Computer Equipment Upgrade (Research Paper Sample)

Computer Equipment Upgrade
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Summary
Upgrading of computer equipments involves acquisition and installation of new equipments. The new equipments can be interconnected with other existing equipments or installed into the systems as standalone systems (Business Link, n.d). This report looks at the acquisition options available together with their strengths and drawbacks at the Ramsey Inc. the research will be aimed at looking at the different ways of acquisition of computer equipment including software and hardware by the institution. The organization will have to determine which acquisition method is more applicable to it depending on the advantages and disadvantages that are associated with it.
Understanding the equipment acquisition methods, the company will be able to select the most applicable method that will be used by the company to acquire new equipments and replace the old and aging ones making sure that it does not incur losses while in operation. Ramsey inc. will be able to use the information provided in this paper to decide on the better way of acquisition of computer equipments. This will serve as a guide to the management in the decision making process which will help the organization achieve its goals at the minimum costs possible while at the same time maximizing its profits.
Introduction
Information technology use has increased in the current past due to development of the holding technologies in computer science and communication. Most of organizations have modernized their operations to be in the same level of technology advancement (Antonucci, 1998:5). This major technology cut-off has seen the organizations acquire computer equipments and programs for use in their operations. Computer equipment can be acquired by an organization by two major ways which are either purchasing or leasing of equipments (Boer et al, 2003: 3). System upgrade needs an informed approach since the organization needs to have a substantial amount of budget to oversee the success of the whole process. This paper looks at the cons and pros of purchasing and leasing of computer equipments.
Purpose of the study
The study on the acquisition of computer equipments is aimed at giving insight to the company on the forms of acquisition of equipment that the company should adopt. It is also aimed at showing the cons and pros of the methods of equipment acquisition that the company uses currently. With this understanding the company will be able to determine whether the acquisition method in use at that particular time is economically viable and if not device a strategy to use another method of acquiring computer equipments.
The study addresses the issues that are associated with each of the acquisition method used by the company and formulates recommendations that if observed by its management will ensure that the company does not incur unreasonable losses concerning the acquisition of equipments together with making sure the products they acquire are current and able to steer the company in the right direction.
Scope of the study
The report will cover majorly the computing industry and the issues that are related to it. It will be aimed at finding out the major methods of equipment acquisition that a company can use to acquire new computer equipment together with the strengths that are associated with each acquisition method. This will be a general case that affects all the participants and all the companies that use computing services. With the advancement and the big strides being made in the computing industry and developments being made in the technology industry, it will be very important for an organization to move with the advancements being made technology wise.
In addition to this, the report will look at a case study of Ramsey Inc. it will determine the ways that the company uses to acquire its computer equipment and how this is viable considering the understanding of the strengths and drawbacks of the forms of acquisition which can either be leasing or buying the products or equipments outright from the vendors. This connection and understanding will present the company with the information that can e incorporated in the management to improve its productivity.
Finally the report will offer some recommendations to Ramsey inc. on some of the measures that the company may undertake to ensure that its equipment is up-to-date and that the acquisition method used is viable economically ensuring that the company does not incur unbearable losses on computer equipment.
Example
Considering the type of work the company, Ramsey Inc undertakes, it is very important for it have a large network of computing equipment. Ramsey Inc. is a company that is involved with the conservation of the environment. for it to perform its tasks efficiently it needs connection with the municipalities who are able to undertake the overall role of undertaking the mission in their areas with the central government undertaking the role of monitoring the undergoing projects. For this to happen it has to acquire computer equipment from the vendors of computer manufacturing companies.
For instance the company acquired computers by outright buying from Microsoft Ltd and it was able to computerize its operations and all its offices. It also leased networking equipment from Cisco systems. Using these equipments the company was able to network all its offices thus improving its working and reducing costs.
Leasing partners, Time and Cost of Implementation
The leasing partners of Ramsey Inc. include some of the largest manufacturing industries of computing equipments including hardware and software. They include the Microsoft Inc. and Cisco systems. These companies provide the much required computing equipments and installation and maintenance services to Ramsey Inc. these companies provide Ramsey Inc. with the much needed service of supplying them with computer equipments which they can use in their operations.
The time of the lease may take and depends on the agreement between the company, Ramsey Inc and the vendors of the products. most of the leases that the company has entered are for a period of five years. This is the period which will take the company to fully pay for the networking devices that it gets from the network solutions company Cisco Systems. The vendors of the equipments will undertake all the roles of ensuring that the components of the company are up-to-date and they are updated regularly.
Discussion
Purchasing is one of the ways which an organization can acquire the computer equipments that it may require for use in its departments. Purchasing involves the organization getting into an agreement with the computer equipments supplying company vendors or agents (Sherman, 2004). The organization enters into agreement with the supplying vendors to buy the equipments. The purchasing organization is usually allowed a warranty period by the vendor during which the vendors will fix any problems that occur in the systems during this period. The advantages of this acquisition option include: the organization or individual acquires complete ownership of the hardware and software components and acquires the right to use them as he/she wishes to (Waxler, 2007). The organization will also not be tied into agreements with the supplier which could result into strains if the needs of the business or organization changes. Buying outright the equipments might also pose some disadvantages such as the organization will be required to pay the full cost before getting to use the equipments which can cause a lot of strain to the budget of the organization (Business Link, n.d). Since computer equipments depreciate and become obsolete within a very short time it will be very costly since the organization will require an upgrade.
Leasing computer hardware involves the organization getting into an agreement with the supplier to pay for the equipment within a span of time (Qian & Burritt, 2011). The purchasing organization and the supplier sign a contact whereby the organization will be able to use the equipment as it pays for it in bits at the same time the supplier providing maintenance services to the organization. Leasing offers several advantages such as allowing the organization to pay the full cost in bit...