You work for a company that is about to replace its 3-year old desktop computers. The machines are principally used for the applications described in the chart attached.

The staff takes work home routinely using USB keys so the USB ports should be easily accessible. Existing printers and scanners may also be connected to each machine.

The firm has traditionally used Dell computers and wishes to stay with Dell unless there is a considerable saving by going to another company (they will be buying 20 machines.)

Sensitive nature of the data on these machines, the company wishes to have a fingerprint scanner on each machine. Corporate firewalls are in place, and so a local firewall is not needed. A current and secure operating system and the Office suite of programs is required. They want Office on their machine and not a cloud solution.

Begin by looking at the applications that your computer will run. Go to the Web sites to find the minimum and recommended hardware configurations and the cost of each package. Use the one with the highest requirements to specify your computer.

Research the Internet, beginning with the Dell site, and obtain a suitable configuration and a price for your selected machine. The machine should not be too large or too small in capacity. Go to a second site and identify the same or a similar computer from Dell sold through a third party.

Thirdly, go to a second manufacturer and identify a similar machine from that location.

Write a memo to the CEO with the listing of specifications and prices for each option (one computer, hardware, and software) and give him a recommendation as to which you feel meets his need. The specifications should be detailed, including processor make, model and speed, memory installed and any capacity limit, disk space available, and all peripherals.