What Makes A Device Ruggedized – How Mission Critical Devices Differ from the Everyday Smartphone

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In a previous blog post I spoke about TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and how the advantages and disadvantages differentiate between ruggedized and consumer devices. When you’re deciding which device type to purchase for your environment many questions come to mind. For example, “What is the TCO?” or also “What is more durable?” and “What am I going to be using it for?”. All sorts of questions come to mind but in my opinion. Given from what we already know about the TCO of ruggedized devices, the back front-end costs will be beneficial to you in the longterm. You may be trying to save your company money this way.

There are many mission critical questions that may come to mind that you may have never even thought of. I recently read an article by Manufacturing Business Technology where it made me think of some of the other questions. Questions like, “How easy will it be to update these devices?” and “What temperatures will they be used in?”. I never thought about how difficult that it may be to update your devices. Sometimes there are security enhancements, and sometimes there are new features that you will want to download. Smartphones and consumer devices get more frequent updates than ruggedized devices do, so in this situation, you may want a consumer device more.Picking

Also, in the article by Manufacturing Business Technology, they mention Ocean Beauty Seafoods and how their choice of ruggedized can “withstand harsh conditions”:

“Ocean Beauty Seafoods uses handhelds at its seafood processing plants in Alaska. Its old handhelds were semi-rugged and could not withstand the harsh, wet conditions and drastic temperature changes. The devices’ downtime and constant need for repair led Ocean Beauty Seafoods to deploy a full rugged device built for extreme conditions. The reliability of these new devices has helped Ocean Beauty Seafoods handle a wider variety of products and increase its supply chain visibility.”

Ruggedized devices are just as they are titled, “rugged”. They’re tough machines that will last a lot longer. The benefit of consumer devices is that they have a smaller price on the front end, but just remember, that it may cost you more in repairs in the future. Honestly, there is not one simple answer to what device(s) will work best for you. You’ll just have to analyze your situation and see what best fits you. If you have any questions or need advice on what device(s) may work for you, lets talk about it. Just post a question below and we’ll see what others think.

Thank you for reading!

Don’t Forget Our Old Friend The Wireless Printer

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We talk a lot about the needs for MDM around here, especially when it comes to smart devices and their proliferation into the enterprise. But one of the aspects of MDM which we don’t spend a lot of time on is managing the wireless printers common in warehouse environments. Sure, their hand held computer counterparts get all the love and attention, but remember that there is huge value in managing these printers. zebraprinter

As we’ve seen with smart devices, there are common features, or value propositions, that translate across the device form factors when it comes to MDM. Remote configuration, device health statistics, usage, and so on, are all things you want from your MDM solution. This is relevant whether we are talking wireless printers, smart devices, and/or hand held computers.

So next time you’re out looking at the latest and greatest MDM features, remember to think about our friend, the wireless printer. There is tremendous cost savings in bringing these assets into the fold of your MDM solution!

What Eric Schmidt Can Learn from Warehouse Employees – Get Used to Talking to A Device

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Google GlassesSince the introduction of Siri on the iPhone4 in 2011, voice recognition technology has become more mainstream than ever. However, that doesn’t mean that people have become any more accustomed to speaking to their technology. The process can be somewhat unsettling and even technologists themselves think so. According to Reuters, Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently stated that talking to Google Glass was “the weirdest thing.” In fact, Saturday Night Live recently poked fun at Google Glass and how awkward it can be to talk to a device on your face.

Voice recognition can be a bit strange at first but warehouse workers have been doing it for years.  Voice in the warehouse can dramatically improve safety by allowing workers to work in a hands and eyes-free environment. It also delivers 99 percent accuracy and at least a 10 percent improvement in productivity to warehouse applications such as data-entry, picking and processing. Though voice applications in today’s warehouse resemble an operator headset, it would make sense for future devices to resemble (or actually be) Google Glass.

