Employees of small businesses lose more than one work week per year as a result of old PCs, a study commissed by Intel Corporation suggests.
The multi-country study conducted by Techaisle, titled The Intel Small Business PC Refresh Study, surveyed 736 small businesses in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Russia and the United States to gauge the state of their PC equipment.
The study findings reveal that small businesses are holding onto PCs far beyond the recommended refresh date, with more than 36pc of study participants owing PCs that are more than four years old.
On average, employees lose 21 more hours by using a PC that is four years or older, due to time needed for repairs, maintenance and security issues, compared to PCs that are less than four years old. Repair and maintenance is 1.5 times more frequent on PCs that are four years or older, the study reveals.
Small businesses are also paying the price of hanging onto older PCs, spending an average of US$427 to repair a PC that is four years or older. This is 1.3 times the repair cost of PCs that are less than four years old.
Of the countries surveyed, 8pc of small businesses in the US are running PCs that are five years or older, compared to 5pc of small businesses worldwide and 1pc in India.
“Upgrading to new PCs is one of the wisest choices a small business can make,” said Rick Echevarria, vice-president of PC Client Group and general manager of Business Client Platform Division at Intel.
“PCs are largely considered the foundation for many of these companies, and this study makes a clear-cut case for refreshing them on a regular basis.”
