The Total Economic Impact™ Of Dell Latitude And OptiPlex Devices (2024)

As organizations’ end users become more dependent on their devices to carry out their job responsibilities, the reliability of these devices and their support environment are critical considerations for the success of the business. Dell’s Latitude and OptiPlex device offerings provide end users with the tools needed to perform their work while Dell’s supply chain and support resources ensure these devices perform well for their planned service lives.

Dell Latitude laptops and OptiPlex desktops are product lines intended for a professional setting with a range of models that can be configured to meet the needs of nearly any end-user persona. Along with Intel vPro and Dell support services, such as TechDirect, SupportAssist, and Try and Buy, organizations have access to a myriad of configurations to support their users in a secure environment.

Dell commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential benefits and return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize through the reliability of Dell’s Latitude and OptiPlex devices.¹ The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact Latitude and OptiPlex devices’ reliability might have on their organizations.

To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed six representatives with experience using Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices as the primary devices within their organizations. As counterpoint, Forrester also interviewed four representatives whose organizations may use Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices, but not as the primary device vendor. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the interviewees’ experiences and combined the results into a single composite organization that is an industry-agnostic organization with 5,000 Dell devices (3,500 Latitude and 1,500 OptiPlex).

The interviewees reported their organizations multisource end-user devices from several vendors. They said Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices were reliable, highly configurable, and easily supportable devices as a result of technologies like Intel vPro, and services like Dell SupportAssist and TechDirect. The interviewees saw Dell as a technology partner, especially because of Dell’s supply chain. They reported that Dell was better positioned to provide replacement parts or devices to their organizations’ IT teams, accelerating support timelines and getting devices back into the hands of end users faster, minimizing business disruption. Interviewees also highlighted Dell’s account management and ability to partner with their organizations as a major component of the reliability story, working with their decision-makers to understand user personas, use cases, and their business as a whole. This allowed the interviewees’ organizations to balance Latitude and OptiPlex deployments between user performance and cost-effectiveness. Interviewees cited end-user productivity savings (minimized disruption), cost flexibility on device refresh cycles, and productivity improvements for IT support personnel as key benefits of Latitude and OptiPlex reliability. The majority of interviewees also noted that Dell’s pricing was often the most competitive across the vendors they worked with.

Key Findings

Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the composite organization include:

• End-user productivity reclaimed through device reliability. The reliability of Dell Latitude laptops and OptiPlex desktops allows users to perform optimally without their devices bottlenecking the users’ performance. Dell’s superior supply chain reliability allows for faster parts or device availability leading to faster device repair/replacement and minimal user impact in the event of a device issue. This saves the composite organization’s users an average of 20 hours annually in downtime (time without their device), which represents nearly $370,000 in value for the composite organization.
• Direct cost savings through extended device service life. Based on the reliability of Dell’s Latitude laptops, OptiPlex desktops, and resilient supply chain, the composite organization has the flexibility and confidence to extend the service lives of its Latitude and OptiPlex devices. This saves the organization $322,000 annually on device expenditure, providing a savings of $801,000 over three years.
• IT support personnel productivity benefits. Based on the low issue rates of Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices, the ability to extend device service life, and external Dell resources to assist with more complicated support cases, the composite organization reduces its need for contracted internal support resources, saving over $302,000 PV over three years.
• Cost savings on non-Dell devices. By investing in Dell Latitude laptops and OptiPlex desktops, the composite organization avoids investment in other devices that are frequently less competitively priced. This saves the composite $3.2 million over three years.

Unquantified benefits. Benefits that provide value for the interviewees’ organizations but are not quantified for this study include:

• Partnership with Dell. Beyond the quantified benefits of device reliability, the interviewees noted their organizations benefitted from a true partnership with Dell. Any issues were escalated to resolution efficiently, while account management was consistently partnering with decision-makers to ensure the interviewees’ organizations’ users were getting the best (and most cost-effective) Latitude and OptiPlex devices for their use cases.

Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for the composite organization include:

• Cost of Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices (annual refresh). The composite organization refreshes its Latitude laptops on a 48-month refresh cycle and their OptiPlex desktops on a 60-month refresh cycle. This represents $3.4 million in device expenditure over three years for the composite organization.

The representative interviews and financial analysis found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $4.70 million over three years versus costs of $3.43 million, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $1.24 million and an ROI of 36%.

