TOUGHBOOK Innovation Forum ignites conversation on Mobility

Particularly interesting was the opening session by our colleagues Chris Turner and Nick Miller on the emergence of a new segment of mobile workers with particular needs – the hyper-mobile workforce. These are the people who work in extreme  environments such as utilities, emergency services and logistics. Balancing the needs of these hyper-mobile workers when considering the right mobile device is critically important. For example, a longer battery life increases device weight, while a brighter screen consumes more battery power. Each aspect has to be considered and the key to success is understanding the specific needs of the individual - in a rapidly evolving era of multiple job personas - and specifying the right device for them.  

Alongside increased persona types, we also heard that mobility was becoming increasingly complex. Mobility presents issues such as connectivity with the introduction of options such as 5G, device performance, opportunities for using AI at the edge of the network and security threats all make the job of managing mobile workforces more challenging. 

To help customers address these issues, we heard how Panasonic TOUGHBOOK was continuing to innovate further with advanced solutions, such as smart services. For example, the ability to monitor areas such as battery health, application usage, and connectivity while devices are in the field and proactively use the data to act. This might be scheduling a battery replacement or maintenance before an issue occurs or rolling out over the air updates and automatically monitoring to optimise device performance.