What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops is that our users primarily use them for Outlook, Excel, presentations, and day-to-day office applications.
What is most valuable?
From the IT admin side, my favorite feature of Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops is the repairability of the machines, which has always been easy for me and my team. For users, it's straightforward, and there are not many complications involved in locating the bits and parts on laptops, the right buttons, keys, and ports. So they've been fairly straightforward.
I have realized some benefits from using Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops; previously, the customer support, online support, and phone support were always very good and had a lot of cop-on to it. When we were speaking with your engineers, they knew what was fixable, what wasn't, and didn't have to put me through steps one to ten every single time to fix something. They recognized from the very start they were speaking to someone who knew there was an issue with the laptop, so that has always had a grounding with us and kept us with Dell, specifically the back-end support.
What needs improvement?
There are a few areas for improvement in Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops that I would suggest; one is a longer lead on the docking stations, which is primarily causing a lot of people bother at the moment.
Additionally, a lot of the bloatware that comes with the PC, such as the Optimizer and Dell peripheral applications, are OTT and get in the way rather than help sometimes.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops for about 15 to 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Regarding the stability and reliability of Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops, my assessment is that they don't fail very often, and the hardware does what I expect it to do. However, I believe some of the software could be removed because I don't need it all the time. Overall, it's a pretty good experience really.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops scale well with the growing needs of my company, as there's always a product that suits the needs of engineers, field sales managers, or executives. There's always something available, and no tech is out there that isn't available on laptops, so it's pretty good.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate Dell support an 8.5 or nine out of ten since you're not too long on the phone. You're talking with someone, and sometimes you might get triaged, which is fine, however, you always end up fairly quickly with the person who's going to fix your problem or help you get a replacement part out. We've never been on the phone longer than 15 minutes with any issue I've ever had with Dell, and that's a huge bonus to me.
How would you rate customer service and support?
What was our ROI?
I wouldn't say we quantify exactly the return on our investment into these solutions, however, we have an internal write-off of three years on laptops, and we don't find ourselves returning laptops before the three years. We're getting at least three years; we had one individual who came in from the cold, out from the field, and he'd had his laptop for eight and a half years, and he surprised us how well he was doing with it. He didn't want to change; the only reason he had to change was the Windows 11 upgrade. So we gave him back the PC, the old 8.5, maybe an E-series, and he just stuck to using it for himself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops was that pricing and setup for the laptops and accessories weren't a challenge. It was something, when everything was moved online with Dell, my execs, who I've had a number of, were all extremely good in taking our time and building up a proper Premier page. It became a tool for me to use without annoying them. Any tweaks that needed to be made were always communicated via a quick email or a conversation to touch base and provide the latest features that might have been included with a laptop, and update the Premier page to remove the older configurations and retain the newer ones. It's been pretty good; we liked it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops, we considered some Lenovo models that many people prefer, and a significant number of gamers working with us tend to prefer ASUS machines. However, we prefer not to go that way unless absolutely necessary for something that the user specifically wanted.
Some people really prefer the Lenovo lightness of some of the X1 Carbons and the keyboards, while others do not prefer the keyboards on Dell machines, and that's just a preference.
For field personnel who need to use the keyboard on a laptop, we sometimes make an accommodation and provide them with a different laptop. Otherwise, they're docked with the laptop and use a standard keyboard, so keyboard preferences are there.
What other advice do I have?
The pros and cons between all these suppliers include that Dell is in Ireland, which helps an awful lot. I have had a good relationship with the executives, and anytime there's ever an issue, they've been helpful to fix it.
Cost has been comparable. Again, the back-end support was a really huge reason why we stuck with Dell, as it was straightforward to get something fixed back when hardware wasn't as reliable as it is.
I rate Dell Enterprise Desktops and Laptops nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.