The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-X1 tablet, which brings together the best of handheld, smartphone and tablet functionality into a single rugged and easy to use 5 inch device, was recently put through its paces when Richard Munro, VMware CTO for vCloud Air EMEA, took the device to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to prove that true hybrid cloud can enable enterprise IT delivery from any location.

After making the difficult 6,000 metre climb up the highest African peak, Munro used the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-X1 tablet, a BGAN Explorer 700 global satellite system and VMware vCloud® AirTM  to establish a working virtual machine in minutes at the summit famed for its high altitude, difficult terrain and extreme temperatures.

“I was keen to show customers that with a true hybrid cloud not only can you deliver enterprise IT in the public cloud and from one of the most extreme environments on earth, but you can also do things in minutes that would take a traditional IT department months to do on-premises,” said Richard Munro, VMware CTO for vCloud Air EMEA. “The scale of the technology challenge we ovecame to make this happen from such a remote and challenging location was huge. However the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-X1 tablet was absolutely outstanding – powerful, flexible and extremely durable.  Despite the adverse conditions I still had about 70 per cent battery left at the end of the week. How Panasonic have made all of that into such a light compact device I have no idea.”

VMware vCloud Air is a public cloud platform built on the trusted foundation of vSphere®, that includes infrastructure, disaster recovery, and various applications as service offerings. vCloud Air allows organisations to extend their workloads into the cloud with ease. Existing onsite virtual machines (VMs) can be migrated to the public cloud or start up new application virtual machines directly in the cloud. Virtual Machines and other business-critical workloads can be migrated back and forth to the location of the user’s choice, all with the secure and capable foundation of vSphere.

Designed as the ideal device for any mobile workers operating in difficult conditions, the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-X1 tablet runs the Android TM 4.2.2 operating system and is one of the toughest, most powerful and longest lasting tablets in its class. Thanks to its fully-rugged design with MIL-STD-810G certification, IP68 ratings and 3 meter drop resistance the Panasonic FZ-X1 is capable of operating in temperatures of -20°C to +60°C.

Jan Kaempfer, General Manager of Marketing for Panasonic Computer Product Solutions,said: “The FZ-X1 is rugged to withstand drops, extreme temperatures and even water submersion. It has a crystal clear, sunlight readable HD touchscreen display for easy use, a powerful Qualcomm® Quad Core Processor to handle the latest applications with ease, the broadest range of business configuration options and a 1,000 hours standby, hot swappable battery to work in the field as long as required. It really was the ideal companion for Richard to take on his vCloud Air challenge.”

The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-X1 (Android TM version) is available now from £1024 (excluding VAT).

For a full list of specifications and more detailed information, visit www.toughbook.eu