Consumer Devices To Essential Business Tools: 3 Ways Tablets Have Evolved

With consumer demands continually increasing and the needs of businesses always changing, it is becoming more evident to organizations that their employees need more screens to efficiently and accurately perform their jobs. This, in part, is because of the fact that they are on the move more than ever. When considering an investment in new mobility solutions, it can be easy to gravitate toward the familiarity of consumer-grade tablets because they are frequently used in everyday life. However, today’s enterprise-level tablets either operate on the Android operating system (OS) or the exact professional-standard Windows 10 OS used on desktops and laptops, which provides a user experience that can be just as easy—and more beneficial—to implement into a business’ workflows. 

Combining the mobility of a smartphone with a larger screen and more sophisticated processing, enterprise-level tablets allow employees to access the data, apps, and other enterprising systems they need just as smoothly as if they were at a desk. In fact, according to a VDC Research study of leaders in the field service industry, 35% focus on mobile devices to empower quicker response times to unforeseen events, like system outages or emergencies. Then, 34% prioritize mobility for improved communications. Without question, the benefits of rugged enterprise-level tablets will vary from business to business, as they can be configured for specific users and situations. With that said, though, there are some common value-trends that are shared among all users. Of those, the following three are the most prominent. 

• Resilient Reliability: Oftentimes, consumer tablets shut down when they are faced with extreme temperatures, high humidity, or other environmental factors. In contrast, rugged enterprise tablets are purposefully built to tolerate difficult environments, such as bitter cold or sweltering heat. Their advantage over consumer-grade devices is, undeniably, their ability to assure workers are efficient no matter the task or climate. 
• Long-Lasting Lifecycle: More often than not, consumer-grade tablets can cause a pile-up of inefficiencies. By deploying a more dependable fleet of devices, enterprise-level devices, organizations will have no need to keep a large amount of spares on-hand. Along with that, they don’t have to worry about wasted time and fuel that comes along with shipping damaged devices or batteries. The batteries of rugged devices are long-lasting and smoothly replaceable, whereas consumer-grade device batteries are not field-replaceable. 
• Concise Customization: Rugged enterprise tablets are designed with a plethora of accessories in mind, as they are built to configured into the perfect solution for each user. From accessories like integrated barcode scanners, RFID readers, and dedicated GPS, rugged tablets just have much more to offer than consumer-grade. 

All in all, it’s easy to determine that rugged tablets have made their mark and have been established as essential business tools for any modern business. Choosing tablets for your operations has never been so black and white, thanks to Zebra’s comprehensive portfolio of rugged enterprise tablets. If you’re ready to implement second-to-none tablet technology into your workflows, reach out to Strategic Systems.