© 2009 VDC Research Group, Inc. 9
“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%.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year
Figure C
Cumulative Mobile Replacement Cycles by Platform
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.
Over 60% difference
in units replaced by
third year
Over 20% even
at year 5
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