Devising the perfect plan to choose business devices

Choosing the right weapons for your war

Efficiency is doing things right; Effectiveness is doing the right things.

This blog will help you effectively choose business devices without going through much of a hassle.

You might have already established your business, or you might be a budding start-up that is all set to take up the market by storm. Whether your business is small or large, technology is at the heart of every decision. So, it’s of utmost importance that you choose business devices that will make a massive impact in the long run.

People spend a considerable amount of time choosing the perfect mobile phone for their daily use. If that much effort is put into purchasing a mobile phone, then consider how carefully you should choose business devices. As these devices are your weapons to win the business battle, it’s vital to make the right choice.

Let’s get the war preparations started!

Diversity of devices

In a Deck of cards, find your Ace and not a jack.

Devices have taken over the tech deck which means that you need the best ones to ace the tech game. But it’s not an easy choice to just choose business devices blindly. You have to choose between different OS platforms, their features & many more. The choice has to be made considering all these aspects in a stable way that you need not go over & over again to replace them.

OS Platforms

So many choices, So many noises.

From Android getting as smooth as Tiramisu to Apple driving away threats & traps…
Windows and macOS are versatile & powerful in their ways…

It’s always been a tough decision to make, to choose the OS platform which will suit your business and most importantly what’s needed for your employee and what’s not. While Android/Windows devices offer more customizable advantages and iOS/macOS devices provide a more straightforward and consistent experience across multiple devices, it’s based on your need that the decision should be made.

All these platforms offer their own set of tech tools that businesses use daily. Hence, it’s wise to consider the tech requirements on which your business would be working, and which platform supports it seamlessly.

If your organization is focused more on a secure and consistent business ecosystem and the cost is not a barrier, consider going for iOS/macOS. On the other hand, if more storage and customization is a pivoting factor that you need in your business ecosystem, and saving cost is also a concern, go for Android smartphones and Windows PCs as you can achieve almost similar results as that of Apple devices at a relatively lower cost.

Rugged vs consumer devices

If Cinderella’s shoe fit properly… Why did it fall off?

Cinderella had the time and opportunity to wait for the shoe to find her & fit perfectly again. In businesses, this may not be the case as time is money, and if the device doesn’t fit you, it should be replaced asap, or it incurs losses.

Businesses fail to consider the rigidity and flexibility factors after choosing the OS they need. Because of this many issues arise in the work environment which may affect the longevity of devices which in turn affects employee productivity. Devices don’t find you; you need to find them.

Four tight factors to fit your rugged tech fortress

1. Customization

Rugged devices offer more customization capabilities compared to consumer-grade devices in terms of hardware. IT teams can even configure rugged devices to suit specific business needs.

2. Battery & performance

Rugged devices’ batteries last longer than consumer-grade devices and these batteries are easily replaceable. Rugged devices can withstand harsh work environments and are more robust than their counterparts.

3. Initial cost & maintenance

The initial costs of rugged devices are more than consumer-grade devices, but their lifespan is long compared to the latter. In terms of maintenance & managing devices, Rugged devices offer a comparatively less maintenance cost.

4. Long-term support

Since rugged devices are primarily manufactured to suit business needs, they have vendors who offer better tech support and damage cover.

Though rugged devices offer many advantages over consumer-grade devices, industry requirements determine whether these devices are essentially needed for the business to proceed and progress. In many cases, consumer-grade devices can be used easily to achieve the same work done by rugged devices at a low initial cost and can be replaced as well after a few years considering the wear & tear. Moreover, not every organization needs rugged devices in their work environments as operating conditions differ from business to business.

The choice

To choose business devices, just the OS and device type considerations are not enough. There’s much more to making the right choice that will make your business meet your desired outcomes. Keep in mind the following things that you should keep track of while you choose business devices.

7 things to check before signing the cheque

1. Application & business environment demands

All businesses have specific work environments & different use case scenarios. In such cases, the devices must complement the user and ease the work process rather than pose inconveniences due to the work conditions.

