Share: Insight: Tech advisors practicing what they preach

Insight is the company many of the world’s biggest brands—from luxury fashion houses to leading food manufacturers—turn to for expert recommendations on the right tech.

As an international Solutions Integrator with over 15,000 employees, Insight does indepth research to confidently pair clients with the best, most future-ready devices for their business needs. And because staying ahead often means going first, Insight prides itself on being an early adopter of cutting-edge solutions.

So, when devices powered by Snapdragon became the first-ever AI PCs to hit the market in mid-2024, Insight moved quickly to deploy them across its global workforce. The rollout started with client-facing teams like sales and included devices from Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

“We need to show our clients that we believe in what we’re selling,” said Jonathan Scott, Senior Partner Manager for Insight in the UK and EMEA. But Insight wasn’t just driven by its “practice what you preach” ethos. It was also seeking to capitalize on the benefits that set Snapdragon apart: ultralong battery life, powerhouse performance, and affordability.

From traveling sales teams to developers running power-intensive apps, employees across the company began reporting the same thing after upgrading to PCs powered by Snapdragon: They could get through a full workday—oftentimes multiple workdays— without reaching for their chargers.

“I have someone on my team who charges their [Snapdragon powered] PC once, maybe twice, a week,” said Andy Waite, Senior IT Manager of Insight in EMEA.

This marked a dramatic shift from the six hours or less of battery life most employees were getting on their previous devices. For a company whose employees often work from planes, cars, and conference rooms, multi-day battery life has been a game-changer. And many of Insight’s clients are looking for the same advantages.

One of these clients—a large educational institution in the UK—is considering devices powered by Snapdragon specifically for their multi-day battery life and industry-leading unplugged performance. Their students spend about nine hours each day moving between classrooms with few opportunities to plug in, and they need devices that stay fast and powered up.

“They don’t want wires stretched across classrooms,” Jonathan explained. “The idea that students can start the day unplugged and keep going is pushing them toward Snapdragon technology. They’re already looking at the new 12-inch Microsoft Surface Pro.”

Impressive battery life is just part of the Snapdragon story. Performance gains have been just as noticeable.

Apps now open with little to no delay. Browser response times are instant. Video calls run smoothly. And for employees juggling complex tasks—like wrangling multiple Excel spreadsheets or deploying code—the difference was immediate.

It’s not just technical teams who took note.

Staff in departments like finance and HR— teams traditionally outfitted with more standard PCs—began requesting devices powered by Snapdragon.

“It’s stressful when you’re trying to manage multiple applications at the same time and your device can’t cope,” said Luke Lund, an Account Executive at Insight. “So, [having a PC powered by Snapdragon] has improved my day-to-day mood. I’m happier and more productive.”

Equipping more employees with these premium, AI-ready devices has been possible thanks to another key advantage: affordability.

“For the price we pay per unit for these laptops, the difference is huge,” Andy said. “Absolutely tremendous.” This has given Insight the flexibility to scale up device upgrades without scaling back elsewhere.

Rolling out a new PC platform across multiple departments—much less multiple countries—is no small task. But for Insight, the transition to Snapdragon was surprisingly smooth.

Within months, the company deployed devices across 10 countries in Europe, with minimal disruption to users and IT staff, and no additional training required.

Windows on Snapdragon drivers integrated easily with Insight’s existing systems, and setup through Microsoft Intune kept things moving quickly.

Support tickets were minimal, and most issues were minor—like dock and monitor incompatibilities. According to Insight’s IT team, 99% of challenges were resolved right away—with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. staying closely involved and being quick to help. Even app compatibility, which is often a concern with new platforms, proved to be a nonissue.

What could have been a heavy lift turned out to be a straightforward refresh. Employees received their devices. They turned them on. And they got to work. “It wasn’t any different to rolling out a new device or iteration of a manufacturer we already worked with,” said Jonathan. “It was painless.”

Equipping employees with devices powered by Snapdragon has enabled Insight to fully tap into Microsoft Copilot and other next-gen tools. This has helped keep its workforce productive today while preparing for what’s next.

That strategy is already paying off.

Copilot features like Live Captions—which instantly translates audio from over 40 languages into English—are streamlining communication across Insight’s global workforce, making collaboration faster and more seamless.

For Insight, investing in AI PCs powered by Snapdragon is also part of a bold ambition.

“We want to be the world’s most AI transformed company,” said Tracey Workman, Senior Manager of Global Corporate Communications at Insight. “And we want to do it strategically—with AI augmenting our teammates, not replacing them.”

“We’re looking toward the future, and the Snapdragon tie-in with AI is really strong,” said Jonathan, who stressed the importance of adopting PCs built for the next wave of AI capabilities. “We don’t want to be replacing our devices in a year’s time.”

“We are future-proofing our workforce,” Andy added.

Backed by an AI-ready workforce, Insight remains the go-to partner for companies determined to lead the way forward. Because Insight isn’t just watching the AI era unfold—it’s leading the charge into what’s next.