Today, laptops are a preferred tool in a dynamic environment and businesses cannot afford to be without their mobile capabilities. It's no secret that with the pandemic worldwide, a trend of increased demand for laptops has been noted. Let's face it - a straight jump in consumption.

The work environment is expanding its perimeter with a new understanding of teamwork, and business machines are an invariable part of this new reality. That is exactly why we chose to share useful information on how to navigate in choosing a suitable laptop for work purposes.

Geletron offers IT support and comprehensive solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. We know from experience that choosing the right technology is a key condition for the overall IT configuration. You need something durable, secure, powerful, lightweight and capable of withstanding a long day's work. And there are countless possibilities, right?

Corporate demeanor

Business laptops have the same basic components as consumer laptops, but quite a few extras to meet specific work needs. Key features to look out for are:

Sustainability – in certain cases, the presence of a strong body and keyboard are leading, so that the machines can be used in a variety of conditions. Different models are made from materials such as metal, magnesium, reinforced plastic, aluminum. Some laptops used in sectors such as construction or field service need to withstand rough treatment and extreme impacts. Rugged laptops are available from top-tier vendors (Lenovo, HP, Dell) as well as specialists such as Panasonic, Getac, GRiD and DT Research.

Size – most often we recommend between 14 and 12.5”. The line between tablets and laptops is also blurring in the world of business machines. There are several business-oriented tablets on the market right now that run full versions of Windows. Some of these tablets even have physical, removable keyboards, but overall they're still in development. Most Windows tablets are built for web browsing, Office applications and other very light computing tasks, but are also compatible with a range of security applications, VPNs, email clients and hardware peripherals such as printers, scanners and connected devices with a network (NAS). Apple fans will have to settle for using an iPad or iPad Pro for business, as a tablet-optimized version of macOS does not exist.

Battery life – The large battery is especially valuable on a flight or a long commute. Some enterprise-class laptops have two or three different types of batteries (four-cell, six-cell, and nine-cell). More cells means longer battery life. This is not always the case with laptops that use 4K displays or other power-hungry components. In this case, in order to be able to work throughout the day, it will be necessary to increase the weight of the machine. Most ultraportable laptops have non-removable, sealed batteries. Laptops with removable batteries are designed for extreme conditions.

If you think you'll need more battery life than a single charge can provide, look for an external battery pack instead of limiting yourself to a model with a removable internal battery. Combined with the internal battery, these external solutions can increase the operating range from 19 to 24 hours.

To these basic features we add:

• Weight – we recommend maximum lightweights to guarantee comfort
• Construction - ensuring good cooling, easy access for additional upgrade of components - RAM or SSD disk.
• Ergonomics – screen or monitor adjustability and eye comfort, keyboard feel and layout, location of ports, slots and webcams.
• Potential for configuration when purchased - with custom components.
• 3 years old warranty and an extended warranty option
• The parts for replacement and upgrade are easy to find and long in production

Breed "business laptop"

On the surface, business laptops look a lot like consumer laptops, but the key differences that matter most are usually under the hood. Such is the breed of this ever-evolving segment of computer manufacturing.

Processors

Many business laptops use processors from the family of Intel from the 10th generation (Ice Lake and Comet Lake), and some use the latest 11th generation processors (Tiger Lake). Large-scale workflows need hexa-core devices, for example, the latest processors Core i7 and Core i9 of the highest class. You can even find octa-core Core i9 processors in some of the larger workstation machines aimed at designers, engineers, and serious data drives. AMD-based laptops using the processor series Ryzen Pro are beginning to infiltrate some classic business laptop lines such as Lenovo ThinkPad.

At the other end of the spectrum are power-saving processors such as Intel's Y-series and Pentium processors from tablets and ultraportable laptops. These low-power processors are often marketed alongside higher-performance ones.

Several business laptops designed to run specialized software in areas such as financial modeling, engineering, and graphic design have processors Intel Xeon. These are more expensive mobile workstations and have far shorter battery lives compared to mainstream business laptops powered by Intel's Core processors. Select them only if you run specialized applications. Otherwise Intel Core i7 or Core i9 offer similar performance and typically lower prices and better battery life.

Our recommendation is to go for a processor Intel i3/i5/i7. Avoid ones that have just hit the market. It takes time for the manufacturer to ensure that the product is sufficiently tested and reliable.

