Mobility is Complex

Equipping the mobile workforce with the right rugged device for your organisation can be a complex business… and a costly one if you get it wrong.

Chris Turner, Head of Go-To-Market at Panasonic TOUGHBOOK discusses the factors that need to be considered.

The right mobile device solution for your mobile workforce can unlock productivity gains for your business, but it’s not easy to achieve.

Why? Because mobility is complex. Unfortunately, cookie-cutter solutions are rarely appropriate because there are just too many variables.

So, what are the key considerations when looking at your next mobile deployment?

All about balance

With the emergence of the hyper-mobile worker, there are likely to be many different types of user personas in your business and the key is getting the right balance of device for each need.

Selecting the right balance of rugged form factor, weight, battery life and performance is essential to success. For example, you can have a long battery life device but it will make the device much heavier. On the other hand, you can have the brightest screen but it will be a drain on the battery life.

Matching the needs of the worker with the type of rugged device chosen is critical and can be a costly mistake to get wrong. One of the common errors organisations make is not choosing a device with enough performance to cope with the increasingly complex applications, particularly with AI apps on the horizon.

Fine tune for the stage

Once you have specified the right device, the next area of complexity is the staging and deployment of the devices.

A mobile deployment is very different to an office deployment. It’s important to fine-tune the devices with the chosen applications. For example, antivirus and even screen savers can significantly impact the battery performance of a device if not customised effectively.

In addition, the roll-out of devices can now be carried out quickly and efficiently with tools such as Microsoft’s Autopilot. It’s no longer necessary to bring your mobile workforce off the road to deploy or update devices. It can often be achieved over the air.

Maximise ROI

Once the devices are deployed, it’s no time to rest on your laurels. To get the best from your mobile deployment, it’s now the time to maintain and optimise to get the best return on investment.

As well as regular software and security updates, there is the chance to implement remote diagnostic technology to ensure uptime is maximized. For example, asset management applications can monitor the performance of individual devices and schedule planned maintenance, cutting downtime.

A good mobility partner can also help you develop and optimise upgrades or new applications as business priorities change or opportunities arise.

Seek out serious service

Another area that can scupper the productivity of a mobile workforce is unscheduled downtime through failures and repairs.

Looking for a supplier that has the lowest failure rates in its devices is obviously important. However, in addition, so is an effective service for repairs.

It’s why Panasonic TOUGHBOOK has its Service and Configuration Centre based in Europe, enabling a 48-hour repair cycle. And with our experts solely focused on rugged mobility, it ensures that our engineers are totally dedicated to our devices.

Reuse or recycle

Then when it’s time to retire your devices, every organisation is rightly concerned about responsibly recycling their devices.

It’s why Panasonic has introduced its TOUGHBOOK Revive program. We can refurbish and resell your old devices into the secondary market or donate them to a good cause or ensure that they are recycled responsibly.

With all these points to consider, you can probably clearly see now why I say that mobility is complex.

The key to success is finding the right mobility partner that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you from specification right through to recycling. Simple!

Mobility is Complex

All about balance

Fine tune for the stage

Maximise ROI

Seek out serious service

Reuse or recycle

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