(By Info-Tech Analyst Mark Tauschek - Printed with permission from Processor magazine www.processor.com)
Have you ever wondered how much extended warranties on desktops and laptops cost the enterprise? It is becoming increasingly challenging to figure out because vendors are baking the cost of a three-year basic extended warranty into the cost of the hardware. For example, Dell and HP include a three-year basic extended warranty with all of their desktops and laptops. At a glance, you might think, “This isn’t costing me anything extra, so I’ll take it,” but is it really “free”? The answer is no, it is not.
The inclusion of extended warranties is a relatively new phenomenon. It used to be that vendors would include a standard one-year warranty and charge extra for the extended warranty. They still do charge for extended warranties longer than the new three-year standard or for those that include end-user support. But the question really is how much are you paying for the extended warranty, and how can you avoid paying the extra cost?