Infrastructure & on-site

Should you buy your own IT equipment or have it managed?

2 min read Guillaume Duveau

Buying your computers online looks simple and cheap. The real cost shows up afterwards: the wrong choice, the setup, the breakdown with no one to call. Having your equipment advised and managed mainly changes what happens once the delivery is done.

Buying your computers yourself, online, looks simple and cheap. And for a single machine, sometimes it is. The real cost of an IT estate is not the purchase price: it is the time lost choosing badly, configuring, and what happens on the day a device breaks down with no one to call.

So the question is less “buy or have someone buy” than “who looks after it afterwards”.

The trap of the listed price

A machine that is underpowered and has to be replaced in eighteen months, or overpowered for a use that never required it: both cost dearly, but neither shows at the moment of purchase. To that you add the hours of setup and integration, rarely counted. The right benchmark is the full cost over the device’s lifetime.

What advised and managed equipment changes

The point is not only to buy at the right price. It is to have a view on what lasts and what serves no purpose, equipment chosen for the way you work, delivered configured and ready to use, then integrated into your Microsoft 365 environment and followed afterwards. That integration is what makes managed devices possible, simplifying daily life for your team.

A single point of contact, from the purchase advice through to the day the machine has to be replaced.

Warranty and repair: who does what

The equipment warranty is the manufacturer’s responsibility, not your provider’s. The right instinct is to choose, at purchase, the level of warranty or maintenance suited to how important each machine is. When something breaks, the provider helps you call on that warranty; on the software and configuration side, however, they are the ones you call.

Buy, and finance if needed

Buying does not mean paying upfront. If you prefer to spread the expense, financing lets you split the payments while remaining the owner of the equipment at the end. That is the difference with leasing, where you own nothing when the contract is over.

That is the approach of our hardware and software support: the right choice, advised and managed, by the same people who look after your IT.

Frequently asked

Isn't buying online yourself cheaper?
At purchase, sometimes. But the listed price doesn't count the time spent choosing, configuring and integrating the machine into your environment, nor what happens when it breaks down. The right calculation is the full cost over the device's lifetime, not the receipt total.
Who covers the equipment warranty?
The manufacturer, not your IT provider. Good support means choosing the right level of warranty or manufacturer maintenance contract according to how important the machine is, then helping you call on it when the time comes.
Can the expense be spread out?
Yes, through financing: you buy the equipment and become its owner, the financing simply spreads the payments. That is different from leasing, where you own nothing at the end.
What if we have already bought our equipment?
No problem. Existing equipment integrates and is managed like the rest. You don't have to start from scratch to benefit from a well-run estate.

Let's talk.

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