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Hybrid IT is a driving force behind modern enterprises today. But it’s not enough to simply maintain the hardware infrastructure you have—you must stay proactive and test new concepts and new products. But that doesn’t mean you need to buy new hardware exclusively for that purpose. You need a flexible hardware product development solution.
Here’s how Hardware-as-a-Service can streamline your product development.
Buying Outright for a Proof-of-Concept Isn’t the Answer
Owning your own infrastructure outright can, at times, be the most economical option for your company’s long-term projects. But this isn’t the case when you need new hardware for proof-of-concept purposes.
If you only need the hardware for a few weeks or months for development and testing, you probably don’t want to spend the IT budget on the overhead for equipment that will depreciate as soon as you rack and stack it on your floors and will later sit unused between stints.
Regardless, testing needs to be done, so you turn to your local hardware rental store or leasing agency to pick up some swing gear to work through a PoC. You may save money on procurement costs, but downsides remain, including:
- Inflexible contracts (locked-in time frames and stringent renewals)
- Pickup, rack and stack, optimization, training, and maintenance falls on your IT team
- Equipment must be returned “as new” at the end of the use-cycle (you are liable for any damages incurred)
Hardware-as-a-Service is an easier, more financially prudent way to kick-start your development initiatives. And it doesn’t require cold-purchasing the hardware or dealing with the litany of requirements and contingencies of a leasing contract.
This flexible hardware product development solution is primarily helpful for those times when you just don’t have the time (know specialized knowledge) to manage all the details.
This HaaS Subscription Model Is Ideal for:
Hardware Bake-Offs:
Looking to compare different lines of servers without buying one of each to have your own in-house bake off? HaaS companies offer access to myriad OEM resources, including hardware from Dell, Cisco, HPE, Intel, etc. Whatever line (or generations of the same brand of hardware) you need to compare, a HaaS company will provide the spectrum of equipment that you need for your PoC testing. Once you have reached a conclusion, the HaaS company will take away the units you no longer need and leave behind those that you do for other projects and migrations.
Software Testing and Development:
Looking more closely at the application level, it’s critical for your productivity that you run your software on the most efficient machine. The best way to determine this—similar to the hardware bake off—is to run the same software against several iterations and lines of hardware. The side-by-side comparison makes the selection process that much simpler. And using HaaS will also simplify deliveries, installation, and returns (complete with industry-standard data sanitization services).
How Does a Flexible Hardware Product Development Solution Work and What’s Included?
At CentricsIT, we maintain an extensive network of IT partners and unbridled access to world-wide secondary markets as well as a global workforce of deployable L1-L3 engineering talent.
CentricsIT acquires the hardware our clients need and provides maintenance at the most economical pricing. With these resources at our disposal, we have created a Hardware-as-a-Service offering that encompasses the entire lifecycle of your hardware needs. HaaS is a monthly subscription model that includes:
- Customized hardware bundling
- Pre-imaging and software installation
- Shipping logistics and delivery
- Unboxing and rack and stack (with our SmartHands workforce)
- Installation
- Optimization
- IT team training and troubleshooting
- Fully-managed maintenance and repair (24x7x365 Help Desk support)
- Disposition and data sanitization upon end of use-cycle
When you need hardware for short-term projects, we scale to your needs and provide you with the necessary resources for the time you require. While you need the hardware, our experts maintain the equipment according to your SLAs. When you’re done, our team even picks it all back up for you at the end of the use cycle.
Develop Smarter with CentricsIT HaaS
Your on-premise hardware is still a critical component to your overall processes. You need to keep it optimized and aligned with your business goals.
To help you manage this, CentricsIT fixes the inefficiencies and logistical strain of your current procurement and testing methodologies with a scalable, flexible Hardware-as-a-Service solution.
Need a more efficient and economical method for product development? Contact CentricsIT to deploy our scalable hardware services, save on OPEX, and meet your IT needs as they happen.
