Many businesses buy PCs online or from a big box retail or club store to save money. In our experience, not only does this not save money, but usually ends up costing more money in the long run.
Why should you buy your PC from an IT consultant?
Cost vs Real Cost
If saving money on the advertised price is your goal, you may find yourself chasing a false positive by purchasing a consumer class (home) PC instead of a business class PC. However, consumer PCs are cheaper for a reason, primarily because they are not built for the everyday rigors of the workplace. Often subsidized by software known as Bloatware, the retail price may be cheaper but the total cost of ownership can be as much as 40% higher than a business class machine.
Operating System
PCs purchased from big box retailers generally come with consumer class operating systems; i.e. Windows 10 Home instead of Windows 10 Professional. Windows 10 Home does not have the functionality of Windows 10 Pro. Be sure to have the right operating system to work in your environment and forgo having to upgrade and reload the moment you receive your new machine. This process alone can take 3-4 hours.
Software
Consumer PCs are loaded with extraneous software known as Bloatware, installed on your machine in hopes that you will be convinced to purchase or license it. Unless properly removed, this software can significantly impact the performance of your PC. While business class PCs may also have some extraneous software, your IT consultant will properly remove it and install only the software and drivers that you need for your unique work environment.
Warranty
PCs bought from a technology consultant or managed services provider include a warranty in alignment with your product life-cycle. By comparison, most retail PCs provide only standard warranties. These warranties exist to encourage the sale but don’t take into consideration the impact on your production time when you have to send the machine away for extended periods of time or bring it back to the store you bought it from to wait in line.
Warranty Management
When purchased through an IT consultant, the warranty claim process will generally be managed for you. That means no unintelligible calls to service centers, no over-the-telephone troubleshooting instructions, no trips back to the retailer and no shipping to the computer service center. In addition, most IT consultants provide loaner units while yours is being serviced.
Is it time to update your business PC? The IT professionals at SeedSpark look forward to the opportunity to match your business needs with the proper computer. Just give us a call at (704) 246-5052 or email us at hello@seedspark.com.