Speaking of Getting New Equipment and The Economic Stimulas

The Economic Stimulus Plan and Your New Edgeline in '08

Get a bunch of Edgelines this year, and write 50% more off!

Xerox - HP - EDS

With most of the focus on the IT side of this acquisition some missed the fact that one of EDS's largest clients is Xerox.

From this recent post - "...Although HP's recent announcement to acquire EDS for $13.9 billion (£7.1 billion) may have sparked talk of consolidation in the IT services industry, spare a thought for the impact of this deal on Xerox, a long-standing EDS partner. With HP aggressively looking to widen its footprint in the corporate printing space as part of its Print 2.0 strategy, the acquisition of EDS will help it make further inroads to compete with Xerox Global Services (XGS), currently a $3.4 billion (£1.7 billion) organisation and a key growth engine for Xerox..."

and

"...HP is Xerox's most notable competitor in the MPS market, offering assessment, optimisation and management of the document output environment. Although HP has been ramping up its MPS portfolio, it currently lacks the document lifecycle and workflow and document outsourcing capabilities ... Another key differentiator is multivendor support capabilities—Xerox claims to have approximately one million competitive devices under ...(outsourced) management, made possible by its multivendor trained support staff. Also, Xerox's higher penetration in the high volume production and copy centres gives it the ability to better manage and optimise environments using these devices..."

It will be interesting to see how this all ends up.

Leasing Your MFP Fleet -

I have been running into more and more opportunities with I.T. folks who do not understand leasing.

**** THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE ****

**** THE FOLLOWING REFLECTS MY OPINIONS ****

I am currently researching for an in depth analysis of the leasing process from the end users' prospective - and it isn't pretty.

Because the subject is so vast and complicated, I have decided to post portions of the final white paper.

First off, I am familiar with leasing and all the "gotcha's" that contracts carry. I have seen, all sorts of leasing agreements in business technology and the Uniform Industry and I have been very fortunate to work with some of the most honest and open agreements in each industry.

For you I.T. folks, or anyone else who may not be familiar with leasing - here is a "Primer".

Leases are used to defer payments over time. If a company wants to avoid a significant capital outlay a lease is a great option. In addition, because the technology changes quickly, copier leases often include provisions to trade up to a newer model, allowing you to upgrade without buying anew.

You are paying extra for the ability to "pay over time".

For instance, if the purchase price of a machine is $20,000 and you would like to pay a monthly payment for 60 months, the monthly payment is NOT $20,000/60 or $333.33. The monthly would be closer to $586.00/month. If you multiply this out by 60, your total "cost" for the unit, over time, is $35,160.00 - this to say that you would be paying $15,160.00 for the service of paying a known monthly figure for a determined period of time.

The Vendor or Supplier does not usually make more profit on a lease vs. purchase. Although some vendors or dealers add “points” to the lease rate. This increases your monthly and adds to their profit margin.

After a client signs a lease and after the equipment is delivered and accepted, the leasing company cuts a check directly to the Vendor for the purchase amount of the equipment. You, the Customer now have a direct relationship with the leasing company for the equipment. You are establishing a "revenue stream" for the leasing company based on the equipment payment portion of the lease; when service is bundled into the payment, you are also working directly with your service provider, usually the copier dealer.

In a nut shell - When you sign a lease, you are forging a commitment to pay at least the dollar amount on the lease for the number of months stated. There is no other way to envision this agreement - there are no easy or painless methods of terminating a lease early once you "sign on the line which is dotted" - no matter what the circumstances. No matter what the "trusted" copier sales person tells you, you can not get out of the agreement easily and without paying for the privilege.

-- More to follow ---