Thriving on the Front Lines: The Importance of Fit-for-Purpose Devices

By Ivan Wintersteiger of WWT and  Trevor Smith,  Rocky Rickard and Bruce Herrier of Samsung.

As organizations mature on their digital transformation journey, they increasingly rely on evolving end-user computing and modern device management (MDM) solutions enabled by rugged devices to empower frontline workers in challenging environments, such as healthcare, retail and oil and gas. WWT's portfolio of application software and digital workspace solutions paired with Samsung Rugged mobile devices, software and services can help boost employee productivity, improve customer engagement and simplify IT management.

By taking a holistic approach to deploying, securing and managing applications and devices, you can increase productivity and efficiency, strengthen security, reduce the number of tools and devices you need, and drive numerous other desired business outcomes. 

And you can do it anywhere. Industrial-grade, smart rugged devices such as industry-leading products from Samsung are enabling frontline workers in extreme situations. As part of a strategic strategy and dynamic persona modeling, they can transform the way we work in challenging environments. 

Seemingly overnight, rugged devices have evolved from reinforced phones or scanners that you can drop on hard surfaces without breaking into something else entirely. Samsung's current industry-leading line of rugged devices are smart, multi-functional, ergonomically designed wonders that:

• Can withstand even the most extreme conditions.
• Transmit data over the air.
• Extend the battery life for over 30 hours and more.
• Integrate GPS, RFID, barcode readers, voice recorders, and cameras.
• Include integrated industrial-grade miniature scan engines.
• Provide capacitive multi-touch capabilities.
• Have bigger and better visibility screens.

As they advance, the adoption of rugged devices is growing, with the rugged devices market forecast to increase by USD $1.67 billion between 2020 and 2024.1 (Worldwide Rugged Mobile Device Forecast, 2021–2025, COVID-19: Rugged Devices Market 2020-2024 | Increasing Demand for Data Management Systems to boost Market Growth | Technavio.) The technology will continue to advance quickly. 

Gartner predicts that, by 2025, 50 percent of field service management deployments will include mobile AR collaboration and knowledge sharing tools. The move to more powerful and versatile mobile devices and applications empowers field service workers and makes them an accurate and seamless extension of the business.2 (Gartner Magic Quadrant for Field Service Management, Field Service Industry Insights)

Samsung Rugged Devices transform work in tough environments

Samsung's Galaxy Rugged series of mobile devices empower frontline workers with elevated capabilities so they can perform multiple tasks on devices including smart phones and tablets designed to withstand extreme real-world challenges. These devices are durable and flexible, with customizable features and functionality that support day-to-day work with defense-grade security. In addition, they can be certified to use in hazardous areas and meet Class 1, Div 2 certification. 

Samsung Rugged devices are not specialized; they are like Swiss army knives with a ruggedized skin around them. They replace numerous purpose-built devices, reducing cost and complexity while making it easier and more fulfilling for employees. All other devices need a case to be certified to specific standards. Samsung then is more cost-effective, and its durability means it lasts longer and lowers TCO.

As part of a holistic approach, Samsung Rugged devices enable a myriad of use cases in numerous industries, including health care, retail and oil and gas.

Healthcare use cases

Holistic solutions that include rugged devices can be used to empower healthcare workers, improve patient experience and customer service to ultimately drive efficiency and enhance patient care. They can enable:

• More efficient, cost-effective care
• Care anywhere
• Patient access to everything they need, all their own files, records, and results across multiple doctors and practices
• Decentralized clinical trials
• Better training, on-boarding, retention and communication
• Employee retention, as many employees view receiving a powerful, high-quality device that they can use both for work and personal use (if you employ Knox to ensure secure separation) as a benefit.

Healthcare workers across numerous use cases including those below rely heavily on their Samsung rugged devices, which can withstand being sanitized often, getting wet, and being dropped on hard floors. They can also be used in glove mode, which means they can work for the users wearing gloves of various thicknesses.

