The global business forecast is gloomy, to say the least – UK inflation has risen at its fastest rate in almost 40 years*. Prices in August 2022 were than they were just 12 months ago.
As soaring energy costs, war and the ripple effect from the global pandemic hugely impact the economy, businesses are once again facing a financial storm as recession looms once more.
According to their annual international study of IT budgets and tech trends, The 2023 State of IT, Spiceworks Ziff Davis (SWZD) report that the overwhelming majority of businesses surveyed, 83% are concerned about recession in 2023; 65% of organisations in Europe are actively preparing, taking precautionary measures for the economic slowdown forecasted. As you might expect, their key strategy is to cut non-essential spending through a series of belt-tightening measures.
Over a quarter of businesses are planning to delay their planned purchases of new equipment. However, surprisingly the report unexpectedly found that despite the fears of recession, only 6% of respondents plan to cut their IT spending+. In fact, over half intend to actually increase their IT spend.
On average, IT budgets are expected to grow by 13% in 2023.
The 2023 State of IT, Spiceworks Ziff Davis. Sept 2022.
Are businesses just optimistic despite the recession appearing to be a foregone conclusion? Even in a more stable economy, organisations need to maximise their budget and keep costs down. It’s suggested that the reason for this growth in spending isn’t a highly unusual sense of confidence amongst businesses.
Elevated inflation is perhaps the biggest cloud in those overcast skies for UK businesses. With expectations that it will continue to rise, IT budgets are increasing in response to soaring inflation. There will always be a need to meet the changing demands of the business; additional staff members may need to be recruited and those working remotely still need to be supported. As we witnessed with the pandemic, the cybercriminals will see the economic downturn as little more than an opportunity. Whilst upgrade cycles are a costly expense, outdated infrastructure must be updated to maintain a high level of cybersecurity – budgets cannot simply be frozen, they must be prioritised.
More and more businesses are reaping the multiple environmental and business achieving the above aims whilst making the essential cost savings that are demanded by today’s economic climate.
But, is ? Just how cost-effective is it? – specifically, how much can you save?
When purchased from a reputable IT reseller who has undertaken professional data erasure, component and system upgrades themselves, renewed IT devices are as good as new; many would not notice the difference.
But crucially, they are far more affordable, helping CIOs and CISOs maximise their stretched departmental budgets and prioritise resources.
Research suggests that refurbished IT equipment is between 70^– 80%# cheaper than a brand-new asset.
Affordability.
When buying a refurbished laptop, for example, you will be able to purchase a model with a higher specification when it comes to key attributes – the processor, memory, storage, screen size and display quality. A more efficient machine with a faster processor and larger memory will also increase staff productivity.
A brand-new device may boast a larger solid state drive or more RAM, but these components can easily be upgraded by a professional refurbisher or even added at a later date. Committed to the circular economy and social impact, some IT asset disposition companies now offer this comprehensive, full-circle service. Data destruction services can also provide added peace of mind that your ‘new’ device has been extensively rebuilt and tested by expert technicians.
The major PC manufacturers release new laptops three times a year. ** However, this has been known to be as little as 3 months. In 2018, Dell faced criticism for releasing the Dell XPS 13 in November 2017, only to unveil a far faster and more technically advanced model immediately after the Christmas period in January. **
Due to the fast turnaround, often the specification difference between the new versions and the previous model it replaced is negligible. It can take several generations for significant advancements to be made.
However, this rapid release of new models can be advantageous for those choosing renewed devices. Refurbished models have a higher value than the latest edition from the same manufacturer. # Let’s look at this in greater detail…
Specific model comparison.
Taking some of the most popular business laptop models, Tier1 Group’s research compared refurbished models with the latest version released by the same manufacturer. The models had the same processor, memory and hard drive.
The direct cost comparison at device level shows that on average businesses could save over 71%.
Tier1 Group
IT budgets vary from industry to industry but let’s take a UK financial services organisation as an example. According to Computer Economics, the total IT budget in this sector is between 4.4 – 11.4% of their total annual revenue. The 2023 State of IT report states that on average companies spend 30% of the total IT budget on new hardware. +
Therefore, if a corporation within this sector were able to reduce this figure by over 70%, ++ they could save tens of thousands of pounds – every year.
Refurbished technology upgrades.
If you’re deciding on whether to purchase new or refurbished laptops for your organisation, you can make further budget savings when renewed devices are purchased as part of your three-year hardware upgrade cycle. Many IT re-commerce companies offer bulk purchase discounts when multiple devices are procured, many offer large discounts when purchasing 3 or more devices; at an enterprise business level, this can soon mount up to a substantial sum. In addition, unlike new equipment, renewed devices are available immediately; no more long manufacturer lead times to impact your team’s productivity.
When incorporating the purchase of refurbished equipment into your upgrade cycle, inevitably, you are likely to have redundant IT equipment that you need to dispose of responsibility to meet your obligations with the EU’s WEEE directive. You may look to sell redundant IT assets or you can recycle their components once they really have reached the end of life. Both provide a residual payment back to your business – a handy boost to any cooperation’s budget in uncertain times. As IT asset disposal companies are knowledgeable about the remanufacturing components sector, you will receive the very best residual return for the assets you are disposing of.
There are several key advantages to purchasing and undertaking disposition through the same ITAD partner. You will reduce internal administration including the time it takes your IT team to set up and install a new asset, making life that bit easier. Many offer lifecycle or maintenance services and remote office support, which helps to free up even more resources.
An ITAD supplier will also provide an all-important ITAD chain of custody. An IT asset disposal accreditation certificate will accompany every piece of sanitised equipment, proving your compliance with data protection laws and preventing future data security issues.
Whilst IT budgets will increase to combat the inflation rises and recession, organisations must prioritise their IT spending, seeking alternative hardware solutions that provide far greater cost-effectiveness. By switching to an upgrade cycle which includes comparable refurbished devices, companies could save over 70% of their new IT asset budget, amounting to a substantial cost saving to help businesses to weather yet another turbulent financial period.
*The BBC, +Spiceworks Zipp Davis, ^Small Business, #Signals IT, **Laptop Magazine, ++Tier1 Group,
tier1 Group are the UK’s leading IT asset disposal organisation. We champion a comprehensive, circular approach to environmentally friendly ITAD and refurbished device resale. We operate our own online store, tier1online.com and are proud to hold an ‘Excellent’, 5-star Trustpilot customer rating.
To find out how our secure data erasure, refurbishment and re-commerce services can support your organisation – contact us on 0161 777 1000 (Manchester), 01621 484380 (Maldon) or visit www.tier1.com/contactus
Resources.
LinkedIn, Cell Culture Dish, Education Technology, Spiceworks Zipp Davis, Hoxton Macs, Tier1 Group, Signals IT, Small Business, Easy Tech Junkie, The Laptop Magazine, Commuter Economics, The BBC, Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft,
