I've tried various angles, some more successful than others. The 'increased productivity' pitch fails universally. I never even mention that anymore. On average it has a negative impact. Managers are too jaded to that pitch. Their 'I'm being sold something' antenna goes up. It's not that they have some cogent counter argument, it's just that the discussion stops.
If you want to make the hardware situation better. I recommend these two approaches.
1. Loss aversion. Detail what an unplanned outage costs. Lost work, man hours, even lost business if it's bad enough timing. Business guys have a respect for the missing nail that lost the war.
2. Cheapness. Buying a $1000 laptop every two years is better than a $2000 laptop every four. Better average hardware and less paying guys like me to fix broken machines. Business guys are more likely to write small checks. Paradoxically you are spending the same amount of money, but you can sell it to them like you are spending less.
Above all be respectful. They aren't idiots, they may have issues to worry about that you aren't aware of.
If you want to make the hardware situation better. I recommend these two approaches.
1. Loss aversion. Detail what an unplanned outage costs. Lost work, man hours, even lost business if it's bad enough timing. Business guys have a respect for the missing nail that lost the war.
2. Cheapness. Buying a $1000 laptop every two years is better than a $2000 laptop every four. Better average hardware and less paying guys like me to fix broken machines. Business guys are more likely to write small checks. Paradoxically you are spending the same amount of money, but you can sell it to them like you are spending less.
Above all be respectful. They aren't idiots, they may have issues to worry about that you aren't aware of.