Tablet Computers: Total Cost Of Ownership Depends On More Than Upfront Costs

The consumerization of mobile devices is a major trend within the enterprise, spurred on by the introduction of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 and iPad in 2010. A Cisco survey, as reported in Computerworld, found that 20% of all IT spending in 2014 will be for mobility initiatives, double that of 2010.

This creates a challenge to IT departments. Products such as those from Apple and Samsung, which are very popular, were designed and built for the consumer market. Using such devices in the field, though, is problematic.

Though cheaper on the front end, consumer devices may have higher total costs of ownership (TCO) than ruggedized devices that are designed to operate in the field and in industrial settings.

The cost analysis outlined in this paper highlights how lower-priced consumer tablets ended up costing over 20% more than rugged devices for a 3-year project. So, if you are in a position to decide whether to buy consumer or ruggedized devices, here is a scenario — hypothetical but based on real-world numbers — that can help you work through the analysis that is needed to reveal which device has the lowest TCO.