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While they have become well-established in more developed markets, refurbished systems, inspite of their obvious advantages, are yet to find a foothold in the Middle East. The prevailing scenario indicates that it might take a lot more than just maturing IT mindsets to effect a turnaround.
Refurbished systems are not a new phenomenon. Over the past decade, renewed information technology systems have been growing in relevance as viable alternatives to new equipment across the globe.
Systems that have been renewed have found an easy uptake among companies, especially in the more developed markets of the US and Europe, simply because of the many advantages that they bring.
If there is a market for the old product, it is remanufactured. If there is no market for the product, it is dismantled and used as spare parts. Up to 99.5% of a system is being re-used in one way or another.
"The biggest success with refurbished systems has been in Europe. But we support many countries, outside Europe and in the larger EMEA region, and the market for these systems is steadily growing across them," says Elias Tomaras, CEE and MEMA regions' business development and program manager at HP.
There are some obvious advantages to refurbished systems. To begin with, they come at a lower cost to their newer counterparts, and this difference in price can vary from the minimal to the significant.
"The difference between new and renewed is only the price. If it has to do with ProLiant servers it is 5% less when renewed. If it has to do with storage or business critical systems it is 10% or 15% less than the new systems," points out Tomaras.
"It depends on the market dynamics, where systems that were hot as new, are hot as refurbished, and systems that were not doing too good as new, are not doing too good on the used market. However, as a general rule, Sun tries to maintain a logical approach. Refurbished product pricing is lower than the equivalent systems sold as new (even if warranty and quality is the same). The older the product is, the lower the price will be compared to the original new price," states Iain Jardin, SEE systems practice manager at Sun Microsystems.
Most refurbished hardware, especially non-critical ones, if re-manufactured the right way, can provide the same quality and performance as their newer counterparts are capable of.
They can also prove to be a much ‘greener' choice in IT equipment than any of the new-fangled technology, according to ecological experts, since they reduce the overall environmental cost involved in the manufacture of new hardware and IT infrastructure.
As IT managers across developed markets try to cut costs, while continuing to increase productivity, these two critical factors have pushed refurbished systems to become an increasingly popular choice over the last five years.
Many global enterprises have invested in these systems for running or delivering non-business-critical applications, and also for options when setting up remote disaster recovery sites. The money saved on refurbished systems has then been channelled into other necessary projects for the organisation or for obtaining additional services from vendors.
Vendor speak
In response to the growing demand for these systems, especially in certain markets, vendors have come out with their own programmes to address this revenue-generating segment.
"As part of its global citizenship programme and its higher ecological consciousness drive, HP is involved in several initiatives. First, a customer can return old equipment to HP and we will replace it with bigger or newer systems. Second, we have a developed programme for recycling, where we collect equipment from China and the US. We are now expanding that to other regions. The third one involves return of systems for cash, which we do for smaller customers and home users. HP also makes it easy to donate used equipment for further use. The newest programme involves the refurbishment of certain systems, which are then marketed to customers across the globe," states Tomaras.
Refurbishing process
1. Used equipment is received by the recovery specialist who creates a specific inventory
2. At the factory, each unit is tested by personnel, and replaced and repaired as necessary to fit manufacturing specifications on these items
3. They are then cleaned and fit into their appropriate places in the overall IT equipment
4. They are checked across standards and specifications, depending on the country or region that they will be shipped to
5. These systems are then marketed and sold in the specified country that the system is meant for
How to buy a refurbished system
1. Focus - know what you are buying refurbished systems for. Despite their advantages, they will not fit every environment
2. Research - check out the refurbishing process of the vendor in question. Different companies handle this in different ways; finding out the details will help you understand what you can expect from these systems
3. Analyse certifications - look for certifications from independent providers attesting to the general quality of the vendor's refurbished systems
4. Licences - check what software licences come along with the systems
5. Warranty and support - many refurbished systems come with limited warranty provided by the vendors. However, this can be applicable only in certain geographic areas. Look into whether your area is covered by the warranty before investing
6. Buying route - try and buy refurbished systems from the manufacturer at all points in time. The reseller or partner should be a second choice
7. Return policy - check if your refurbished system investment comes with a well-laid out return policy, just in case you encounter problems later on, and require replacements
8. Conduct pilots - never, ever buy renewed systems based on promises alone. Bring them into your environment and run thorough tests in your production scenario to get an accurate idea of how the systems function
1. Used equipment is received by the recovery specialist who creates a specific inventory
2. At the factory, each unit is tested by personnel, and replaced and repaired as necessary to fit manufacturing specifications on these items
3. They are then cleaned and fit into their appropriate places in the overall IT equipment
4. They are checked across standards and specifications, depending on the country or region that they will be shipped to
5. These systems are then marketed and sold in the specified country that the system is meant for
How to buy a refurbished system
1. Focus - know what you are buying refurbished systems for. Despite their advantages, they will not fit every environment
2. Research - check out the refurbishing process of the vendor in question. Different companies handle this in different ways; finding out the details will help you understand what you can expect from these systems
3. Analyse certifications - look for certifications from independent providers attesting to the general quality of the vendor's refurbished systems
4. Licences - check what software licences come along with the systems
5. Warranty and support - many refurbished systems come with limited warranty provided by the vendors. However, this can be applicable only in certain geographic areas. Look into whether your area is covered by the warranty before investing
6. Buying route - try and buy refurbished systems from the manufacturer at all points in time. The reseller or partner should be a second choice
7. Return policy - check if your refurbished system investment comes with a well-laid out return policy, just in case you encounter problems later on, and require replacements
8. Conduct pilots - never, ever buy renewed systems based on promises alone. Bring them into your environment and run thorough tests in your production scenario to get an accurate idea of how the systems function
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