Lowest purchase price and lowest total cost are not the same thing.

Attractive on the price tag

The proposed mass-market systems used slow storage, limited memory, proprietary components, and designs that would restrict repairability and upgrades.

For professionals whose time carried substantial value, saving a modest amount at purchase risked creating years of slower work and more expensive support.

Test the assumption

Rather than debating specifications, Gables Network purchased the proposed model and placed it into the managing partner’s real workflow for a trial.

The limitations became clear quickly. The firm could make its decision from experience rather than competing sales claims.

Build for the real environment

• Faster solid-state storage
• Appropriate memory for the workload
• Quiet, effective cooling
• Efficient components
• Standard parts that could be repaired and upgraded
• Local backup capacity
• Configuration for the firm’s applications and network
• Complete testing before deployment

Ready for the change nobody planned

Ten systems were built and deployed. Completed shortly before pandemic lockdowns, they later moved to employees’ homes, connected through the firm’s VPN, and continued operating dependably.

The solution was not extravagant. It was appropriate: a modest increase in purchase cost for markedly better performance, serviceability, and useful life.