Most SMEs renew their computers in the worst possible way: when several machines fail in the same quarter. Ten identical desktops then get bought in a hurry, at full price, and the cycle repeats five years later.
There is a cheaper way to go about it.
Rolling beats replacing in bulk
Replacing 20% of the fleet every year rather than 100% every five changes three things:
- Cash flow is smoothed. A predictable annual spend replaces a spike that rarely lands at a convenient moment.
- Failures stop lining up. Machines bought on the same day age together: the drives go in the same window, and so do the batteries.
- Freed-up machines still serve. A developer's old workstation becomes the reception desk or the workshop terminal. A good share of a fleet does not need to be recent.
What actually decides a replacement
Not age. A six-year-old machine with an SSD and 16 GB is perfectly fine for office work. The real signals:
- The drive is mechanical. The only case where replacement pays for itself immediately. Moving to an SSD can cut boot times to one fifth, often for less than the new machine you were considering.
- Memory is saturated. Open the task manager mid-afternoon. Past 85% continuously, the user waits on their computer several times an hour.
- The operating system is out of support. No security updates, no discussion: it is an open door, and a compliance problem.
- The hardware blocks a business application. A new version demanding a configuration the machine does not have.
If none of the four is true, replacement is comfort, not need.
The right machine, by use
Buying the same computer for everyone is simple and expensive. Three profiles cover the vast majority of SMEs:
| Profile | What matters | What does not |
|---|---|---|
| Office work, accounting | SSD, 16 GB, a good screen | Dedicated graphics, top-end processor |
| Heavy work (CAD, video, dev) | Processor, 32 GB and up, GPU per software | Compact form factor |
| Field, travel | Battery, weight, ruggedness, 4G | Maximum power |
The most common mistake is saving on the screen. An employee spends seven hours a day in front of it: a good 27-inch costs less than a day of work lost to eye strain and stacked windows.
What to check before ordering
- A real inventory. Make, age, drive, memory, warranty. Half of companies do not have one, and find three ghost machines while making it.
- Current licences. What is tied to a machine and what follows the user.
- Local data. Anything not on the server or in the cloud leaves with the machine. That is where years of files disappear.
- On-site warranty. On a critical machine, next-day intervention beats a three-week repair shipment.
The honest arithmetic
A decent office machine costs between CHF 900 and 1,400 including the screen, and lasts five to seven years. Per month, that is less than a phone plan: for a tool used seven hours a day.
So the question is never "can we push it one more year". It is "how much time per week is this machine costing the person using it".
