Gartner: Unternehmen sollten Consumer PC-Angeboten widerstehen

Laut dem IT-Marktforschungs- und Beratungsunternehmen Gartner gehen einige Unternehmen fälschlicherweise davon aus, dass kostengünstigere Consumer PCs geeignet sind, im täglichen Arbeitsumfeld genutzt zu werden. Unternehmen, die in Consumer PCs und Notebooks investieren, riskieren langfristig höhere Kosten durch instabile Plattformen, unzureichende Qualitätskontrollen und begrenzten Support.

 
„Unternehmen schaffen sich Consumer PCs an, um Kosten einzusparen und technisch affine Benutzer zu besänftigen, die oft die neuesten Consumer-Geräte auch im Unternehmen nutzen wollen“, erklärt Leslie Fiering, Research Vice President bei Gartner. „Doch sind Consumer Geräte nicht für IT Systeme innerhalb von Unternehmen geeignet, da ihnen viele Eigenschaften fehlen, die im täglichen Wirtschaftsumfeld benötigt werden.“

Egham, UK – 30th November 2007 – Some organisations are incorrectly assuming that less-expensive, consumer-class PCs are suitable for business use.  Gartner today warned organisations that invest in consumer PCs and notebooks risk higher total cost of ownership (TCO) in terms of platform instability, less quality control and limited support.

“There is growing pressure for IT organisations to consider purchasing consumer PCs primarily as a cost-saving measure for the business and also to appease users who are becoming more technology-astute and often want the latest consumer features on their corporate systems,” said Leslie Fiering, research vice-president at Gartner.  “However, consumer devices are no substitute for business-class devices as they lack many vital features that businesses need.”

Ms Fiering acknowledged that given the current low cost of consumer hardware, IT managers might find themselves under pressure to justify the higher costs of enterprise PCs to senior management.  She urged them to fully explain the likely TCO implications of purchasing consumer PCs and notebooks for the workforce.   “Companies should avoid the inclination to purchase consumer systems for business use and instead realise that the premium price for a business-class system reflects real value in system stability, comprehensive quality testing and extensive ongoing services,” said Ms Fiering.  “Those that pursue the consumer alternative are likely to find that their initial cost savings will quickly be followed by numerous charges and compromises.”

 
For corporate buyers standardisation is essential because it affords less complexity and lower TCO.  Even minor changes to a corporate system have the potential to create incompatibility and require additional testing and system support.  For this reason, corporate buyers are less interested in the latest new features, focusing instead on the following attributes:

 
     Platform stability (a base level of predictable functionality)

-          Longer product cycles (at least 18 months or longer)

-          System design and features