Welcome back Christine Austria and Curvature’s Server & Storage Solutions Sales Engineer, Matt Swann, as they discuss the question – Why consider pre-owned IT hardware for your next purchase? in our recurring series Ask the Expert.
Why Pre-Owned IT Hardware?
Christine: Hey, welcome to another episode of Curvature’s Ask the Expert. I’m Christine Austria and today, we’re talking about Pre-Owned IT Hardware with Matt Swann, Curvature’s Server & Storage Solutions Sales Engineer. Hey, Matt.
Matt: Hey Christine! Yeah, let’s start with the basics. All pre-owned gear once started as brand new, latest, and greatest hardware. However, as newer technologies come out, companies that require this cutting-edge technology choose to ditch their older gear, even though it is still working perfectly fine. This is where the pre-owned market comes in. Companies that don’t require state-of-the-art hardware are able to get great gear, and usually at a fraction of the price they’d pay if they went directly to the OEM.
Christine: Can you explain the types of quality assurance processes pre-owned IT hardware undergoes for those who may be a little weary of buying pre-owned gear?
Matt: While it may be a bit scary buying pre-owned hardware the first time, most vendors in the pre-owned market have testing processes that the hardware goes through before it’s sold to ensure it’s in proper working condition. Specifically, here at Curvature, we have our in-house Spirent test bed and proprietary Curvature Testing Environment that rigorously tests and documents all hardware before it leaves our docks to ensure proper working conditions.
Benefits of Considering Pre-Owned Hardware
Christine: Why don’t you tell me about the benefits of buying pre-owned versus new?
Matt: So, without a doubt, the number one benefit of buying pre-owned is the cost savings. While it varies between hardware generation and OEM, buying pre-owned versus new can result in savings of up to nearly 90% off manufacturer’s list price. In addition to this cost savings, end users also tend to experience much more flexibility when designing their configurations when sourcing from the pre-owned market.
Christine: Well, what’s the pain point in getting configs from OEMs?
Matt: It’s not always the case, but I’ve heard from our customers numerous times that OEMs tend to force customers into purchasing pre-built configs that don’t match their exact needs to help offload some of their slower-moving stock.
Christine: Any other benefits that you want to mention?
Matt: Yes, perhaps my favorite is that pre-owned vendors have the workforce to offer a much more consultative approach when compared to the big OEMs. Pre-owned vendors like us have a knowledgeable team of Solutions Engineers standing by ready to hop on a call to discuss your projects and scope out exactly what your hardware needs are, a service not commonly offered by larger OEMs.
Christine: Thanks for your insights, Matt! If you have any questions for one of our experts, simply leave a comment below or contact us – and we’ll see you next time on “Ask the Expert.”
For questions about server memory, reach out to one of our skilled sales engineers today.
