Avoid Costly Delays with Priority Access to Expert Resources

Executive Summary

Keysight Technologies released the results of a global survey, conducted by Dimensional Research, to investigate the business implications of test and measurement equipment training, maintenance, technical support, and calibration. The survey consisted of 305 test engineers across multiple industries, including the technology and telecom sectors. The findings reveal that nearly every company experiences preventable delays related to equipment configuration, training, or maintenance. More than 90% of those companies reported a revenue loss because of these delays, with 53% reporting $100,000 or more of waste per day waiting to resolve critical issues. 

With constant pressure to shorten new product life cycles, market-leading companies cannot afford to wait days or weeks to resolve issues. A majority of respondents said they contact vendor support teams every month to resolve issues. Nearly all the companies surveyed agreed that faster access to expert resources would increase efficiency.

The Number of Test Cases Increases by Orders of Magnitude

To remain competitive, companies must eliminate obstacles that cause delays. Design complexity, frequent design changes, and unfamiliar new technologies cause engineers to troubleshoot technical issues on the fly. They often do so without the right resources, training, or expertise.

In the past, engineers would develop a deep familiarity with test equipment design and test standards. Today, they don’t have time to research how their equipment works, how to configure tests, or how to troubleshoot a complex setup to achieve the results specified in standards.

For example, test engineers would routinely download technical manuals and service guides to learn the inner workings of a product. They had an intimate understanding of test equipment operations, test configuration, and test use cases. Today, test matrices have spiraled to upward of 20,000 test cases. It is no longer feasible to master all those cases while meeting customer expectations and time-to-market goals. Test engineers rely on automation and sophisticated software to achieve speed. But if a test case fails, troubleshooting can be difficult and time-consuming.

The survey found that 91% of respondents said they experience business-impacting issues related to calibration, technical problem resolution, or equipment performance. In addition, 46% reported that their business suffers within the first day of malfunctioning test equipment.

In this complex environment, it is not surprising that 62% of reported problems relate to incorrect equipment setup or improper use. These factors alone suggest that as product designs and test solutions grow more complex, access to expert resources and information is increasingly important. When problems arise, companies need fast, predictable, and reliable guidance to troubleshoot and resolve issues. Having the right support can reduce time to resolution when troubleshooting test setups and diagnosing advanced measurement techniques.

A Material Difference

Priority access to test experts, calibration services, and repair facilities can have a material difference, whether engineers are designing or manufacturing a product. The right support can help a team deliver a quality product on schedule and avoid design or production issues that result in costly delays.

Note how often test professionals require assistance: 95% said they need help every month, and 59% said they experience six or more issues each month. Ninety-four percent of electronic test professionals said they need committed, fast-response technical support.

What is even more apparent is that the support status quo has changed. Nearly half the professionals surveyed said existing support models do not meet their expectations and business needs. They said their support models need to be faster, and support experts must be more knowledgeable. Sixty-eight percent thought they could save three or more days each year using a priority support model.

Modern testing requires a modern support approach tailored to meet the needs of agile, connected design and test. Each generation of technology increases the complexity of design and test. Test and measurement companies must innovate faster to help customers stay ahead of test standards, test methodology, and equipment maintenance.