Benefits (Three-Year)

End-user reclaimed through device reliability Direct cost savings through extended device service life and supply chain resiliency IT support personnel productivity benefits Cost savings on non-Dell devices

TEI Framework And Methodology

From the information provided in the interviews, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices.

The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that the reliability of Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices can have on an organization.

1. Due Diligence

   Interviewed Dell stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to Latitude and OptiPlex devices.

2. Interviews

   Interviewed six representatives from organizations using Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices, as well as four representatives from organizations who are not primarily using Dell devices to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.

3. Composite Organization

   Designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees’ organizations.

4. Financial Model Framework

   Constructed a financial model representative of the interviews using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewees.

5. Case Study

   Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.

Disclosures

Readers should be aware of the following:

This study is commissioned by Dell and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.

Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in Latitude and OptiPlex devices.

Dell reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.

Dell provided some of the customer names for the interviews but did not participate in the interviews.

Drivers leading to continued Latitude and OptiPlex device investments

Key Challenges

The interviewees noted how their organizations were focused on common challenges related to their user device environment, including:

• Minimizing end-user (and IT) interruptions and ensuring appropriate performance. Many of the interviewees were in roles that prioritize end-user support and computing experience. Therefore, end-user efficiency with respect to their devices was top of mind for them. Those interviewed told Forrester that devices supplied to their organizations needed to meet certain benchmarks for reliability (low issue/failure rates) while also meeting the needs of users (performance/high UX scores) in their day-to-day responsibilities. The senior digital manager at the grocery retailer highlighted the importance of minimizing device downtime, noting: “When a device is down, we’re essentially paying someone to do nothing. This is in addition to how much time it’s costing our support partners to continually troubleshoot and resolve these issues.”
• Accelerating device repair or replacement when necessary. Despite advancements in build quality and device reliability, devices aren’t immune to occasional failure — often user-induced. Interviewees indicated that having replacement parts and loaner machines immediately available to their organizations was a major factor in their overall perception of device reliability.
• Offering device flexibility to the business. Several interviewees indicated that in a perfect world, their organizations would stick to a predetermined device refresh schedule and would adhere to it regardless of circ*mstance. However, budget concerns, business ups and downs, and other considerations often forced the interviewees’ organizations to delay refresh cycles and/or keep older devices in-service longer while still meeting the needs of their respective end users. As noted by the interviewees, this flexibility was primarily influenced by robust devices that perform beyond their “planned” service life.
• Being part of a partnership, rather than a vendor relationship. Different users have different requirements for laptop or desktop device performance depending on their roles and dependency on their device to carry out their responsibilities. Interviewees told Forrester that they preferred a device vendor who understood their business, their users, and could supply and support that business by offering appropriate products along their lineup, balancing performance and reliability for end users and total cost of ownership for the business.

Solution Requirements

The interviewees’ organizations searched for devices and a vendor that could:

• Provide continued performance and reliability to end users — in some cases beyond the planned service life.
• Be repaired or replaced (temporarily) by virtue of a reliance vendor supply chain without any interruption/parts availability concerns.
• Provide proactive support on the relationship side and consistently evaluate current device deployments to optimize both performance and cost.

The interviewees’ organizations continued to invest in Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices due to continued adherence to the above criteria. Many of the interviewees said their organizations multisource devices from several vendors. Some of these interviewees also noted their organizations recently shifted larger percentages of their device environments to Dell devices, while others maintained consistent (and significant) Dell device environments over long relationships.

• Since 2020, several of the interviewees’ said their organizations have increased their investments in Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices due to superior supply chain performance (i.e., loaner device and parts availability) in the wake of the global shortages.
• Interviewees whose organizations had long-term relationships with Dell (and Latitude and OptiPlex deployments) noted the long-term consistency and reliability of Dell’s device as the primary driver for continued confident investments.
• Among the interviewees, Dell was very frequently cited as the most proactive and responsive vendor when it came to discussing the needs of end users and the business. The IT manager at the energy organization told Forrester, “It’s much easier to work with Dell than [other vendors] because of our dedicated rep.” The director of PC engineering at the global retailer summarized: “I would say what differentiates Dell from the other hardware OEMs is Dell strives to not only understand our business and our hardware personas and are knocking at our door asking, ‘What can we do for you? How can we help?’ They’re constantly trying to get audience with us monthly, but audience is one thing. They really do drive additional value. It enhances the relationship because they’re bringing additional information and offerings for us to consider to the table.”

