Johannesburg, 29 Mar 2019
All of us in IT are acutely aware of the commotion that comes from users when their machines go down; it's like the end of the world is nigh...
And, frankly, we can hardly blame them. The notebook or desktop is second only to the cellphone when it comes to essential accessories to the busy professional, and not having them in perfect working order can be debilitating, if not catastrophic.
But, just how catastrophic? On a visit to a CT customer a couple of weeks back, I was shown something I have never seen before in all my years in the IT industry: a spreadsheet that calculated exactly the cost of a single user, per department, when they are unable to access their devices, says Ron Keschner, Sales Director: GO Rentals.
The results were staggering and in this particular financial services business, the cost of being unable to operate was, on average, R58 000 per person per day. And, it is for this very reason that hardware as a service, known globally as HaaS, is fast becoming the de facto standard of how corporates procure their desktop and mobile devices.
Not only is the HaaS solution never more expensive than an outright purchase from a pure cost comparison point of view, but, once you have factored the following key benefits and cost savings of HaaS in, there is simply no comparison:
* The true cost of your company's downtime when a user is unable to work.
* The true cost of managing your company's IT hardware warranty and repair scenario.
* The current cost of insurance premiums that would be removed by HaaS, as well as the protection of the company's no-claim bonus in the event of a claim.
* The ability to change a machine at any point during the term, should operating changes demand it.
* The saving of being able to return up to 20% of the machines at any time during the rental term in the event of retrenchments, downsizing, etc.
* The saving of having a hardware disaster recovery solution included.
The American and European experience has shown that HaaS takes care of all of the above, dramatically freeing up the time and reducing the expense lines of IT managers around the globe, echoed by the experience of the myriad HaaS users across corporate South Africa. The time has surely arrived for South African IT practitioners who have not yet investigated this global shift to start seriously investigating this new and exciting trend in IT procurement.
To begin your HaaS journey, contact the writer on ronk@gorentals.co.za, tel (082) 465 9428; or Jacques Pienaar on jacquesp@gorentals.co.za, tel (072) 292 1013.
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