When companies name security breaches as the top risk of employees who work outside the office — and with 40% reporting that they’ve encountered an issue when an employee uses a public Wi-Fi network — connected laptops are the answer.
That, at least, is what Vice President of Devices and Device Services Vijay Paulrajan and his team at Verizon Business are counting on. Telecompetitor interviewed Paulrajan about the utility of connected laptops as Verizon embarks on a major push for businesses to adopt the technology.
“Hybrid ways of working are here to stay,” said Paulrajan, adding that two-thirds of the companies Verizon works with support some level of hybrid work for their employees.
Paulrajan says ensuring data security and monitoring productivity are the two top concerns these companies have, and he believes connected laptops “solve those customer pain points.”
Connected laptops have built-in 5G or 4G modems, which allow users to avoid public Wi-Fi networks when working remotely. “This opportunity will only get bigger as we see more AI workloads, and as more people are working with sensitive company information in the cloud,” said Paulrajan. Some large companies, especially those based in a single geographic area, are even opting for private mobile networks.
Verizon’s latest promotion of 5G and 4G laptops employs a device-agnostic approach. Businesses can use a laptop from any manufacturer — Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, etc. — as long as it has built-in mobile technology. “We wanted to make sure customers have choice,” Paulrajan said, “so we opened it up so customers can use whatever they want.”
Paulrajan told the story of a healthcare system in the Midwest whose nurses make house calls. Before using connected laptops, the nurses would see patients in their homes, return to their clinic, and then write the visit notes. But now, with laptops connected to the mobile network, nurses write notes immediately after the visit. Those notes are almost instantly available to other members of the medical team.
“We believe the stars are aligning,” said Paulrajan. “5G networks, 5G-enabled laptops… it’s a robust growth area.” That’s why Verizon Business is joining other providers in pushing 5G technology in laptops.
When asked what effect connected laptops might have on the fixed broadband market, Paulrajan said, “[Verizon’s] belief is that broadband and 5G will coexist… The industry’s mature enough to know there are very clear swim lanes. We’re clear on what customer pain points we’re solving.”