Though at a $1,500 price point, Google’s first-to-market product isn’t exactly price friendly to many businesses. That said one of the first voice recognition products for the consumer market, Dragon Dictate, originally retailed for $9,000!

Speakeasy in Action

Speakeasy in Action

While prices for wearable’s like Google Glass are sure to drop as the technology becomes more mainstream, will talking to a device ever feel completely normal? In the late 20th century, being tethered to a phone all day every day never seemed plausible either, but with the rise of smartphones, that is our new reality. Only time will tell as to whether or not voice recognition devices will become the new norm. In the meantime, just ask any warehouse employee – they’ll tell you it’s all in a day’s work.

MDM from the Boardroom to the Back Office and Beyond

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When LANDesk and Wavelink came together in 2012, Steve Daly, the CEO of LANDesk Software, talked about the goals on the horizon for the newly unified team.  In the announcement he established the groundwork for the new endeavor. “Together, we will redefine mobility management and provide the market with unrivaled end-to-end mobile management solutions.  From the boardroom to the back office, we will enable mobility for people with a job to do.” This has been our directive since the day of the acquisition and we have been working together to provide our customers with MDM solutions that encompass both use cases.  As one can imagine, there are a few differences between the boardroom and the back office but when it comes to mobility there are not as many as you may think.  Let’s examine MDM from both perspectives.

Unique and Common Mobility Needs

  • Mobility Growth: Both the boardroom set and the line of business team are experiencing an explosion of mobile device demands.  On the boardroom side theses devices fall into both the BYOD device realm as well as assigned devices. They both share a need to keep up with the expanding wireless ecosystem with effective and powerful mobile device and wireless infrastructure management.  As the expectations of users begin to mirror their experiences as consumers, the pressure will be on IT to deliver a seamless user experience for both groups of users.stockxpertcom_id858210_jpg_09a185e593d94fa570c653bd96bdb622
  • Remote Service: “Allow me to take over your computer please.” This is something users are hearing more and more from the IT team on both sides of the enterprise.  While this used to be an in network exercise, it has expanded to include mobile devices wherever they may be. How do you compare the mobile service demands of an executive on a business trip to Germany with a delivery driver that needs service on a line of business device? In the end, you would not want either one to be without remote service. On the line of business side, Avalanche Remote Control, a mobile help desk solution, provides administrators with an exact replica of what end-users are experiencing. Remote Control allows administrators to support device users in the field remotely, without actually having to be in the field with the physical device. Continue reading →

Terminal Emulation: Productivity Never Goes Out of Style

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The following comes from Rob DeStefano, Product Marketing Manager:

Most people fondly remember their first Windows PC. If yours was like mine, it had a floppy disk drive for expandable memory.  We laugh at the portable phone Michael Douglas used in the movie “Wall Street.”  Remember the original Nintendo gaming console? A big evolution to the Wii series currently connected to your television.

There is a common theme here among these items: The hardware has evolved, but the use cases and core functionalities have remained the same.  When technology works and is widely adopted, its demise is predicted for many years but what usually happens is that users prefer to see it evolve rather than disappear.DSC00029

Windows has come a long way since my first exposure to Windows 3.1.  My iPhone, a far more advanced (and thankfully, pocket-able) cell phone than those from the 1980’s; and my Wii is most commonly used to play the games from the old systems that kept me busy for way too many hours as a kid.  The hardware has changed, but the change in my user experience has been gradual, and still very familiar at its core.

The same is true for task workers using enterprise applications.  Mobile computers, including the devices used in warehouses, on retail floors and throughout the supply chain, have changed significantly over the past two decades.  Today, the term “mobile computer” includes consumer devices like tablets and smartphones in certain use cases.  However, as the hardware has changed, core software applications have progressively evolved to keep the user experience familiar and comfortable – ensuring optimal productivity.

