Refurbished I.T.

The same server, refurbished, costs less than half the price. Is that a smart saving, or a problem waiting to happen?

It depends, and this book explains exactly what it depends on. Refurbished business technology can be the same proven equipment a larger company used for a few years and then replaced on schedule, sold on at a steep discount because it is no longer new, not because it is no longer good. It can also carry real risks around warranty, support, remaining life, and security. The difference is not the equipment. It is the thinking.

Written in plain language for business owners and executives with no technical background, this guide lays out the advantages and the disadvantages of refurbished equipment evenly, so you can decide for your own business rather than be sold a verdict. It does not push you toward refurbished, and it does not push you away. It hands you the way of thinking to choose well.

Inside, you will learn:

• What refurbished really means, from manufacturer recertified to gray market, and why the difference matters enormously


• The real advantages and the honest risks for servers, hard drives, network switches, firewalls, laptops, and desktops


• Why a firewall is not really the box, and the trap that hides in a cheap refurbished one


• The one date to check before buying anything that touches your network, and why still working is not the same as still safe


• How redundancy and backups can make affordable equipment genuinely dependable


• A simple way to decide where refurbished fits in your business, and where it does not

Refurbished equipment is a legitimate, often excellent tool, especially for the cost aware business. Used where it fits, with the right safeguards, it lets a company do more with less. Used carelessly, it can cost far more than it ever saved. This book shows you the difference.

Part of the Everything A CEO Needs To Know About I.T. series from IT Support 101 Inc.