Composite Organization

Based on the interviews, Forrester constructed a TEI framework, a composite company, and an ROI analysis that illustrates the areas financially affected. The composite organization is representative of the 10 interviewees, and it is used to present the aggregate financial analysis in the next section. The composite organization has the following characteristics:

Description of composite. The composite organization is a ten-billion-dollar organization with users located primarily in North America, but also a notable international presence. At the beginning of the composite analysis for this report, there are 5,000 Dell devices in the organization’s deployment.

Deployment characteristics. The composite organization begins with 5,000 Dell devices in the organization’s deployment split 70% and 30% between Latitude laptops and OptiPlex desktops, respectively (3,500 Latitude laptops, 1,500 OptiPlex desktops). Based on the reliability of Dell’s devices and resilience of its supply chain, the composite organization begins to increase its overall share of Dell devices among all their organization’s devices over the course of the analysis. In each year, the composite increases its Latitude laptop deployment by 5% and it’s OptiPlex desktop deployment by 2%, replacing devices from other vendors as part of these refresh cycles. In addition, the composite refreshes these devices one year later than before based on the continued performance Latitude and OptiPlex devices beyond historic refresh cycles. Latitude laptops are now refreshed on a 48-month cycle, while OptiPlex desktops are replaced on a 72-month cycle, saving on capex amid a period of business uncertainty.

Quantified benefit data as applied to the composite

End-User Productivity Reclaimed Through Device Reliability

Evidence and data. Interviewees told Forrester that the reliability of Dell Latitude laptops and OptiPlex desktops, over both short-term and long-term relationships, enabled users to perform optimally without their devices bottlenecking the users’ performance. According to interviewees, device reliability rates were at the very least on-par and often better than devices from other vendors, while Dell’s supply chain reliability allowed for faster parts or device availability, leading to faster device repair/replacement and minimal user impact in the event of a device issue. Overall, end users used their own Dell device more often as a result of Dell’s supply chain performance, high device reliability, and support (including certification programs).

• The senior digital manager at a grocery retailer noted that Dell’s supply chain was the most consistent of the hardware vendors they regularly ordered devices from, also highlighting the fact that device forecasting with the Dell team further enhanced this efficiency. The interviewee summarized, “We work with Dell on forecasting device [demand] and they’re great on lead time.” The interviewee also told Forrester that Dell was seemingly less affected by pandemic-era supply chain shortages, resulting in no serious delays in parts or device availability, allowing their organization to continue supporting (and onboarding) new end users. The senior digital manager also explained that Dell’s support team was a very important component of their device reliability story, stating, “One of the major benefits of the Dell relationship is the ability to escalate any issues and get help very quickly.” They recounted a scenario where the Dell team accelerated a BIOS update to resolve a microphone issue on their Latitude laptops before the update was available publicly, entirely eliminating the potentially disruptive issue to end users in a very short timeframe.
• The director of PC engineering at a retailer also cited Dell’s supply chain as a differentiator and driver of reliability for Latitude and OptiPlex devices (supporting over 100,000 Latitude and OptiPlex devices). They stated: “Dell has been able to consistently deliver to us with no delay during [and after the pandemic], even though we’re probably paying less per device than other customers. They might have been better off selling to their other customers to make more money, but they honored their agreements and tried to meet their delivery commitments. Dell has consistently been the only [vendor] that could get us devices. Everybody else wants to get us equipment faster, but all we hear are apologies. I don’t know what they’ve done differently than the others, but they’re consistently able to deliver.”
• The senior digital manager at the grocery retailer also spoke to the quality of Latitude laptops as a way to push back on bring-your-own-device (BYOD) requests from end users based on security concerns: “We don’t want BYOD, so we buy our users the best of the best in the Latitude line, which comes with highest level of quality. What we’ve seen with those machines anecdotally, and what our ticketing volume really shows is that we have an extremely small failure rate on those machines.” This interviewee noted that the number of Latitude devices that required physical repair was less than 1% annually, with hard drive swaps taking internal resources around 15 minutes to resolve and minimizing the downtime impact on end users. Potential issues on Latitude and OptiPlex devices were also mitigated proactively through Dell SupportAssist and TechDirect before they resulted in downtime.
• Several interviewees highlighted the product segmentation and roadmapping of Dell’s Latitude and OptiPlex product lines as a benefit to their users. The director IS service assurance at a healthcare organization told Forrester that Dell worked closely with their end users to ensure that new devices enhanced their working experiences, rather than disrupting it. This interviewee also noted that Dell worked with their organization to ensure that upcoming devices maintained compatibility with healthcare industry-specific peripherals, ensuring that only devices that fit the current environment were certified.
• The director IS service assurance at the healthcare organization continued, explaining how despite global supply chain disruptions, the Dell team worked with their procurement teams to modify existing plans to supply users with devices that still checked all the performance and capabilities boxes, shielding their users from these supply chain-related delays. The interviewee noted, “The Dell team is always very helpful in finding solutions to ensure we can still continue to provide products to our users when they need them.”
• The interviewee highlighted Dell device availability to their university population as a major component to the overall reliability of Latitude and OptiPlex devices, as Dell devices (and replacements) got to their respective users faster. The interviewee summarized: “Dell is a business process company for us. Dell was better than its PC competitors in supply chain before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and after the pandemic. It has been our experience that Dell devices are getting to their users quicker [than competitors].”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite organization starts with 5,000 total Dell devices split 70% and 30% between Latitude and OptiPlex (3,500 Latitude laptops and 1,500 OptiPlex desktops). This figure increases annually as more Dell devices are acquired during the annual refresh cycle.
• Five percent of the Latitude laptops require a repair (requiring a part) or replacement annually due to user mishandling or device failure.
• Two percent of OptiPlex desktops require a repair (requiring a part) annually.
• Based on more consistent availability of replacement parts and on-hand loaner devices attributable to Dell’s supply chain, end users average 20 fewer hours without their Latitude devices in the case of a device failure that requires a physical repair.
• An end user operates at 25% effectiveness without their primary Dell Latitude device.
• The average burdened hourly rate for an end user is $43.
• A Dell OptiPlex desktop is repaired three days (24 business hours) faster on average due to on-hand parts availability.
• The average cost of downtime for a Dell OptiPlex desktop is $560 per day based on the nature of work that they are used for.

