DAMAGED LAPTOPS COST BILLIONS

Damaged laptops will cost British businesses £2,073 billion in repair and data replacement costs, according to a recent prediction from IDC and Panasonic.

A research document from IDC and Panasonic claims that the £2,073 billion costs of damaged laptops exclude loss of business continuity, lost business and customer dissatisfaction.

An estimated 14 per cent of the 9.2 million laptops sold to British businesses between 2007 and 2009 will suffer from damage or accidents and the average repair bill per lap top is £1,576 - which amounts to a staggering £2 billion overall cost to British business.

According to the report, 20 per cent of laptops in business require repair each year and 14.2 per cent of repairs are the result of physical damage or accidents.

Stephen Yeo, Panasonic Toughbook’s EMEA marketing director, said that businesses should realise that every laptop carries a potential hidden cost of £224 per year. Over a threeyear life, that adds up to a hidden cost through breakages of £672. The survey found that 72 per cent of respondents claimed that damaged keyboards were the main problem followed by 66 per cent who said that damaged display screens were the issue. Next up were hard drives and batteries (50 per cent of respondents).

It was, however, human error and carelessness that were the cause of most repairwork with 72 per cent of respondents claiming they dropped their laptops and 66 per cent spilling liquid (tea, coffee, water) on them. Fifty five per cent said that their laptops fell off their desk or table.

Workers in field service followed by those in office and administrative support and sales were the most accidentprone group.

Lost productivity (63 per cent), loss of important company information (37 per cent) and lost or delayed sales (34 per cent) were all caused by damaged laptops.

IDC and Panasonic advised businesses to consider durability when choosing their laptops.

The Business Case for Ruggedized PCs is the title of a research document based on a survey of 300 US companies.