Considering Chromebooks Part 1: Show me the money!
Conclusion: Chromebooks continue to be viewed mostly as a low-cost alternative to Windows devices. While it is true a Google G Suite/Chromebook only workspace is a considerably lower cost compared to a Microsoft workspace, a careful examination of Chromebooks in a mixed device workplace – which is the norm – reveals that some of the purported savings are overstated.
More significantly, the over-focus on the cost of devices hides the more nuanced reasons for considering Chromebooks and the role they can play in an organisation’s move towards workforce transformation.
In the first of two management advisory papers, IBRS examines the extent to which Chromebooks deliver cost savings.
About The Advisor
Joseph Sweeney
Dr. Joseph Sweeney is an IBRS advisor specialising in the areas of workforce transformation and the future of work, including; workplace strategies, end-user computing, collaboration, workflow and low code development, data-driven strategies, policy, and organisational cultural change. He is the author of IBRS’s Digital Workspaces methodology. Dr Sweeney has a particular focus on Microsoft, Google, AWS, VMWare, and Citrix. He often assists organisations in rationalising their licensing spend while increasing workforce engagement. He is also deeply engaged in the education sector. Joseph was awarded the University of Newcastle Medal in 2007 for his studies in Education, and his doctorate, granted in 2015, was based on research into Australia’s educational ICT policies for student device deployments.