If you are anything like me, when i’m looking for my next purchase for my home or where to go on holiday i’ll do my research or ask for advice from an expert. As a business owner or staff member – do you do the same thing with IT purchases in your organisation?

Here at IT Services at CAS Ltd, as part of our procurement service within our IT Support contracts, if you come to us requesting a purchase of a device such as a laptop, printer or other item we will complete the whole IT journey for you. From taking the request, to researching the marketplace, getting the best price to delivery and install – we do it all.

I’m a firm believer that if you get the right item for your organisation, sometimes at a higher cost initially, this will pay off in the long run, both financially and operationally.

Let’s work through a little maths exercise. If you need 5 laptops and decide to spend only £350 on them the likelihood is that they will give you around 3 years of good life. Over a 10 year period you will have spent £5250 on laptops. If you had spent £500 on the laptops then i’d expect a lifespan of around 5 years (at least) which would result a total expenditure of £5000 over that 10 year period. This small cost saving is just part of the picture though, you will have also had a more efficient set of laptops over that period and less hassle over that period.

Getting the right IT item for your organisation at the right price is one way that any organisation can really get best value out of their funds and expert advice shouldn’t be disregarded when it’s available.

As i intimated a few paragraphs ago, it isn’t just about pure money. Good procurement is about a number of things. Just as important is getting the right device for your organisation that fits your needs and picking the right manufacturer so that you know you will get the quality and longevity you need from it. Correctly identifying what you need from your device and choosing the right manufacturer, coupled with the right price, can ensure your organisation has exactly what it needs going forward for the coming years.

Please contact me at matthew.morling@communityactionsuffolk.org.uk or on 01473 345321 and I’d be happy to have a discussion about anything in this area.