Should Your Organisation Invest in Rugged or Consumer-Grade Devices?

Organisations need mobile technology in the field that’s easy to support

Consumer devices used in the field can also place additional strain on IT support teams. Consumer devices have been shown to have a 20% higher IT service ticket volume over rugged devices, making IT departments work harder to manage device issues and repairs. That’s not only additional overhead for IT, it’s also more downtime and loss of productivity for field workers.

Panasonic TOUGHBOOK devices have one of the lowest failure rates for notebooks in the industry. Other rugged competitors have been found to fail more than 4x more often and consumer devices fail as much as 7.5% more often.

Customisation is key

Choosing a rugged mobile device that’s engineered for business provides organisations with so much more than simply hardware. They are increasingly looking for customised solutions for very specific use cases from a true mobility partner that that can guide them through the design, testing, implementation and deployment of the solution – not to mention ongoing maintenance and servicing support – allowing them to focus on their core business proposition.

Opting for an all-in-one solution with a fixed monthly cost gives customers the peace-of-mind and ongoing support they are looking for, whereas consumer-grade devices will likely require additional solutions to be procured, increasing total cost of ownership (TCO).

This is why Panasonic’s TOUGHBOOK Mobile IT-as-a-Service offering is so powerful. Regardless of the required solution, it combines the durability of rugged, secure TOUGHBOOK devices with world-class design, manufacturing, testing, and services and support, to craft the ultimate tool for an organisation’s operations. 

Rugged devices deliver higher ROI 

Considering durability, reliability, connectivity and service over device lifetime, rugged devices deliver better ROI and TCO over their consumer-grade counterparts. 

Rugged devices are engineered with higher-grade components and customisable for a range of industries, improving productivity with far less downtime. Optimised for every industry, environment and mobile worker persona – whether it’s a forklift operator, MRO field technician or an emergency responder – the low failure rate, greater reliability and powerful connectivity of rugged devices such as Panasonic TOUGHBOOK ensures better efficiency for workers and the internal IT teams that support them. A win-win.

Therefore, while organisations might be tempted by the lower up-front purchase cost of consumer-grade devices, more often than not the better investment for the field is rugged. Mobile field workers will be happier and more productive, saving valuable costs in the long-run.