Big Biz users mistreat laptops

Physical misuse of laptops is behind the majority of faults with corporate machines, costing UK plc millions of unnecessary equipment repairs.

The survey of 100 UK IT managers, conducted last month by Vanson Bourne Research, found that 41 per cent of respondents believe that the most common reason for laptop damage is physical breakages by users. The survey also found that more than half (59 per cent) of IT managers saw a direct cost to their company's bottom line because of this problem.

A third of companies have to repair between 10-20 per cent of notebooks because of physical damage each year. Two out of three respondents also estimated that laptops take between three and seven working days to repair, resulting in productivity losses as well as service charges.

Alex Pidgley, MD of computer luggage maker Techair, which sponsored the research, said: "UK laptop users seem to be little more than 'hooligans', treating their technology with a complete lack of respect."

Stretching the definition a little, aren't we, Alex?
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