Using financing to slay the dragon that threatens your quest for innovation and growth

[ServicesExperts]

Small and midsize companies often find their path to digital transformation blocked by sheer lack of resources. HPE Financial Services can help them move forward in their quest for better business outcomes.

by Jennifer Streck, Senior Marketing Manager for HPE Financial Services.

Improving existing IT capabilities to promote agility and innovation is one of the top three needs of small and medium sized businesses driving digital transformation.¹ Yet, according to IDC, 77% of small businesses lack IT resources and need help to get started.² It’s not too difficult to understand why. Tech refresh cycles are shortening. New architecture options are continuously emerging. IT is no longer a straightforward spreadsheet strategy. For all of these reasons, and more, acquiring new technology to support a digital transformation can feel like a mythical quest ending with a dragon at the gates just before you retrieve the magical artefact. That dragon is the status quo.

For too long, organizations have left financing options for new technology unchallenged, with the belief that financing is just for people who need money. That’s not true! The benefits of engaging in a financing program go beyond paying for your tech. With the right partner, you open your business to a world of possibilities and options to not only rescue the prisoner in the tower (also known as your ability to innovate) but also expand your kingdom. It’s time to take a different approach and understand how to unlock the benefits of new IT finance models, slay the dragon and be the knight in shining IT armor for your business.

Let’s get down to business. One of the key considerations in extending the reach of your budget is to look at financing as more than simply a way to pay. Different models exist that can help you conserve cash, have predictive expenses, be more agile in response to changing needs, simplify your procurement process and provide you with flexibility to meet growing and changing demands. For example, subscription models allow you to pay over a period of time and bring hardware, software and services into one contract and help with process efficiencies. This provides a path for regular refreshes on a scheduled timeline without the hassle of a new contract and pricing, improving your technology prowess. You may also be able to take advantage of deferral programs, making you more agile and able to meet the tech demands of unplanned and unforeseen business events.

Wielding the pay-per-use sword against overprovisioning

Tech strategies that involve virtualization and cloud services have enabled organizations to abandon the need to over-provision, and hence over-pay, for resources. Financing models have followed this trend and options are now available to pay for usage. You can even extend deployment over time so that you only pay for equipment when it is activated. This model is ideal for geographically dispersed locations and phased rollouts that may otherwise be cost prohibitive and slow innovation. 

Another consideration that many small and midsize businesses often overlook is pre-owned technology. Sometimes your entire infrastructure doesn't need to be the latest and greatest tech. You can build pre-owned into your environment into areas that are not mission-critical and shift that money to new innovation focused on revenue and growth. It's also a great backup-and-recovery and contingency system option. Not to mention, keeping equipment in the circle longer is good for the environment – a win-win.

These are just a few ideas to inspire your quest. For more information and tips on how to kickstart your digital transformation with flexible finance models, watch this video by IDC.

Lastly, the field of competition is only growing. By 2021, ~30% of digital-novice, small-to-midsize businesses will increase spend in connectivity and digital technologies to expand their value chains and ecosystems, becoming more competitive in the digital economies.³ There is no reason for you to do it alone. You’re not the only one interested in slaying that dragon once and for all. Well placed alliances will give you the power you need to forge ahead. Partners such as HPE Financial Services can offer you the arsenal needed to claim victory today, tomorrow and in the future.

The moral of this tale – fear not! Poets will one day write about the day that you stood at the gate, the weight of your kingdom on your shoulders, and slayed the dragon. They will describe how the gates opened, ghosts of technology past sang and the legacy of your kingdom was secured for generations ahead. Or your name may be engraved on a plaque in the company lobby. But either way, the fanfare will be real and well deserved. Knowledge is power and you now have the power to make your IT strategy affordable and sustainable. Let’s go slay some dragons!

^{1 Source: Forrester's Global Business And Technology Services Survey, 2018}

^{2 Source: IDC SMB Insights, Spiceworks SMB Survey}

^{3 IDC FutureScape: Worldwide SMB 2020 Predictions, October 2019}

Jennifer Streck is a Senior Marketing Manager for HPE Financial Services. When she's not enabling HPE Financial Services clients and partners to reach their full potential for long term success, Jennifer can be found binge-watching UK-based crime dramas.