Why More Companies Are Reaching for Rugged Tablets, And Not Necessarily The Cloud

By Tom Kost, Xplore Technologies

Everyone wants to be in the cloud these days, right? As CFO Innovation recently noted, Garner research indicates that “more than $1 trillion in IT spending will be directly or indirectly affected by the shift to the cloud during the next five years…” making “…cloud computing one of the most disruptive forces of IT spending since the early days of the digital age.”

There are several very valid reasons why CIOs in nearly every global industry will advocate for their companies’ shift to the cloud given the unprecedented size and strength of the global mobile workforce. Cloud-based solutions can lead to cost reductions, eliminate burdensome system maintenance, and even improve the security and reliability of communications. The utilization of mobile device management (MDM) and enterprise mobility management (EMM) platforms provide the flexibility to proactively adapt mobile tools as business processes and regulatory guidelines evolve. This flexibility comes without recalling devices, and therefore workers, from the field. And, cloud-based systems have proven to facilitate widespread collaboration which improves the quality of employees’ decisions and results in more effective and immediate action. Therefore, the cloud is seen as the ideal antithesis to the long-maintained, platform-based “functional” approach to business mobility.

But what happens when workers can’t connect to the cloud? How beneficial (or detrimental) will the cloud really be when they can’t load vital workflow applications and data because the surrounding buildings are too dense, the wireless signal is too weak (or non-existent in more rural and remote areas), or the area of operations is so sensitive that systems accessibility is only authorized via a highly secure Wi-Fi network or wired connection out of physical proximity to the job site?