Back to School, Back to Business: Time for a Device Health Check

Summer's ending. Before the autumn rush, take stock of the devices that have been limping along all year. Some of them aren't going to make it to Christmas.

There's something about September that feels like a fresh start. Kids go back to school. Holiday cover ends. The serious part of the year begins.

It's also a good time to assess the hardware that's been holding on by a thread all year. Because some of those devices aren't going to survive Q4.

The Autumn Hardware Audit

Look around your office (or your asset register). Which devices are:

Old and slow That laptop that takes 5 minutes to become usable after login. The PC that 'just needs a restart' multiple times per week. The machine people avoid because it's 'the bad one.'

Slow devices cost more in lost productivity than replacement costs. A staff member on a slow laptop might lose 30 minutes per day. That's £3,000+ per year in wasted salary.

Running Windows 10 Windows 10 support ends October 14, 2025. That's weeks away. After that date, no more security updates. Every vulnerability discovered goes permanently unpatched.

If you have Windows 10 machines that can't upgrade to Windows 11, they need replacing. This month.

Out of warranty Warranty isn't just about repair cost. It's about knowing the hardware is supported. A 5-year-old laptop that dies takes longer to replace and recover from than a current device.

Missing from inventory Do you actually know what devices your company owns? Where they are? Who's using them? What data is on them?

The Windows 11 Reality Check

Some machines can upgrade to Windows 11 in-place. Others can't.

The requirements:

• TPM 2.0 chip (most business PCs from 2018+ have this)
• Secure Boot capable UEFI firmware
• 64-bit processor (almost universal now)
• 4GB RAM minimum, 8GB recommended
• 64GB storage minimum

For machines less than 4 years old, in-place upgrade is usually possible. For older machines, it's usually replacement time anyway.

The Replacement Decision

When to repair vs. replace:

Replace if:

• The device is over 4 years old
• It can't run Windows 11
• The repair cost exceeds 40% of replacement cost
• It's had multiple repairs already
• It's critical to someone's work (reliability matters)

Repair if:

• The device is under 3 years old
• It's under warranty
• The issue is minor (battery, keyboard)
• The device otherwise works well

Planning the Refresh

Budget early. Device replacement is a known cost, not a surprise. Budget for replacing 20-25% of your fleet annually, and you'll maintain a 4-5 year average age.

Stage the rollout. Don't replace 10 devices in one week. That's IT hell. Replace 2-3 at a time, with breathing room between.

Consider your setup process. Traditional device setup takes hours per machine. Modern 'Zero Touch' approaches let users open a new laptop and be productive in minutes.

Plan for data. What's on the old device that needs to move? If everything important is already in the cloud (as it should be), migration is trivial.

The September Action Plan

This week:

• List all devices by age and Windows version
• Identify anything running Windows 10 that can't upgrade

This month:

• Get quotes for replacements
• Order new devices (allow 2-4 weeks for delivery and setup)
• Plan the rollout schedule

Before October 14:

• Complete Windows 10 to 11 migrations
• Replace anything that can't be migrated
• Verify the old Windows 10 devices are securely wiped

Getting Help

We handle device procurement for clients at competitive prices (we don't mark up hardware). More importantly, we handle the setup, migration, and old device disposal properly.

Get a hardware fleet assessment