Blog / It’s only a simple laptop. What’s the big deal?
Lifting the hood on what it takes to implement a computer—properly
Like many of you, I’m bored sitting at home and I’m starting to go a bit crazy. To alleviate that boredom, I’ve started to clean out some of my old computer equipment, refurbishing and selling the usable gear on Kijiji and Facebook. As you can imagine, I have a lot of this stuff. I came across a Lenovo tablet/laptop that I bought in late 2016. It hadn’t been powered on for a couple of years. I charged the battery, powered it up, and by some stroke of luck even remembered the password. Bingo! I was in.
What a piece of junk!
To backtrack, I knew when I bought it that it was going to be slower than I was used to. It had a 10 inch screen, 2GB of RAM, a 64GB Solid State Drive, and Windows 10 Home edition—not a performance computer by any standards. But I told myself that I was only going to use it to check emails, visit social media, and watch the odd movie; it would be fine.
Before long, I had loaded Office 365 (full version), OneDrive, three web browsers, two movie players, a music app, and a bunch of helpful utilities (anti-virus, anti-spam, Adobe readers and players, and so on). That’s about the time I stopped using it because it was too slow to be useful. It’s not hard to see I bought the wrong unit for my actual use, so it sat in the corner until last week.
Around the same time, we were having a conversation at the office about the length of time the average computer setup is taking. Like any organization, we’re looking to improve efficiencies and we’ve invested in a lot of tools that make the average workstation or laptop setup quicker, more accurate, and more complete. When we deliver it to the client, we want to minimize the disruption to their workflow. Despite these automated tools and better processes, we’re finding that start-to-finish setup is taking longer and we want to reduce our delivery time. But why is it taking longer?
What relates these two stories?
The answer is quite simple: no business, clinic, or government organization buys a computer just because it’s nice to own. They invest in usable tools to solve business problems, and managers expect these investments to have a typical lifespan of five years. The asset must add value to the organization.
As technology advances, systems become more complex and require more effort to get the configuration just right. It’s hardly plug-and-play. Here’s what really happens.
The selection process starts by understanding the actual use of the new laptop (or workstation). In addition to common applications (Microsoft Office suite, Teams, Adobe Reader and so on), each user needs specialized software applications; accountants and finance officers need different applications than the field worker or bylaw enforcement officer, CAOs and other executives need time management and reporting tools, engineers and GIS technicians need design programs with big monitors, and health workers need secure access to Electronic Medical Records. These specialized applications drive the hardware requirements for the computer and accessories (such as monitors and printers). Thus, before we recommend a suitable unit, we have to know it’s application. The more we know, the better the recommendation. Recommendations often extend beyond the basic hardware, and can include additional warranties, specialized accessories (like a laptop docking station or spare power adapter).
We like to ask a LOT of questions.
Once the client decides on a unit, our purchaser has to order the computer and the proper accessories. This includes common software that might be required; Microsoft 365 (one of six variations), Trend anti-virus (one of four variations), two-factor authentication (one of three types), Adobe software (four variations), and, potentially, server access licensing. It’s not uncommon for a single laptop or workstation order to have a dozen separate components in the configuration coming from 10 or more vendors.
Once we receive the device and related accessories, our techs perform the in-house, onsite, or remote implementation work. This can include as many as a dozen steps and four or more techs, and each has a specialization:
- Install core system updates to Windows 10 and the computer firmware
- Install specialized device drivers for accessories (example: printers, docking stations, and wireless accessories)
- Install core applications (Microsoft 365 and more applications described above)
- Configure network settings (including wired and WiFi)
- Apply security settings (including anti-virus and two-factor authentication)
- Configure the user logon account
- Synchronize configurations and settings with the user’s old system
- Install specialized applications (often with the help of the 3rd party application vendor)
- Install the equipment at the user’s location (or ship it for remote installation)
- Help the user with initial logon and ensure the configurations are correct. This includes troubleshooting onsite issues
- Remove and de-commission the old equipment (that includes securely wiping the system of any user or corporate data)
- Follow up with the client to ensure everything is working correctly
It’s not hard to see there are lots of opportunities for roadblocks or delays, especially if the client is in a rush to get their new equipment. TRINUS works hard to ensure these are kept to an absolute minimum and our dedicated staff do a great job. The greatest satisfaction they have is when a new user hardly notices any disruption in their workflow and their new system brings a smile to their face. Sometimes, no (callback) news is good news.
That’s Mission Accomplished for us!
And what happened to my junky laptop? I installed a fresh copy of Windows 10, choosing to reduce the number of applications and utilities. It performed well for a 4-year old system. I advertised it on Facebook for a great price and a mom bought it the same day for her son to do schoolwork from home during the pandemic. I checked with her this morning and she said it brought a smile to her son’s face. That’s my mission accomplished.
If you’d like more information about great value laptops and computers for your firm and advice on choosing the correct device for your application, or want to book an appointment to chat about it, please contact me or your TRINUS Account Manager.
Thanks.
Dave White
TRINUS
stress-free IT
