Rugged technology increases competitiveness

Deploying rugged technology increases competitiveness within industrial companies by streamlining activities. This is according to new research from IDC in collaboration with Getac Technology Corporation. Benefits of such non-failure-sensitive technology include lower total cost of ownership (TCO), improved sustainability and automated processes.

The report ‘Redefining Total Cost of Ownership: Rugged Technologies to Empower Industrial Operations’ draws on the insights of 990 IT decision-makers from Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, China and Asia. It shows, according to IDC and Getac, that rugged devices offer benefits across several sectors, including utilities, transportation and logistics, oil and gas, industrial manufacturing and natural resources.

The versatility of rugged, non-failure-sensitive devices helps companies improve their daily operations by increasing employee productivity, minimizing equipment downtime, and enabling upgrades of individual components without the need to replace the entire device.

Improved durability

Another benefit of using rugged devices is improved sustainability. For instance, as many as 43% of companies report that rugged devices with advanced sensors and connectivity capabilities help collect data on activities, enabling better informed decisions on energy consumption and waste reduction initiatives.

In addition, rugged technology leads to a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over time. Companies reported a TCO reduction of 10-20% for tablets and mobile devices, and a 20-30% reduction for PCs and laptops. Also, 37% of companies reported that rugged devices help automate certain processes, reducing manual labour.

20% of IT budget

The use of rugged devices in Europe is driven by their ability to improve employee productivity, enable mobility and connectivity for data access, support automation of workflows, and create performance traceability. 21% of respondents now spend more than 20% of their total IT budget on rugged devices; 49% plan to increase this amount further over the next 18 months.

Non-disruptive devices are also integrated with a wide range of key business systems, including data analysis and business intelligence tools, supply chain management platforms and enterprise resource planning (ERP). The main tasks for which rugged devices are used are data collection and analysis, field services, inspection and maintenance, and workforce management of mobile professionals.

Crucial role in ESG objectives

Since the integration of rugged technology, respondents also see improved employee productivity and collaboration. In addition, rugged devices appear to play a crucial role in helping European companies meet their ESG goals by enabling them to monitor energy consumption more accurately, reduce waste in business operations, automate key tasks, and identify opportunities for future energy savings.