Planning for New Computers in Business | as Explained by IT Pro

As business owners, we have a lot on our plates; probably too much in most cases. Over time, you’ve developed processes for your key business functions like payroll, HR, staffing, financials, inventory, logistics, sales, marketing, social media, and more. In order to manage all of this, we must invite structure into our business, in order to protect ourselves, and operate effectively. We don’t like surprises, so we establish these processes in order to control when certain events occur. For example, your completing payroll on a specific day of the week, bi-weekly. Or like having AP, cutting checks on a specific day of the week, weekly. It’s structured – no surprises.

Now, I know you’ve all heard these doomsday scenarios before…like, what would happen if today was your payroll deadline, and the person responsible for completing this task suddenly suffered some type of computer hardware failure? Or, your lead salesperson is offsite doing a presentation on behalf of your business. What if they go to turn on their laptop, and it’s dead? What is your plan? How are these issues going to affect your day today, and your business? You’ve heard all these scenarios before, and you developed a plan, right? Maybe not to so much?

In IT, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Ultimately, it’s the IT departments responsibility to implement policies and procedures, in order to mitigate risk. As someone who has spent nearly 20 years in IT, I don’t like fires (i.e. problems), large or small. Over the last 20 years, I’ve implemented numerous policies and procedures to help mitigate risk. If your IT resource seems to be spending a great deal of time firefighting throughout the year, perhaps it’s time for an IT evaluation.

One of my favorite ways to help mitigate risk, is by deploying new computers on an established, scheduled cycle. One of the toughest IT “sells” for ownership, is getting them to commit a structured replacement schedule. I’ve heard this response before, “you want me to spend money, to replace a working computer?” Yes. Now, IT can’t control when hardware failure is going to occur. What IT can tell you, is that the longer you hold onto that PC, the greater the risk of hardware failure. On top of that, how does an older PC impact your user’s efficiency and overall performance? Are they spending an increasing amount of time, waiting for idle computer functions to process?

Now, just because you understand the value behind scheduling computer replacements, that doesn’t make it any more affordable for a business owner. Working with IT, you need to establish certain standards. For example, do you just have one universal requirement for everyone, or do certain departments require more, in terms of performance? Laptops vs desktops? From there, establish a budget. What do you typically spend on the desktops and laptops you purchase? Work with your IT resource to make sure you are both in agreement, in terms of budget meeting expectations. This way, you avoid falling short of having the budget to purchase the computers you actually need.

Once you’ve established your budget, it’s time to look at quantities. For example, let’s say you have 25 computers in your office. You could work with your IT resource and maybe secure a small bulk discount, and buy 25 brand new computers at the best price. That assumes, all of your computers are similar in age, which usually is not the case. More often, you see small batches of computers purchased over a period of several years. How often are you replacing your computers?

I recommend replacing computers, no longer than every 5 years with a goal of replacing 20% of your computers, each year. If you’ve had years where you didn’t purchase any computers, or years where you’ve purchased quite a few, it could take a few years to average out any bell curves from your past purchasing habits. You will have to work closely with IT, to navigate these early years. You may end up replacing a computer or two a little earlier than normal, or holding onto a couple a little longer than normal, while your purchasing normalizes.

Deployment of new hardware is really about the company culture and environment, but there are really just two choices. One, a computer is assigned to a user/location, where it will remain throughout the duration of its 5-year life-cycle. Or two, new computers are assigned to the most demanding users/departments, and their computers are reallocated (i.e. musical chairs) throughout the organization. Ultimately, your oldest computers, are fulfilling your lowest demand. This creates the most work for IT, and requires a well-executed plan. You can make an argument here, that this becomes a great opportunity to image computers on an annual basis. As you transition the computer from user A to user B, you take the time to image that computer (wipe/reload).

The end result is a complete win/win for the organization. IT wins, because they are no longer investing resources in keeping old, outdated hardware alive, replacing parts, etc. Ownership wins, because you established standards for pricing, and quantities, which can be budgeted. On top of that, ownership is assured employees are using adequate hardware to perform their job efficiently. If you decide to add additional staff, or users needs change, these figures will help create transparency surrounding the added IT expenses you will incur with hiring or implementing change. Mitigate IT surprises, by having a plan!