Stop wasting money on the wrong equipment. Here is what to look for when purchasing printers, networking gear, phones, and headsets for your office.
Most of the budget conversation about business IT procurement focuses on computers. But the supporting infrastructure — printers, networking gear, phones, and headsets — represents a significant share of total IT spend and has an outsized impact on day-to-day productivity and experience.
Here is what to look for and what to avoid for each category.
Printers and Multifunction Devices
Laser vs Inkjet: Always Laser for Business
For any office environment, laser wins. Inkjet printers:
- Print slowly (especially colour)
- Have high per-page cost
- Clog and fail when not used regularly
- Are not designed for high-volume use
Laser multifunction devices (print, scan, copy) are designed for business volumes, have lower per-page cost, and handle periods of inactivity without degradation.
Colour laser MFD recommendation: For 5-30 staff with moderate print volumes, a colour laser MFD in the $600-1,500 range from HP, Lexmark, or Brother covers most requirements.
What to look for:
- Network connectivity (ethernet + Wi-Fi) — USB-only requires a dedicated print server
- Automatic duplex printing (double-sided) — saves paper and is more professional
- Scan-to-email and scan-to-folder capability
- Monthly duty cycle well above your expected monthly print volume (running a printer at its duty cycle limit reduces lifespan dramatically)
- Support for Universal Print (Microsoft 365’s cloud print service, which eliminates the need for print drivers and print servers)
Managed Print Services
For businesses with higher print volumes (10,000+ pages/month), a managed print service (MPS) contract through the printer vendor or a specialist provides the device, consumables, and maintenance for a flat per-page charge. This converts unpredictable capital and consumable costs into a predictable operating expense.
Routers and Network Equipment
Do Not Buy a Consumer Router for a Business
Consumer routers (TP-Link home routers, Netgear Orbi, Asus home products) are designed for 10-15 devices in a home environment. In an office with 20+ devices, multiple SSIDs, VPN requirements, and the need for VLAN segmentation, they are inadequate.
What to buy instead:
For a 10-30 person office, a business-grade firewall/router from Fortinet, Cisco Meraki, or Ubiquiti covers all requirements:
- Stateful firewall inspection
- IPS (Intrusion Prevention System)
- Content filtering
- Site-to-site and remote access VPN
- Application-aware traffic management (QoS)
- Remote management and monitoring
Budget: $500-2,000 for the hardware, plus vendor subscription for management features.
For access points: Ubiquiti UniFi AP series, Cisco Meraki MR, or Aruba Instant On. Not the wireless access point built into a consumer router. Business access points support VLAN-segregated SSIDs (staff, guest, IoT), handle 30+ concurrent devices per AP, and can be centrally managed.
VoIP Phones and Phone Systems
The Options in 2026
Microsoft Teams Phone: For businesses already on Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Teams Phone replaces a traditional phone system entirely. Staff make and receive calls through their Teams client on laptop or mobile, with optional physical desk phones for reception or conference rooms. Requires a Teams Phone licence ($10/user/month) plus a calling plan.
Desk phones (for Teams): If physical phones are needed (reception, conference rooms), Teams-certified phones from Yealink, Polycom (Poly), and AudioCodes integrate directly with Teams Phone. The Yealink T55A and T57W are reliable, well-priced options.
Dedicated hosted VoIP systems: For businesses not on Microsoft 365 or wanting a dedicated phone system, hosted VoIP from 3CX, RingCentral, or Vonage Business provides a full PBX in the cloud. These include auto-attendant, call queues, voicemail, and call recording.
What to avoid: Traditional on-premises PBX systems (hardware phone systems). These require ongoing hardware maintenance, are expensive to expand, and are being superseded by cloud-based alternatives at lower total cost.
Headsets and Audio for Calls
Why This Matters More Than You Think
In a hybrid work environment, call audio quality directly affects professional image and communication effectiveness. A poor-quality headset makes you harder to understand and generates background noise for other call participants.
For office use (desk-based):
- Recommended: Jabra Evolve2 series, Poly Voyager Focus 2, EPOS ADAPT series
- What to look for: Active noise cancellation (ANC) on both earpiece and microphone, comfortable for extended wear, USB-C connection (avoid 3.5mm for business use)
- Budget: $150-350 per headset
For mobile/flexible workers:
- Recommended: Jabra Evolve2 65 (wireless), Jabra Engage series
- What to look for: Wireless (Bluetooth), multipoint connection (connect to laptop and phone simultaneously), long battery life (8+ hours)
For conference rooms:
- Recommended: Jabra Speak series (speakerphone), Yealink CP700/CP900
- What to look for: 360-degree microphone pickup, USB-C connection, works with Teams/Zoom natively
What to Avoid
Consumer earbuds (AirPods, Galaxy Buds) in business settings have improved significantly but still lack the boom microphone quality and business durability of purpose-built business headsets. They are acceptable for occasional calls; not the right choice for staff on calls for significant portions of their day.
Building a Procurement Process
For businesses doing periodic hardware refresh across these categories, a structured procurement process saves money and reduces decision fatigue:
- Define specifications by role/use case (once, not for each purchase)
- Establish approved vendor list with preferred models
- Procure through business channels for warranty and ABN invoicing
- Standardise where possible — consistent models reduce support complexity
CX IT Services manages hardware procurement for Melbourne businesses, including specification, sourcing, and MDM enrolment at delivery. Contact us to discuss your procurement requirements.