Terminal Emulation remains a prime example of software evolution as the hardware on which it operates has morphed so dramatically.  What is it that keeps Terminal Emulation around and growing?  It is still the most efficient and cost effective method for high volume, enterprise-grade data input. Despite the “green screen” user interface, there are 5 reasons TE remains so widely used:

  1. Terminal Emulation works.  Over two decades of market use prove its stability.
  2. It’s widely adopted.  Internal estimates suggest roughly 68% of rugged mobile computers run Wavelink TE.
  3. It has evolved. Terminal Emulation ran on DOS, Palm OS, Windows PocketPC. Today it runs on today’s Windows Mobile and Android operating systems. It has also evolved with leading back-end software.
  4. Terminal Emulation enables productivity. Task workers are familiar and can easily work with it.
  5. Terminal Emulation remains innovative.  Wavelink continues to invest in new features that increase its accessibility, including Speakeasy, which voice-enables existing Terminal Emulation applications.

Terminal Emulation remains the platform of choice for many enterprise applications in part because it has been with us for so long that it is the standard-bearer against which any potential alternative would have to measure – in terms of cost and productivity.  Wavelink TE is used by 25 of the top 30 retailers in North America and by eight of the top 10 retailers in the world, according to internal statistics.

Like our other tech examples, the display may change, but the reliability and dependability never goes out of style.  Who thought they’d still play Super Mario Brothers on a flat screen television, using a wireless, motion-detecting controller?

Keeping the Supply Chain Agile

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In the most recent edition of Inbound Logistics, writer Marty Weil takes a closer look at how mobile communication tools are keeping supply chains on the go connected. “Mobile solutions are at work in every part of the supply chain. They are a key part of many warehouse environments, especially in directed picking applications. In transportation, mobile technology has been particularly significant for expedited parcel carriers that use it to improve customer service and continually optimize operations. Private fleets and motor carriers also use mobile devices for tracking shipments and collecting driver performance data.”021_6789_01

In our line of business we see a lot of enterprises who need to manage their operations in real time without impacting their bottom line from an efficiency and cost perspective. Through mobile technology solutions like Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Productivity Platforms (MPP) it really is easy to take advantage of technology that starts streamlining your supply chain operations immediately. As part of the article, Marty spoke with Wavelink customer Goya Foods, who are using Wavelink’s MDM solution, Avalanche and Wavelink’s MPP voice-directed solution, Speakeasy along with ruggedized mobile devices to improve efficiency in and outside the four-walls. Through mobile solutions they keep the goods moving without worrying about making adjustments on the fly.

For supply chain agility, Marty recommends that enterprises look towards four goals as outlined by consulting firm PwC -

1. Integrating the supply chain with other business functions. Companies that acknowledge the supply chain as a strategic asset achieve 70 percent higher performance. Taking steps to connect supply chain operations to functions such as marketing and sales can help strengthen the entire business.

2. Facilitating supplier partnerships and collaboration. Potential supply chain disruptions make it more critical than ever for companies to share data
and strengthen relationships with key suppliers.

3. Enabling companies to adjust quickly to changes. The better the information companies have at hand, the more responsive their supply chains can be. Without mobile devices, supply chain information can be slow to reach managers.

4. Measuring and managing supply chain data. Companies can use mobile tools to collect supply chain data that informs strategic decisions.

Through the use of mobile solutions supply chain operations can be agile, resulting in increased productivity, visibility and efficiency in moving product, saving money and meeting the growing demands of the customer. To read Marty’s article in its entirety click here. Want to take a closer look at how MDM and MPP tools like Wavelink Avalanche and Wavelink Speakeasy can add agility to your supply chain operations? Contact the Wavelink Sales Team.

