Decision

Procurement of 120 laptops for organisation use (Officer/Councillor devices) at a cost below £800 plus tax each. This totals below £96,000 plus tax.

Reasons for the decision

Guildford's ICT team issues and maintains ICT equipment for the Council. Following multiple years of extending the life of existing laptops, many of which were bought in 2018/2019, many laptops are now experiencing hardware issues commonly associated with device age. These include issues such as batteries unable to hold charge, and leaking screens.
A decision was therefore made to procure some laptops to enable the ICT team to continue replacing the oldest and least reliable laptops, with an intention to bring laptops used by the Council within common industry lifecycles (generally 3-5 years for laptops).
Reviewing the available budget, and seeking to minimise the risks from excessive stock whilst devices were rolled out (depreciation, lost warranty time, and devices models becoming outdated before they are put into active use), a volume of around 100 laptops was identified as optimal. A significantly better price point was achieved at 120 laptops, and was therefore considered best value for money.

Alternative options considered

A market review of laptop options was conducted. The Council’s direct partnership with Dell meant resellers were unable to seek discounted pricing from Dell. Whilst vendor changes were considered, consistent or similar models are beneficial for support and maintenance, and it was not considered logical to change vendor so close to Local Government Reorganisation, where West Surrey Council is likely to seek a common standard for equipment. Whilst market prices have been increasing, Dell was challenged to reduce their quoted price, and a reseller confirmed they could not match the revised price.