PCs Are Not a Commodity!

One cogent business position holds that access devices in a business enterprise are not commodities. Others believe that the pricing of the device itself makes it a commodity, and to some degree that is correct. The big picture suggests however, that a PC is not a commodity.

You might be asking, if PCs are not a commodity, why is there so much governance regarding how a device is configured and deployed? And, if PCs are a commodity, why is there so much concern about their support costs? Another question is this: Why is there such concern about cleansing the information on the device before disposing of it.

The answer is simple: After a standard PC has been customized in any way, it loses all the characteristics of a commodity. That customization can even include the placement of the device within a business infrastructure.

The definition of commodity is often confused with consumable. This confusion inhibited lifecycle practices with regard to access devices for a long time. The idea that access devices are commodities suggests that you can take one device and, without change (or very minor changes), transfer the device just by changing where you the plug it in. In a business, however, users (and their access devices) have a profile, an image, retained data, and personalization that must be considered. Transitions are complex. Therefore, PCs (and other access devices) should not be considered merely commodities. Many businesses have yet to accept this fact, and therefore access device governance is perhaps less than it would otherwise be.