If you run a business in Swansea, you’ve probably done this at least once:
Your laptop starts crawling, the fan sounds like a hairdryer, and you think, “Right. I just need a new one.” So you pop into a high street store (or grab something online), see a deal sticker, and walk out feeling smug.
Then reality hits.
It’s slow the moment you open Teams. It won’t connect to what you need. You find out it came with Windows Home. Someone mentions you need Windows Pro. Suddenly you’re buying upgrades, extra software, and spending half a day moving files.
By the time it’s actually working, the “cheap” laptop has cost you double.
Consumer vs. business hardware
Consumer laptops are built to look good on a shelf. Business laptops are built to survive daily use for years.
The difference isn’t just the logo on the lid. It’s build quality, keyboards that don’t fall apart after a year, better cooling, proper warranties, and parts you can actually replace.
And then there’s the software side.
The Windows Home trap
We regularly see Swansea businesses buy Windows Home laptops and then get stuck when they need features that are standard in business environments.
Windows Home is fine for personal use. In a business, it can quickly become a headache.
You end up needing things like:
- Encryption and security controls you can actually manage
- Domain joining or business policies (depending on how your network is set up)
- Remote management so IT can support you without driving across town
So you pay for an upgrade, buy a new license, or reconfigure everything around the laptop’s limitations. All avoidable if you’d bought the right thing in the first place.
What we handle
When you buy hardware through us, you’re getting a working setup, not just a box.
We deal with the bits people forget to factor in:
- Spec the right machine for what you actually do (not what looks good in a shop)
- Supply business-grade kit with the right Windows edition and licensing
- Set it up properly: accounts, security, updates, email, printers
- Move your data across and make sure nothing important gets left behind
- Make sure it’s backed up and recoverable (because “I’ll copy it to a USB” is how people lose a year of work)
If you want to handle some of that yourself, that’s fine too. We’ll tell you what’s worth your time and what isn’t.
Five questions before you buy
If you’re shopping around, ask these before you spend anything:
- What Windows edition is it, Home or Pro?
- How long is the warranty, and who actually handles it?
- Is it built for business use (keyboard, ports, cooling, repairability)?
- Will it run the software you actually use every day, not just “turn on”?
- What’s the plan for setup, migration, and backups?
If you don’t have clear answers to these, you’re probably going to hit problems later.
Before you buy
If you’re in Swansea or South Wales and about to buy new computers for your business, it’s worth a quick conversation first.
We can recommend what you actually need, source the right kit, and get you set up without the licensing surprises.
