STONE UNVEILS THE UK’S FIRST LONG-TERM PC RENTAL SCHEME TO COMBAT UK EDUCATION SECTOR BUDGET CUTS

- Stone’s ‘Rent-a-PC’ scheme presents all levels of education sector with new ability to access funding for ICT hardware through revenue budget rather than the capital budget -

ICT services provider to UK education, Stone (www.stonegroup.co.uk) has developed the UK education sector’s first long-term PC rental scheme, specifically designed to enable schools to invest in new ICT hardware via their revenue rather than capital budgets.

The Rent-a-PC scheme and the access to these alternative funds will enable schools and colleges to provide and sustain a high level of ICT availability, despite the anticipated budget cuts in 2012.

Rent-a-PC allows schools to break away from the standard procurement processes that rely on access to substantial capital budgets, including traditional one-off investments and operating leases. PCs can now be rented from Stone for a period of three years, during which time, devices can be returned, upgraded or swapped out at any time, subject to a 90 day notice period.

A recent survey of UK ICT decision-makers carried out by independent market researchers, Redshift Research, on behalf of Stone, revealed that 49% of the ICT decision makers surveyed were unaware of the differences between an operating lease and a rental agreement, with 29% of the opinion that a rental agreement appeared on the capital budget balance sheet. In addition, 13% were unaware of any alternative financing options. Stone aims to reduce this lack of awareness and understanding of the availability of and mechanics of a leasing agreement, and therefore empower ICT decision makers to make informed decisions on how to get the best ICT support for their school or college.

Commenting on the Rent-a-PC scheme, James Bird, Chief Executive of Stone, says: “The Education sector is under increasing pressure to reduce expenditure but simultaneously increase access to ICT in the classroom. It therefore falls to the IT industry to be innovative with their offerings and proactively provide finance options that are flexible enough to meet the diverse needs and particular pressures of the education sector. We believe that the Rent-a-PC scheme provides a viable solution to the challenges schools and colleges shall be facing in 2012.”

Rent-a-PC is supported with the dedicated Stone customer service offering, developed in tandem with customers, to implement a flexible agreement suiting the institutions’ individual needs. Educational institutions can also opt for additional support resource where necessary to supplement any resource gaps that may exist internally.

Bird continues, “We understand that every school has its own unique set of circumstances and ICT requirements. Our offerings encompass a ‘partial’ support package, scaling all the way up to a full remote or onsite Managed Service. Our support operates on a prescriptive basis, reducing the complexity of deploying support resource and guaranteeing a clear statement of what service levels educational institutions can expect. Dovetailing into customers’ existing way of working, we seek to complement their existing ICT service, combining a support offering that is relevant to their needs and the needs of their students.”

Specific benefits of the Rent-a-PC scheme include:

·         Maintaining or improving your PC estate, with less capital – In spite of significant capital cuts, Rent-a-PC means institutions can still get access to the devices they need to continually improve teaching and learning.

·         Getting the latest technology, sooner – The rental method will provide institutions with access to the latest technology, when it’s released. Currently average refresh periods are around five years, which means often students, teachers, lecturers and learners can be left behind when it comes to innovation. Rent-a-PC allows institutions to reap the productivity benefits associated with the latest technologies.

·         Relevant to today’s needs, flexible and scalable for tomorrow’s – With Rent-a-PC, technology can be scaled up or down to match new curriculum requirements, changing class sizes or amendments to an organisation’s catchment area/student intake.

·         Personalised service packaged in a monthly rental cost – Stone is able to offer a bespoke service pack, relative to an institution’s individual needs. In terms of managed service, Rent-a-PC can allow institutions to manage thier internal resources in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

·         No need for LEA sign-off – As a rental offering, there is no need for the usual Local Education Authority approval process.

·         Get refunds for existing capital kit – Where equipment falls within the minimum technical specification, Stone will give trade-in rebates for technology that is processed through Stone’s in-house Environment Agency approved ATF (Authorised Treatment Facility). This will mean that schools can move even more cost effectively from a capital purchase model to the Stone Rent-a-PC model.

·         PCs with the most relevant software stack – With the emergence of new cloud based technologies such as Google Chrome OS and Microsoft’s Office 365, institutions can take advantage of the latest cloud-provisioned “on-demand” services to reduce overall ICT operating costs.

·         Easier internal accounting and TCO analysis – Support costs of Rent-a-PC are bundled in with the device, presented as an overall complete monthly cost for the device. This gives a more effective account of the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) associated with deploying, managing and supporting student devices.