The Zebra Technologies North American/Latin American (NALA) Channel Partner Summit (CPS) brought together Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Value Added Resellers (VARs) together under one roof to build relationships and foster partnerships Wednesday, November 7th through Friday, November 9th. The goal of the Summit is to give ISVs and VARs a chance to learn each other’s businesses so that each respective type of partner could effectively call on each other as resources to help source, develop, or close deals involving Zebra devices.
Brett Cooper, Partner at BlueFletch, and Todd Stankiewicz of The Home Depot (Atlanta) spoke on a panel about the factors that went into Home Depot’s decision to purchase Zebra TC70s (rugged Android devices) over consumer-grade handhelds for all of their 2000+ locations. Cooper and Stankiewicz shared details around what drove The Home Depot’s decision to use Zebra devices and offered insights for what other companies should be considering when making their decisions, including:
- Do associates need to share devices?
- Will the devices be used in harsh environments?
- Will the environments call for a louder speaker than a consumer device?
- Is rapid scanning a key part of employee tasking?
- How many hours per day will devices be used, as a consideration for battery life?
Stankiewicz went on to explain how BlueFletch was an integral part of the success of the TC70 acquisition and deployment project at The Home Depot. From speccing out devices to final device selection, rewriting legacy Windows CE apps into native Android and Web Hybrid, overall device migrations through piloting in various markets, and driving the integration of the new devices into AirWatch MDM.
With a Home Depot rugged device refresh on the horizon, the panel closed with Stankiewicz talking about a pilot of consumer Android devices that was kicked off recently to test the validity of remaining with rugged Zebra devices when the refresh comes due. The pilot is another endeavor between The Home Depot and BlueFletch which has provided valuable data to the retail giant around the continued need for rugged devices to withstand drops and harsh working warehouse environments, as well as barcode scanning abilities to keep employee efficiency and productivity at high levels.
On the final day of the Summit, Cooper delivered a ‘Shark Tank’ style presentation to where he talked about BlueFletch’s SaaS offering for managing enterprise rugged Android mobile devices called BlueFletch Enterprise. BlueFletch Enterprise provides enterprises with a secure launcher application for their mobile devices that locks down application access, sets user permissions by role, creates device accountability through single sign-on, and supports secure on-premise notifications. 
Other components of BlueFletch Enterprise include a mobile intelligence tool called Support Analytics, which provides real-time data around app events, device telemetry, network health, and overall app and device usage. Rounding out the BlueFletch Enterprise offering is a light MDM for Zebra devices (or other workforce devices), which is ideal for companies with a smaller device footprint and/or companies that execute updates and upgrades infrequently and cannot justify the spend on a more expensive provider. Cooper’s presentation of the EMS product was met with high-praise.
Also at the conference were Richard Makerson, CEO of BlueFletch, and Gino Emanuels, Manager of Product Management, who delivered presentations in various breakout sessions to help educate Zebra sales associates and resellers on how BlueFletch can deliver valuable solutions for clients looking to adopt enterprise rugged mobile devices.
BlueFletch will be partnering with Zebra again this coming January 13-15, 2019 in the Zebra Technologies booth #2101 at NRF.
About BlueFletch
BlueFletch has a decade of experience creating quality mobile, IoT and cloud solutions for the enterprise. We solve the toughest business problems for our clients and partners by using technology to improve the effectiveness of their workplace. We pride ourselves on delivering innovative mobile solutions and compelling products that end-users love through our custom approach. Our mobile consulting solutions are built in Atlanta and delivered globally. Contact BlueFletch today with any inquiries.
