5 Considerations before Buying New Small Business Computers
Posted on July 9, 2015
By Anthony Taccone, Director of Marketing
There was a time – you may remember it – when the speed of your PC actually mattered. Maintaining a premium processor speed in your desktop or laptop was important because every new release of an application required more horsepower, if not an entirely new operating system. Computers often became obsolete within a year or two, even with regular upgrades.
But for most of the past decade or so, users have not had to worry about their CPU or RAM. Many computers still run on Windows XP, even as Microsoft has stopped supporting it. While that may not bother the average user, it should bother the people – like you – who support those old machines and archaic operating systems.
Now, with the imminent arrival of Windows 10, companies are taking a hard look at replacing old hardware. Here are five things to consider before you buy new computers for your small business:
- We understand the desire to purchase new hardware. However, DaaS or Desktop as a Service provides an alternative: keep the hardware you have and make your users’ experience more secure, capable and faster at the same time. That may sound contradictory, but with Desktop as a Service it’s extremely possible. Read on to learn how.
- DaaS allows old computers to provide users the same fast speeds they’d get from a newer, faster PC. This is accomplished by running user desktops on state-of-the-art, high-speed servers and delivering the desktop to the user over the Internet. But it looks exactly the same to users.
This means the user’s PC becomes what amounts to a terminal, using just enough resources to present the desktop to the user. This does not, in technical terminology, take a tremendous amount of desktop oomph. The server does the processing, broadband delivers the desktop, and the old PC presents a pretty screen to the user. Make that a pretty fast screen, since what the user sees is a desktop but that desktop is actually performing all of its functions in the Cloud on a very fast computer (that isn’t on the top of their desk).
- Hardware purchases are a capital investment, requiring cash (or credit) up front and then returning money to the business over depreciated time. Desktop as a Service is an operating expense. Pay now, deduct this year. It’s also a flexible expense that allows you to buy what you need, when you need it, and make adjustments as your business swells or contracts. (For a real-life example, read our case study of working with Ballet West.)
- If you must buy hardware, you could instead buy thin client hardware and pocket the change (be sure you have a big pocket though – thin clients are very affordable). Connect your existing screen, keyboard and mouse to this small device and your user will automatically be connected to their Cloud-based desktop.
Our own Nuvestack thin client hardware begins at $288. It also isolates the user from security threats from the Internet beause, instead of local storage, users securely connect to a managed desktop environment that looks like Windows — because it is Windows. No files are stored on the thin client. And have we mentioned how fast it will boot for your users?
- DaaS, if done right, can work exceptionally well with BYOD environments (which our Nuvestack DaaS does), where users bring their own hardware and laptops but still have the same experience they would have if they were using the computer on their desktop. Use the money you save on buying desktops to give your business more flexibility with portables. And your existing laptops are probably just fine for Desktop as a Service.
While we understand everybody loves new toys, an even better perk is improving security and performance while saving money and time. Those extra dollars can then be used to invest in new technologies that will benefit the company and its employees. Against that backdrop, buying new desktop computers for your small or medium business – or even your enterprise – might not be necessary.