September 27, 2004
(Computerworld)
ORLANDO
A growing number of IT managers are shifting their procurement strategies in favor of purchasing PCs and servers instead of leasing them, according to attendees at last week's IT & Software Asset Management Summits.
Gartner analyst Frances O'Brien said the shift is being driven by increasing interest rates and disenchantment among users with leasing "gotchas," such as penalties for late returns and damages.
"Companies are realizing that they're not going to return equipment back to the lessor on time, and it makes more economic sense to buy the equipment outright," said O'Brien, who spoke at the conference.
O'Brien's comments map with feedback from several IT managers who attended the Gartner-sponsored event.
For instance, an IT acquisition manager at a large pharmaceutical manufacturer that recently bought the company she was working for said she had been leasing equipment. But after the acquisition, her unit switched to a purchasing approach. That was done partly to mesh with the new parent company's technology procurement model, said the manager, who asked not to be identified. But it also was driven by the recent rise in long-term interest rates, she said.
For some other attendees, purchasing IT equipment remains business as usual. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. conducts a purchase-vs.-lease analysis every 18 months, "and we've continued to purchase," said Craig Robles, an IT asset manager at the McLean, Va.-based home financing company, known as Freddie Mac.
The company is increasing its use of laptop PCs, and the costs of paying for scratches and other damages under a lease "just aren't advantageous to us," Robles said. "It makes more economic sense for us to purchase."