Last week at the GSE Expo, we welcomed our EBIS community to GSENext 2025, a user conference and event to reflect on how far EBIS has come, share what’s available today, and give customers a clear picture of where the platform is headed.
In his opening, Santosh Nachu, GM, reminded everyone that EBIS has always been about empowering maintenance teams. He walked through the platform’s evolution from its early list-heavy interface to the streamlined dashboards of today. The comparison slide showing EBIS in 2005–2021 against the modern, cleaner navigation was a tangible reminder of how the system has grown alongside the industry, adapting to connect leaders, ramp crews, hangar teams, suppliers, and OEMs under one roof.
That theme of “Learn. Share. Build what’s next.” set the tone for the rest of the event.
When Eric Baal, CTO, took the stage, he framed EBIS’s recent and future development through three key areas: Data, Context, Insights. It’s a simple model, but one that reflects the real challenges customers face and the philosophies around how we build new features in the system.
Secure by design: SOC II Type 2 compliance is complete. Eric explained this was about more than compliance—it’s about meeting the IT and OEM requirements that open the door to new partnerships. “When security clears the gate, adoption speeds up,” he said.
Simplified capture: One of the standout features of EBS's recent updates is the new mobile app, to be released in the near future, which is poised to become an indispensable tool for technicians. The app is designed to simplify the daily tasks of technicians by offering a seamless, user-friendly interface. Technicians will be able to capture data effortlessly using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. This means that instead of relying on barcodes, technicians can take a photo of the asset's identifier, and the app will recognize the text instantly. This feature not only saves time but also reduces the likelihood of errors. Additionally, the app's home screen provides a comprehensive overview of the technician's day, including service requests, critical tasks, and telemetry data. The app also consolidates various screens into a single, scrollable interface. This allows technicians to add parts, hours, and photos without navigating through multiple screens.
As Santosh Nachu, General Manager of EBS, noted,
"Our journey has always been about the technician. It's core to what we do."
Standardization: Work order templates and stored discrepancy codes mean technicians across different sites record issues consistently.
Service request upgrades: Now, when a tug goes down, EBIS logs odometer hours, error codes, and location telemetry, not just “unit down.” The extra context helps maintenance teams troubleshoot faster.
Notifications: Effective communication is the lifeblood of any operation. Understanding this, EBS has rolled out custom notifications to ensure that the right information reaches the right people at the right time. These notifications can be tailored to individual users or specific groups, and they can be delivered via email or push notifications.
Imagine a scenario where a technician is working on a critical piece of equipment. With custom notifications, they can receive real-time updates about any changes or new information related to their task. This ensures that they are always in the loop, reducing downtime and enhancing overall efficiency. The ability to customize the content and delivery method of these notifications means that users can stay informed in a way that suits their preferences and work styles.
"We built this system because there's a lot of context happening within the app that we're not capturing."
Data is only as valuable as the insights it provides. EBS has taken this to heart with its enhanced dashboards, designed to offer actionable insights at a glance. These dashboards are interactive, allowing users to click through various data points to drill down into specific details.
AI analytics: EBIS is developing natural-language queries for faster data discovery. Imagine typing: “Show me all SRs for belt loaders with electrical failures in the last 90 days.” The system surfaces the answers without building a custom report.
The last demo of the day came from Krystle Wittig, Custom Success Manager, who showed off an early look at the upcoming Technician Mobile Hub. Instead of walking through screens in a feature list, they told the story of a technician on the ramp. With the new hub, logging a broken towbar takes a single tap instead of six. A barcode scan instantly brings up the right equipment record. Search is no longer a guessing game: type in an SR number, an equipment ID, or even a keyword from notes, and EBIS pulls up the result.
Technicians will be able to start and close out jobs from wherever they’re standing. And the navigation will be customizable such that each role sees only what they need, reducing clutter and making it less intimidating for new hires.
Rick Agnor, Director of Customer Impact, also walked through how reporting is moving EBIS from being just a record-keeping tool to a decision-support system. Preventive maintenance balancing is helping shops avoid the dreaded end-of-month crunch by distributing tasks evenly. PM labor liability reporting makes visible how much work is owed versus completed, so leaders can anticipate backlogs before they become problems.
The conference closed with one of the most engaging sessions: a panel featuring Mehdi Jnah, Director of Ground Support Equipment at Alaska Air Group, Ken Brown, President of Power Stow Americas, and Santosh Nachu, GM of EBIS. The discussion was framed around a few themes including KPIs, data usage, and further connecting the GSE ecosystem.
For Mehdi, the answer started with mindset.
“Proactive maintenance is the key. I hate reactive,” he said.
By moving from reactive to proactive approaches, operators can get ahead of costly breakdowns. This is where AI plays a role. With the ability to analyze patterns across thousands of data points, AI-driven tools are spotting anomalies that hint at future failures. Instead of waiting for a unit to go down, shops can now intervene early. Ken added:
“If you can reduce the delays on that feedback loop, then the results are infinite and exponential.”
The conversation turned to data integration, which Mehdi illustrated with a real example from Seattle. When his team dug into service request data, they discovered the root cause of recurring issues wasn’t the equipment, it was training gaps. Addressing the training improved uptime more than any spare part swap would have. Ken built on this, stressing that integration isn’t just about collecting data but about capturing the solutions.
“We have to find a way to capture that solve and share it in a way that helps the folks that are actually turning the wrenches speed up,” he explained.
From there, the panel explored the idea of connected ecosystems—a future where OEMs, operators, and technicians are tied together by a seamless flow of information. Mehdi reflected proudly: “Today, I barely see one out of service. And if it is out of service, it’s because it’s 4:00 PM.” The implication was clear: when information moves freely, downtime all but disappears. Ken painted a vision of what’s next: a technician entering a symptom into EBIS and instantly receiving the most probable causes, powered by AI and shared data.
Training was another thread woven throughout the conversation. Mehdi spoke about the decision to send his technicians to Power Stow for specialized training, calling it “one of the best decisions I did.” Both he and Ken agreed that as tools evolve, technicians must evolve with them. Future training programs need to teach not just how to turn a wrench, but how to interpret data, leverage AI tools, and collaborate in connected ecosystems.
“We shouldn’t be re-solving the same problem,” Ken emphasized. “We have to capture that solve and share it.”
The panel left attendees with a clear vision: a future where uptime is maximized not through luck or extra manpower, but through proactive maintenance, integrated data, connected ecosystems, and technicians empowered with both training and technology.
As Santosh closed the day, he circled back to the event’s theme: EBIS is built for technicians, but designed to give leaders confidence. The updates we’ve delivered and the roadmap we’ve laid out are all focused on one thing, making life easier for the people who keep equipment safe, reliable, and ready for the field.
For those who couldn’t join us, we’ll be sharing more demos in the coming months.