Risks. This benefit will vary among organizations based on:

• Historical device (Dell and non-Dell) failure rates, including end-user mishandling, as they relate to the level that Dell’s supply chain can improve overall reliability/end-user uptime.
• The nature of the work that an organization’s end users complete on Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices as it relates to the overall cost of downtime.
• An organization’s internal or contracted device support resources as it relates to the ability quickly manage end-user device repair and/or replacement.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $370,000.

Direct Cost Savings Through Extended Device Service Life

Evidence and data. Interviewees told Forrester that they could confidently extend the service lives of their Latitude and OptiPlex devices to save on capex amid period of business and economic uncertainty. This was based on the current and historical reliability of Dell’s Latitude and OptiPlex devices, as well as the superior performance of Dell’s supply chain throughout the pandemic-era and post-pandemic shortages which affected many other global supply chains. In addition, should issues with their Latitude and OptiPlex desktops arise, interviewees cited the responsiveness of the Dell team as a major factor in the reliability of their devices overall, quickly escalating and resolving these issues before they could more directly affect end users.

• The IT manager at the energy organization explained that the economic realities of their business dictated that devices could not be refreshed as regularly as they wished. The reliability, availability of parts, and ease of support allowed their organization to leave their Dell Latitude devices in the field past their planned refresh date with confidence in their ability to enable end-user performance. The interviewee explained: “We work oil fields, so we have lots of ups and downs in our business. We might start off with a short lifecycle with a plan to do a refresh, but it ends up being longer [than we would have liked]. The fact that we have very little issues with our Latitudes and OptiPlex, especially since they’re used in opposite settings, means we get more than three years lifecycle out of [the devices]. They really can also be utilized without downside for five or more years.”
• The principal technology advisor also noted that the reliability of OptiPlex desktops at their university improved over the years beyond an already stellar reputation with staff. This interviewee noted that this gave the budget holders the option to leave these devices in the field longer than the typical four-year refresh without downside: “OptiPlex is just incredibly solid. They disappear in a good way, which is a big deal for us. As OptiPlex has gotten even more reliable over the past few years, many [budget holders] are just extending the warranty.” The same interviewee noted that repurposing OptiPlex desktops was very common past the four-year mark as well, avoiding additional desktop purchases across departments or schools.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite organization extends Dell Latitude refresh cycles from 36 months to 48 months based on device performance, reliability, consistency of parts availability, and peripheral compatibility. Per the interviews, the typical knowledge worker requires their device to perform well on commonly used office productivity software, which performs consistently well past historic device service life. This offsets the capex spend of 280 laptops annually.
• Dell OptiPlex refresh cycles are extended to 72 months from 60 months, offsetting the expense of 50 desktops annually.
• The average cost avoided per laptop is $1,133.
• The average cost avoided per desktop is $1,236.

