IT finance powerhouse
looks to grab new customers. Claire Hack
reports.
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IBM Global Financing has
launched a land grab on Oracle-Sun and Hewlett-Packard customers
with a new programme in Europe.
It is designed to allow easy
migration to IBM Power servers and is similar to a scheme the
company launched in the US in September.
Carmen Ene, vice-president of
IBM Global Financing for north-east Europe, said the programme
offers “a level of certainty” to HP and Oracle customers, after an
unpredictable year.
Former HP chief executive
Mark Hurd departed in August amid accusations of sexual harassment
and submitting false expense reports. Hurd then joined Oracle,
leading to another lawsuit from HP over fears he would share
commercially sensitive information. Both cases are now
settled.
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By GlobalData“There have been issues that
have created a great level of uncertainty in the minds of
customers. We’ve invested in our technology products and our
offering. We stood by our business partners and our clients. We’re
bringing a level of certainty with this programme,” Ene
said.
The programme promises little
or no change in monthly payments through a base lease extension. It
is designed to enable users to maximise their investment and
achieve higher economic value throughout the IT
lifecycle.
Available throughout Europe,
the IBM scheme allows customers to defer payment until 2011,
followed by a 39-month contract, at the end of which they can
decide whether to keep the equipment. They may also qualify for
cash back on marketable used equipment.
Ene said: “We can install a
used machine from our asset recovery so that there’s no
interruption during the migration to the new machine.
“The payment is spread over
the period of the migration, so with no financial burden, the
client can get all the benefits of the new technology. We can
remove equipment and if it has market value, we can return it to
the client.”
The programme can also be
bundled with software and storage.
Dan Ransdell, general manager
of IBM Global Financing for North America, said: “We are hearing
from clients that they are worried about fuzzy, uncertain product
roadmaps and rising maintenance fees from other IT
manufacturers.
They can easily switch to
IBM’s latest workload optimised systems with leasing and an upgrade
plan that protects against technology obsolescence.”
The programme is available to credit-qualified HP and
Oracle-Sun customers. Fair market value leases are available for
contracts starting after 5 October at the 39-month term. Customers
will not make payments for 90 days, meaning lease instalments will
begin in 2011.
