How to spec the perfect PC for your business

A big part of IT procurement is ‘spec’ing’ solutions and determining what components and product features best meet the needs of the organisation in question. It’s not uncommon for a business to overestimate what they need in terms of tech. An unfortunate consequence of that is teams spending tonnes of money and blowing budgets to procure solutions that are essentially overkill.

When it comes to choosing the right business PC, whether laptop or desktop, procurement officers need to consider hardware and software, ensuring each has the capacity and capability to meet organisational needs. A good place to start is knowing what role the device needs to play in the organisation.

Know your needs and equip accordingly

PCs have become essential across every business function, from sales and administration, product research and development, to marketing and finance. Their design and configuration should reflect the specific work application they are procured for. While solutions may need to meet a minimum set of operating requirements (for example, all PCs need to run the same CRM and HR platforms), a high-spec, high-performance rig isn’t necessary for simple business processes such as capturing sales data or firing off promotional emails.

The age of remote working and hybrid office models has heavily influenced what businesses expect from PCs. While many corporates in South Africa have mandated employees to return to the office, the last few years have proven the viability and necessity of portable, versatile devices. Not every employee will return to the office and not every employee will work from the office permanently. Some will need laptops to work from home or other remote locations, and that needs to be factored into the procurement process.

That said, needing a PC that’s more portable doesn’t mean businesses have to compromise on performance and technical capabilities. Innovations in PC hardware mean they can still spec solutions to get the job done, whether they’re used on the couch at home, in an office cubicle or at a conference venue.

A list of the essentials

Enterprise PCs don’t just need to embody South African businesses today. They also need to be future-ready, capable of keeping pace with the rest of the world and helping employees work smarter and faster. Here are the four primary hardware features that IT leads should consider when spec’ing a PC:

• Form factor: This one is self-explanatory, but IT leads need to determine whether a desktop or laptop is better suited to their use cases. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, though laptops offer a more integrated solution compared to desktops that require numerous peripherals and accessories.

• Processor: IT leads need to consider what programs and applications they want their PCs to run, especially if they require processors that can handle specialised workloads like AI-enabled apps, sustain high levels of employee productivity and deliver a smooth user experience.

• Memory: During the typical workday, employees run multiple applications at the same time. How smoothly all those applications run depends on the amount of RAM their PCs have. The more RAM a PC has, the higher the volume and complexity levels of the programs it can run. IT leads should take this into account and ensure every PC has the memory to support its use case.

• Storage: In addition to selecting the kind of storage technology (HDD vs SSD), IT leads need PCs equipped with enough long-term memory to avoid running out of space and prevent slow runtimes. It’s also worth mentioning that as more and more companies make use of cloud storage solutions, on-device storage becomes less critical, which should be taken into account when considering what PCs to procure.

There are other things to consider when spec’ing a PC, but these serve as the fundamental components of any solution. What matters is that businesses have solutions that not only meet their current digital and infrastructure needs but are also scalable in their design and use case, which in turn helps businesses grow and evolve over time.

A trusted brand makes all the difference

As businesses make use of PCs for more and more use cases, manufacturers and vendors have responded by expanding and refining their product portfolios to align with those use cases. Going with an established brand also helps companies by establishing a long-term relationship, one that provides them with after sales support and warranty assistance and has proven itself to be the ideal partner in their digital transformation.

With the right approach and understanding the technical requirements of their organisations, businesses in South Africa can spec their PCs right and invest in solutions that deliver long-term, added value.