Lately there has been a frenzy of activity in government departments and large organisations, where wholescale desktop PC replacement exercises are underway, with hundreds of outdated PCs being swept off the desks and replaced with identical, pristine, new computers which can be expected to be replaced within two to three years.
Iscor, various government departments such as Public Works, Water Affairs, Defence Force, Home affairs, the Industrial Development Corporation, Genfood - these are just some organisations that have undergone this massive, costly exercise The replacements have been made in the name of TCO - controlling the total cost of ownership - but according to JSE-listed infrastructure company , the desktop is now the hub of enterprise computing.
"E-commerce, the Internet, and the need for access to customer information by the entire organisation have compelled larger IT departments to view the desktop system as highly strategic to the organisation," says Klaas Lammers, director of Datacentrix. "This attention to the PC issue can be attributed to an acceptance that serious computing is now firmly in the domain of the desktop, and no longer confined to centralised high-end servers.
"Becoming e-enabled, and delivering superior services to customers are now regarded as matters of urgency in many organisations, and have sparked this massive wave of wholescale replacements of desktop systems."
Lammers points out that the desktop PC has long been regarded as an as-needed purchase, which has resulted in a legacy of unmatched PC`s being purchased with price the main, if not the only, consideration. "Typically a large organisation will find itself with dozens or hundreds of PC`s each with its own hardware configuration, its own operating system version, software applications and sometimes pirated software; and absolutely no track of what the asset consists of. In these cases the most cost effective way to achieve standardisation is to throw out the whole lot and purchase new, identical machines, with a single operating system and identical software."
Hardware rentals, standardisation of hardware brands and operating systems, regular upgrades, outsourced desktop maintenance and support - all these options are under the spotlight as the costs of distributed computing threaten. "The cost of distributed computing has always been far higher than that of a centralised model," explains Lammers. "Standardisation in every possible sense reduces the cost of maintenance; it eases management of upgrades; user training costs are reduced, and asset tracking is made easier. Essentially the client is no longer trying to manage a depreciating asset - instead he has an operating cost."
Resellers, too, are tailoring options to give the best service to the client and secure a large hardware order. and other distributors have their own financing services, resellers are offering what Lammers terms "technology refresh plans" to ensure that the client renews all PCs over a two- or three-year period.
It sounds great for the client, but with hardware margins so narrow, is there any money to be made? "We disclose our margins up front, so our clients know what we are making on hardware. As their maintenance partner it is far easier for us to carry spares inventory for a standardised environment. We also know how many engineers need to be made available, and what skills set they require. Couple high volumes with a transparent relationship with a client, and you have a profitable association."
Lammers is convinced that the PC - once a commodity item - has become the primary tool for Internet, e-commerce and CRM empowerment. "The PC is now an IT infrastructure issue, and the trend in wholescale replacement and standardisation of desktop systems will continue for some time."
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