Could rugged mobile devices make your workforce more productive?

There are millions of mobile workers in the UK, and their effectiveness underpins the success of many enterprises, not to mention the nation’s economy. However, as research from Deloitte shows, the UK’s mobile workforce often suffers from a lack of dedicated mobile workforce technology, and UK businesses are paying the price.

In this post we’ll explore the advantages of using a rugged device for mobile workers, such as a rugged tablet or mobile computer, and how this provides tangible gains for staff and organisations alike.

The demands placed upon mobile devices used for work and those used for domestic/consumer purposes are very different, but that doesn’t stop many businesses from purchasing standard-issue mobile devices for their workforce.  Often, this is for understandable reasons  – notably, the apparent cost –  but the numbers involved can be deceptive. 

Our recent whitepaper with Panasonic, Time to Do More: How rugged mobile computing can free the workforce (which you can download here) reveals that several of the features that can be found in rugged mobile devices make them superior to consumer models for work use. What’s more, these features can save time and money, potentially more than offsetting the cost differential. 

It’s important to remember that a rugged tablet, notebook, or smartphone is not just rugged in terms of resisting damage inflicted by dropping or knocking.

In many cases, the word ‘rugged’ denotes a commitment to work-focused functionality that is intentionally designed into all aspects of the product. For example:

Reliability 

Every device failure and need for repair costs money; not only in terms of maintenance costs but also lost productivity, loss of customer goodwill due to rescheduled appointments, and employee dissatisfaction. In practice, a standard mobile device is not only vulnerable to damage through its design, but the risk of harm increases with each year of use. These risks and losses are greatly reduced with rugged mobile devices. 

Extended battery life

Some rugged mobile devices come with an extended-life battery and this offers many productivity gains. With standard devices, limited battery life can delay or limit workflows and interrupt work in progress. In some cases it may lead to data loss. Even when batteries are easy to charge or change, this takes time. With a rugged tablet or other ruggedised mobile device that has an extended-life battery, this problem is greatly diminished.

Functionality