During the unveiling of the latest Panasonic Toughbook in Stockholm, Windows 11 is running on its display units. However, customers of this rugged series of devices regularly opt for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and compatible software. What are the benefits of this?
We spoke with Masaki Takeda, Director of Mobile Solutions in Europe for Panasonic, shortly after the launch. With a newly announced laptop, the focus is naturally on the hardware. Yesterday, we discussed the specifications and new features, such as the improved ErgoGrip handle, new aspect ratio (16:10), and Intel Core Ultra 200 chips.
Rugged Advantage
Takeda notes that Panasonic is also fully focused on that hardware. According to the company, this sets it apart from Getac and Dell, the other two players in the “big three” of the rugged laptop market, which together hold a 70 percent market share. According to the company’s spokespeople, Panasonic is the market leader due to a strong focus on precise design and, consequently, durability.
Takeda argues that the rugged rivals opt for the same (read: simpler) cabling as in regular laptops. This causes internal connectors to become damaged more easily, and results vary from one individual end product to another. Panasonic, on the other hand, delivers more expensive end products (the price of the 56 has not yet been disclosed) that are designed to perform more consistently than those of the competition.
Red Hat Under the Hood
Looking at the spec sheets, we see that in addition to Windows 11 Pro, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10 is also an option. According to Takeda, this is a crucial factor for many customers. Unlike Windows, RHEL 10 is designed for critical IT systems and a wide range of edge workloads. Panasonic has a certification and partnership with Red Hat, which guarantees that the enterprise OS has been tested to function seamlessly.
The partnership goes beyond RHEL 10 certification. For instance, both parties aim to turn Toughbooks into endpoints that are more than just “passive data collectors,” in Red Hat’s words. MicroShift as a container orchestration solution and the Ansible Automation Platform make cloud-native workloads suitable for the Toughbook.
Tailored to customers
During the Toughbook presentation, Panasonic noted that end users—from military personnel to telecom field workers—must, above all, experience zero downtime. To achieve this, reliance on external sources must be minimal, such as when testing 5G connectivity immediately after establishing the physical connection. Takeda adds in our conversation that customers in defense and critical infrastructure are simply accustomed to working with RHEL, and the Toughbook fulfills their desire to run on a familiar OS.
Nevertheless, we shouldn’t lump all Toughbook customers together. Red Hat usage is a case in point, as many field workers will actually prefer Windows.
Returning to the hardware: a logical question is why the new Toughbook 56 has only an IP53 rating. Or, as it translates to reality: it can survive a bit of rain but shouldn’t be used in a sandstorm. For truly extreme conditions, you’ll want the Toughbook 40, which was originally released in 2022 and has an IP66 rating. With the new Toughbook 56, you’ll ideally want to seek shelter, even though it’s more than adequate against the elements in most situations. Panasonic notes that the device’s protection is still many times stronger than that of the vast majority of laptops, which generally have no IP rating or physical resilience at all.
For that same reason, Windows 11 may still be the OS of choice for Toughbook users. However, for interoperability and to avoid having to conduct a lengthy validation process yourself, certification for Red Hat’s enterprise OS is extremely useful. For example, with RHEL 10, users can continue using the operating system through Maintenance Support until 2035, with Extended Life Support available after that year.
Read also: Red Hat launches RHEL 10 with intelligence and security for hybrid cloud