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Hardware as a Service

The #1 Secret to a Great HaaS Experience

Hardware as a Service (HaaS) - the #1 secret to a great experience - Corsica Technologies

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As modern technology environments get more and more complex, it gets more challenging to maintain essential hardware. Server patches, workstation updates, wireless security—it’s a lot for overworked IT teams. It’s even more overwhelming if you don’t have IT staff.

For many companies, the answer is hardware as a service (HaaS). This arrangement allows you to outsource your hardware needs to a trusted partner—so you can refocus on your core responsibilities.

But not all HaaS providers offer the same value.

In fact, there’s one secret to a great HaaS experience—but we’ll get to that in a moment.  

First, let’s get the terminology straight.

1. What is hardware as a service (HaaS)?
3. Hardware as a service pricing
5. Hardware as a service companies
2. The #1 secret to a great HaaS experience
4. Hardware as a service examples
6. The takeaway

1. What is hardware as a service (HaaS)?

Hardware as a service (HaaS) is a procurement model in which a customer rents or leases equipment like computers, servers, and network hardware rather than buying the devices. In terms of the rent vs. buy dilemma, it’s the rental version of hardware procurement.

Of course, not all HaaS providers take the same approach. Some offer bare-bones agreements, while others offer comprehensive hardware support services. More on that below!

HaaS vs. DaaS (device as a service)

You may encounter the term device as a service (DaaS) rather than HaaS. These phrases are largely interchangeable, though different providers may offer different terms (such as leasing to own) or equipment (such as offering laptops and computers exclusively).

Since HaaS is the more common term, we’ll use that here.

What’s included in hardware as a service?

A HaaS service agreement should cover all maintenance, upgrades, and services that are required to keep things running smoothly. It should also cover device replacement if older equipment is lost, stolen, or becomes obsolete.

However, not all HaaS contracts are created equal. Many HaaS providers simply lease equipment and offer minimal maintenance rather than providing comprehensive managed services. This means many support scenarios will be “out of scope” according to the fine print in the contract. That can lead to surprising bills (see Pricing below).

It’s better to find a HaaS provider who offers far more than just equipment leases, basic maintenance, and device replacement.

Here’s what we cover here at Corsica Technologies.

Flexible packages

  • No need to rip out your existing hardware before it’s obsolete

Equipment as a service

  • Laptops and desktop computers
  • Tablets and mobile devices
  • Servers
  • Firewalls, routers, and network switches
  • Wireless access points

Managed services

Strategic consulting

  • vCIO (virtual CIO) services
  • vCISO (virtual CISO) services
  • Three-year technology roadmap

As you can see, a good HaaS agreement goes far beyond hardware leasing. In fact, HaaS offers numerous benefits—as long as your provider offers comprehensive managed services alongside your hardware.

Let’s explore those benefits.

HaaS customer experience - Corsica Technologies

2. The secret to a great HaaS experience

Hardware as a service is a great fit for organizations that don’t want the burden of device maintenance and upgrades. This is especially true for companies that prefer opex (operating expenses) to capex (capital expenses). The HaaS model requires very little upfront investment—or perhaps none at all, depending on the provider’s terms—while offering a consistent monthly operating cost that’s easy to work into the budget.

But not all HaaS providers offer the same benefits. Most don’t offer comprehensive managed services.

In fact, it’s common practice for HaaS providers to offer hardware leasing alone—without the managed services that are required to integrate that hardware into your environment and your operations.

The best providers go beyond this. They offer comprehensive managed services that proactively support your devices and your environment as a whole. This is how they maintain IT harmony.

Of course, comprehensive services aren’t the only benefit of HaaS—and many providers don’t actually offer comprehensive services. Here are all the benefits of HaaS as opposed to traditional hardware purchasing.

  • No budgeting surprises.
  • Expert managed services included (if you pick the right provider).
  • No more struggling to get capital expenditures approved.
  • Stable monthly costs fit your opex model.
  • No responsibility for upgrades, maintenance, incident remediation, or replacement.

Of course, hardware as a service isn’t right for every company. It all depends on several factors:

  • How much bandwidth your IT staff has to maintain devices proactively.
  • How well you can handle unexpected replacement costs when devices reach end-of-life.

If you have limited staff availability to maintain devices, and if you have a limited appetite for unexpected capital expenditures, then HaaS is a great way to supply your organization with computers, servers, and network hardware.

But how much does HaaS typically cost? How is it priced, and how do you find the best price for your organization?

Let’s dive into that.

3. Hardware as a service pricing

How much does hardware as a service typically cost?

The answer depends on several factors.

  • The number and type of devices that you need
  • How comprehensive the services are (if the provider offers services)
  • The provider’s pricing model

Believe it or not, the provider’s pricing model actually has the largest impact on your quoted price—and on your total cost to use the hardware. Providers may promise maintenance, upgrades, and replacement services, but when you read the fine print, many common scenarios will actually be out of scope. That means you’ll end up paying more than your quoted monthly price—and those bills can be quite surprising.

The alternative is to find a HaaS provider with simple pricing model.

Here at Corsica Technologies, HaaS is available as part of our Corsica Complete package. Use our FREE pricing calculator to see what your package could look like—including HaaS, IT services, cybersecurity, digital transformation as a service, and more.

4. Hardware as a service examples

What does HaaS look like in real life?

Here are a few example problems—and how HaaS solves them.

1. Your organization can’t (or won’t) buy hardware

Not every organization has the cash reserves to handle their ongoing hardware needs. Yet many organizations do have stable cashflow and room in the budget for another predictable cost.

Hardware as a service is the perfect fit here. This approach allows you to hand off your hardware needs to a trusted partner, adding one predictable line item to your budget. It’s an especially good model for nonprofits and other organizations that have stable income but limited cash reserves.

2. 25% of your computers can’t upgrade to a secure OS

Once an older OS is no longer supported, every machine still running it becomes a security risk. You can’t have those computers connected to the internet without a plan to replace them soon.

If you have 100 users in your company, it’s big investment to replace 25 machines all at once. Of course, OS obsolescence comes with plenty of warning, but it’s challenging to stay on top of these things if your internal IT team already has their hands full. (It’s even harder if you don’t have IT staff!)

Hardware as a service can get you out of this bind—while also preventing it in the future. With a trusted partner maintaining your devices and planning for necessary replacement, you won’t end up in a tough spot. You also won’t have to get a massive capital expenditure approved just to keep your operations running.

3. You’re opening a new location, but you don’t want to invest in computers and network gear

Workstations and network equipment add up fast. If you need to open a new location while minimizing your cash outlay, HaaS can help you get the equipment you need without making a significant investment. The key, of course, is to work with a HaaS provider who offers network and wireless hardware in addition to workstations.

4. Your 20-year-old server died (and you don’t have a backup)

No one should be running a crucial server without backup and recovery services—but it happens more often than anyone would like to admit. While hardware as a service won’t help you recover lost data in this scenario, the arrangement can save you many of the headaches.

Rather than having to purchase, install, and configure the new server yourself, your HaaS provider will do so. Couple this value with backup and recovery services, and the death of a server doesn’t have to disrupt your business.

This is one more reason we recommend a full managed IT services agreement with HaaS as one component. See