Android Enterprise Recommended gets tough, expands with rugged devices

The power of enterprise mobility goes far beyond the office. Mobility is transforming every industry, from field services and warehouses, to retail stores and manufacturing plants. In these tougher environments, companies need rugged devices that can keep working through harsh conditions and remain up-to-date over deployments that often last five years or more.

Thanks to its inherent flexibility, coupled with the deep industry expertise of our hardware partners, enterprises are increasingly relying on Android as their go-to platform for rugged mobile deployments. According to IDC*, Android is on pace to become the largest rugged OS by shipments next year, growing at 23 percent (Compound Annual Growth Rate) over the next five years, more than 5x the rate of the rugged device market overall.

Earlier this year, we launched the Android Enterprise Recommended program to make it easier for organizations to select, deploy and manage enterprise devices and services. Now, to help organizations purchase and deploy trusted Android hardware for these growing use cases, we’re expanding Android Enterprise Recommended with a new category of rugged devices.

Rugged and extended lifetime support requirements

This category is designed to give confidence to the growing number of companies that are putting these dedicated devices to work, and make it easier to identify devices that are built to handle demanding workloads over a longer device lifetime. Just as we did with the initial Android Enterprise Recommended launch for knowledge worker devices, we’re validating rugged devices against an elevated set of standards and best practices specifically relevant for enterprise customers. In addition to minimum hardware, OS support and provisioning specifications, we’re adding requirements for drop-testing and ingress protection, and also extending the requirement of regular security patches to five years.

Some of the Android Enterprise Recommended requirements and best practices for rugged devices include:

• Minimum hardware specifications for Android 7.0+ devices

• Delivery of Android security updates within 90 days of release from Google, for a minimum of five years

• Certified for ingress protection

• Rated for drop testing

• Support for bulk deployment of devices including Android zero-touch enrollment

• Support for at least one additional major OS release

• The full list of Android Enterprise Recommended requirements can be found on our site

With each new Android platform release, we’ll continue to expand these rugged requirements based on customer feedback, so compliant devices will meet an increasingly higher bar each year.

Android Enterprise Recommended rugged devices

We’re launching with a slate of devices from leading rugged manufacturers including:

• Zebra TC25, TC51, TC56, TC70x and TC75x
  

• Honeywell Dolphin CT40, Dolphin CT60 and Dolphin CN80
  

• Sonim XP8

• Point Mobile PM45

• Datalogic Memor 10 (launching in October)

We’re working with manufacturers like Panasonic and others to get their devices validated for the rugged devices program in the coming weeks and months.

The Android Enterprise Recommended program is still in the early stages but we've received positive feedback from customers, partners and industry analysts. Recently, Frost & Sullivan recognized Google with its Award for Customer Value Leadership for Enterprise Mobility Solutions for the impact the Android Enterprise Recommended program has on customer selection and deployment.

Today’s launch continues our commitment to improve the enterprise experience for customers. We hope these devices will serve existing use cases and also enable companies to pursue new mobility use cases to help them realize their goals. Learn more about the Android Enterprise Recommended program on our website, and see the newest rugged devices in the Android Enterprise Solutions Directory.

* IDC - Worldwide Rugged Mobile Device Forecast, 2018-2022 Doc # US43301318 (March 2018)