When Should I Replace My Computer Systems?
February 26th, 2008 by JeffOne question I am consistently asked by old and new customers alike is: “When should I replace my PCs and servers?”. If I had to give one answer to everyone, that answer would have to be “it depends”. There are many factors to account for when determining hardware replacement schedules. The first thing to consider is the age of the PC or server and if you have been having any problems with your hardware. Another factor is the device’s intended use. The third factor to consider is budget.
If you talk to an accountant, they will tell you that you need to spread the depreciation of your PCs and servers over 5 years. Your accountant didn’t come up with 5 years on a whim. PC and server manufacturers design their systems to have a useful life of about 5 years for business-class systems. As a result, when you have a PC that is 4.25 years old, and the hard drive goes out, or the power supply stops working, we will recommend that you replace the PC or server. The reason is that to fix the issue, you would spend more money than the PC is worth to get the device fixed. The problem with this is that you still have a 4.25 year old device that needs to be replaced in about 9 months.
One service Austin Lane provides for our customers is a free yearly site evaluation. During this site evaluation, one of our technicians is on-site, and will gather data about your network and the PCs and servers on the network. We also take the time to find out if there are any pressing issues, i.e. pending software upgrade, office move, etc. We will then take the information we have gathered and create a proposal for your business that is tailored to your business’s needs. We know architecture firms and law offices, for example, have very different technology needs, and we take those factors into account when preparing your proposal.
Sometimes when you get a proposal from Austin Lane, you may think that we love to spend other people’s money. That is not the case at all. In fact, we make this proposal to let you know that there are some things that you should implement immediately, while there are others that can be implemented 6 months to 1 year down the road. The reason this information is in the proposal is so that your business can begin budgeting for the expense of replacing a PC or server. Although budget is third in our list of items to consider, we realize it must make sense for your business. Austin Lane only proposes PC and server solutions that we feel will last your company 5 years. One way that we help you with your budgeting process is to phase in the replacement of hardware. While some IT firms will recommend that you completely replace every system on your network at exactly the same time, we take a different approach. We recommend that you replace 20%-25% of your PCs each year. If you do so, and purchase new systems as you add new employees, you can guarantee that no PC on your network is older than 5 years.
Austin Lane only recommends business-class hardware and software, and as a result, the hardware we recommend is reliable. One line of “business-class” laptops and desktops that we do not recommend is the new “Vostro” line from Dell. According to the February Dell Business promotional magazine, Vostro Desktops and Laptops are designed for environments with “simple or no network(s)”. As a result, we recommend the Dell Optiplex or Precision Desktops and the Dell Latitude or Precision laptops. If you have another preferred PC and Server manufacturer, we will work with you and them to provide the best solution for your business.
Austin Lane would love to hear from you. We have some exciting news coming in the next newsletter, so stay tuned! Please contact Austin Lane Technologies, Inc. to schedule your FREE site evaluation.