And more, search no less than 4 GB of RAM, and best choose 8 GB or 16 GB. The right amount of memory allows more programs, windows and browser tabs at once, as well as faster multimedia processes (such as photo editing).

Storage solutions

With a business that uses video, multimedia PowerPoint slides, and megapixel photos, choosing a large hard drive is imperative. The 1TB hard drive is a good balance between economy and space.

A storage option is SSD bootable drives - more expensive and with a smaller storage capacity, but they have no rotating parts and are more suitable for the dynamics of everyday life. Systems equipped with SSDs launch applications faster. If you travel a lot with your laptop and don't need maximum storage capacity, an SSD is the right choice. You won't find less than 128GB of SSD capacity on a business-oriented Windows machine or Apple MacBook these days, and going up to 256GB or 512GB is a good idea if you can afford it.

Integrated graphics

Most business computers have integrated graphics cards to the main processor, which is a convenient solution. The absence of an additional external card is a prerequisite for fewer problems. They are suitable for machines where you won't be playing 3D games, for example, but you can work with Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro or 3D graphics visualization in architectural drawing and CAD software.

Only a small number of graphic design models fall into the business class of laptops. When evaluating graphic solutions, options such as Intel HD Graphics, Intel UHD Graphics, Iris Plus, Iris Xe. The most common dedicated graphics chips in laptops are from Nvidia's GeForce line, Nvidia's smaller GeForce MX chips, and higher-end Nvidia's Quadro or AMD's Radeon Pro.

Security

It is the leader in all business computers. Key security/manageability features include certified by Intel vPro networks and power management, module Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for secure access, firmware UEFI and Secure Boot.

Among the security features offered in most business-class laptop models, there are also:

• Kensington lock – lock with a desk/table key when using public places –
• TMP chip – provides hardware key storage for content encryption
• Privacy Filter – with a keyboard shortcut, the laptop screen switches to a mode where the side of the screen cannot see what is displayed on it
• Biometrics – biometric authentication devices – facial recognition, fingerprint, etc.

Add to that professional versions of Windows and less entertainment and leisure software than consumer PCs.

Screen

As for the display panel, LCD screens with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels are a budget option, but the eye undoubtedly feels more comfortable with a Full HD 1920 by 1080 pixel display that uses IPS technology. With the latter combination, you see more columns in Excel or many windows on the screen.

You should know that a high-resolution screen drains battery life faster than a lower-resolution screen of the same base technology.

In terms of size, the most preferred for business machines are still those with a screen between 14 and 12 inches. To such an optimal size, we would also add the Anti-Glare feature (matte screen).

Network connectivity

Wireless connectivity for real-time access to email, messaging and cloud services is taken for granted these days. Look for a machine that provides 2G or 4G (5G) Wi-Fi. Variant e I LTE Modem - use of a mobile data card with connection to the Internet via a mobile network. Here it is example for the latter.

Boot PXE is a feature of the network card that allows images (prepared operating systems) to be installed over the network. It is used when there is a need to prepare a large number of computers in a short period of time - all IT departments of large companies install operating systems in this way. However, not all computers have these capabilities.

Don't write off Ethernet entirely—it's good for high-traffic locations. And if your laptop is too thin to accommodate an Ethernet jack, a USB to Ethernet adapter is well worth the investment.

Software

In 99% cases, business laptops on the Bulgarian market are sold with OEM Windows 10 Pro. This version is tailored to the implementation and management practices of large companies and contains tools tailored to maintain it in an enterprise environment. Among them are: work with active directory and domain, possibility to encrypt content with Bitlocker, work with Azure Cloud (Microsoft cloud), as well as more specific and centralized product updates. Using this version in a home environment would be rather difficult for you - it is cheaper, but one of the reasons for this is the lack of independent follow-up support.

By protocol

If you are getting better acquainted with the characteristics and abundance of the market, we offer you a table with a comparison of parameters of most preferred laptops in 2020.

Here are sample series from the top manufacturers that we often discuss with our customers because of the good ratio between performance and price:

For small business and home use:

• Dell Vostro
• Lenovo Thinkpad E
• HP Probook

Business class laptops:

• Dell Latitude and others
• Lenovo Thinkpad T / X
• HP EliteBook
• MACBOOK Air

And you know – the Geletron team it remains with you to choose the best. Contact us for consultation and complex servicing of computer equipment located in your office or remotely.