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Consumer expectations and labor shortages pose a challenge for frontline workers as they struggle to meet demands with significantly fewer resources and more pressure. While consumer-grade technologies may lower adoption rates for faster productivity, these devices ultimately inflate costs, damage productivity, and frustrate workers. Studies indicate that consumer devices are three times more likely to fail in the first year compared to rugged devices and could cost up to 50% more.

Lower costs can boost the value of rugged devices, especially in challenging environments. Additionally, studies show that every device failure can result in up to 260 minutes (about 4 ½ hours) of lost mobile worker productivity and increase the internal support required. Therefore, the cost of just one or two instances of device failure easily shows how beneficial a rugged device can be, despite higher up front costs. Enterprise technology helps alleviate these concerns and other challenges such as:

• Downtime due to device failure
• Labor shortages that prevent scalability
• Inefficient collaboration from inconsistent connectivity

As businesses gear up for the Holiday shipping rush, automation experts recommend assessing deployed technologies to verify they are truly enterprise-ready with:

1. Rugged reliability - Frontline workers in remote, rural, or otherwise unpredictable environments     demand powerful, mission-critical devices. These workers prefer and need enterprise technology over consumer tablets.     Enterprise tech is built to consistently perform in extreme temperatures, high humidity, and after heavy use.
2. Increased accessibility and  connectivity - Since frontline workers are constantly on the move throughout the day, it can be challenging to report to a team about specific tasks and stay connected. Decreased employee engagement from disconnected workforces can lead to lower productivity and higher turnover. Wireless connectivity isn’t a problem with enterprise devices because constant signals are ensured with the right antennas and wireless features.
3. Consistent performance that lasts a full shift - Enterprise technology comes with the right tools for portability, like hot-swappable batteries, that allow performance consistency. Enterprise tablets last an entire shift without stopping or switching devices to avoid worker stress. The memory, storage, and high processing power from these rugged enterprise tablets simplify workflows.
4. Reinforced data safety - From shipping addresses to payment information, your devices carry a significant amount of critical data. Rugged enterprise technology eliminates vulnerability points, improves security, and reduces complexity to protect data.

Enterprise devices aren’t just something that can improve the frontline; they are a necessity. Contact us today to see technology solutions that help your technicians and employees create seamless workflows.