You can do so by adding a new model definition with all the necessary information in the ‘Settings: AI Image recognition’ section.

Once the training and setup are complete, users can utilize image recognition in questions, views, and forms. It allows them to scan images and match them to specific fields or records.

The entity where image recognition is to be used, must include a string field with barcode formatting on. For example, you can add a row button to the form that uses the ‘Scan Image’ step. Then, simply fill in the value or find the record you are looking for in a lookup view.

Another use case of how you can leverage the custom vision service is to answer questions in questionnaires directly. To do so, you can use the ‘image recognition’ question type.

If the captured image matches the tag in the pretrained model (with a probability above a customizable threshold), the tag’s name serves as the question output. You can apply this result to the other questions (e.g., string fields or lookups) and build your questionnaire business logic based on the tags.

POV: A health & safety inspector with Resco and AI at hand

Let’s have a look at one real-life scenario where technicians cannot start their duties until the safety standards are met.

The legal requirement states that until the protective equipment is not demonstrably present and documented, the mobile worker can’t begin the inspection on a worksite.

You can easily achieve this by integrating Inspections+ and AI in Custom Vision service. The upcoming release will enable this option even for Power Platform.

A technician simply takes a picture of his or her protective equipment at the beginning of the work order process.

The picture will be automatically attached to the documentation and well represented in the overall report. Only after taking the picture and detecting all the required safety protection (e.g., helmet in this case), the operative can proceed with the inspection.

Why it matters:

Real-time safety: Instant safety evaluation means workers can start their work faster and without a burden of administrative tasks. Organizations can also ensure compliance according to OSHA policy.

Audit trail and compliance: Digital data collection and the combination of photographic documentation, signed reports, and cloud storage ensure data integrity and easier document storage. 

Digital data collection: Real-time evaluation, inspections scoring, and elimination of data rewriting will help save inspectors’ time. 

No-code integration: A fast solution for ISV partners, consultants, and internal IT teams to incorporate the benefits of Inspections+, Power Platform, and AI technology without lengthy and expensive development.

Conclusion

That’s the showcase on Resco and Custom Vision joining forces. Quick photos, AI analysis, improved health and safety – all for a safer oil & gas rigs or construction sites. It’s tech that works for the frontline workforce, without the hassle. 

Príspevok Keeping worksites safe: How Resco and AI enhance safety inspections zobrazený najskôr Resco.