Build vs. Buy - Getting Harder to Justify?

[LeeJend]

All of the PC's are Dell's, but none are the same model. We buy as we need, so they are all different. We don't have a corporate edition of XP/Office so dropping an image in and changing licenses for about 10 different software packages as well as Windows wouldn't really be that much faster.

There are CD Keychangers for Windows and Office so they can be imaged and then re-keyed and reactivated. I suspect there are keychangers out there for ACAD and other "common" specialized applications also.

RANT
When all you look at is the entry price cost you have screwed yourself. At work we look at life cycle cost. That means upgrade paths and expenses, maintenance expenses, opportunity cost.

If I send a computer (or any other hardware) out for RMA for 2 weeks I loose the man working on it which costs $20k in dollars billed to customers. That's 10 times more than the cost of a new computer.

I can buy on site repair contract$$ but based on the stories I've heard (at work and here) that only reduces the 2 week down time to 3-5 days depending on how many tries it takes the site rep to get it right and if he has the correct replacement parts. And the repair guy will not reload all your special software! Another day to install and get it working.

My personal solution - I keep a cold spare system imaged to my working computer. If the main goes down I'm back up and running in 3 minutes with unlimited time to do a repair. The reapir can be done in spare time and in parallel with your regular work. Note this technique works with build your own or off the shelf.

PS I got ****ed by Compaq "proprietary" in 1984 and I'd never buy another off the rack computer. Which is why I'm avoiding buying a laptop even though I'd like one to use in bed or on the patio. Upgrade or repair is $$$ and a pain in the butt.

 

[kcnychief]

Some are using Win2k, some are XP Pro. Different hardware, different programs. I am a consultant, there are only 6 people at my company, 3 mechanical engineers and 3 electrical engineers, so we all use different software. I do HVAC and plumbing, the other ME does all HVAC, and my boss for the most part just does writeup changes for both. I don't know that much about EE, I size motors for the voltage/phase we have at the building and thats about it.

All of the PC's are Dell's, but none are the same model. We buy as we need, so they are all different. We don't have a corporate edition of XP/Office so dropping an image in and changing licenses for about 10 different software packages as well as Windows wouldn't really be that much faster.

Sorry, but I simply don't agree. As Leejend stated, there are key changers to modify your software. The fact that they are all Dells and different models is irrelevant. Sysprep takes care of that for you, and it just throws that excuse out the window.

However, I did assume they were all one OS, and that you had volume keys. So, even though it would be possible to maintain two images, maybe you are going about it the right way.

On another note, I would recommend spending some cash on at least getting the volume keys, if you only have a handful of users the cost will pay for itself, and all on XP, you will thank yourself later.

And just to clarify, changing keys takes about 10 seconds

 

[NetRyder]

Hehe... not all of us are lacking... in RAM either... unless 2GB wont be enough

Asus P4C800E deluxe mobo
Intel P4 3.2E
2x1GB TWINX Corsair paired
NVidia 6800 GT (AGP) video

You have nothing to worry about.

 

[Son Goku]

You guys want to hear about bad... What UNM does... You see, every single department, every single office almost has their own admins, and they can end up stepping on each others toes. Then they all maintain their own server, but when something goes wrong they want CIRT to come down and get things working again. Albeit they all want to be able to run their own software, hardware, and everything else, independent of the people they call in for support, while managing and making all the administrative level decisions for themself... :laugh:

The teacher I had in the network security class, was a head administrator at the north campus, and also part of the university's server group. To say all these department level decision makes, who would take no input but always wanted support gave his team a few grey hairs is to put it mildly

There's such a thing as having too many cooks in the kitchen, without coordination. And as to the systems, they can be as different from one to the next, as imaginably possible.

Then the people who use the computers, can be as bad as all the depts doing this in setting the systems up. When I had to change colleges out of undergraduate studies, the Dean's office was like "go to admissions and get this, this and this, then go to records and registration and get this, and bring it to us..."

I went to the admissions office, and the person said:

Come on, that's on the computer. You go tell that dean that it's on the computer and to go look the thing up himself. What is he lazy or something?

How, exactly am I supposed to convey, that message, to the dean? I went to the Dean's office, and rather sheepishly told the receptionist, "Umm, I tried to get the information requested, but the Admissions office said this"

She was like. Oh, is that what they said now? We've had this problem with them in the past. I guess we're just going to have another talk with them bozos over there...

IT in their respective departments can be the same, with no one being in charge, and everyone being the head honcho for their own turf-dom

 

[j79zlr]

Sorry, but I simply don't agree. As Leejend stated, there are key changers to modify your software. The fact that they are all Dells and different models is irrelevant. Sysprep takes care of that for you, and it just throws that excuse out the window.

However, I did assume they were all one OS, and that you had volume keys. So, even though it would be possible to maintain two images, maybe you are going about it the right way.

On another note, I would recommend spending some cash on at least getting the volume keys, if you only have a handful of users the cost will pay for itself, and all on XP, you will thank yourself later.

And just to clarify, changing keys takes about 10 seconds

To clarify my situation as well. Reformatting or buying PC's is not something we do frequently at all. We have bought 1 in the last year, it is not a constant issue. I've already said that I think Dell's or prefab PC's are the way to go in a corporate environment. I was just explaining my situation.

 

[kcnychief]

Gotcha, and with a small environment it's also not as much of a mission-critical task. I come from environments of 3,000 + end users, where we simplly don't have the time to not image them...