Most of us don’t have much trouble understanding the value of rugged mobile solutions in extreme environments — like mining or oil & gas. But many of us don’t immediately recognize the reasons for a rugged mobile computing solution in less extreme environments — like general field service, healthcare, and retail. Here are three reasons why a rugged solution is the better solution to optimize mobile workflows.
1. TCO
Those three little letters standing for Total Cost of Ownership. According to VDC Research, rugged device TCO is measurably lower in comparison to non-rugged device TCO. It costs more to purchase, deploy, maintain, and repair non-rugged, consumer devices in business environments than it does to purchase, deploy, maintain, and repair rugged devices in business environments. The full report outlines the findings in detail including loss of productivity from non-rugged device failure, lack of accessories to support mobile workflows, and inability to support current systems.
2. Customer Satisfaction
Have you ever called into a customer service line and had them tell you they couldn’t help you at the moment because their system was down? If you have, you know how frustrating it is. With 55% of government and enterprise organizations using or planning to deploy tablets as their mobile computing foundation, a lot rides on the tablets’ reliability and functionality. Once employee productivity is affected, the customer is next.
3. Security
Along with device management difficulties associated with BYOD and other non-rugged mobile computing solutions, security is a top concern. Rugged devices are built for enterprise environments, designed to support mobile workflows as well as IT security initiatives.
