Technology budgets are growing. Productivity is not keeping pace. For most CIOs and IT leaders, that gap is already visible. What is less obvious is how often the device fleet is quietly driving it.
Extending device lifecycles made sense a few years ago. Budgets were under pressure, and with security, AI, and platform modernisation all competing for investment, sweating assets was a defensible call. But the operating environment has shifted, and a decision that once reduced cost is now creating it.
The costs you are probably not tracking
The problem with ageing hardware is that its costs rarely show up in one place. They accumulate across teams and time in ways that are easy to absorb, until they are not.
Support demand increases. Security controls that rely on modern hardware cannot run on older devices, widening your vulnerability window with every month they stay in service. And when it comes to AI, a Copilot licence on an underspecified device delivers a fraction of its potential. The bottleneck is the endpoint, not the application.
Then there is the productivity impact, which is measurable. Independent research by IDC found that organisations running modern Microsoft Surface devices gained:
- 25.5 additional productive hours per device per year
- 25% less IT time spent on device management and security
- 20% less IT time spent on support
Across a workforce of hundreds, those numbers compound every day.
(Source: IDC Business Value White Paper, sponsored by Microsoft, April 2025)
And on total cost of ownership, the IDC analysis found that the average Surface device costs 28% less to buy and run over three years than a comparable Windows PC from another manufacturer, despite a higher upfront purchase price.
Holding on is not as cost-effective as it looks.
A refresh cycle is not a device strategy
Most organisations replace devices when they fail or hit an age threshold. That is a refresh cycle. It is not a device strategy.
The distinction matters more now than it used to. An intentional approach aligns device selection to how different roles actually work, accounts for total cost of ownership, and treats adoption as part of the deployment from the start, not an afterthought. Microsoft Surface devices powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 processors are built for exactly that kind of intentional alignment, with form factors and performance specifications designed around how people actually work, not a one-size-fits-all standard.
If you want to understand what that looks like in practice, and what it means for your organisation specifically, our device strategy asset goes deeper.
Download the full device strategy guide here.
Partner with a Microsoft Surface Platinum Partner
Choosing the right partner matters as much as choosing the right device.
ASI is one of just eleven accredited Microsoft Platinum Partners worldwide. For organisations, that status opens access to Microsoft-funded initiatives that can support digital skills training at no additional cost, helping your team adopt new technology faster, build digital confidence across departments, and reduce IT strain through increased self-sufficiency.
We manage the full process from procurement and configuration through to rollout and adoption. The device decision and the people side of it, handled together.
EOFY is a decision point
For organisations approaching the end of financial year, the question is not whether to invest. It is whether to make that investment deliberately or by default.
Talk to our team. We can map where your fleet stands, what the funding options look like, and what a structured refresh would mean for your organisation.
Ready to review your device strategy?
Whether you are mid-cycle or overdue for a refresh, our team can help you build a plan that makes sense for your organisation.
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