Myths and Facts

1 | Myth: Brand new IT is better than refurbished. 

Truth: Whilst new IT solutions are a necessary part of some organisations’ IT infrastructure, such as when critical environments require full vendor support warranties or when the latest firmware updates and software versions are required. Our research with the University of East London, conducted in 2020, revealed that the energy and performance of CPUs, server RAM, and data centre storage testing revealed was identical between a new and refurbished server, of the same manufacturer and model. 

Read our blog for more information - 21 Reasons Why Refurbished IT is the Future. 

 

2 |Myth: It’s safer to store data on-premise than in the cloud. 

Truth: Cloud storage is actually often safer than on-premise as it includes enterprise-class infrastructure. Due to being geographically separated from the workplace, some people believe that the cloud can’t be as safe, however, in the cloud, files are stored on some of the world’s most secure servers and protected by the highest security measures. 

To discuss cloud migration and backup solutions, please get in touch with our experts. 

 

3 | Myth: It’s essential to replace IT hardware every year. 

Truth:  Unless there’s a specific feature or hardware dependency you need for your business operations if you buy your IT hardware from a known and trusted brand, upgrading every 3-5 years should be sufficient.  

To learn more about our IT support and hardware recommendations, please contact our Enterprise Solutions team. 

  

4 | Myth: Common sense is as good as antivirus software. 

Truth: Whilst it’s helpful to apply common sense when it comes to IT security and ensuring that employees know what precautions to take to prevent data being compromised is essential, antivirus software is, without a doubt, an essential part of a good security strategy.  

Antivirus software detects, prevents, and mitigates against malicious software in your IT network. 

Techbuyer’s in-house experts can recommend antivirus solutions for your organisation, please get in touch here. 

 

5 | Myth: It is safe to open any attachment from inside your company.  

Truth: Phishing emails are designed to appear as though they have been sent by a colleague, friend, customer, or another familiar contact. It is always wise to check that an attachment or hyperlink is legitimate before opening.  

One of the simplest ways to protect yourself and your organisation from becoming a victim of a phishing scam is to install Internet security software on your computer which provides multiple layers of protection. 

 

6 | Myth: Virus protection isn’t necessary if you don’t have sensitive data. 

Truth: Employees who don’t have any sensitive or valuable files on their computer may think that they don’t need to worry about a potential cyber-attack, however, if an employee’s PC is exposed to attack, so is your organisation’s business network. An unprotected endpoint can act as a doorway into your entire system, and, if compromised, could have devastating results. To find out about antivirus solutions from marketing-leading vendors, please get in touch here. 

 

7 | Myth: Adding RAM speeds up your PC 

Truth: RAM holds data for your active applications and doesn’t increase your system speed. However, an upgrade in RAM is a great way of giving an older PC a performance boost and older machines may benefit from the addition of more of the right kind of RAM. See our wide range of RAM here.  

 

8 | Myth: Computers should be shut down every night. 

Truth: In the past, hard drives, and other parts, were not as robust so the advice was to shut computers down every night to make them last longer. Nowadays components are built and designed to last, meaning they can safely be left running overnight. 

However, if you leave your machine running then it’s using energy, so either turn it off whilst you’re not using it or use a power-saving mode or standby. 

Additionally, important patches and software updates usually install when a computer shuts down and restarts so it’s a good idea to power down regularly. 

 

9 | Myth: Deleting contents from your hard drive actually erases them. 

Truth: When it comes to data storage, deleted files are marked as available space on your drive and allow this data to be overwritten. However, until you actually overwrite the data it is still recoverable, therefore deleting something from your hard drive doesn’t actually permanently erase it.  

Techbuyer offers the highest industry standards of HDD and SSD data sanitisation and disposal. Learn more here.  

 

10 | Myth: IT recycling is the most sustainable IT disposal solution.  

Truth: IT recycling is a very limited process. Even the most advanced IT recycling technologies are unable to recover the full material composition of IT equipment and the process does have an associated energy cost.  

Instead of sending redundant IT equipment to be recycled, IT reuse, redeployment, repurposing and refurbishment should be considered. These methods help to extend the lifespan of IT equipment, reduce e-waste and address the carbon footprint of IT hardware. Find out more here.