The case for rugged devices
FOR A while, and largely to keep costs down and digitise a business quickly, there was a trend for the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model with workers using their own smartphone to perform their daily tasks.
While that is a ‘quick and dirty’ means of moving your workforce onto digital workflows, it comes with inherent problems.
Firstly, while it’s assumed that most people these days own a smartphone, that’s not always the case. Secondly, it relies upon a worker having sufficient data in order to operate the required apps or access their internet browser. Thirdly, device security is solely the responsibility of the device owner who may use weak or obvious passwords, unwittingly giving third parties access to the device. And finally, these devices typically have a very low Ingress Protection (IP) rating which means they are prone to breakage. So, while it may seem a great idea, there are many reasons why employing a BYOD strategy is risky.
Taking into account worker downtime and staff underutilisation, your costs are likely to be significantly higher than if you invested in an estate of fit-for-purpose rugged mobile computing devices.
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