Businesses across Europe are spending more than ever on mobiles for their workforce.
Increasing costs and loss of productivity due to phones being too fragile for the work environment, expensive repairs and replacements are making the case for rugged devices ever stronger, according to new research released today by Cat phones.
A survey of mobile phone buyers at 497 European businesses1, shows 69 percent feel phones damage easily. Another 69 percent also say that they are spending more on company phones than ever before. More than half of respondents say repair and replacement of broken devices is a growing problem for their business.
Nearly all business phone buyers have had to deal with damage to company phones in the last three years, with 86 percent saying that there has been damage significant enough to require repair or replacement to an employee’s device. Common causes are broken screens, 62 percent have seen this, physical breakage (47 percent), water damage (44 percent) and faults caused by dust or sand getting into the device (21 percent). And some were caused by people drinking too much. Oh sorry, we made that bit up.
Productivity is also affected when employees are forced to go without a mobile phone while it’s being repaired or replaced. Nearly a third of businesses report a major impact on productivity and a further 40 percent a notable impact (71 percent affected overall) for this reason. This is exacerbated by repair times. Just 21 percent say repairs take up to one working day, while the majority (63 percent) say repairs can take from two days up to a working week. A further 16 percent have seen some repairs take even longer.
Research carried out by leading mobile communications analysts, CCS Insight, indicates that one in three European consumers have experienced a broken smartphone screen in the last three years. Replacing a broken screen on a high-end smartphone without insurance is not cheap. For instance, a single screen repair on the newest flagship smartphones can cost between €150 and €360, while for major repairs such as liquid or water damage, or broken buttons, up to €650.
In a business context, where buyers procure multiple devices for their workforce, these costs quickly escalate. Even with the economies of scale associated with business service contracts, business phone buyers reported spending up to €342 per device repair.
Ben Wood, Chief of Research, CCS Insight, said: “The fragility of modern smartphones has become a real issue. It is little surprise that businesses are looking for more rugged devices given the costs associated with repairing smartphones and negative impact on productivity when a device breaks.”
“Device durability” – in plain English how long kit lasts, has come to be one of the leading considerations for IT decision makers and phone buyers within enterprises – on a par with connectivity, security, and device manageability.
Switching to a rugged device that is fit for purpose is on the agenda for mobile phone buyers in European businesses. 44 percent are considering replacing their enterprise portfolio with rugged devices while a “savvy” eight percent already have. Rugged devices are among the fastest growing enterprise mobility investment areas, with 21 percent of IT decision makers indicating they are considering expenditure in this area in the next 12 months.
Riccardo Ferree Drago, owner at Drago Fleet said: “In this business, phones are constantly being dropped and long days require the best battery life we can get our hands on. I’ve used every rugged device out there and hands down Cat is just the best, period! Outfitting a fleet is expensive but with Cat phones I never have to worry because the phones don’t break. And if anything goes wrong you can rely on the best warranty – it’s next to indestructible!”
Frequent and costly repairs or replacements mean that customers spend much more money over the lifetime of their device than just the initial purchase price. Plus, expectations on a mobile phone are high and device lifecycles are lengthening. A third of European respondents to a recent CCS research Mobile Buying Survey said it planned to keep their phones for longer. In Western Europe, CCS research suggests people are, on average, keeping phones for 40 months. With the likelihood that a device will need to be repaired at some point, the total cost of ownership (TCO over its lifetime can be significant.
