DC Velocity - August 2017

www.dcvelocity.com AUGUST 2017 DC VELOCITY 45 DRIVE FOR EFFICIENCY, SECURITY

Another factor pushing warehouses to consider upgrading their mobile devices is the relentless drive for greater efficiency in the DC, said Steve Bemis, vice president of mobile productivity at Ivanti Software Inc., a South Jordan, Utah-based IT management services provider.

Warehouse operators are increasingly looking to upgrade their mobile devices as a way to satisfy demands to rev up productivity while reining in costs, Bemis said. And because current mobile operating systems will be out of service soon, managers must minimize disruption while making that change.

In a recent survey on the market for mobile warehouse devices conducted with VDC, Ivanti found that the number one pressure driving investment in mobile solutions was customer demand for faster orders ( 55. 7 percent), followed by replacing older systems that were incapable of keeping up with these orders ( 42. 1 percent), and the high cost of labor ( 37. 5 percent). The survey polled 107 high-ranking professionals across North America and Europe who are responsible for selecting mobile solutions for use in warehouses and distribution centers.

As for what they’re looking for when choosing a new OS,
the survey indicated that security was top of mind for many.
When respondents were asked about their selection criteria,
IT security emerged as the number one consideration ( 55. 1
percent), followed by the ability to customize ( 34. 8 percent)
and a modern user interface ( 30. 3 percent).

In fact, one of the benefits of upgrading mobile warehouse devices is that it typically helps strengthen a company’s defenses against hackers and viruses. Computer security in the supply chain is a hot issue, highlighted by recent events like the “Petya” bug that triggered a global IT meltdown in June and froze operations at shipping giant Maersk, and the “WannaCry” virus that hit 150 countries in May, locking up thousands of computers and shutting down a Honda car manufacturing plant for a day. Even though mobile computers inside a DC are typically disconnected from the Internet in order to minimize distractions for workers, clever hackers have shown a knack for disrupting enterprise systems.

“I’m shocked that more people aren’t talking about [secu-rity], especially with the WannaCry virus a few months ago. Being on old systems that do not have security updates is a risky thing,” said Ron Kubera, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at mobile technology specialist Lucas Systems. “I want people to start planning, because it’s two and a half years away. That’s not a long time; if you don’t do it this year, you’re going to be down to the wire.”

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