Should your organisation be leasing your IT hardware?

Have you ever considered a lease agreement for your IT equipment and end-user devices? Did you know such an agreement was possible? It’s a service that Grant McGregor offers and our team explains more about it here.

Over the past couple of decades, IT expenditure has transformed from a capital cost to a operational cost. Cloud computing has brought with it many benefits, but for small and medium-sized businesses it is this cost model that has had the most transformative effect.

The benefits of moving to an op-ex model

First, cloud computing and, specifically, software-as-a-service has given small business owners access to the kind of software solutions that used to be the preserve of large-scale enterprises. As-a-service models with subscription-based pricing based on user or transaction volumes made enterprise-grade software solutions affordable and available for even the smallest businesses.

Second, the cost of using these solutions and resources has become much more predictable and regular. Instead of one large upfront payment followed by smaller maintenance, support or upgrade charges, fees are a low, fixed price spread over the duration of use. This has enormous benefits for budgeting, scaling (up and down) and cash flow.

However, not everything can be simply transposed to the cloud. Not all IT is so easily retired and replaced with cloud services. In particular, hardware costs stubbornly remain a capital expenditure.

Why hardware is different…

Some equipment might need to continue as a on-premises solution, whether for compliance, security, cost or legacy issues. The types of server infrastructure required to support on-premises solutions doesn’t come cheap. The cost of a new server is a big bite into cap-ex budgets for a small or medium-sized business.

Furthermore, there are some pieces of hardware that simply cannot be removed from the equation, not matter how successful your cloud transformation. End-user devices, for example, must still be bought and paid for.

By shifting applications to the cloud, it is – of course – possible to optimise the specs for those end-user devices. For example, reducing the demands on processing power by running apps and accessing data in the cloud. Or, perhaps, developing native mobile apps or Power Apps designed to run on mobile devices that act as a front end to key business applications thereby making the use of lightweight, mobile devices with smaller screen sizes (as a primary or only device) a possibility for larger number of end users.

Nevertheless, even with optimised specs, furnishing all users with up-to-date, modern devices with the right functionality and security to enable them to securely carry out their day-to-day work remains a significant cost for all businesses, regardless of size.

… but it doesn’t have to be

How can these costs be regularised and made more predictable? Is it possible to transform hardware costs into an op-ex cost model to level out the cost burden on the organisation?

As a matter of fact it is.

After discussing exactly this issue with many of our customers over the years, Grant McGregor developed a model which helps organisations to apply the same op-ex model to their It hardware as they do to their cloud services.

Our equipment hire packages are designed to alleviate the risk and difficult-to-manage cost spikes of owning on-premises hardware and end-user devices. You can equip your infrastructure and teams with the hardware they need in a much more affordable and predictable way.

At the same time, we also take on some of the risk of ownership for you. You no longer need to put resources in place to manage the configuration, distribution, replacement, upgrades, security and readiness of your IT hardware.

Equipment leasing, therefore, offers the following benefits:

•    Switch to an op-ex model for your IT hardware

•    Much more affordable

•    Predictable costs, spread over the lifetime of the equipment and your use of it

•    Close security vulnerabilities; we’ll ensure your hardware and operating systems are kept up to date

•    Save on IT admin

•    Fast and secure replacement of devices so disruption to users is minimised should a device be lost, stolen or damaged

•    Reduce risk of ownership

In this way, our IT hardware rental services help even the smallest businesses to afford to equip staff with high-performance, highly functional, secure and modern IT equipment.

What next?

If you think leasing your IT hardware could benefit your small business or charity, please speak with our team for more details about what’s available and how it works.

Call us: 0808 164 4142

Message us: https://www.grantmcgregor.co.uk/contact-us 

Further reading

You can find more tips for managing your technology needs better, more cheaply and more efficiently elsewhere on our blog:

•    Five 2023 business challenges – and how tech can help you respond

•    10 signs it's time to get a new IT support company

•    Is your organisation doing enough on supply chain security?

•    How to minimise the risk from phishing

•    How to pick the right IT support company for your business

•    How much do you need to understand your business IT to change your IT support supplier?