One technique that managers use is to over-purchase. Think about it this way: If a need comes up, it's going to take months to get all the paperwork done to g

One technique that managers use is to over-purchase. Think about it this way: If a need comes up, it's going to take months to get all the paperwork done to get new hardware. If you have idle hardware, you're ready to go ASAP. It's also a form of redundancy, albeit a primitive one. If equipment goes out, you have stuff you can swap out immediately.