Workers inside the hospital

Multi-functional rugged devices can be used to phone, enter data, scan medications or IV bags, take photographs, record information, enter data, look up information, connect with resources, link to the electronic medical record (EMR). In addition, with DeX, the user can now connect to a monitor on a cart, eliminating the need for a PC. Larger screens and displays help make it more of a PC-like experience. By replacing numerous tools and devices, healthcare workers simplify their daily work lives and healthcare organizations reduce cost and complexity.

XCover6 Series Pro is an ideal solution for Healthcare, with its programmable button that can be linked to allow immediate access to the electronic medical record (EMR), as well as a Push-to-talk (PTT) capability. In addition, the Rugged B2B Series devices provides higher audio output for hard of hearing patients, allow for room to room portability and active engagement, and includes a vast accessory portfolio to support telehealth carts, stands and mobility efforts.

Ambulatory / Frontline / Helicopter medical workers

The stakes could not be higher for ambulatory and helicopter healthcare workers, who require 5G and strong connections, which are available across much of the Samsung Mobile 5G portfolio. These healthcare workers must stay in contact with the people in need or those around them, as well as the medical professionals who will be meeting them at the hospitals and taking over their care.

Samsung rugged devices enable ambulatory workers to film the patient from the ambulance or helicopter to share with doctors before the patient's arrival at the hospital so they can prepare for the patient back at the hospital ER. They can be used to contact resources for advice, look up information, use the GPS, and do many other things that could impact the quality of patient care. 

Home Care / Traveling Nurses

Home care and traveling nurses appreciate the fact that Samsung rugged devices have batteries that are replaceable so they can be swapped out instead of having to be charged. They also rely on the DeX feature that enables tablets and phones to deliver a workstation/PC-like experience.

Oil and gas use cases

It's hard to imagine more extreme environments than those experienced by workers in oil and gas, from oil rigs to remote oil fields or pipelines. Rugged products Xcover6 Pro and 4Pro are made for these extreme, remote, outdoor environments.

The superior ruggedness of these multi-functional devices is off the charts, passing military standards test MIL-STD-810H. They can be used by workers wearing leather gloves or who have wet hands, and they have removable batteries so you don't need to charge them. They not only have PTT, but the Galaxy XCover6 Pro also offers voice activation walkie talkie features and buttons for SOS calls, if there is an emergency such as "man down."

One crucial factor for oil and gas is that they are IP68 anti-shock, when you need intrinsically safe products for certified environments for arc or spark. This is especially important when you consider that a mobile phone caused a major fire in Houston last year. Partnered with intrinsically safe "no arc or spark," Samsung devices come out of the box certified Class I Div 2 (C1D2) which is certified through Ecom in the US and Apex in Europe. If an accident does happen, the device does not burn like paper would, so it becomes the "black box" in a situation or accident. 

Digital remote workers on oil rigs also need low latency and 5G for videos, used to provide or show information for maintenance or expert advice. Samsung rugged devices can catalog videos and send them to SMEs on shore. Its digitization allows workers to access manuals, look up preventative maintenance, annotate photos, talk live with experts who are elsewhere, and connect with resources at other locations. Additionally, with Tab Active 3, workers can mount monitors and keyboards in their vehicles; the device powers all the other components of this truly mobile workstation.

Retail use cases

While retail workers may not have to face the harsh realities of an Alaskan oil rig in stormy seas, they have their own significant challenges–so much so that employee retention and experience have become serious issues in the industry.

Retail workers today are asked to do and know more, as customers research online and come into shops equipped with more information and harder questions. It's important to put employees in a situation where they are empowered, with access to product information and availability, as well as the capability to help customers do whatever they need quickly and efficiently.

Samsung rugged smartphones or tablets replace multiple devices from time clocks and walkie-talkies to point-of-sale (POS) terminals with one multi-functional device. That means retail workers can check on product information, scan products, and take payments on their phones. Also, they can clock in, check shifts and tasks, manage inventory, and guide the sales experience, which makes their work lives easier and more productive. When empowered with all of these capabilities, retail workers can provide better customer service, which improves client experience and satisfaction as well.