If your workspace demands more rigidity in devices, consider choosing devices that can withstand the operating conditions of your work environment. Industries & Manufacturing units often require devices that can sustain accidental spills & countless drops. On the other hand, if you don’t operate devices under harsh conditions, considerations should be made in different aspects. For example, medical units require devices with less obstructive feedback while other software units can function with normal devices without any special add-ons.

2. Camera requirements

Not all businesses require camera capture utilities in their work environments. In some sensitive work environments, it’s best to avoid devices with data capture utilities to prevent your business data and privacy from being tampered with by external sources. Camera-enabled devices may not be suitable for highly confidential areas of your business whereas it is mandatory in some use cases where the user needs to scan a bar code or record important footage or have face-to-face meetings with clients & colleagues.

3. Security requirements, manageability & control

Security is not just a factor to consider while doing transactions in your business. From your employee details to your client data, everything should be managed safely and securely. Any nefarious attempt to infiltrate your organization’s devices should be prevented. This relies on how effectively your devices are managed without much pressure on your IT Admins. This is where Hexnode makes it simple and ideal to manage all your devices with ease. Any business involving a large fleet of devices needs to be managed by a UEM solution like Hexnode to ensure that your devices and data are always in perfect control.

4. Lifecycle management

Business investment is not an easy decision, similarly, an investment in devices to suit your business is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a considerable amount of time to research and find the perfect fit for your company and at the same time, the fleet of devices you chose must operate effectively in the long run. Also, if any of the devices are damaged, they should be easily repairable or replaceable as the workflow should not get affected due to the unavailability of proper support and assistance capabilities from the device vendor end.

5. TCO & ROI

Consumer-grade technology can result in a significantly higher total cost of ownership (TCO) considering the further costs incurred by investment in additional accessories, maintenance, and support.

When all these factors are foreseen, you will get to know that it costs more than the initial cost to get your fleet of devices deployed and running. This relatively increases the TCO and decreases the ROI.

Investing in enterprise mobile technology or rugged devices is not enough to guarantee improved productivity, efficiency, and customer service.

Organizations need to select the suitable device for their business; only then will those benefits deliver a return on investment. Opting for purpose-built mobile technology will enable you to exercise greater control over the features you want and engineer your device for your company’s specific requirements.

6. Competitive analysis

In any business, there’s competition and there’s no business without competition. To do better than what your competitor is doing and to achieve higher levels strategically, you need to analyze which tools & devices are generally used by your competitors and what can be changed or deployed in your business to take the competition to another level.

7. Demo before writing the memo

It’s always better to have a demo before going all in. If online streaming services offer trial & demo editions for just a monthly/yearly membership, devices that are going to build your business and be with you for a longer span, need to be checked before the purchase. You can get fewer devices first and test them in your business cases and analyze their feasibility and ability to match your business needs before making the final payment.

3 things to look out for after the checkout

There shouldn’t be anything to pry once the ink is dry.

1. Device management

So, you have fixed your decision on the final fleet of devices, the purchase has been made and the devices have made it to your office premises. Before even handing over the devices to your employees, you should have the answer to this million-dollar question,

Do I have a UEM solution already in hand to manage these devices?

Even if you don’t have the answer to this question now, you can just get it covered with Hexnode UEM. With Hexnode you can start managing your devices and get them under your supervision and control even before deploying them to your employees, Learn how.

2. Updates & tech support

You may think that your responsibility is over once you have deployed your fleet of devices, but it’s not. It gets more challenging as you need to have tech support offered from the device vendor end to have a backup. The support team should be easily approachable at any time and your support needs must be sorted out as well. In addition, to support, device updates are mandatory to keep your devices in the loop. These factors should not be neglected after the purchase.

3. Partnerships & benefits

The greatest achievements are those that benefit others.

-Denis Waitley

Choosing the right devices means you are also choosing the perfect device partnership for your company. You need to make sure that you are making the most of the partnership. Enterprise bundle plans, extended support, and no questions asked coverage are some of the prime factors that you can demand from device partnerships.

There’s no wrong time to make the right decision.

So, this is your time to start devising your plan to move further with choosing the right devices for your business. After making the right choice, we hope that you just know where to reach to manage your devices like a breeze.