Many IT professionals want the latest and greatest IT equipment, they read about it in industry magazines and talk about it with industry mates. While this equipment is extremely functional, to upgrade an entire system every few years is beyond the budget of most businesses. And in terms of value add, disruption to services, additional skill sets required etc, it may not be worth the expense.
Plus, there’s the cold hard truth: If they’re honest with themselves, do they really need it?
Our average customer’s data center contains IT infrastructure, which is between 1 and 6 years old(although we still see a fair amount of ‘beige’ lurking in the corners!) Now we know three years can be a long time in this industry and it’s the typical length of the depreciation cycle for server and storage equipment. Yet on a practical level, most three year old equipment is still working perfectly and giving great, reliable service.
Why?
The technology advance curve is not as steep as the value depreciation curve. This means your equipment may no longer have any balance sheet value, but is still provides a fine service and continues to add value to your business. It’s not yet in need of replacement, and certainly not with brand new equipment.
What if it’s time for more storage or increased capacity without complete replacement?
We’ve discovered the relative benefits of increased technology given by brand new products are well outweighed by the savings you’d make by simply upgrading your existing technology.
This means a two year old machine costing $10k new, is available as a perfectly functional refurbished unit for $3 or $4k. Do you really need to go and spend another $10k on the latest model when you can purchase an identical unit and save $6k?
The conclusion?
Considering previous model hardware can be a real advantage in the ROI battle. You receive high quality equipment, which will do exactly what you want. It’s not brand new, but it’s fully tested and operationally excellent, backed by a solid warranty and far, far cheaper.
So if you want to add to your server or storage infrastructure without spending too much, what do you need to look for?
Here a few key points to discuss with any potential supplier of pre-loved or refurbished hardware
- What testing processes do they have in place?
- Do qualified personnel conduct the testing?
- Do they provide test reports with the hardware?
- Where do they source their hardware?
- What warranty does it come with?
- Can the warranty be extended?
- Can manufacturers warranty be applied or extended?
- Can they provide customer references?
- Can they provide the type of hardware you’re looking for?
- Is there a significant saving against new?
Please call us if you’d like to discuss these points.
Once you’re satisfied we’re the right supplier for you, get in touch and we’ll talk through your needs.
We can then provide you with some detailed technical specifications on excellent quality hardware that won’t break the bank, and allow your business to expand on your terms.
Contact Touchpoint now and talk to our experts.