When is the right time to replace tech
By Xperien CEO Wale Arewa
Business owners face new pressures from accelerated technology cycles, product disruptions and changing customer demands. The pace of technological change has increased significantly over the past decade and will continue to change at an even quicker rate.
The problem this poses for most companies is the high cost of replacement to remain competitive. Modern businesses are reliant on the latest technologies and they know the importance of having equipment that works fast and efficiently.
However, they still struggle to determine when a piece of technology has reached its end-of-life. Electronic devices are being replaced quicker than ever before and business owners are finding it difficult to justify spending money on new technology whilst the 'old equipment' still works perfectly.
Business leaders are reluctant to replace their aging equipment because of the cost. However, there is more money lost through time wasted using old equipment. Businesses can save more money in the long run by investing in the latest technologies. This will enable staff to be more efficient and to complete more work in less time.
According to Gartner, global sales of smartphones to end users declined 2.7% in the first quarter of 2019, totalling 373 million units. It says slowing innovation in flagship smartphones and rising prices continue to extend replacement cycles.
Earlier years, every new generation of smartphone or laptop released was noticeably better but this is no longer the case. There is no need to upgrade a phone or laptop every year. Vendors get away with charging so much for the latest release despite minimal improvements because people continued to buy them.
Vendors are also not as innocent as one would think, Apple and Samsung were fined for intentionally using software updates to significantly slow down customers’ devices and causing serious dysfunctions, thereby accelerating the process of replacing them.
Business leaders need to drive the development and implementation of procedures for tracking company assets and oversee the quality control throughout their lifecycles. More importantly, they need to assist with procurement strategies to optimise technology spend across the company.
IT Asset Management (ITAM) must become part of the company's long-term strategy for growth and risk management. Business leaders need to be educated on the residual value that can be extracted from most end-of-lease or end-of-life IT equipment.
Companies like Xperien, an IT Asset Management (ITAM) company, offer various solutions to combat this global problem. Moving away from the traditional linear economy, it now
supports a more circular economy by keeping precious resources in use for as long as possible instead of disposing of them at an early stage.
Xperien enables companies to lease high specification, refurbished laptops and PCs at a low cost. It procures used computer equipment, tests it thoroughly and refurbishes it. This equipment is then leased to businesses looking for a low-cost option and one that enhances their environmental credentials.
This certified refurbished equipment is not only given a second life, but at the end of each lease period clients are given the option to purchase the equipment at a reduced rate to further extend the lifecycle.
Products that cannot be reused will have functional parts harvested and the waste will be responsibly recycled. More importantly, secure data destruction is done at the end of each lease to eliminate any concern of disposing of company data.
With various lease options available today, the new trend is to move away from owning products, businesses can now keep up with latest technologies without tying up working capital.
