Panasonic Toughbook 52 Mapping Technical and Operational Challenges of Mobile - Page 10

"Evaluators struggle to wrap their head around the soft costs of mobile solutions" - GM, Mobile Computing System Integrator According to VDC end-user research, the leading causes of device failure are dropping the device and water liquid exposure, two relatively common experiences. Furthermore, failure rates of non-rugged mobile computers in many of the previously described user environments exceeded 20%. Figure C Cumulative Mobile Replacement Cycles by Platform 100% 75% 50% 25% Over 60% difference in units replaced by third year 0% 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year Over 20% even at year 5 4th Year 5th Year Rugged Mobile Computers Non-Rugged Mobile Computers Rugged mobile computers are replaced far less often than commercial-grade devices. While it is expected that commercial-grade solutions have a shorter life span than rugged mobile computers, a higher amount of commercial-grade failures leads to early replacement, rather than repair. These costs start to replicate in various ways that continue to increase the TCO for commercial units. © 2009 VDC Research Group, Inc. 9