Over the past few years, it has been interesting to watch the growth of remote service software installations around the world by our customers.  We estimate that our customers have deployed in over 70 countries including Antarctica.  Can you image the cost of a field service visit to Antarctica! 

Our industry is unique in that the deployment of remote service solutions requires the permission of the asset owner.  These assets are in a wide variety of locations:  hospitals, data centers, offices, retail stores to name a few.  There is almost always a step in the process where the asset manufacturer (or manufacturer partner) will convince/persuade the asset owner to allow the connection.  Although the decision is between two entities, the decision is really made by humans on both sides.  Understanding the human element of your deployments can be the key to success.

 A trip to dictionary.com yields the first road block:

1. You convince someone to believe - but persuade them to act
2. To persuade is to get someone to do something; to convince is to get someone to think something

Source:  Roget's New Millennium Thesaurus First Addition (v.1.3.1)

It is now clearer that we may have two steps to conquer rather than one.  We need to get someone to perhaps change their mind and act inside their own company.  This needs to be done in such a way that they see the value for the organization and they can trust they are not risking their own neck.

Something must be working, because the deployments are rising at a rapid rate.  It certainly is much easier today than five years ago.  From my view, this is because convince is really about the knowledge that remote service is the best way for companies to service their customers and persuade is about doing it safely with increasing trust on both sides.