Ottawa-based Eurocom Corp. is helping companies clean house in the hardware department — and get a good deal while doing it.
The notebook provider has rolled out a corporate trade-in program that lets companies ditch their desktop centered hardware for newer, Pentium 4 based portable gear.
The old equipment is then given to various charitable organizations including Computers for Schools.
Under the program, customers save 20 per cent off the purchase of new Eurocom technology when they trade in their aging equipment, including notebooks, desktop PCs or servers (which can be non-Eurocom gear).
This is different than other trade-in programs, says company president Mark Bialic, in that the equipment is not outsourced to third-party service companies. The schools can get the refurbished equipment or can internally fix it up themselves, he says, adding that it is not resold.
“The program allows companies to recycle; it’s an intelligent way to dispose of old gear. . . There’s a lot of waste in terms of corporate equipment, where companies are just trashing their stuff. And so passing things along is a good thing.”
The government market, in particular, he says, is notorious for lacking an adequate computer hardware disposal system – therefore, it’s an ideal place to pitch the program. “So far we’ve had very positive feedback from the government,” he says, indicating some levels of government have a host of warehouses crammed with computer gear as old as 12 years.
But beyond the social and environmental benefits of recycling used gear, Bialic says another key benefit involves the upgradability factor for companies banking on notebooks. He says Eurocom notebooks and LCD PC systems have a longer life span, thanks to the upgrade ability of motherboards, memory, hard drives or optical drives.
Additional key markets for desktop replacement include education (particularly universities), healthcare, accounting and consulting, financial institutions, broadcasting and the film industry, among others, he notes.
“It allows companies the ability to move to newer technologies faster.”
Those interested in participating in the program can visit www.eurocom.com or www.schoolnet.ca.