Dell vs IBM/Lenovo for Business Workstations

[Piano Man]

So, I've been given a project for our CIO and that is to come up with a pro vs con list of why Dell or IBM/Lenovo would be better for our workstation/laptop system needs at my company.

As of now, we are an IBM shop both on the server-side as well as the workstation/laptop side. This change would only affect the workstations/laptops, not the server environment.

The reason for even looking at Dell is obviously the price difference. However, after doing some research, I'm pretty hesistant about recommending Dell.

The company I work for has around 3000-5000 workstations/laptops that we image ourselves.

These are basic workstations with on-board video, 1GB Ram, Pentium D processors, and are used for MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, Email, etc... Nothing too taxing.

I'm asking any of you to give me some insight as to why we should switch to Dell, or why we should stay with IBM.

Thanks!!!

 

[WackyDan]

Well... Have you been in touch with both a Lenovo rep and Dell Rep? They can provide eval systems, TCO estimates, etc.

Anyone here can put down Dell and Lenovo as well cheer for them too. Not a good measurement of "why" to stay or go Dell. I find very few IT professionals or procurement types from companies as large as yours here on AT.... or few that admit it.

Are you currently having issues with the Lenovo hardware or support?

 

[slugg]

I'd say go with the IBM/Lenovo R series Thinkpads. Not too terribly expensive like the T series, but you still get a rugged, powerful laptop that's built like a tank. My personal experience with Dell, including the Latitude series, is not good at all and I would never recommend them to business users. Is the cheaper initial cost worth the downtime when something breaks? That's for you to decide. Some companies buy cheap machines and just consider them disposable, while others buy long lasting, expensive machines. That's all up to you

The best thing you can do is contact your reps and get evaluation systems, like WackyDan said. Wide a side-by-side comparison, I think you will immediately note Lenovo's superiority in build quality. Of course, many things are subjective, so just get your hands on both machines and try it out yourself. If the price difference is that much better, Dell might be worth it.

Honestly, though, I'd say Dell should be your LAST choice. At least take a look at HP/Compaq's business line notebooks. They're a good middle-ground between Dell's Latitude and IBM/Lenovo's Thinkpad. Basically, it's cheaper than a Thinkpad, but a bit better than a Latitude.

If money isn't a problem, Thinkpads are the way to go. If money is an issue, then yes you should shop around. Thinkpads ARE very expensive, unfortunately. But like they say, you get what you pay for!

If you have any questions about the IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad T61, let me know. I've owned one for a few months now, so I'd be happy to help out.

 

[Piano Man]

Well, I'm thinking more of a "how will these work out in regards to IT support" type of thing. I know that the avg. life cycle of a lenovo model is longer than a dell model. The other big setback of Dell, is that there is absolutely no standardization in regards to the components they use within the same model. You can have two workstations/laptops of the exact same model next to each other, and they may have a different NIC, MB, you name it. Imaging and troubleshooting would be harder on Dells because of that.

And yes, I have been in touch with both reps. Just seeing if any other IT professionals/managers out there that have gone through this decision making process.

Thanks!!

 

[VinDSL]

Nobody ever got fired for buying 3000-5000 Dell workstations/laptops, company wide!

Dittos for HP printers...

Think about it!

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Piano Man
Well, I'm thinking more of a "how will these work out in regards to IT support" type of thing. I know that the avg. life cycle of a lenovo model is longer than a dell model. The other big setback of Dell, is that there is absolutely no standardization in regards to the components they use within the same model. You can have two workstations/laptops of the exact same model next to each other, and they may have a different NIC, MB, you name it. Imaging and troubleshooting would be harder on Dells because of that.

And yes, I have been in touch with both reps. Just seeing if any other IT professionals/managers out there that have gone through this decision making process.

Thanks!!

Then that leads to asking if your company currently has licensed a Management Console ie; Landesk, SMS, Altiris, CA, etc...

2nd, are you leveraging any of the free tools that Lenovo gives you free license to?

Last.... Lenovo Isn't much more expensive if at all when compared to Dell today... as IBM they were much more expensive in comparison.

 

[slugg]

^^ True...

The price difference is worth it. Lenovo has my vote. I'd say go with the R series

 

[Piano Man]

We are beginning to use Landesk, and by free tools, do you mean Rescue & Recovery and all of the Thinkvantage software?

If so, then yes, we use Rescue and Recovery on every workstation/laptop as well as use the security software, and the driver/software downloader to keep those systems up to date.

Yea, I'm definitely leaning towards Lenovo, but I'm pretty uneducated in regards to Dell for business, so I don't want to say things that are untrue about their products/support/etc..

 

[WackyDan]

If you bought Landesk from Lenovo, that has the TVT integration for RNR and such built in... It's a no brainer to stay Lenovo at that point. Dell doesn't have the same level of "free" tools like RnR and such in their portfolio.

Lenovo has that new "green" PC coming out soon too. Pretty interesting - very low power consuming box.

 

[DeskRocket]

Been a while since I was buying quantities or supporting them for a company. This info may be out of date but the basic approach is not.

There are many good things about Dell. Like cost. One of the disadvantages is that the parts used tend to be whatever was cheapest and available at the time of assembly. When every computer coming off the assembly line is a little different, quality control becomes, in turn, quite a chore.

IBM buys huge lots of the same part. They know what they are using and can control their manufacturing process and quality control to a much greater extent.

In the mid 1990's we had 200 computers, mostly Dell. We replaced all of them with HP. Cut our maintenance bill so much we paid for the replacement in 1 year.

While your mileage may vary, the principles still hold. Good quality control results in long term value.

Best regards,
Alan