The total cost of ownership (TCO) for laptops is generally higher than that of a comparable desktop PC. Most companies implement criteria for assigning laptops to ensure a return on investment that justifies the higher TCO. However, most organizations do not re-evaluate laptop assignment as technology and knowledge worker trends evolve and the business changes. This can result in the unnecessary assignment of laptops to some employees.

Increasing pressure on IT to reduce costs and adopt more frugal spending practices has reignited the great laptop versus desktop debate in many companies. Rather than falling into a laptop versus desktop debate trap, Info-Tech recommends positioning the reassessment of laptop deployments as an exercise to match the appropriate technologies with knowledge worker trends, focusing on cost savings opportunities that may result.