- Who should we buy from?
- How many systems do we need?
- Should we buy laptops?
Desktops, CPUs, and Servers must Know?
These systems are the core of your business. If you have a good IT staff, you can pick and choose individual systems and servers that you like from a variety of vendors. I myself am a huge fan of DIY computing and the fine-tuning and customizing that comes with it. But a DIY office-computing setup could quickly become a nightmare to support. You also run into major problems with warranties and finding an individual to contact in the event of a failure. If you go with a large vendor such as IBM Small Biz Solutions, you will be allowed to finance the systems and can be assured of tech support if anything goes wrong. At the same time, you may be locked into whatever systems that these vendors provide. Regardless of which options you choose, there are several basic things to consider.
Naturally, the first thing an SMB needs to ask itself is: "How many systems do we need?" This may seem like a simple question, but there are several factors that contribute to this number. Do we really need to completely rid ourselves of all of our older systems, or can any be saved? Last year's PC may be perfectly adequate for a junior employee who doesn't need much besides Internet access and word processing.
A solid business system such as the Dell OptiPlex 745 is perfect for a small business. It's powerful, with an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, but, at $1,502, it won't break the bank. Now I know there are those who will say that a dual-core chipset may be a bit much for a corporate desktop, but that is shortsighted logic. These systems will have to run Windows Vista and the updated software that is created for that powerhungry OS. A chipset like this one will allow you to run large Excel spreadsheets while simultaneously running QuickBooks consolidations.
Another popular option is to do away with desktops altogether and purchase a fleet of laptops for your business. A few years ago this would have meant buying large, clunky desktop replacement units, but not anymore. Notebooks such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X60 are ultraportable and built for business. You can get a dual-core processor and up to 2GB of RAM on this Vista Business–ready machine.
A server is a very different animal. Servers are too specialized to go into in a basic overview like this one, but we can give you an important tip: Reliability is much more important than speed! A server that has a guaranteed uptime of three years is far more valuable than one that operates at high speeds but may leave you in the lurch.
Most offices are not homogeneous. Employees involved with creative applications tend to prefer Apple systems. For other office workers, going with Apple or not could be a matter of personal preference. The Apple iMac is a solid SMB system. The Mac mini is fine if you're going to recycle old monitors, and the iMac is a good middle-of-the-road system. Note that Apple tech support is specialized and may be harder to hire. Windows-based IT staff may not want to touch Macs, and vice versa. Also, Apple isn't actively pursuing the SMB market, so OS builds will be more of a hands-on affair for your IT staff. At least Apple supports all recent hardware in OS X 10.4 and 10.5; this means that a disk image from a PowerBook G4 should work on the latest iMac with Intel.
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