While the industry standard for a desktop lifespan is four to five years, and that of a laptop is two or three years, there are no absolute numbers. The older a PC gets, the more IT will have to add new hardware in order for the machine to keep up with rapidly bloating software applications. After a certain point, these aging PCs reach the threshold of diminishing returns, where the upgrade costs meet the down-sloping functionality. That is when a new PC must be purchased.
By devoting time to drafting a policy for the assessment phase of the PC lifecycle, enterprises can effectively manage and stabilize PC expenditure.