Computers and servers for the business
The largest category in the range and the one where most of the mistakes are made: a laptop too light for the work running on it, or a server chosen on today’s price instead of on the load three years out. This page sets out what falls under this category and what the choice actually hangs on.
Five kinds of machine, five different questions
Distribution splits this category five ways. They resemble each other in the catalogue and not in use.
- Laptops and tabletsThe bulk of any fleet. The choice is about weight, screen size, battery life and how much memory stays sufficient over four years, not about the processor, which on almost any business model is ample for office work.
- DesktopsWhere there is a fixed desk and the machine does not go home. They are faster per euro, last longer and open with a screwdriver, which makes a memory upgrade a quarter of an hour instead of a replacement.
- ServersFrom one machine in a cupboard to a row in a rack. Here the load over the term counts and not the purchase: a server bought at its limit is, two years on, the reason something else will not fit.
- Thin clientsA small device that runs nothing itself and takes everything from a server or from the cloud. Installed in five minutes, replaced in five minutes, and nothing on it can go missing.
- Laptop and tablet accessoriesDocking stations, power supplies, bags and stands. They sit at the bottom of the catalogue and in practice decide whether a desk is pleasant to work at.
From need to working machines
Three steps. The first costs the most time and saves the most money.
Establish what runs on it
Not which machine somebody wants, but what stays open all day. A designer, a bookkeeper and an engineer need three different devices, and one standard model for everybody is dearer than three that fit.
Cut back to a few models
Two or three models instead of ten. That keeps spares, images and instructions manageable and makes a fault quicker to fix, because the replacement is already waiting.
Deliver ready to work
The device arrives with the settings, the software and the security on it. Unbox and sign in, no setup day per employee.
What belongs with this
Ordering a machine is one decision. These are the subjects attached to it.
Find out what fits
Tell us how many people it concerns and what they do all day. You get a proposal with two or three models and a reason why not more.
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