Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Computers are cheap. The people required to buy and install them at a company are not. Maybe it is time to treat the computer at work like we treat office supplies such as pens and paper.

The title is correct. Computers are too darn cheap. Desktop machines are $500 and less. Laptops are about the same price. These things are basically free.

At one time in computing history,

• Hardware – 95% of all costs
• Programmers that would keep the computer busy – 5% of all costs

At one time in computing history,

• Hardware – 5% of all costs
• Programmers that would keep the computer busy – 95% of all costs

Now, the hardware and the software in computer are so cheap, we don’t even write the bullets like those above. The computer is $500, and that is one day’s salary for a programmer. The computer will last a couple of years.

The “problem” today, is

• Computer hardware and software – 5% of all costs
• All the people in the company needed to buy a computer – 95% of all costs

What? Yes! Add the salaries of the people who order, invoice, process the bills, receive, unpack, install, and so on for a $500 computer. You have a mess. You have a lot of expense.

Computers are like office supplies – pens, pencils, pads, and such. We buy that stuff and set it on shelves in an unattended room. When people need something, they  walk in and grab it. No one counts that stuff. We  buy it every month and put it on the shelf.

Is it time to treat computers that way? Maybe not desktop machines because someone with a little skill and knowledge needs to connect all the wires. Maybe we should treat laptop computers that way. Put them on the shelf in a room and let people grab them when they need one.