How About a Top 5 List? 5 Reasons We Like Voice

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Voice has gotten a lot more attention in the last few years. Between Apple’s introduction of Siri to the rapidly growing popularity of applications like Dragon Dictation, voice is more than what crazy people hear in their heads. It’s a valuable tool for productivity, efficiency and even safety. Let’s rundown some of the benefits:

  1. Improve safety in your warehouse.  Distracted driving is a big problem on our roadways. Slogans like “talk, text, crash,” and commercials about the “last text he read before he died” send a powerful message about avoiding distracted driving. There may not be cars in the warehouse, but there are trucks, forklifts and other motorized vehicles that can be just as dangerous. Distracted driving isn’t just a problem on the road, it’s a problem in the warehouse too. About 100 workers are killed and 95,000 are injured in forklift accidents every year, according to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Voice solutions remove the need for drivers to look down at their devices while driving. Instead, a voice in their headset tells them where to go and what to do when they get there.
  2. Increase efficiency. You can read all about this in an earlier blog post from my colleague, Gemma Randazzo, which details the ways voice can improve efficiency. The bottom line is that adding voice can improve accuracy by reducing mis-picks. With a 99.9 percent accuracy rate, voice decreases the time spent correcting errors and time lost on inaccuracies.
  3. Drive productivity. While the seconds saved looking down at a device, then up at a product, then down at a device may not seem impactful, if you reduce or eliminate those seconds, it adds up fast. Voice is also typically accompanied by hands-free devices, which have a well-documented 15-20 percent gain in productivity associated with them.
  4. Versatility. Voice isn’t just for picking. It can also help with processes outside the warehouse, including mobile inspections, field services and yard management. It offers the same benefits – productivity, efficiency, etc. – to those processes outside the warehouse as it does to picking inside.
  5. Speedy implementation. One of the best parts of voice is that it can be implemented very quickly. Unlike with many other applications, which require a system overhaul, device upgrades, or other time-consuming changes, voice can be added quickly and easily, so the benefits can also be realized quickly and easily. To see what we mean, check out this video where Goya Foods talks about their experience with voice:

Consumer vs. Rugged: Advantages and Disadvantages in the Warehouse Setting

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Total Cost of Ownership, or also known as TCO, is a key term when it comes to deciding the costs of purchasing devices. For example, take the consumer device, like tablets and smartphones. Sure they are affordable, portable, and also great to have in the enterprise. But what about the costs of longevity? Think about the countless number of companies out there that build products like cases and screen protectors to protect your investment. Still, you would think that this would be a cheaper solution, but you’ll be surprised by what I found.

I found this white paper on www.ruggedtabletpc.com which actually talks about the TCO of devices. Things that we don’t consider are repair costs and I found it shocking by how much incrementally these numbers add up.

device_purchase_comparison_1

As seen in this table from the white paper, they do a side-by-side comparison of 25 device purchases, comparing ruggedized to consumer devices. Sure the initial costs of the consumer tablets are lower, but take a look at the comparison in maintenance after 3 years.

device_purchase_comparison_2

That’s almost $50,000 in savings that you could have over the course of 3 years.

It really all depends on your environment, your warehouse, and the way that you want it set up. You may find that using consumer devices are cheaper in the long run as well as the initial costs. But I thought that this information was very helpful in finding the factors of your purchasing decisions. Here is the link for the article, take a look at it yourself, I’m sure that you’ll like what you read. You may even discover new strategies of saving money on your current setup.

Thanks again for reading. Let us know what you think other advantages and disadvantages are between consumer and rugged devices by responding below, on Facebook or on Twitter.

It’s been 40-years and what a 40-years: The DynaTAC, the beginning of a game changer cell phone

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Today Mobile Enterprise reminded us that on April 3, 2013, the cell phone celebrated its 40th birthday. It’s gone through many cosmetic facelifts since the first day the Vice President of Communications Systems at Motorola walked “down the streets of New York City, talking on a large, clunky yet portable phone,” that weighed almost three pounds, operated on radio frequencies and had about twenty minutes before the battery died.

