Why we prefer Lenovo

Over the last two years we’ve completely redesigned our IT procurement processes. Why? Because the expectations of our staff had changed, and our process hadn’t. As consumers today we’ve become accustomed to next-day delivery of whatever we need in life. Two years ago, our four–six week IT purchasing process didn’t come anywhere close.

The first step in our old process was to create a specification and send it out to all of the suppliers on the NDNA. Once we had the quotes back we would send them to the member of staff or department to make the final choice. Through this we ended up with hardware from almost every supplier on the NDNA – making efficient management and support more difficult. This open process also took too long and reduced our visibility of the hardware being brought in. Things needed to change.

So we put our hardware procurement out to tender, and scored each bid on a number of key areas. Obviously price was an important factor, but the winning bid was always going to be the one that would help us to deliver the best service to our staff – and improve process efficiency.

We wanted a 24–48-hour delivery, and for machines to arrive built on our image and tagged for our inventory. The winning bid offered all of this, and a choice of two hardware manufacturers.

We chose Lenovo over a cheaper option for a few important reasons. Firstly because of the build quality and reliability we could expect from the number one PC supplier in the world. We were willing to pay a little more to make sure that the products would last as long as we needed them to, and we knew that more reliable hardware was the key to reducing support tickets. Secondly we were looking for stability. Lenovo came out on top again, able to offer a stable hardware and software platform that would allow us to use the same PC image for at least 12 months. After so long with a mix of manufacturers, we were also attracted to the commonality of components and peripherals, which would allow us to respond more quickly to the needs of staff. Together, these factors would reduce our total cost of ownership.

Outside of these benefits we also looked at innovation, which is another area of strength for Lenovo. Right now we’re looking at the Lenovo ThinkCenter Tiny-in-one, an incredibly versatile desktop solution. The all-in-one aspect means fewer cables, resulting in reduced set up time and higher security. When you
add on the fact that the monitor and PC unit can easily be
upgraded independently, you get a solution that is ideal for the education environment. Through technical updates with Lenovo we’ve been made aware of products like this before they are available – helping us to leverage innovations faster by building them into our plans at the earliest possible opportunity.

Today I’m proud to say that complaints are down, and it’s clear to all that we’re offering a better service to our internal customers. That’s the journey we’ve been on, and these are just some of the reasons why we prefer Lenovo.

W: www.lenovo.com