As Black Friday approaches, businesses may feel the temptation to take advantage of big discounts on new hardware. Whether it’s for infrastructure upgrades, expanding teams, or replacing ageing equipment, finding the right devices – laptops, desktops, monitors, servers, or mobile phones – can help keep your business running smoothly. However, while Black Friday discounts may look appealing, choosing the wrong tech can cost more in the long run.
Black Friday has gained popularity in the UK in recent years. Typically, retailers offer significant discounts on a wide range of products in the lead-up to Christmas to increase consumer spending. In the UK, this is typically the fourth Friday of November – landing on November 29th, 2024.
In this article, we aim to explore the importance of making effective hardware choices for your business and the disadvantages discount products can potentially bring.
Why Black Friday Deals Are So Tempting
Starting in the United States and then becoming popular in other countries, such as here in the United Kingdom, Black Friday has become a staple day on the calendar for many people. It draws in people due to the human desire for value and the thrill individuals get from a bargain. Black Friday comes with a time pressure to purchase, creating a sense of urgency and often excitement to have found a product at a reduced cost.
Retailers strategically leverage this phenomenon by offering limited-time deals and creating a sense of urgency to purchase and scarcity in product availability. This tactic encourages fast action from shoppers and can often lead to impulsive purchases.
However, not all deals are as good as they appear.
Some retailers inflate the price of items, leading to events that show the reductions as better deals than they are. Retailers also often severely reduce the items that either are soon to be discontinued from stores or are not selling well to try and sell more units.
The Hidden Cost of Poor Hardware Choices
A good choice of hardware is not only dictated by price; there are a variety of other considerations, such as specifications, size, and brand.
Poor choice in hardware can bring many disadvantages, including:
- Increased maintenance – low quality or outdated hardware typically is less reliable, causing more frequent repairs or increased downtime.
- Decreased productivity – slow or unreliable hardware can negatively impact employee satisfaction and productivity.
- Shorter lifespan – poor quality hardware often has a shorter lifespan, requiring replacement sooner and therefore having a more expensive total cost of ownership (TCO).
Making Informed Hardware Choices
- Assess Business Needs
The requirements for specification, size and brand of a device vary depending on the user’s job role and the business function.
For example, a finance apprentice who mainly uses spreadsheets and email has different hardware needs than a graphic design apprentice working with complex design software. Whilst these roles are both for apprentices, the graphic design apprentice would need more powerful hardware in comparison to a finance apprentice due to their work requirements. - Consider Long-Term Cost
Cost isn’t necessarily just the upfront cost of purchasing the hardware. Cost includes the total cost of ownership (TCO), which includes factors such as:- Maintenance
- Time lost due to poor performance
- Repair costs
- Upgrade expenses
The total cost of ownership is important to consider as the hidden extra costs can be damaging to a business, especially if it is a critical piece of infrastructure such as network equipment.
How CTRL-S Can Help
Our team of experts can help you overcome the hindrance of poor hardware by ensuring that any hardware purchased is up to the task of supporting your operations. Whether that is crunching numbers in Excel, editing creative assets in Adobe Suite, or creating 3D models in SolidWorks.
We can help navigate the Black Friday discount obstacles to ensure you receive true value with high-quality and high-performance hardware.
Get in touch today to make smarter hardware choices this Black Friday and avoid costly mistakes.
