An update from ICT Direct

[ICTDirect_Dave]

As the Covid-19 crisis deepens, ICT Direct would like to reassure all of our customers and partners

that we are working continuously to provide you with the refurbished hardware your organisation requires.

We have taken steps to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on our company, with all office staff now working

from home and remaining staff in our warehouse following strict hygiene procedures.

We are also treating any hardware that enters the building with similar levels of caution. Our cleaning

process now involves an isopropyl stage where inbound desktops and laptops are given a once over with

cloths soaked in the substance before being sent out for processing.

 

We are determined to do what we can to prevent transmission.

 

You, our customers, can help here also. We are going to continue to provide you with the support you

would expect from us. Should you have a hardware issue that requires a warranty replacement unit we

will, of course, promptly issue the replacement so that you can get up and running as quickly as possible.

We would ask you to clean and disinfect to the best of your ability any hardware that is to be returned to us.

Our engineering team handles more parcels from different parts of the UK than any other employee. To ensure

their safety we’d appreciate you taking the time to make sure the returning machine is as clean as is possible.

We have been supplying laptops to our customers at a frantic rate for the past two weeks and we are moving to

keep up with demand. We have over 300 devices currently entering our stock system and more on the way.

 

You can be assured that we will never raise the price of our machines to take advantage of demand in the market.

Each laptop we currently have is the same price it has been, we aren’t increasing these.

 

When our current stock runs out, however. We may have to make some price increases. Our network of suppliers

is responding to increased demand by raising prices and a laptop now costs us twice what it did a month ago.

We will always be up front about this and when prices have to go up it will be by the smallest amount possible that

still allows us to operate.

 

In the meantime, prices for Desktop PCs, Workstations & Servers will remain unchanged.

 

We have been looking at how we might be able to help during a possible shutdown and we believe that we can do this

by shipping devices directly to the home address of your colleagues who need to work remotely. We can preinstall a

licensed copy of Windows 10 Professional on these devices and get them straight to the person who needs them.

Normally we charge £12 for OS install and £10 for delivery to an address that isn’t on the school premises. However,

we can provide this service for just £5 per device which covers some of the additional shipping cost we would incur.

We hope you remain in good health are taking precautions for your own safety and that of those people you may

encounter.

 

Remember, ICT Direct are here to help. If you have a need that is non-standard, call us and we’ll do our absolute best

to accommodate it.

 

Kind Regards,

 

John, Dave & Phil

[FishCustard]

Our cleaning

process now involves an isopropyl stage where inbound desktops and laptops are given a once over with

cloths soaked in the substance before being sent out for processing.

 

For those that may not know, isopropyl alcohol has been shown to be one of the best ways to kill SARS-CoV-2. It appears to be uniquely vulnerable to alcohol, becoming inactive even with contact times under 30 seconds. [1]

 

I'd also like to thank ICT-Direct for arranging a shipment of devices to us this week despite (a) the fact that they're not particularly urgent, (b) our school is mostly shut, and © the order was only placed on Tuesday. Top marks as always!

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Okay, so here's a further update.

 

For the next month at least, I'm going to change the pricing on our pre-configured servers as seen here: Servers - Refurbished servers for schools and colleges - ICT Direct - ICT Direct

 

Up until now, all servers would have a discount applied if you bought two of them. I've changed the rule so that discount will now apply on orders of a single server also.

 

To summarise:

 

HP ML310e Gen8 was £500, now £475

HP DL380p SFF Gen8 was £850, now £800

HP DL380p LFF Gen8 was £735, now £700

HP DL360 Gen9 was £1,850, now £1,750

 

Stock permitting, we'll give our servers the same priority we're currently giving laptops. Everything with regard to spec and warranty will remain the same.

Edited March 19, 2020 by ICTDirect_Dave

[sonofsanta]

In case I haven't said it recently, you're all true mensch

[mikeprice]

In case I haven't said it recently, you're all true mensch

 

Had to look that up

 

but I concur!

[ICTDirect_Dave]

In case I haven't said it recently, you're all true mensch

 

Had to look that up

 

but I concur!

 

Me too!

 

And Gee, thanks guys!

[DalekSec]

More importantly, how does this effect the NVMe i'm going to win

[ICTDirect_Dave]

More importantly, how does this effect the NVMe i'm going to win

 

Well I'm having to pay for this discount somehow.. You'll get the bill next week

 

As for prizes, I'll let you know.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Just a quick note to let you know that ICT Direct and the wider 1st Technologies family remain open and will do so whilst it remains safe for our staff.

We do not have a storefront and our warehouse is closed to the public.

 

We are processing orders as quickly as possible to ensure you get the machines you need.

 

If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave a reply here, drop me a PM, phone or email me

[TIOAOA]

@ICTDirect_Dave I think you may have a mistake on your webpage, you are of course welcome to sell it me at that price

[ICTDirect_Dave]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]57339[/ATTACH]

@ICTDirect_Dave I think you may have a mistake on your webpage, you are of course welcome to sell it me at that price

Excellent spot! That's £200 I can't afford to give away!

 

Correction incoming!