Rugged Tech Talk

One of the top issues with hardware and software is obsolescence. This major problem affects any company at any level, whether they are using PCs, smartphones, laptops, or tablets.

A device that can outlast more than a few years of upgrades and advances can cut down on CAPEX and induce considerable savings since the need to constantly replace devices is removed. This is particularly helpful for industries in which large scale deployment of devices is standard, such as in the industrial, healthcare, government, and military verticals.

Next to the actual physical cost, productivity suffers when compatibility becomes an issue. The TCO is based not just on the dollars spent over a five or ten-year span, but on losses incurred at the productivity level, since time is money.

Cost is one thing, value another. Commercial products off the shelf, as in consumer grade tablets, can be attractive at first glance thanks to their low price tag. However, if they become obsolete or crippled in less than two years, a rugged tablet that can last for five or more is a much better deal when it comes to ROI.

Using a product that will have support in the coming years, is upgraded dependent on your time schedule and parameters, and which also is provided with a durability to resist physical damage is a sensible way to look at device deployment.

Consumer grade tablets can crack, overheat, experience trouble with dust, experience static shocks, and more. A rugged tablet is designed to prevent or resist damage, and will last longer even in the harshest environments including many a consumer grade tablet would never work in at all.

Custom solutions are forward thinking with the focus split on the here and now and the future. Not only does the device need to have backward compatibility, it needs to survive the forward movement of technology. Rugged tablet designers can anticipate needs and create unique builds that often foreshadow the next wave of technology.

The military and government sectors are often the hardest hit by failure to maintain support for older consumer systems because they are not a prime market. Finding vendors who can design, maintain, support, and enhance key functionality will result in devices that are smarter, more secure, better equipped, and easier to use while delivering years of usefulness.

Selecting customized, rugged tablets opens up new doors for mobility, while saving money in the years to come as the need to replace devices is sharply decreased. Custom rugged tablets are the smart choice for those with a need for long term ROI.

The use of tablet technology is growing rapidly, specifically in information sensitive verticals such as industry and government. Custom application software, rugged tablet design, and creative hardware additions make the tablet one of the most favored devices for mobile workers but how does security factor in?

Military and Government

In the government sector as well as the military, security is even more crucial than in commercial industry verticals. Consumer-grade tablets come with accessible operating systems and when reset to factory default configuration, can be easily reused or sold, making the issue of potential theft a serious concern when planning on tablet deployment.

Built to Last

The tendency of consumer grade tablets to require constant updating from outside sources, and their obsolescence over time mean high replacement costs to say nothing of tablets damaged by severe work environments. Rugged tablets are designed to last with durability that stands up to most challenges in the field, including extended temperatures, high humidity, vibration, impact, drop, liquid contact, sand/dust, and more.

Security

Security at multiple levels inside military and government organizations is also simplified with rugged tablets, as access card readability allows users to access only the information they are cleared to see. Closed networks allow for safe, secure data transmission and communication. Tablets designed to work only within a secure network are a better choice than consumer grade since they cant be reconfigured to default and treated as new.

Consumer Repackaging Not Sufficient

Consumer grade tablets are not sufficient for use in the field for many reasons, no matter how the actual physical tablet is repackaged for a more rugged look. Issues include the following:

• Insufficient ruggedness that addresses only drop and impact scenarios

• Feature mismatch, and inability to mesh fully with other devices and protocols

• Office to field failure, with lack of sunlight reading or water resistance

• Short life cycles, as upgrades and changing tech cause obsolescence

• Low levels of security that even use in a closed network may not resolve

Rugged tablets allow for device customization at the hardware, operating system, and application levels. Custom hardware and software results in a mobile device that takes the hard knocks and continues to perform with stellar marks for mobility and security.

A constant priority across private and public sectors is productivity. The government vertical is one of the most important venues for modern computing infrastructures, budding technological advances, and seamless communication.

Security

Security is a top selling point for mobile wireless devices, and rugged tablets can be specifically designed to meet this need. Government information can be safely transmitted across secure wireless and cellular broadband networks, bridging the divide between indoor and outdoor tasks. Mobile devices within a secure network allow personnel to quickly relay information between administrators and those in the field.

Real Time Sharing

Instant communication is a broad benefit. A rugged tablet utilized in this way allows workers to share information in real time, cutting down on manual data transmission, and promoting the reception of critical data no matter the location or time. Analysis can also be performed in the closed system, preventing any breaches, and IT specialists can use high levels of encryption that protect data at the application level or the data layer.

Added Functionality

A CAC reader allows for secure data access restricted by level of security, so personnel can use the same tablet for specific data access with inbuilt security. Other data capture capabilities, such as barcode scanners, magnetic stripe readers (MSR), cameras, and radio frequency identification (RFID) mean streamlined operations using one device instead of several.

