Things to remember while buying a business laptop

Whether you just need one laptop to begin a small business or if you’re coming into your own and need a fleet of them for your employees, the computer world can be a difficult place to navigate. It was just a few years ago that businesses would rarely use laptops. They were big, they were bulky, and they didn’t have nearly the hardware capabilities of a desktop. Now it seems like every professional on the go needs a work laptop and, in some cases, can almost forget about the desktop computer entirely. If the only thing you know is that you’re going to need a good business laptop, you’ve made the right first step. This handy guide will give you some of the ins and outs you’ll need to pick a great business laptop.

Customizability and Support

Being able to customize your computer is absolutely necessary for maximum practicality and efficiency, two things you need in a business laptop. Many consumer laptops come with myriad bloatware that you simply do not want on your computer. You’ll want the company to strip your laptop down to the OS and key programs that your business needs.

Also look for a lengthy warranty and comprehensive technical support for your laptop. That’s obvious. What’s not so obvious is how to prepare your laptop for after the warranty expires. On some laptops, physical repairs can be different. Ensure that your laptop has extremely common parts that can be bought easily and replaced with not much more than a small hex wrench or a Phillips head screwdriver.

Durability and Portability

If you’re a professional who is moving from meeting to meeting or working remotely, you don’t want to carry around a rig that weighs 3.5 kg. Some of the lightest ones come in at about 1.1 to 1.5 kg, which should be perfect.

Another consideration to make alongside that portability is the durability. Inevitably, no matter how careful you are, your laptop might take a tumble or get wet from rain or spills. Panasonic tough laptops and the others in the rugged range are designed to address issues as such, making them one of the toughest business laptops currently available as they are spill proof and tough enough to withstand a fall. Business laptops have all kinds of features to protect against the usual wear and tear. Look for alloy or aluminum casing, metal hinges and brackets, and a solid-state hard drive (SSD) to create a more rugged laptop. There are also companies that can build a water resistant laptop to protect against rain or spills.

Security

Two of the best ways to keep your laptop secure are through IT connectivity and security hardware. To prevent malware, hacking, and unauthorized use, you should equip your laptop with a self-encrypting chip, anti-malware software, and fingerprint locks or smartcards.

In the event of malicious software, your IT department should have direct access to your computer remotely to do any repairs, backups, or restores necessary. Oftentimes these operations can even be done on computers that can’t even be booted up.

Processor Speed GHz and RAM

Honestly, you probably came to this article looking for what certain specs would be ideal for your laptop. The best business laptops don’t need to be the laptops with the most gigahertz (GHz) or random access memory (RAM). They only need to be sufficient for your business.

While you may be wondering if the Alienware 18 is right for you because it runs with a blisteringly high 4 GHz, it’s absolutely not a business laptop. That laptop is specifically made for the most intensive computing: gaming. Even most multimedia-editing professionals don’t need that kind of power. For most businesses, 2.4 GHz will be fine. If you work more intensively or with a lot of media, consider bumping it up to the 3 GHz area.

When considering RAM all you need to think about is the simultaneous work you do. For watching a video and taking notes on a Word document, you’ll be fine with 4 GB of RAM. If you’re someone who likes to keep a lot of Internet tabs open or are editing raw multimedia then you’ll find that 8 or 12 GB is plenty.

Hard Drive Space

When it comes to hard drive space, the only things you even want to think about are lengthy, high quality audio pieces; hi-res pictures; videos; and any space-consuming, special programs that you might need. If you’re not holding onto those types of files, a 500 GB hard drive should be fine. Otherwise, spring for a 1 TB drive.

Battery Life

This is one of the most important things on a business laptop. In all honesty, if you want to have a top-of-the-line, cutting edge product in your laptop, spring for the best you can afford in this department. Some of the longest battery lives clock in at about seven or eight hours. To put it another way, they’ll last a whole workday.

Attachments

When you’re looking into attachments, you’re not looking for the best. You’re looking for the most ubiquitous. Plenty of USB 3.0 ports and a VGA or HDMI plugin will be fine for connecting peripherals like an additional monitor, a television for presentations, mice, webcams, or external hard drives.

For other connectivity features you need to make sure that your new laptop is Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet ready. This will allow you to connect up to the Internet or other devices (whether Wi-Fi printers or Bluetooth speakers) at a moment’s notice.

Concentrating primarily on practicality and efficiency are your most pressing concerns. Remember, when building a business laptop you’ll rarely need the absolute best products outside of possibly the battery and security. Simply ensure that your system is exactly what you need for your job and will last the test of time and you’ll have a perfectly configured rig that is right for your business.

(About the author: This article has been written by Utkarsh Sahu, who writes for various tech mags and admires technology with paradigm-shifting attributes)

(Image credits: demand-analysis)