It would be another ten years before the Motorola DynaTAC was commercially available and would bring with it a new era of the way we define business and success. If you The Motorola DynaTACsaw someone back in the late 80s or early 90s on the street with a cell phone you knew they had to be someone important just because of the level of status the cell phone had achieved at that point. The Motorola DynaTAC was a game changer and as other manufacturers entered the mix, organizations began to see the potential cell phones would have in the business world. With a cell phone you could be anywhere in the country assisting a customer or meeting a potential customer and immediately report back to headquarters with an update. That single ability to call as soon as you walked out of building changed the course of business.

Back in 1973 Motorola knew that cell phones would change the way we lived and did business. Whether they could have predicted the exact way in which they have changed our lives is anyone’s guess (we also thought we would be driving cars in the sky by now). Through the addition of the Internet it further created a new generation of cell phone technology. This later addition cemented cell phones (smart phones) as critical components of our daily life. You think about all the ways you use your cell phone from staying on top of work, to checking in on friends and loved ones, to ordering pizza. Even how we are able to relay information in an emergency has changed just in 15-years. They are not just convenient tools in our daily lives but they changed the way we respond to emergency even as something as relatively minor as your car breaking down. 20 to 15-years ago unless you were fortunate enough to have one of the first generation car phones, you would have to hike to the nearest house, hope someone was home and call a tow service.

Cell phones changed and continue to change the course of business. By our growing consumer need to use cell phones/smart devices we are single-handedly dictating how we then do business. BYOD isn’t a phenomenon. It has become very much a real business changer. Consumers want to be able to use their cell phones at work in multiple ways, dictating then that an Enterprise really has to take a closer look at how they secure and manage these devices. Given the potential productivity gains from consumer devices it makes sense to consider integrating them in a DC, in government, transportation, healthcare and on the retail floor. According to the Yankee Group “half of all companies find it very difficult to manage software upgrades on mobile handsets and to manage the costs associated with mobile devices. Almost the same proportion finds distributing mobile applications to devices very difficult.” In just 40-years cell phones have become business changers, strategy changers and productivity changers. Happy 40th birthday to the cell phone.

A Couple of Ways Voice Can Simplify Warehouse Tasks

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Have you ever wondered how nice it would be to work eyes or hands-free? I’m sure someone out there has, which is why voice-activated solutions were created. Did you know that you could save money in the long-run (and short-run) by using voice solutions? If you are considering a voice solution for your mobile environment look no further, because you’ve come to the right blog. There are dozens of benefits once you get your voice solution up and running, but let me just share with you a few of the ways that this will simplify tasks for you.

1. Fewer worker accidents. How many times a day does a warehouse employee have to look down at their device? Numerous times. But once they have a voice solution they will no longer need to look down at their device screens so often. They’ll be able to look around without being in a rush of making sure that the data is scanned in. But a voice from the device will tell them if something has scanned correctly. Imagine a warehouse where none of the employees look up. It happens more often then you think, its scary. I just read in an article that “In 2007, 7 out of every 100 warehouse and storage workers suffered an on-the-job injury“. You can decrease those statistics by providing a voice solution for your employees.

Voice_Accident

2. Increase in Productivity. Just think about it, without employees having to look up, and then down, and then back up again, over and over throughout the day, they can just keep looking straight at what they are doing and be more efficient. Even being able to speak in a command is faster than typing it in. Did you know that in some voce-enabled environments, you could set it up so that instead of a user needing to type in certain keystrokes to login, they could simply use one voice command to bypass the login screen. And for security reasons, you could change this as often as you want. I think that sounds like a great benefit. I don’t know about you but it would be nice to have one quick login to my computer instead of having to type in my password every time.

Its amazing how in just a couple of ideas and solutions, you can change your warehouse environment to increasing productivity and safety for your employees at the same time. We offer a great solution that I would highly recommend for you to check out, you can find out more at our recent webinar.

I know that there are several of you that have already tested the waters about voice in the warehouse, so feel free tell us how your experience been. Let us know by responding below, on Facebook or on Twitter.