Listonics specifies, sources, configures and deploys the IT equipment a Dubai office needs: laptops, desktops, monitors, docks, printers, switches and access points. Every device arrives with the standard build applied, is placed at the desk it belongs to, and is recorded in an asset register with its warranty. Project fees run between AED 2,500 and AED 30,000 depending on headcount and site.
Part of our guide to New Office IT Setup.
Why buying equipment without deployment fails: provisioning done properly
The usual pattern in a growing office is that someone buys laptops from one supplier, a printer from another and network gear from a third, then asks whoever is least busy to make it all work. Boxes arrive over several weeks. Half the laptops sit in a cupboard. The printer is on the network but not on anyone's machine. The access points are running default settings.
None of those suppliers did anything wrong. The gap is that nobody owned the step between the box and the person using it, which is where most of the work and most of the risk sits. A laptop handed over with a local admin account, no disk encryption and no backup is a liability from its first day.
We treat procurement as a stage of workplace IT setup rather than a separate purchase. The person who specifies the kit is the person who configures it and the person who supports it afterwards, so there is no handover where responsibility goes missing.
Specify before you buy
The cheapest mistake to fix is the one made before the order is placed. We begin with a short specification exercise: how many people, what they do, where they sit, which applications they run, how often they travel, and what already on site can be kept.
That produces a build list with a small number of standard models rather than a different laptop for every person. Fewer models means spare parts, docks and chargers are interchangeable, images apply cleanly, and a replacement can be issued from stock. We specify and deploy Dell, HP and Lenovo business lines for endpoints, and Cisco, Ubiquiti, Aruba and Fortinet for the network, choosing by fit rather than brand loyalty.
A specification normally covers:
- Laptops or desktops per role, with memory and storage sized for the applications actually used
- Monitors, docking stations and peripherals, standardised so any desk works for any person
- Printers and scanners, with a view on whether one shared device replaces several small ones
- Switches, access points and the firewall, sized for the headcount you expect in two years rather than today
- Licensing, including Microsoft 365, so the device is usable the moment it is switched on
The standard build
Every device we deploy receives the same base configuration, which we call the standard build. It is the difference between a laptop that is ready to work and one that is ready to be set up. The build covers the operating system, security baseline, disk encryption, the applications your office uses, printers, shared drives, email and the management agent that lets us support it remotely.
For Windows fleets we use Windows Autopilot and Microsoft Intune where the licensing supports it, so a device registered to your tenant configures itself on first sign-in and stays in policy afterwards. Where that is not available, we image devices before delivery. Either way the result is identical from one desk to the next, and a new joiner's machine looks exactly like everyone else's. Our guide to setting up a new employee's laptop walks through what that build contains and why each item is there.
Staged delivery and desk-ready deployment
Deployment is scheduled around your office, not around the courier. For a new office we align delivery with the fit-out so that cabling, power and network are live before the desks are populated; our note on the workstation bundle for a new office describes what a complete desk includes. For a growing office we stage in batches, so a team moves together.
Desk-ready means the monitor is on the arm, the dock is cabled, the laptop signs in to the correct account, the printer appears, the shared drives map, and the person's data has moved from the old machine if there was one. We stay on site for the first morning to deal with the questions that only appear once people start working. It is part of how we run a new office IT setup, and it applies equally to a ten-desk expansion.
Asset register and warranty tracking
Every device we supply or deploy is recorded before it leaves our hands: make, model, serial number, purchase date, warranty end date, assigned user and location. The register is yours. It lives in your tenant or in a document you control, not in a system you lose if you change provider.
The register earns its keep in three moments. When a device fails, we know whether it is under warranty and who to call. When an auditor, insurer or landlord asks what equipment the business holds, the answer is a list rather than a walk around the office. When someone leaves, we know what they were issued and what should come back.
Business-class hardware from Dell, HP and Lenovo is normally bought with on-site warranty, which we track and claim on your behalf as part of managed IT support.
Buying in your name or ours
Both models work and we are honest about the trade-offs. When you buy in your own name, the equipment is your asset from day one, the warranty is registered to you, and you keep any supplier relationship you already have. We specify, you order against our list, we deploy. This suits businesses whose finance function prefers to hold invoices directly.
When we procure on your behalf, you deal with one invoice and one point of accountability for the whole project. We handle supplier selection, availability, delivery to site and returns for anything that arrives faulty. Title passes to you on delivery and the warranty is registered in your company name. This suits businesses that do not have anyone to chase deliveries.
We are not an authorised reseller, partner or distributor for any brand, and we take no rebates that would steer the specification. Where a vendor's own business store or a local distributor offers the better price, we will tell you.
Lifecycle, refresh and offboarding
Equipment has a working life, and the register tells you when it is approaching the end. We plan refreshes in batches aligned to warranty expiry, so the office never reaches a point where a dozen out-of-warranty laptops fail in the same quarter.
When a person leaves, the device comes back through a defined process: accounts disabled, data preserved according to your retention rules, the machine wiped and rebuilt to the standard image, and then reissued or retired. The steps are in our employee offboarding IT checklist. For retired devices we arrange certified data destruction and documented disposal, which matters because UAE data protection law places responsibility for personal data on the business that holds it, including data sitting on a laptop in a drawer.
How it is priced
There are two parts. The hardware is passed through at cost with the supplier's invoice visible to you, or bought by you directly against our specification. The project fee covers specification, build, deployment, the asset register and first-morning support, quoted as a fixed sum once the headcount and site are known.
Project fees run between AED 2,500 and AED 30,000, excluding the hardware itself. A small expansion of a few desks onto an existing network sits at the lower end. A full office of several dozen staff with a new network, printers and a complete device fleet sits at the upper end. Ongoing support is covered separately under a managed IT agreement if you want one. Tell us the headcount and the move date and we will scope it.
Frequently asked questions
Both. We can specify and procure the full list, or you can buy against our specification and we deploy. In either case the devices are imaged, deployed to desks and recorded in your asset register. The main difference is who holds the supplier invoice and who chases delivery. Businesses opening a first office often prefer us to handle the whole thing; those with a finance team often prefer to order directly.
For laptops and desktops we specify and deploy the business lines from Dell, HP and Lenovo. For the network we work with Cisco, Ubiquiti, Aruba and Fortinet, and for storage Synology and QNAP. We are not an authorised reseller or partner for any of them, which means the specification is driven by fit and price rather than by a sales target. We will tell you if a different brand suits better.
A supplier sells you the box. A deployment company turns the box into a working desk: the standard build applied, the user signed in, printers and drives mapped, data moved, the device enrolled for management and recorded in the register. We do both, and because the same team supports the equipment afterwards, we have every reason to get the build right first time.
Yes, when we procure on your behalf. We coordinate delivery to site around your fit-out or move date, inspect every unit before it is built, and return anything dead on arrival to the supplier. Warranty claims after deployment are handled through the register, so you do not need to find the invoice or the serial number yourself.
Devices that still have useful life are wiped, rebuilt to the standard image and reissued, often as spares or to roles that need less power. Devices at end of life are wiped to a documented standard, with a certificate of data destruction, and disposed of through a licensed recycler. Nothing leaves with company data on it, and the register is updated so the asset trail is complete.
Written by Srinivasan Ramachandran, Founder, Listonics · Last reviewed October 8, 2026