Assessing The Broad Business Case For Rugged Computing
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It is important, however, that buyers and users carefully evaluate all vendor claims
around ruggedness.
…Rugged User Community Expanding Beyond Traditional Scope
Rugged computing users have typically tended to work in specialized
environments in government and a few specific industrial or commercial business
sectors.
Within government, the Armed Services stand out as the principal users of rugged
computing products, where rugged devices can be found from the front lines of
combat operations to rear-area support tasks such as training, equipment
maintenance, and logistics support.
Other federal government users involved with incident-response, such as
elements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), also use
rugged computing products in field operations. Field operatives in the
Departments of the Interior and of Agriculture also use rugged computers.
Public safety users at the federal, state, and local level— law enforcement,
firefighters, and emergency medical technicians— make up a significant and
important user base for rugged computing products, especially with vehicle-
mounted computing installations.
In private industry, rugged computing is used especially in the medical,
petrochemical, utilities and telecommunications industries, where field service
personnel are required to use computers in their work, often in extreme
conditions. Rugged computing has also caught on in natural resource
management and manufacturing, and modern day mountaineers, explorers and
field scientists have integrated rugged computing into their activities.
However, the rugged computing market is changing to include more than just
traditional military, public safety, and field services users. As industry and
commerce continue to incorporate information technology and communications
into business processes, more enterprises are realizing that mobile computing
adds efficiency and value to on- and off-premise operations.
Enterprises also see that the reliability and robustness of rugged computing
technology can make traditional mobile computing more efficient and effective by
improving availability and eliminating costly downtime and outages.
…Ruggedness Elevates Reliability and Accessibility
There is a growing realization among enterprises that they can get more out of
their mobile workforces by equipping their employees with computers that can
withstand the worst physical and environmental abuse and minimize outages.
