About three years ago, the Finnish Forest Centre (Metsäkeskus) switched to the PC as a Service model with the goal of simplifying device fleet management and improving efficiency as its IT resources decreased. Many public sector organisations have followed the same path.
“PC as a Service is a modern solution – that’s one of the reasons we wanted to adopt it. The Finnish Forest Centre has been able to define much of the service content and the way it’s implemented, and Tietokeskus has been able to meet our needs well with their own processes,” says Henri Kilpeläinen, IT Service Manager at the Finnish Forest Centre.
“Our next step is to move towards a self-service model where employees order and return devices themselves, with the IT department only checking the orders,” he adds.
Tietokeskus’ PC as a Service (PCaaS) model – which provides IT devices and workstations for a fixed monthly fee – operates nationwide, just like the Finnish Forest Centre. With offices all over Finland, from Ivalo in the north to Pasila in Helsinki, devices need to be delivered to many locations.
“Packages move quickly from Tietokeskus’ pre-installation centre to the end user. A new employee can receive their laptop in just a couple of working days, even if it has to be sent across the country.”
PCaaS ensures the right number of the right devices – and a smaller carbon footprint
In practice, PC as a Service means IT devices don’t sit unused on shelves – instead, they circulate efficiently from one user to another via Tietokeskus’ temporary storage. This efficient circulation likely saves costs in the long term too, as fewer new devices need to be purchased and storage needs are reduced.
The efficient device circulation included in the service significantly reduces the carbon footprint. Research shows that devices acquired through leasing financing generate 20.5% more emissions, leading to a 13.5 t CO₂e cumulative reduction over ten years in a 100-person organisation when using the PCaaS model. That’s equivalent to about 1,000,000 kilometres driven by car (source: openco2.net).
“Moving away from traditional leasing contracts means that unused devices no longer sit around just because the lease term hasn’t ended. In the past, leasing devices could wait for return for quite some time.”
In the service model, when an employee leaves, their device is returned to Tietokeskus, which services and reassigns it to another user.
“We’ve agreed on temporary storage with Tietokeskus. They wipe, service, and reinstall the computers so nothing from the previous user remains. When a new order comes in, the device is sent back out to whoever needs it. This process runs throughout the entire lifecycle of each device.”
The contract also allows for device updates. At the moment, the Finnish Forest Centre acquires new laptops and desktop computers from Tietokeskus through the PCaaS model. The organisation manages around 700 devices in total.
“Thanks to the service model, our device fleet stays aligned with our needs. Every quarter, Tietokeskus reviews our equipment with us and informs us about new models that are available.”
“The devices we use are exactly what we want. Compared to leasing, we now have much more influence over the device fleet and can get the exact hardware we need – cost-effectively.”
Continuous development with a one-partner strategy
Regular communication has kept the partnership between the Finnish Forest Centre and Tietokeskus running smoothly, and development ideas flow both ways.
“We have one contact person at Tietokeskus for sales and another for support. It’s easy to reach them about anything, and I’ve always received answers to my questions.”
The Finnish Forest Centre still has a few dozen old leasing devices left, but lifecycle replacements have been planned so that by this autumn, 100% of the devices will be part of the service model.
“Now that Tietokeskus owns and manages the devices as a service, one player – the leasing provider – has been removed from the equation. This makes communication easier and processes much more efficient.”
The one-partner strategy has proven successful. In fact, PCaaS has even improved service levels, as the Finnish Forest Centre no longer needs to track down missing computers from office shelves across Finland.
“We can rely on Tietokeskus to deliver what’s agreed with high quality, and things get sorted out quickly with them. We’re continuously developing our IT environment together, and I hope our cooperation continues for a long time.”
