Wireless mobile devices have revolutionized how field workers communicate, access information, and capture data. Still, the familiarity and pricing of consumer devices can put resellers at odds when selling rugged enterprise devices that we know better fit the demands of field service.
We wanted to help you understand how companies with field technicians select and manage their mobility devices, what pain points they encounter, and where you might have opportunities to find new business. To get the details, we surveyed 100 managers, directors, and executives.
Thank you to Zebra for sponsoring this survey!
Methodology & Audience
We employed a third-party data collection agency to gather survey responses. The respondents were recruited through a global B2B research panel and invited via email to complete the survey.
Respondents were US-based and almost evenly divided between the following industry types:
Those surveyed mainly worked in IT and Operations, were Senior Managers or at a higher level, and were from companies that employed anywhere from 100-50,000 people.
What Did We Learn?
Question 1:
Which of the following does your company provide to your field technicians for their daily work? (Select all that apply)
58% of companies give their field workers laptops, half provide handheld mobile computers, and 41% utilize smartphones. Surprisingly, only 19% deploy tablets to their staff.
Question 2:
Does your company supply the devices, or are technicians responsible for bringing/purchasing their own?
We only wanted those who supplied at least some of the devices because we knew we'd be investigating purchasing decisions more deeply. 57% provided all of their technician's devices, and 43% supplied at least some.
Question 3:
Do you purchase/supply consumer-grade or rugged/enterprise devices for fieldwork?
Consumer devices are still widely purchased and supplied in the field, with 77% of respondents answering they exclusively purchase them or a combination. 23% responded enterprise-only. Smartphones likely make up much of the consumer devices.
At this point, we split the survey slightly between providing consumer-only devices and those that used at least some enterprise.
Question 4:
(Consumer Only) What operating system are most of these devices?
While iPhones are very popular among consumers, only 9% of respondents give them to their employees. Instead, most devices are run on Android/Chrome (48%) or Microsoft (43%). That could be good news for VARs hoping to convert to enterprise devices running OS that will still be familiar to the users.
Question 5:
(Consumer Only) What led you to purchase these devices over enterprise-grade? (Select all that apply)
The top two reasons here, Familiarity/Comfort & Included w/Wireless Plan, are probably very familiar to anyone trying to make the case for enterprise devices. "We already know these well." "Our wireless company threw them in for free/at a low cost with our contract." 40% called out the features, and 36% specified pricing. 9% said they were unaware of enterprise options, which still seems too many.
Question 6:
(Enterprise or Both) What led you to purchase enterprise devices over consumer-grade? (Select all that apply)
Responses were well-distributed here, which is a good sign that most companies that use enterprise devices at least understand their particular value proposition over consumer-grade. Battery Life (48%) and Software Support (46%) led the way, followed closely by Security (43%). Those should be three topics you emphasize with any of your consumer-only customers.
Question 7:
What challenges have you/technicians encountered with your devices? (Select all that apply)
We opened this one up to everyone but read below the graphic for specifics based on device grade.
The top overall responses were Battery Life, Technical Support, and Performance/Reliability, but that changes slightly when we segment by grade. 43% of consumer-only device users said Technical Support, compared to 39% of Enterprise-only.
Other divergences by segment:
- Battery life was a nearly equal challenge for both Consumer (54%) & Enterprise (52%), suggesting room for improvement or opportunities to introduce battery management programs.
- Connectivity - Consumer (43%), Enterprise (30%)
- Surprisingly, more Enterprise users (52%) cited Durability as a challenge, while only 36% of consumer device users selected it.
- Technical Support - Consumer (43%), Enterprise (39%)
- Enterprise also edged out Consumer for challenges with Security and Performance/Reliability. Is there a perception issue causing users to confuse familiarity with reliability?
Ultimately, what challenges we might have assumed would lean heavily Consumer became more equitable. That could speak to a VAR's ability to offer ongoing service and support to ensure that Enterprise devices are appropriately updated, managed, and upgraded as needed.
Question 8:
What do your technicians use these devices for while in the field? (Select all that apply)
At 44% each, the top three responses were Communications, Accessing Manuals/Specs, and Company-Specific Apps/Software. Client Management and Scanning also ranked similarly. No use case got less than 30% of responses, so most technicians get multiple functions out of their devices.
Question 9:
Do you have a platform for remotely managing software installation & security settings for your company-owned devices?
68% of respondents were using MDM for their devices or plan to. 37% were not (with no plans to do so). The value of remote management is an excellent option for VARs looking to find recurring revenue, as nearly half of Enterprise-only users were not using it compared to only 34% of Consumer-only devices.
Our sponsoring partner, Zebra, was interested in the usage of CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) networks, so the following few questions explore that topic.
Question 10:
Are you familiar with CBRS private wireless networks?
77 of the 100 respondents were familiar with CBRS, so we asked them questions about whether they used such networks, the benefits for those who did, and why some chose not to.
Questions 11 - 13:
Are you utilizing CBRS for field employees? If so, what are the top two benefits you see over other networks? If not, what is the primary reason?
86% of those familiar with CBRS are using such networks. They cite Security and Expanded Coverage as the top two benefits they've seen over 5G/Wi-Fi, with the Ability to Segment Bandwidth and Reliability not far behind.
While only 11 respondents weren't using CBRS, half of those that did say Cost and a lack of Awareness of Features/Benefits kept them from doing so.
Sponsored Message
Interested in learning more about CBRS networks?
Question 14:
What top features would you like your next mobile/wireless devices to include? (Select top 3)
To wrap up, we encouraged respondents to consider their subsequent mobility purchases.
No response jumped out far ahead of the others, but the top three were Environment Protection, Better Communications, and a tie between Better Tech Support and Scanning/Reading Tools.
Looking specifically at Consumer-only device users, Stronger Security was cited more often, while Better Tech Support topped the responses of Enterprise-only companies.
Takeaways
Field service companies are not shying away from providing their technicians with mobile devices for daily work, but consumer-grade options are still the most common. We know enterprise devices offer more durability, efficiency, and better total cost of ownership than consumer, but to take advantage of the opportunity, let's look at what we learned.
- Nearly half of the respondents who provided smartphones also supplied handheld mobile computers. That could represent some duplication of technology that could be combined in one touchscreen enterprise device, providing the durability and toolset they need with the familiarity of a smartphone.
- 91% of provided consumer devices run on Android or Microsoft. That may make the transition to enterprise easier and less jarring for users.
- Have a game plan for pushback. If devices were free with a wireless plan, find out if that locks them into a contract, includes upgrade options, and includes on-demand support. If they think enterprise devices are too expensive, explain the cost over time for consumer replacements, outdated features, or the price of add-ons like scanning tools and cloud storage.
- Lean into the advantages that respondents said came with enterprise devices. Have a frank conversation about battery life, support, and security, especially given how important all those will be for technicians in the field in high-usage, critical roles.
- When positioning your offerings, keep in mind what field service technicians typically use their devices for (Question 8).
- Are you offering remote management services, or do you have a partner that does?
- Emphasize your service and support capabilities above the desire to sell devices. Your ability to simply "be there" as problems arise could mean more than having the perfect device.
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