Timing your Apple hardware refreshes

This morning at JNUC, six technology enthusiasts led a panel discussion that focused on an affordable way for organizations to implement Apple in their environments - participate in a buyback program. Second Life Mac lead the conversation, assuring attendees that having completed more than a billion dollars worth of transactions means they’re an organization to trust.

“We couldn’t do what we do without buybacks,” commented one of the IT admins representing a K-12 district. The other school admins agreed - noting that utilizing an Apple buyback program was the only way they could financially support an iPad implementation. Another tip they agreed on was that it’s smarter to lease, rather than buy. And when leasing, consider the length of time.

One panelist said her school resells the devices when there’s one year left on the lease (e.g., in year three of a four-year lease for iPads and in year four of a five-year lease for Macs). By ending one year early, she said they’re able to pay off the lease. “That way you can show your buying department that the amount of money you’re going to spend will be pretty consistent over the years,” she explained.

Second Life Mac agreed that focusing on time makes a world of difference when evaluating a device’s lifecycle - noting the two to three-year mark is when people make the most money through a buyback program.

“The magic is in what we call a flip,” they additionally explained. Another panelist agreed, “Flip as soon and as frequently as you can afford.” He said students will always utilize the latest features on a device, so organizations are doing a disservice to their learners if they aren’t supplying the best technology when possible. But when and how can that exchange happen?

Simply put - anywhere at any time. One of the panelists commented that their process is as easy as using Jamf to wipe the devices, moving the devices to one central location and watching Second Life Mac pick them up. And in the spirit of great customer service, Second Life Mac will even uncase and palletize devices for the customer, completely free of charge.

When considering implementing Apple devices at an organization, Second Life Mac encourages IT admins to look into the benefits of leasing and reselling - a more affordable way to provide users with the technology they need at a price schools can afford.