Hardware
You buy hardware at what it costs us
Laptops, desktops, servers, switches and firewalls, sourced and set up for you, with nothing added to the price.
This is unusual enough in this industry to be worth explaining rather than just stating. When most IT providers sell you a laptop, there's a margin on it. Sometimes it's disclosed, more often it's simply the price you're quoted, and it's a normal and accepted part of how the industry makes money.
We decided not to do it. You pay what we pay, you see the invoice, and we make our money on the monthly agreement instead. Nothing stops you buying the equipment yourself either, and when you do we'll still tell you what to get.
Why it changes the advice, not just the price
The saving is real and it isn't the main point. The point is what happens to the advice once nobody is earning a margin on the answer. A provider who profits on hardware has a quiet reason to suggest that the four-year-old machines are due for replacement, and a reason to spec the larger server.
Take the margin away and the incentive goes with it. If a machine has two good years left, saying so costs us nothing. If a smaller server does the job, we'll say that instead. Over a few years that tends to save more than the markup would have, and it's the reason this arrangement is worth more to you than the discount suggests.
What's covered
- Laptops, desktops and servers, specified for what you actually run
- Switches, firewalls, routers and Wi-Fi equipment
- Ordering, tracking and warranty registration handled for you
- New machines set up, joined to your network and protected before delivery
- Old machines wiped properly before disposal
- A device health and age report each quarter on Advanced and Premium
Hardware at cost applies on every plan. New device setup is charged per machine and is waived entirely on Premium. The quarterly device health and age report comes in on Advanced.
Compare the three plans, or read what the monthly fee covers.
Questions we get asked
- Do we have to buy hardware through you?
- No. It's usually simpler because the machine arrives configured and protected, but buying it yourself is genuinely fine and we'll tell you what to get either way.
- How do we know there's really no markup?
- You see what we paid. It's a straightforward thing to verify and that's rather the point of saying it out loud.
- What does it cost to set up a new machine?
- There's a per-device setup charge for deploying a new computer, and it's waived on the Premium plan. It's the only per-machine setup fee we have, and it does not apply to the machines you already own when you become a client.
- When should we actually replace a computer?
- Later than most providers will tell you and sooner than it becoming the reason someone can't work. On Advanced and Premium you get a device health and age report each quarter, so replacements become a plan with dates rather than an emergency purchase.
Related
Start with a 90-day plan
An hour on site, at no cost. You get a written plan covering what needs attention now, what can wait, and roughly what it costs. Yours to keep either way.