SMG3 Hubspot Blog

5 Factors Sure to Impact Your Enterprise Mobility’s TCO

Written by SMG3 Marketing | Oct 14, 2021 2:00:00 PM

 

Studies show that 50% of the workforce (or 1.7 billion workers) depend on mobile technology to do their jobs. Enterprise mobility can contribute in big ways to your organization’s success, from enhancing customer care to fueling productivity. However, getting the most value from your solution starts by understanding its total cost of ownership (TCO) —including 5 factors that can limit your business outcomes and add significant cost to your bottom line.

1. Productivity Losses - Implementing a reliable mobility solution improves workflows and increases efficiencies. However, when mobile solutions fail to perform, they can negatively affect workflows, contributing to a significant drop in productivity and an increase in overall cost.
Network connectivity (49%) and application software issues (41%) are the leading sources of mobile failure for business-critical solutions – each interruption causing 100-110 minutes of productivity loss. Even one dropped call or poorly performing mobile app per shift can lead to almost $20K in annual support and lost productivity costs—per mobile worker.

2. Every incidence of battery failure equates to more than 100 minutes of lost worker productivity. In fact, short battery life is the third leading cause of mobile failures that cause workflow disruption (37%). Here’s how these costs add up:

  • Most mobile apps require full shift run times, yet most batteries fail to support a full shift
  • Only 54.4% of organizations have real time visibility into the health and status of their mobile device batteries
  • 6 out of 10 workers use devices with only some or no replaceable batteries
  • On average, batteries need to be replaced every 14.1 months

Spares, replacement, and standby devices quickly drive up TCO. However, devices with hot-swappable batteries can help eliminate these costs and have prompted many organizations to switch from consumer-grade devices to purpose-built enterprise mobile solutions.

3. Device Durability - Failure rates of non-rugged mobile devices are nearly three times higher than the failure rates of rugged mobile devices. Workers need mobile solutions that can withstand the unique challenges and often extreme conditions of their working environments, including:

  • Wet conditions
  • Dirty conditions
  • Extreme temperatures
  • Direct sunlight
  • Frequent drops
  • Rigorous cleaning protocols
4. MDM/EMM Capabilities – Just 20% of organizations with business-critical mobile solutions have complete visibility into device and app usage. Enterprise Mobility Management/Mobile Device Management (EMM/MDM) solutions can mitigate the impact of solution failure and vastly reduce support overhead, resulting in:
  • 9% increase in mobile devices fixed remotely
  • 29% reduction in mobile devices sent to service depots resulting in “no trouble found”
  • 29% reduction in time required to fix mobile solution including software reload
  • 8% reduction in mobile trouble tickets opened

5. Ongoing maintenance costs - When it comes to TCO, the initial purchase price is just the tip of the iceberg. Indirect and soft costs can add up significantly over time, driving up your mobile TCO while driving down your solution ROI. Typical indirect costs to keep in mind include maintenance, help desk calls, replacement time and costs, provisioning spares, and productivity loss.

To learn more about how to eliminate the potential for hidden ongoing costs that can lead to higher TCO, contact us today to speak with a mobility expert.