A survey on rugged devices, being conducted by ITWeb in partnership with Dell Technologies’ authorised distributor Pinnacle ICT, has gone live on ITWeb.
Alvina Lewis, Dell business unit lead at Pinnacle ICT, says the survey aims to examine the current state of adoption and the appetite for rugged devices among SA businesses as well as local IT resellers.
“Rugged devices aren’t commonly known in the SA marketplace and we’re hoping to establish the interest in these types of devices as well as how much they know about them.
She explains, “Rugged devices are designed to tolerate the harshest environments and allow you to stay connected and productive in severe conditions. For example, rugged laptops and tablets can withstand exposure to extreme temperatures, shocks, drops, water, dust...
“As businesses across all industries, from construction and engineering, to logistics, retail, mining and emergency services require uninterrupted access to data and networks, reliable and durable devices are a must.”
Different sectors face different challenges when it comes to electronic devices, and the survey hopes to unveil which sectors have the most appetite for rugged devices.
Lewis goes on to outline some of the challenges faced by different sectors that can be addressed by deploying rugged computing devices.
The manufacturing sector requires computing solutions that can operate with optimal processing power, regardless of the harsh conditions they may be exposed to. Options like touchscreens that can be used while wearing gloves or in bright daylight conditions are also handy.
Field services, on the other hand, require dockable solutions that are easily removable and securable in vehicle. They should also be able to withstand extreme high/low temperatures with legacy I/O ports for serial connectivity.
When it comes to the transportation and logistics sector, users look for dockable solutions for forklift/order picking with local wireless connectivity and bar code scanning capability.
Finally oil and gas production operations feature high-risk environments with combustible elements, where personnel need reliable hardware to access critical data to inspect, maintain and communicate findings in potentially austere environments.
While these aren’t the only sectors that enjoy the benefits of rugged devices, it is hoped that the survey will uncover which sectors in particular have demand for these devices and which features appeal the most to them.
In the survey, we ask respondents whether they offer rugged devices as part of their portfolio, what is
the single most compelling quality of a rugged device and if they believe having a reliable rugged device would improve productivity and user experience.
By completing the questionnaire you stand a chance to win a Takealot voucher to the value of R3 000. The detailed results of the survey, and the prize winner, will be published on ITWeb.
Thanks for participating!
Complete the survey here.
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