Stone launches new long-term PC rental scheme
18 January 2012
Stone has developed the UK education sector's first long-term PC
rental scheme, specifically designed to enable schools to invest in
new ICT hardware via their revenue rather than capital budgets.
The Rent-a-PC
scheme and the access to these alternative funds will enable
schools and colleges to provide and sustain a high level of ICT
availability, despite the anticipated budget cuts in 2012.
Rent-a-PC allows schools to break away from the standard
procurement processes that rely on access to substantial capital
budgets, including traditional one-off investments and operating
leases. PCs can now be rented from Stone for a period of three
years, during which time, devices can be returned, upgraded or
swapped out at any time, subject to a 90 day notice period.
A recent survey of UK ICT decision-makers carried out by
independent market researchers, Redshift Research, on behalf of
Stone, revealed that 49% of the ICT decision makers surveyed were
unaware of the differences between an operating lease and a rental
agreement, with 29% of the opinion that a rental agreement appeared
on the capital budget balance sheet. In addition, 13% were unaware
of any alternative financing options. Stone aims to reduce this
lack of awareness and understanding of the availability of and
mechanics of a leasing agreement, and therefore empower ICT
decision makers to make informed decisions on how to get the best
ICT support for their school or college.
Commenting on the Rent-a-PC scheme, James Bird, Chief Executive
of Stone, says: "The Education sector is under increasing pressure
to reduce expenditure but simultaneously increase access to ICT in
the classroom. It therefore falls to the IT industry to be
innovative with their offerings and proactively provide finance
options that are flexible enough to meet the diverse needs and
particular pressures of the education sector. We believe that the
Rent-a-PC scheme provides a viable solution to the challenges
schools and colleges shall be facing in 2012."
Rent-a-PC is supported with the dedicated Stone customer service
offering, developed in tandem with customers, to implement a
flexible agreement suiting the institutions' individual needs.
Educational institutions can also opt for additional support
resource where necessary to supplement any resource gaps that may
exist internally.
Bird continues, "We understand that every school has its own
unique set of circumstances and ICT requirements. Our offerings
encompass a 'partial' support package, scaling all the way up to a
full remote or onsite Managed Service. Our support operates on a
prescriptive basis, reducing the complexity of deploying support
resource and guaranteeing a clear statement of what service levels
educational institutions can expect. Dovetailing into customers'
existing way of working, we seek to complement their existing ICT
service, combining a support offering that is relevant to their
needs and the needs of their students."
