The most recent economic slump has extended PC refreshing beyond the recommended three-year cycle. Companies should be thinking about how they will upgrade their entire PC infrastructure over the next two years in order to stay competitive. This is a monster task, so consider desktop outsourcing to save you from migration grief and high PC TCO.

What Does Desktop Outsourcing Involve?

Desktop outsourcing involves paying a fee - usually every month - to a service provider, who in turn (depending on the contract) provides, operates, maintains, and supports the customer's desktop PCs, laptops, PDAs, printers, photocopiers, and fax machines. The goal of obtaining these services is for companies to reduce costs and minimize inefficiencies by reining in otherwise chaotic desktop infrastructure management spend.

Benefits of Desktop Outsourcing

Alinean pinpoints hardware and software (23 percent),...