IBM Global Financing to JumpStart IT Spending

Jessica Davis,
Channel NewsChannel Products

Think you can’t benefit from President Obama’s U.S. Stimulus Spending Bill because your customers are leasing technology and computer equipment rather than buying it? Think again.  IBM Global Financing has introduced “JumpStart Rates.” The idea is this: IBM Global financing acquires the computer equipment and benefits from the stimulus funds, then passes through that benefit to the end user company that is leasing that equipment through a cut in rates.

IBM Global Financing says rates will vary depending on the credit position of the end customer, but offered an example of potential savings. A well-qualified customer would see a savings of 30 cents (21p) to 60 cents (42p) per thousand dollars leased. That translates to $1,500 (£1,050) on a $100,000 (£70,000) piece of equipment over a 36-month lease, according to Joyce Blackwell, a vice president at IBM Global Financing and senior location executive in St. Louis.

The JumpStart rates take advantage of a particular tax break offered in the stimulus package that allows businesses buying capital equipment to write off all the depreciation at once that they normally would have to take over a longer period of time.

The IBM JumpStart Rates are part of IBM Global Financing’s fair market value leases. The new rates provide low rate financing to customers on terms from 24 to 60 months and offer flexible options at the end of the lease, including a purchase option at fair market value.

Alternately, customers can choose 30-, 60- or 90-day deferrals on payments, which IBM says is an ideal approach to take for customers operating under tight budget constraints. But reseller partners doing the deals would still get paid right away, Blackwell points out.

The offer is available on deals as low as $5,000 (£3,500)  in the United States, is available for both IBM and non-IBM equipment. To participate, companies must have at least 10 employees.

The rates are good for computer hardware only – PCs, servers, storage and other hard assets.  But IBM Global Financing will work to come up with a full finance solution on any deal.

The offer will run from now until the 31st December, 2010.