The bulk of the customers my team serves are field workers—a group that is drastically different from what they used to be.
The job functions expected of the modern field worker are much more complex and mission critical than they were just ten years ago. They aren’t just collecting field data and imputing the results into an office system the next day at their desk; they are as productive as any office worker while in the field and are expected to provide real time content creation wherever the job takes them. That includes highly complex computing such as Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) imaging software as well as inventory control and management tasks.
In order to retain and gain new customers in the ruggedized computing space, it’s not enough to just have a durable device anymore. The winners in the rugged space have evolved their technology solutions with the roles of field workers to provide elite computing power that meets the complex needs of their customers.
Some of the innovations to ruggedized technology apply to all field workers, like glare-resistant screens that maintain viewability while working in the sun, but others speak to the specified roles that field workers have grown into.
For those with job duties that require a lighter, more portable device and the use of touch screen functions for job-critical applications—that technology has arrived. But touch screens usually need direct skin-to-screen contact to function, which is a pain for workers that wear gloves every day.
A recent innovation in ruggedized computing, resistive touch screens with multi-touch capability, enable full touch gesticulation—including pinching and expanding—without having to remove gloves every time users need to access a mission-critical app.
Many field workers require tablet functionality and mobility in concert with a full keyboard for intensive data input and other forms of content creation. A solution that is becoming increasingly popular in the rugged space—convertible notebooks—shift between tablet and notebook form factors, giving workers the versatility for a variety of job functions.
Not every employee in an organization that requires ruggedized technology has the same technology needs, however. In an attempt to control cost, organizations often stunt productivity by ordering a single type of rugged technology that only meets the specific needs of one of many distinct job roles. A company that exclusively purchases a larger, full-screen rugged device will seriously hinder its more mobile workers that need the portability and tablet form factor.
Technology can’t only evolve to meet the specific needs of niche field working roles. Rugged technology providers must also offer compatibility between their mobile, fully rugged and semi-rugged solutions.
Just like a single organization can have several types of field workers unified under one company, so too must the nuanced rugged offerings work together. This goes for universal docking capabilities, common management and security protocols as well as shoulder-straps and handles.
Fortunately in the rugged space, the technology is growing with the needs of our customers.
Drew is the Executive Director and General Manager for Dell’s Rugged Mobility Product line, with cradle to grave responsibility for the development, marketing, service and customer experience of these products designed to thrive in the harshest of work environments. Learn more at Dell.com/Rugged.
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