When it comes to networking infrastructure like routers and switches that power many of the businesses you use, it doesn’t get much bigger than the American market leader, Cisco Systems.
Cisco is a major provider of modern enterprise network solutions including networking, security and IoT. The portfolio of products offered by Cisco is incredibly vast, featuring next-generation networks like SD-WAN and WiFi-6 Access Points, along with security products like firewalls, along with cloud-based email and web security offerings.
As with most cutting edge technology, the premium price points often reflect the significant R&D budgets that create innovative and cutting-edge products. This places small and medium businesses in an interesting position, they’d love to use the best equipment but have the challenge of making the financial business case stack up.
An increasingly popular outcome is to leverage the refurbishment of business-grade hardware.
When you think about it, this makes loads of sense. In our personal lives, we often buy a refurbished mobile phone at a discounted price, so it’s simply a matter of considering this approach in your 9-5 life.
The returned device gets given another lease on life and often maintains some form of manufacturer warranty to give the new buyer confidence for the long term.
Ultimately using refurbished products, creates a win-win outcome. The buyer gets the product at a lower price and the company gets a more sustainable product line, ensuring more of its hardware is redeployed and less ends up in the landfill.
Refurbishment Process of IT-Hardware
What refurbishment really means in relation to IT-hardware is this. All products that undergo the refurbishment process are original Cisco products the major part of which are business items from terminated leasing contracts. Due to the high-quality components designed for durability and reliability, they may still be used for a long time good and safely.
The actual refurbishment process consists of a professionally conducted, 4-step process which is strictly organised and used to eliminate data tracks and spring-clean the piece of hardware from the outside as well as from the inside.
All data that are left on the hardware (hopefully none) are irretrievably deleted, each and every device is gathered inclusive its technical details. Finally, the hardware is put to the acid test and – if need be – components are repaired or exchanged.
After the used products went through the refurbishment process, they have the same quality standard as a new original Cisco product. Experience has shown, that they offer just the same kind of performance and longevity as the original.
Advantages of Technical Refurbishments
If you opt for buying refurbished Cisco equipment, your prime motive is most probably the reduction of the purchase costs by round about 50% or even more, compared to the catalogue price. For you as a buyer, this is most certainly very appealing, but there are more benefits than just saving money.
A very prominent, current problem the entire planet is faced with at the moment is the man-made climate change and the waste of natural resources.
People buying a refurbished IT hardware product irrespective of the brand are acting in a sustainable and eco-friendly way because they use a recycled piece of hardware instead of acquiring a new one. Some might reject it with a shrug, but the following figures unfold the dimensions more clearly.
For the production of a PC alone, for example, 766 litres water are needed, and 164 kg CO2are produced. And – just as important – things that do not exist do not need to be disposed of.
Even for the manufacturers themselves, the ecological aspects become more and more important and they strive to achieve more resource-effectiveness in the production and use of IT-hardware.
Older models that might no longer be state-of-the-art technology but way too bad for disposal could be reused safely by companies who would otherwise not have the money nor the opportunity to a Cisco IT-product within their infrastructure.
Another widely spread advantage is the offering of a long, in some cases even lifelong warranty for the refurbished Cisco-products. When purchasing them factory-fresh, the warranty would be considerably shorter. Here, the warranty usually amounts to 90 days altogether.
