Universal Laptop Docking Station TCO and ROI

A universal dock offers several compelling advantages over the proprietary docks offered by laptop manufacturers.

A Kensington Universal USB Docking Station’s principle trump card is that its investment return can be calculated over multiple laptop lifecycles thanks to its form factor agnostic design and compatibility with mainstream OEM systems running on Windows with universal USB connectivity.

A universal dock effectively extends the product lifecycle over which Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is calculated. But how can you distill your desire for a Universal Dock into a proposal that your budget-holder will admire?

Here are the three questions you should answer when recommending switching from proprietary docks to universal docks.

1. Will a proprietary dock survive our next Laptop deployment?

Switching laptop models, let alone laptop brands will most likely render your investment in a proprietary dock obsolete as soon as the new laptops are deployed.

Think about your average user, how likely are they to still be using their current laptop for the next 1, 2, 3 years?

2. Are we likely to upgrade our Monitors in the coming computer deployment cycle?

Monitors are increasingly getting larger with higher resolution. If you are planning on deploying, for example, 4K monitors in the upcoming refresh cycle, you should ensure that the docking station you are picking can support the advanced resolution.

The benefit of the Universal USB Docking Station, such as Kensington’s SD4000, is to enable a laptop with a USB 3.0 port, to display 4K content to an external 4K monitor, even when the laptop itself does not have a 4K graphics card.

3. How much IT resource is required for deployment?

Kensington Universal Docks support corporate installation routines. While users will be able to connect the plug and play connectors themselves, and follow the on-screen prompts to install the required software in just a few minutes, administrators prefer to save their time and the time of users by deploying software installations over their network. 

Corporate installation efficiencies and control benefits should not be overlooked when calculating the deployment cost of your new laptops and docking stations. After sales email and telephone technical support is provided by Kensington without additional service costs to administrators and users in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch and Italian.

Support & Advice

Addressing these three questions when formulating your ROI will ensure that the TCO factors are captured and conveyed appropriately. Should you require support when formulating your proposal or selecting the most appropriate dock for your business, our friendly advice team will be happy to guide you through the Universal laptop docking station process.

ROI is language that is well received in the board room. Try our security ROI calculator to see how the ROI is constructed for another critical IT peripheral investment.