Risks. This benefit will vary among organizations based on:

• Current device refresh cycles and ownership status for devices (i.e. leased vs. owned).
• The device performance requirements of an end user’s day-to-day responsibilities as it relates to the ability to extend device refresh cycles.
• The skill and capacity of an organization’s internal or contracted support resources to support extended device service life.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $801,000.

IT Support Personnel Productivity Benefits

Evidence and data. Based on the low issue rates of Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices, the ability to extend device service life, and external Dell resources to assist with more complicated support cases, interviewees told Forester that their IT personnel who were tasked with supporting their organizations’ deployment of Dell devices saved time and dedicated this saved time to other IT support tasks.

• Interviewees cited Dell’s proactive support resources, which were available with Latitude and OptiPlex deployments, as a differentiator in reliability. These resources allowed IT support staff to act appropriately on more accurate information. The principal technology advisor at an education organization summarized: “Dell’s data tends to be the best, which is a differentiator for Dell. If we have a concern about a system, we have more confidence in the output that we’re getting from Dell. We get any issues identified faster, which leads us to remedying these in days versus weeks.” Support staff worked off more accurate, proactive system information and spent less time troubleshooting.
• The director of PC engineering at the retail organization that supports over 100,000 Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices noted the efficient design of Dell’s support structure. More direct access to parts or loaner devices through Dell technicians reduced the burden on their own internal support resources to physically repair devices.
• The senior digital manager at the grocery retailer detailed the impact of the continued reliability and low issue rate of their organization’s Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices on their hardware support team, explaining that despite significant employee (and therefore device fleet) growth in the past few years, they’ve maintained the same contracted internal resources to support their organization’s devices “instead of just adding headcount and doing things the same way we’ve been doing them all along.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite organization avoids hiring three part-time resources (equating to 1.5 support FTEs) despite an increase in the number of devices in the organization, resulting from continually improving Latitude and OptiPlex device reliability and proactive support capabilities.
• The average fully burdened annual salary for an IT support FTE is $90,000.

Risks. This benefit will vary among organizations based on:

• The skill and capacity of an organization’s internal or contracted support resources as it relates to the need to hire additional resources despite improved device reliability and support processes.
• The number of Latitude and OptiPlex devices in an organization.
• The proximity of end users to support resources as it relates to required shipping and receiving responsibilities.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $302,000.

Cost Savings On Non-Dell Devices

Evidence and data. Interviewees noted that by investing in Dell Latitude laptops and OptiPlex desktops, their organizations were not required to invest in other devices for these users. While many of the interviewees noted their organizations multisource devices from multiple vendors, they collectively noted that their close relationships with Dell frequently allowed their organizations to get devices configured appropriately for their respective user personas at a more competitive price point than similar hardware from other vendors.

• Although the senior digital manager at the grocery store acknowledged that Dell provided the most competitive pricing (5% to 10% better on average) for their organization, they noted that its quality and reliability still came out on top: “We’re primarily a Dell shop but we’re always evaluating other vendors making sure that we’re getting the best deals and being cost conscious. But we stick with Dell because of the relationships we have, better pricing, and what we feel is simply the better-quality product.”
• The principal technology advisor noted that Dell worked with their team to provide aggressive pricing and 45-month terms (the duration of an undergraduate’s program) for a Latitude device to students who meet the criteria for financial aid. The interviewee stated, “This program would simply not be possible [with other vendors] if it weren’t for Dell.” The interviewee noted that Dell was the most price competitive and flexible to work with of their university’s PC vendors, often 5% to 10% more competitive than others for similarly configured hardware. They concluded: “Our Latitude 7000 series notebook is a great product for a very competitive price. It’s a better deal than we can get elsewhere.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• For each Dell Latitude or OptiPlex device that is purchased, cost is avoided on another device purchase that would have been required.
• The composite organization avoids purchasing 875 to 964 non-Dell laptops annually (Year 1 to Year 3, respectively) as Dell Latitude laptops are refreshed into the organization.
• The composite organization avoids purchasing 250 to 260 non-Dell desktops annually (Year 1 to Year 3, respectively) as Dell OptiPlex desktops are refreshed into the organization.
• The average cost (blended across all configurations) of a non-Dell laptop is $1,133, a conservative 3% higher than Dell pricing based on the interviews.
• The average cost (blended across all configurations) of a non-Dell desktop is $1,236, 3% higher than Dell pricing based on the interviews.

