Sustainable IT, an unsuspected competitive lever
In this article, we propose to compare the financial impact of 2 companies, one of which has equipped its employees with an application that enables them to use their workstations properly, and a company whose employees use their equipment conventionally.
We know that careless use of a computer leads to additional costs such as :
- Shorter lifespan
- Multiple repairs due to premature wear and tear
- Productivity losses due to slowdowns and breakdowns
A 6-year comparison shows the following table (figures based on in-house studies):
PC bien utilisé | PC usage standard | |
Purchase and renewal | 1 200€ (Replacement after 6 years) | 2 400€ (Replacement after 3 years) |
IT maintenance & support | 1 200€ (200€/an) | 1 800€ (300€/year, more intervention) |
Repair | 0€ (Careful use) | 600€ (Change battery, keyboard, screen, etc.) |
Software and licenses | 900€ (150€/year) | 900€ |
Electricity | 240€ (40€/year) | 480€ (80€/year) |
Loss of productivity | 0€ | 8 100€ (1h/week lost through slowdowns, breakdowns, ..., at €30/h) |
Total over 6 years | 3 540€ | 14 280€ |
These figures show that the savings to be made would be €1,790/year/employee. For a company with 50,000 employees, all equiped with computers, the annual saving would be close to 90 million Euros (assuming an average wage of €30/hour), without taking into account the impact on the company in terms of lost revenue and lost opportunities. Note also that in the case of a company that depreciates its equipment over 3 years, by making it possible to extend the lifespan by 3 years while maintaining a good level of performance, elow enables you to use your equipment for a further 3 years at no cost.
Conclusion :
👉 Proper use of workstations is a major cost-saving lever for companies!
But what is a well-used PC?
To use a computer properly and maximize its lifespan, performance and safety, manufacturers generally recommend the following actions:
- Physical maintenance and material precautions
o Avoid overheating by regularly cleaning fans and air inlets
o Handle with care to avoid shocks
o Protect and clean your screen and keyboard
- Good performance and wear management
o Switch off or put into hibernation when not in use
o Avoid leaving it on 24 hours a day for no reason
o Do not leave the battery at a constant 100% charge
o Unplug the charger when the battery is between 20% and 80% to extend its lifespan
- Resource monitoring
o Check Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac) for power-hungry processes.
o Close unnecessary software to avoid RAM and CPU overconsumption
- Best practices for daily use that reduce the risk of system slowness, increase productivity, facilitate work organization, avoid visual memory overload, etc...
o Avoid cluttering the desktop with too many icons
o Organize files by theme
o Regularly delete unnecessary files
Not mentioned here are the management of software updates, security and data protection, which are handled directly by the company's information system.
All these recommendations are often common sense, but it's not that simple to systematically think and apply them; only an automaton could do it. That's why elow has automated many of these actions, and is there to remind us of other good practices when necessary, depending on how we use our computers.
The benefit is direct :
Using a computer properly means extending its lifespan, improving performance and avoiding security problems. With these best practices, your equipment will remain reliable and efficient for longer, and the planet will appreciate it too! 🚀💻
