Smartphones and other sophisticated mobile devices have taken the world by storm – fundamentally changing the way many of us interact and work every day. People can now carry a small, relatively inexpensive powerful computing device with internet connectivity with them wherever they go.
This has meant that, for better or worse, more people find themselves ‘always connected’. However for businesses, especially industries that manage lots of assets, these devices are nothing short of a positive game changing force.
For decades, expensive devices like rugged handhelds were the only viable option to automate, scan, and electronically track assets. Today, the hardware and software capabilities of smartphones meet and often exceed those of rugged handhelds, for about a tenth of the cost – or even no cost for certain applications, given that these devices are already in widespread use. By the end of this year, there will be more mobile internet devices than people on earth – smartphones alone represent about a third of that total, with expectations that smart devices will become a majority of total mobile devices by 20181.
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