Retail workers can also turn their phone into mobile workstations or POS stations with DeX, which saves retail companies money by not having to provide workstations. While stores used to provide a few shared devices or POS stations, every employee can now be enabled with their own device. And because Knox Security Suite enables workers to securely separate work from personal use and protects sensitive data, company-owned, personally enabled devices can become a real benefit to retail employees who are allowed to use them at home as their personal devices. Samsung devices are not only high-powered and rugged, but are also slim and consumer-style in terms of design, so they are coveted devices for personal use as well.

Samsung devices are also used in retail to provide training and development, and to improve recognition, communications and culture-building. While many people assume retail is mainly a temporary job for workers, it can be a viable and meaningful career path. If you give retail employees access to information and bite-size training to grow professionally and make them feel valuable, they are more likely to stay longer and make it a career.

A holistic approach means delivering the whole package

No matter how good the technology is, it is only part of the solution, and should never drive the process. True success marries the capabilities of the rugged device and actual app / software that correspond to the workstream you want to impact and the end results you need. 

The total solution includes ongoing modern device management (MDM), including security. It also entails getting the device in the right hands at the right time without too much struggle, i.e. the provisioning is already handled or you have the ability to self-provision as needed. 

To achieve this, WWT can take you through a process to ensure your success, with our end-user computing maturity assessment workshop or through strategic engagements.

Step 1: Discuss broader business drivers to ensure the best outcomes. To get the full picture, make sure you include the impacted people from lines of business and IT, as well as various leaders to help set or sculpt the vision. Understanding your drivers and priorities will help create the vision and definition of success.

Step 2: Paint the possible. Because the technology changes so fast, most organizations simply don't have the time or bandwidth to keep up. For transformative projects, WWT shares what's possible and then helps you determine the approach and solutions that will serve you best. 

Step 3: Assess where you are. Based on what's possible, you then assess where you are today. Answer questions including: Do you have Modern Device Management (MDM)? What do you have? Is it up to date? Is it effective for you? 

Step 4: Do a gap analysis between where you are now and where you need to be. This will result in multiple workstreams. We determine which are most important to fix first, and we develop a roadmap for the journey to your end result.

Step 5: Understand your personas. If you haven't done it yet, you also need to look at the personas involved. WWT offers dynamic persona modeling, which examines factors including workflows and users' needs for access to specific apps, data, toolsets, and training, mapping the right devices and management platforms to support your diverse workforce. This step sets you up for success; everything in the transformational journey flows from here. 

Step 6: Design a solution that works for your frontline workers and assess technology. Obviously, solutions are not one size fits all. Data, HIPAA compliance, security, and many other issues have to be taken into consideration. WWT can help you identify the software and devices that best fit your needs, and weave them into a solution perfect for you. Whether you have VMware, Microsoft or other technologies, WWT works with you to utilize automation to get to outcomes faster and to identify the functionality your people need most. Additionally, we encourage you to try out the technologies you are considering at our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) to make sure they are right for you and your business.

Step 7. Procure and provision the technology. WWT can help you with drop-ship provisioning from our four global integration centers to streamline the onboarding of new employees  and make it easier for associates to get devices to start training. WWT can do the legwork, based on dynamic persona modeling, to understand and configure devices with the exact apps and tools each worker needs, the data they need access to, and the training they require.    Devices will auto-configure themselves perfectly for the end-user with just a couple of touches of the button.

Step 8: Enable adoption. For great technology to achieve its full potential and deliver full value, you have to ensure its successful adoption through training and enablement. Consider using WWT's Adoption services to train employees on how to use their devices, follow security protocols, and access the apps needed to do their work.

Step 9: Manage the solution.  As these rugged/mobile devices need to be managed centrally by IT, WWT provides MDM solutions that give you the visibility and capabilities you need to effectively manage them–from security to app updates–in a streamlined way.

WWT can ensure a transformative experience that delivers value for your organization by painting the broader picture and bringing apps and software together–augmented by Samsung devices–for your specific use cases.