Durability

The rugged tablet also has the ability to withstand extreme environments, whether the harsh conditions result from weather, dust, grime, cold, or heat. Tablets can be used in warehouses, at docks, for field surveys, for inventory matching, and more. Drops or vibrations that would crack lesser screens or damage housing can be easily withstood by rugged builds. Even static charge and moisture resistance can be improved.

Mobility

Sunlight readable screens allow for easy viewing in any kind of light or shade. Detachable keyboards make the tablet versatile from office to field, and stylus or even finger writing capabilities allow for fast note taking or sketching on the go, without the need to thumb type or attach a board.

As computing needs keep changing, the government must keep pace with rapidly evolving solutions that mesh security, mobility, and productivity. Rugged tablets can be a key to embracing these changes in technology and will provide a seamless workflow uninterrupted by challenges faced with consumer grade devices.

For POS applications across a wide range of verticals, mobile computing is fast supplanting other methods of enhancing customer interactions. The point-of-sale and point-of-service options provided by a rugged tablet PC can streamline processes in almost any customer-facing industry, increasing productivity and efficiency while eliminating lags in service.

Rugged tablets are durable enough to stand up in almost any working environment, and can be utilized to simplify operations across the board, with a vast toolbox of solutions for familiar issues and the flexibility to adapt to different environments. Whether the setting is a restaurant, a casino, or a hotel the tablet bears up under constant, rigorous use, and in the retail sector there is no device that compares for convenience and customer satisfaction.

Retail

Employees can use the tablets built-in RFID readers and barcode scanners to quickly bring up product information on screen and check available inventory. Tracking tells the employee exactly where the item is for easy, fast retrieval. Encrypted MSR and EMV smart card readers for payment allows the checkout process to begin immediately, eliminating long lines at the register. Out of stock items can be verified in stock elsewhere, purchased, and delivery arranged on the spot.

Hospitality

Rugged tablets can be used at the front desk for sign in, on carts for room service, and at checkout to settle the bill. Internally, linen inventories can be checked, rooms slated for cleaning marked off and notes kept for special instructions by room number. The durability of the tablet can stand up to drops or other shocks, and long battery life means they last the whole shift. Wireless capability allows for mobility and communication with adjacent restaurants or casinos for a seamless process.

Restaurant

Tablets used for at-table ordering speed up the process, immediately transferring orders to the kitchen, allowing more secure payment in front of guests and faster turnover. The check can be requested and handled at the customers convenience, and completed transactions can notify management that a table is opening up for faster clearing and reseating. The tablet is spill proof and durable, even for family style dining.

Compared to consumer grade tablets, or PCs at fixed points requiring repeated visits to the specific location, rugged tablets bring flexibility and mobility to the world of retail and hospitality. As a POS solution, tablets are rapidly outstripping more traditional options, with benefits that are unmatched by other devices.

When the ultimate goal is to get something from point A to point B in the quickest, most efficient, cost effective way possible, real time data can facilitate goods from one destination to another. Real-time, accurate data is vital to gaining efficiencies, increasing productivity and minimizing costs.

Rugged tablets allow you to access, process, and transmit data from anywhere to anywhere, giving both in-the-field employees, location based retail personnel, and warehouse workers access to information at every point on the supply chain.

Benefits of Rugged Tablets

Rugged tablets can streamline logistics and make the supply chain flow smoothly from start to finish. Tablet features valuable to the process include:

• Fast, efficient barcode and RFID readers that make tracking easy.

• Wireless integration that keeps all the important data right at your fingertips.

• Rugged builds that can survive handling around moving boxes, crates and packages.

Transportation and logistics applications start at the pickup point, whether it is the manufacturer to warehouse run, the warehouse to retail leg of the journey, or the direct to customer trip. If cargo must undergo cross dock transport, keeping track of it is easy with information passing rapidly between tablets at different points of access.

Yard logistics are simplified when loading, inventorying, and unloading, keeping the data trail intact. Finally, delivery can be verified and the ticket closed remotely, with all data sent immediately for confirmation online.

Rugged Tablet Extras

Extra mobility is added to the rugged tablet with the option of ports that can support various hardware and applications, and mounts and cradles that allow tablets to be secured to walls, forklifts, or inside vehicles.

The versatility allows each rugged tablet to be customized for a specific point of use in the logistics chain, and to be outfitted for crosspoint use and easy handoffs throughout the supply chain.

From the manufacturing facility, to the warehouse, to the road, rugged tablets are flexible and durable enough to take whatever the changing environment throws at them. Drivers can stay in touch with dispatchers regarding delivery details or any issues that arise while theyre in the field.

The bottom line? Increased productivity, less wasted time, and lower margins of error from the beginning of the supply chain to the end.