From products to services – the importance of services within your digital workplace solution

In the digital age we currently live in, it always feels as though the latest technological innovation or advancement is only just around the corner. With mobile phone launches taking place every year, this is further proof that we all want the latest shiniest device we can get our hands-on. It’s not just mobile phones we witness this on though, all IT equipment is subject to depreciation and becoming outdated very quickly. Furthermore, with companies facing greater competition, products are increasingly being commoditised, leading to price wars and lower profits where physical products are concerned.

Therefore, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that in order to remain competitive and maximise profitability, companies need to expand their offering to include additional services. We’ve already seen large organisations such as Apple successfully diversify their business and place greater emphasis on their services business amid flagging iPhone sales.

However, additional services are not only there to generate more revenue and increase the profit margins of large enterprises. The rise in services and solutions can also benefit both customers and consumers and provide them with additional value. Within the B2B sector, additional IT services have become an increasingly important part of the solution package for key decision-makers when making IT hardware purchasing decisions. It’s no longer just a case of which supplier can provide me with the best desktop PCs and laptops at the best price. The whole solution package needs to be evaluated, considering everything at every stage of the lifecycle.

Within the IT lifecycle, there are four key phases: the preparation phase, the roll-out phase, the useful life/productive phase and the remarketing phase. A lot of organisations want to move towards a cleaner, slicker and more digital workplace. As a result of this, we’ve seen the creation of specific job roles such as ‘director of digital transformation and innovation’ or ‘head of business transformation’ to enable organisations to redesign and improve their business habits. The benefits of a digital workplace are plain for everyone to see, however, what’s often forgot about, or even sometimes people are just unaware of, is the wide range of value-added services available to businesses that can make the procurement, distribution, management, and upgrading of IT equipment considerably easier.

The below image shows the wide range of services that can add real value to businesses in their quest to build the best digital workplace possible. Some of the examples above, such as placing the sim card and MDM (mobile device management) Apple DEP and Samsung KNOX set up, are specific to the preparation of mobile phones. However, the large majority of these services can be applied to all devices within the IT environment.

Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/14629/apple-services-revenue/

• No additional workload for the IT-team
• No hassle with receiving and processing partial orders
• Fewer damages during the productive phase. Protection is attached before roll-out
• No overload of the IT-network due to upgrade/update firmware
• Most recent firmware, no hassle with restoring back-ups

• No additional workload for the IT-team besides their daily operations
• The service provider can fulfil the roll-out across as many or as few sites as required. Saving you the hassle of finding an additional logistics partner
• The service provider can manage end-user agreements and indemnity forms aligned with HR-policies
• End users are able to use the device instantly

• The service provider can take care of the entire repair process
• Predictable costs for break-fix during the useful life
• One single platform for managing stock, logging defective, lost and stolen devices
• No additional administration. The customer will receive a swapped/repaired device while theirs is fixed and then placed back in stock

• Collection and secure transportation at a time and date convenient for you
• ISO-certified processes and certified data deletion provided by Blancco
• Recycling in line with WEEE directives
• Complete remarketing service that complies with the principles of green IT and the circular economy