Is tech snobbery draining your IT budget?

With IT budgets being squeezed ever tighter and new regulations governing the way computers are disposed of on the way, it seems CIOs and IT departments are missing out on an obvious way to save themselves a bit of cash – and it's all to do with snobbery.

Firms are often put off buying remarketed machines because they perceive them to be 'second rate', according to IT recyclers, SML, despite the fact that recycled PCs offer the same spec as new machines at a fraction of the cost.

And apart from the cost and environmental benefits of buying remarketed equipment, previously used PCs have a clear technological advantage over their fresh-out-of-the-box equivalents. Remarketed machines have a lower failure rate than new ones, having already been tested in a live environment and leaving buyers less likely to find themselves landed with a computer that doesn't work when they get it back to the office.

Phil Reakes, managing director at SML, said in a statement: "Some companies have this completely erroneous perception that remarketed equipment is somehow second rate and not to be trusted. Companies which can't see the technological, financial and environmental benefits of remarketed equipment are missing out on an opportunity to propel themselves ahead of the competition."