Is the PC Really Dead?

There's a lot of buzz floating around about "The death of the PC." This is due to the growing popularity of mobile devices and the sluggish sales of PCs. Will the PC ever die, or are we just in a time of transition? For your business, it's all a matter of perspective and your computing needs.

PCs are Built for Business
The biggest reason why a workstation will never be completely replaced by a mobile device is because PCs are designed to get a lot of business done. Over two decades of improvements to the workstation, and the development of business applications, have made the PC a highly efficient business tool. When companies need a technology that can crank out a high volume of work, they will turn to the PC every time.

In addition to PCs providing businesses with an efficient means to get work done, they are also easy for workers to use. Mobile devices are still a relatively new tool, and the interface of all the different devices are not standardized, which means there's a lot of variation with each make and model. These different mobile interfaces present workers with a learning curve that will initially drag down productivity. Compare this to a PC where the mouse/keyboard combination is intuitive and virtually everybody knows how to use it. Even if an employee has to work with a different Windows OS than what they're familiar with, there's still enough similarities built into Windows' different operating systems that a user will be able to easily figure it out.

Mobile Devices are Designed for Connectivity
The advantage of mobile devices is that they let users easily connect with the world around them. By providing employees with a mobile solution, they can access files and business applications from your company's network and no longer be tied to their desk. There are several more benefits that mobile devices bring to the work environment, but mobile devices are inefficient at getting stacks of work done compared to their stationary counterparts. Have you ever tried to write a long email on a small touchscreen? It's a maddening experience.

But the strengths of mobile devices are too beneficial to pass up. For example, it's extremely valuable to have a connected team that's not limited by their geographic location. Therefore, perhaps the narrative for this technological debate should change from "PC vs. device," to, "How can your business utilize both?" Computerware can help you determine how to implement the right mixture of PC and mobile device usage for your company in order to maximize profits.

Before allowing for employees to bring in their mobile devices to work (BYOD), you will want to have a BYOD policy that will keep your company's sensitive data secure. On the PC side of things, you will want to have a maintenance plan in place that keeps all of your workstations running smoothly with preventive care.

The IT professionals at Computerware can assist you in drafting and implementing a solid BYOD policy, as well as remotely managing and monitoring all of your company's workstations with our managed IT service. To learn more about how you can best utilize all the different technologies on the market to give your business the competitive edge, give us a call today at (703) 821-8200.