This new year has been several times called the year for innovation. For upgrading less than perfect products and so on. Netbooks is definitely on a rise in sales and quite possibly on it’s way to killing the sales for personal desktops and laptops which is increasingly hurting manufacturers such as dell computers.
However, there are quite a few drawback’s to these small and flashy styled netbook’s that may still make people choose their typical laptop instead.
Source: http://smallbiztechnology.com/archive/2009/03/do-you-really-need-to-lug-that.html
Businesses do save money when purchasing refurbished equipment, but with computer prices so low is it worth it to purchase used equipment?
Great question! Although major manufacturers such as Dell, HP, and IBM have lowered their prices over the past 6 months to a year to compete in the down economy, they can still only offer products that are currently being manufactured. The advantage to buying refurbished equipment is that companies can go back to the previous generation (or even older) and purchase equipment that meets their specification needs, at a fraction of the price when they were new! There is a common myth that new equipment offers the best performance for the price. The truth is that new equipment oftentimes exceeds the performance requirements for targeted applications. Refurbished equipment can easily meet these requirements at a fraction of the price. Average cost savings is generally more than 40% when comparing refurbished to new equipment, allowing IT departments to extend their ever-tightening budgets.
What role does eBay have and/or other portals of used equipment?
EBay plays a huge role in enabling companies to market not only to the US local market but to the entire world. Also the eBay “store” allows vendors to highlight other characteristics of their business model besides price. In our case, we are able to showcase our wide availability of product, customization, and our industry-leading 3 year warranty.
What about buying used equipment directly from the PC vendors?
Although a few PC vendors offer their lease turn-ins back to the open market, it is not always the best source for end users. Major manufactures do not specialize in used/refurbished equipment, and therefore do not go through the stringent testing procedures refurbished companies do.
What should businesses do for support?
In purchasing refurbished equipment, end users should pay attention to two factors: tech support hours and warranty. Many refurbished companies are interested in the “one time sale” versus building long-term relationships with their customers. Our model is a bit different: we have established tech support hours where customers can call with any questions and speak with a “live” technician who will assist in troubleshooting their issue. Warranty is important because it gives the end user peace of mind when purchasing their equipment. Aventis Systems also offers a full 3-year parts replacement warranty that covers everything from the motherboard to hard drives. Consumers can't go wrong with saving money and getting a comparable warranty!
I think software does not come with refurbished computers. How should it be acquired on the cheap?
Off-lease equipment generally comes with the original software installed, which allows for companies to resell to the public with the original software and corresponding (COA) Certificate Of Authentication.
Some things are easy: For example, nearly all desktop productivity products are suitable for small businesses. And of course, just about any business-grade PC or laptop is a must-have. For that matter, a good number of so-called consumer PCs will do the job just as well.
Once you get beyond those necessities, what you quickly see is that the categories of products that a small business needs are much the same as for any other business. These include accounting and finance software, networking hardware, e-mail servers, security products, and so on.
The differences lie in the scale of the required products, their cost, and in how those products are deployed. For example, an e-mail server comes in any number of sizes, including products that are almost consumer-like. It can also take the form of a full-blown Microsoft Exchange server, though you can also get Exchange as part of Microsoft's Small Business Server or buy it packaged as an appliance from Azaleos.
However, you might prefer to get your e-mail and other collaboration services from a service provider that offers them. Some services offer products that are so like Exchange that you can't tell the difference. Maybe that doesn't even matter to you -- you just need an efficient e-mail system.
Besides the size and the cost of products, you also need to consider your business and technical styles. Some of you may enjoy having complete control over many of your systems and products, while others are more concerned with the business side of your business and don't want to spend much time controlling e-mail policy or unauthorized Web use. And those style needs may vary from category to category.
The bottom line is that there isn't much in the way of software and hardware capabilities you don't need in your small business. Your size shouldn't constrain you from taking advantage of technology, because so many options exist to help you fulfill those needs. Take advantage of the ones that are right for your business.
Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/3776505-1.html
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