Mobile Workers Can Only Work As Fast As Their Computers – How Fast Is Yours?

By Bob Ashenbrenner, Xplore

Humans still control computers. At the same time, computers still dictate the extent to which humans can excel. Even the most skilled experts can only power through a task as quickly as their computer allows them. That’s not to say our speed of innovation or application of brilliant ideas is completely hampered by a slow computer. But insufficient computer performance can restrict workers’ productivity, and therefore, overall performance.

Consider the “computer” limitations that NASA faced back in the 1960s. Human computers, while brilliant, could only analyze and produce data as fast as the mind allowed. That is why there was such an urgency in bringing the first IBM online ahead of the Friendship 7 launch, which catapulted the first U.S. astronaut into space. It was a faster computer that could process more data in a matter of minutes than multiple minds could process in hours. Yes, it still demanded manual data input and human intervention to achieve accurate calculations. However, human achievement is certainly accelerated when there is a fast and powerful computation driving data-intensive processes.

Hence the reason why the computational power and speed of a mobile device matters as much to organizations today as IBM’s early mainframe did to NASA more than 50 years ago. Especially industrial and field service companies whose products, services and overall success are produced by mobile workers who demand around-the-clock data access but do not have the luxury of around-the-clock desktop access.