Why cheap I.T. hardware usually isn’t cheap I.T. hardware

Every business likes to think it’s keeping its costs under control. Often they’re actively looking to reduce them – and so they should.

The trouble is that when it comes to IT the actual hardware is always seen as the headline cost. When you can walk into a high street store and walk out minutes later with a £300 laptop under your arm you might think you’ve done yourself and your business a big, money saving favour.

However, you then come to that troublesome figure, Total Cost of Ownership. Once that piece of kit gets back to the office, it’s going to need some setup. The software packages, such as Microsoft Word and Excel, used by the business need to be installed. It could be that some working files need to be copied or transferred to it, which all has serious implications for security, meaning that anti-virus (and probably encryption) need to be properly implemented. What about setting up the corporate VPN (Virtual Private Network) for remote access back to the office?

And did you check you have enough licences for all of the software that will be going on there?

If you have to then make a separate call to your IT support they are having to make it an additional job, instead of being a planned part of a coherent strategy, which all adds to your bill.

It also makes a much better impression to have this piece of equipment set up and in place before a new member of staff joins you, rather than making them wait a couple of days after they’ve started!

You can no doubt see what we’re getting at here. There’s more to an IT purchase than the pieces you can hold in your hand. It even begs the question, is the hardware you bought for £300 even good value for money, or would a machine specced specifically for your needs and your network have been a better investment? Actually, with proper advice, spending an extra £50 to £100 now could result in a computer that will last you four to five years, instead of two…

This is where an IT partner that understands your business adds its real value. We get to know our clients, their needs and their networks. When they need a computer, we can advise on the best model, type and specification (in fact many companies just trust that piece of the process to us) and we can order it for speedy delivery. When we get it, we can set it up just how it’s needed and deliver it into the network and to the end user with their software, security and account privileges all in place and ready to go.

No lost time in the office, no risks to your security and not even any mileage and time out accrued in taking that trip to the retail park. Suddenly letting the experts take the strain makes sense.