Jim's statement was "NONE". My point was that it is not NONE.

In fact, in the US, ANY company can get new equipment every three years as that's the legal amortization time. FYI, custom software in the US can also be amortized.

My specific product is HDM.

>3M HIS is a special case- you guys have such good products, your revenue per employee must be huge and delivering IT makes it a good decision to give you guys top equipment. But you're not a small business, and that sort of policy isn't normal in small business except for IT shops. No doubt somebody will come up with some contradicting anecdote, but it is a truism that small business manages expenses very carefully- if upgrading hardware costs (say) 10% of wages and salaries, you have to decide whether a part time storeman is a better investment than new computer gear. Suffice to say that my local auctioneer probably pockets $1M annually but uses a FP2.0 auction management system that he refuses to upgrade because it does everything he needs and he'd rather spend the $ on a holiday in Fiji or repainting his house. That's an extreme example, but he is a successful businessman who has probably saved $100,000 over the years by behaving this way.
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>Just for interest, what product/s are you involved in at 3M HIS?