IFS launched IFS Nexus Black Resolve for Utilities – purpose-built and combining decades of utilities expertise with cutting-edge AI capabilities to revolutionise the most inefficient element of field service operations. The announcement was made at DISTRIBUTECH International 2026, where IFS demonstrated how utilities can apply AI to navigate increasingly complex challenges – from ageing infrastructure and extreme weather to workforce constraints, rising customer expectations, and increasing regulatory pressure.
Resolve for Utilities represents a breakthrough in how energy and utilities companies respond to disasters, manage daily operations, and modernise the grid. Developed by IFS Nexus Black, the solution extends proven IFS Field Service Management technology with AI to deliver rapid innovation that gets results in weeks, not months – while maintaining the reliability, scalability, and security that utilities demand.
AI that understands the realities of utilities operations
Unlike generic AI solutions designed for white-collar workers, Resolve for Utilities is designed for the field technicians, planners, and crews who keep the lights on and water flowing. The solution addresses the stark realities facing utilities: skilled workforce shortages, extreme weather events increasing in frequency and severity, ageing infrastructure requiring urgent modernisation, and communities expecting faster restoration times.
Transformative capabilities for modern utilities built on a foundation of innovation
Resolve for Utilities introduces a powerful suite of capabilities to revolutionise field service operations in the face of these compounding challenges, ensuring that the “last mile” to the customer is state-of-the-art, setting the bar for Workforce Management today and tomorrow, regardless of work or worker type.
- Intelligent crew callout for rapid response: Resolve uses AI to coordinate crews for essential work – from planned maintenance on aging infrastructure to emergency response during floods, storms, or wildfires. The system provides real-time visibility into crew availability, seamlessly communicates with field workers, and manages operations across regions and states – freeing up planners to focus on strategic decisions while AI handles coordination friction.
- Mutual aid technology for large-scale disasters: When major storms strike, utilities must rapidly coordinate with neighboring companies. Resolve’s Mutual Aid capabilities use AI to enable seamless communication and resource sharing across organisational boundaries, protecting communities faster when they need it most.
- Intelligent support for field crews: Resolve’s enhanced mobile capability dramatically improves field crew productivity through intelligent guidance based on real-time data, equipment images, and historical patterns.
The new solution extends IFS’s track record as the trusted* partner for utilities worldwide. IFS already delivers the most comprehensive Asset Lifecycle Management platform on the market, including Asset Investment Planning, Capital Project Management, Supply Management, and AI-based Scheduling Optimisation, integrated with the recognsed #1 Enterprise Asset Management** solution.
Carol Johnston, Vice President, Energy & Utilities, IFS, said: “Utilities are navigating an increasingly complex operating environment — from workforce constraints to extreme weather and grid modernisation, with increasingly high customer expectations. Our intense attention to this area reflects both our heritage in Utilities FSM and our commitment to evolving alongside our customers with modern, practical innovation. Nobody understands the utilities market like IFS, and it’s this industry-specific application of AI that is enabling the Utility providers we work with to radically improve efficiencies and deliver better moments of service to their own customers.”
Brian Burdette, Emergency Management Supervisor, SoCalGas, said: “When a disaster hits, our job becomes helping put a community back together. That’s a job where every minute matters. A solution like this could help us cut restoration times by getting crews to the right places with the right equipment, before the event even hits. That means hospitals stay powered, our field teams can work safely, and families return to warm homes faster.”
Kriti Sharma, CEO, IFS Nexus Black, said: “Our approach is simple: listen closely to our utility customers, innovate quickly where it matters most, and deliver solutions that perform under real-world conditions – fast. This is AI designed for the workers who restore power in treacherous conditions, who scale transmission poles after disasters, and who keep critical infrastructure running 24/7. When lives are on the line, safe, reliable AI isn’t optional – it’s everything.”
* Only vendor named Customers’ Choice for 2025 Field Service Management category on Gartner Peer Insights
** Gartner, “Market Guide for Enterprise Asset Management Software”, Kristian Steenstrup, Nicole Foust, 24 July 2024
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