Rugged vs commercial grade devices

After conducting extensive research consisting of structured interviews and secondary research , VDC concluded that in "Industrial and Harsh Commercial Environments" rugged devices have substantially lower TCOs than commercial grade devices with similar functionality.
Many companies are not considering TCO, and those who do, are not identifying costs beyond deployment.

Conclusions on TCO

After conducting extensive research consisting of structured interviews and secondary research , VDC concluded that in "Industrial and Harsh Commercial Environments" rugged devices have substantially lower TCOs than commercial grade devices with similar functionality.

• Many companies are not considering TCO, and those who do, are not identifying costs beyond deployment.

• “Many companies may be overlooking the hidden costs of downtime and its impact on productivity, customer service levels and bottom-line profitability”    VDC, Frontline Magazine

• Gartner recommends enterprises deploy rugged devices (Ken Dulany, Gartner, “Frontline Computing: Mobile Devices on the Rise, 2002.)

• Initial device acquisition costs represent <25% of the total cost of ownership (Gartner, VDC)

Rugged and commercial grade PDA total cost of ownership ARE different

• Buyers who perceive rugged PDAs as too expensive vs. commercial grade PDAs are surprised – rugged devices are LOWER overall

• Enterprises that base investment decisions on TCO instead of acquisition price are more successful in assessing the true cost of IT investments” - Gartner

Rugged devices deliver longer

• Remote user support, remote device management, and spares logistics are critical very early in commercial deployments due to high turn over rates.

• Replacements after 4 years are equally likely due to technology changes as device failures. Less than 4 years are typically device failures.

• Most commercial products offer a 1 year or less warranty and devices are typically considered “disposable”

• Most commercial devices have a “shelf life” of less than 1 year, resulting in many different devices in the field after 3-4 years.