Risks. These avoided costs will vary among organizations based on:

• The number of devices refreshed by an organization annually, as it relates to potential for savings on non-Dell devices.
• Pricing and contract specifics an organization may have with one or more vendors that affect pricing differences between Dell and non-Dell devices.

Results. To account for these variances, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $3.2 million.

Unquantified Benefits

Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify directly:

• Partnership with Dell. Beyond the quantifiable benefits of the Dell relationship (e.g., pricing, configuration knowledge, issue escalation), interviewees collectively described working with Dell as a true partnership, rather than a commercial relationship alone.
  • The senior director of end-user computing at a conglomerate noted this relationship was a key differentiator for Dell amid other vendor relationships at their organization, stating: “One of the biggest reasons why Dell has continued to get our business is that they have been a good partner to work with. The people I deal with have been reliable. They seem to want to do what we want, and they’re very responsive.”
  • The director IS service assurance at a healthcare organization also cited Dell’s responsiveness, explaining that their industry required this level of support on the device side: “The support that we receive from the account team has been extremely valuable both from the sales side and the technical side. They’re very responsive, take immediate action, and they escalate when necessary. They champion our issues within the support department to ensure quick responses. In healthcare with some of our devices in clinical settings, we do not have the luxury of time to allow an issue to linger. We need to resolve them as quickly as possible and the support from the Dell team is extremely valuable here.”

Flexibility

The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement Latitude and OptiPlex devices and later realize additional business opportunities, including:

• Additional budget flexibility. As highlighted in Benefit B, interviewees expressed confidence in their ability to delay device refreshes if necessary for both Latitude and OptiPlex devices should their business (and budget) require it. Interviewees also noted that with additional reliability and performance as Dell continues to update its Latitude and OptiPlex lines, the possibility to delay refreshes or repurpose hardware to other areas of the business may expand, leading to additional cost savings for their organizations in the future without affecting end-user performance.

Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Appendix A).

Quantified cost data as applied to the composite

Annual Cost For Dell Devices (Annual Refresh)

Evidence and data. Interviewees told Forrester that their organizations refreshed their Dell Latitude and OptiPlex devices on a regular cadence. Most of the interviewees noted that Dell was increasing as a percentage of the overall share of their PC devices due to confidence in the reliability, performance, and ability to consistently support these devices.

• Several interviewees explained that Dell’s performance on part and device availability during the COVID-19 pandemic earned Dell additional share within their organizations during that period and beyond, given the confidence Dell instilled in their decision-makers.
• Most of the interviewees’ organizations refresh Latitude devices on a 36-month or 48-month cycle, while most organizations refresh OptiPlex on a 48-month to 60-month cycle.

Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester makes the following assumptions:

• The composite organization refreshes its Latitude laptops on a 48-month refresh cycle, or 25% of the organization’s laptops annually at an average cost (blended across all configurations) of $1,100 each. Each refresh cycle, the number of Latitude laptops increases by 5% as Dell’s devices gain a higher share of the organization’s overall PC deployment.
• The composite organization refreshes its OptiPlex desktops on a 60-month refresh cycle, or 16.67% of the organization’s desktops annually at an average cost (blended across all configurations including display) of $1,200 each. Each refresh cycle, the number of OptiPlex desktops increases by 2% as Dell’s devices gain a higher share of the organization’s overall PC deployment.

Risks. This cost will vary among organizations based on:

• The number of devices refreshed by an organization annually.
• The specific Latitude and OptiPlex models or configurations required to support the organization’s users, which may vary based on end user or industry.

Results. To account for these variances, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $3.4 million.

Consolidated Three-Year, Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Cash Flow Chart (Risk-Adjusted)

Total costs Total benefits Cumulative net benefits

• 

  PRESENT VALUE (PV)

  The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PV of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.

• 

  NET PRESENT VALUE (NPV)

  The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows is given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.

• 

  RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)

  A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.

• 

  DISCOUNT RATE

  The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.

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