With rapidly rising inflation exacerbating already-existing challenges for the education sector, leasing technology currently appears to be the most cost-effective route.
If you are considering replacing or making an addition to your universities technology; capital expenditure, maintenance costs, impact upon cash flow, and cost of future upgrades are all important budgetary aspects that should be carefully considered – and the benefits of leasing far outweigh those that come with purchasing.
In a case study with Craven College, Gareth Dixon, Vice Principal of Finance and Resources at Craven College explains, “Technology is an area that develops so quickly, that if colleges were to go out to invest and buy this equipment for themselves; in three, four, five years at best, they’ll be facing obsolescence.
“That’s a significant bill on colleges. We don’t get paid as much as we should do from central Government, in my opinion… it’s unaffordable for us. By going on a leasing solution, it provides us with up-to-date technology for a price that we are committed to now for three to four years.”
So, how would leasing technology benefit the education sector?
Rather than educational establishments purchasing rapidly aging assets through a sizable, one-off payment (also known as a capital expenditure, or CAPEX); leasing agreements work as routine, day-to-day operating expenditures (OPEX). With an OPEX model, leasing payment schedules can generally be tailored to fit individual budgeting processes - allowing universities to manage their technology more effectively, and giving them the freedom to supplement other important areas instead.
Educational establishments that purchase their equipment must rely on their IT administrators to deal with unexpected technical faults, forcing them to contact the manufacturer directly to organise slow and costly repairs. Conversely, those with leasing agreements have access to a devoted, highly trained support centre who resolve issues quickly.
For an example of how much this can positively influence operations, Craven College saw Apogee’s Managed IT Services (MITS) reduce queries and tickets coming through to their IT Help Desk by a whopping 85%!
All equipment leased through Apogee is covered on an ‘Apogee Care Pack’ for the duration of the contract. A customised warranty can provide hardware and software support through an unscripted troubleshooting helpdesk, preventative maintenance remote monitoring software, end-to-end case and relationship management, and prioritised parts and labour - with enhanced response times both in and outside normal working hours.
Experienced education technology leasing providers will be certified by recognised frameworks, such as CPC and NEPA. These frameworks ensure that your Managed Services Provider is compliant. In addition, they also ensure that your old equipment is disposed of and replaced in a manner compliant with current government legislation and local authority requirements - giving universities some much-needed peace of mind.
Furthermore, members within the same framework as their university technology leasing provider will generally be entitled to discounts and other benefits.
Find out more about frameworks here.
The superior cost-effectiveness of technology leasing not only allows universities to break away from inferior budget models – but also facilitates their ability to upgrade technology strategically, so as to not negatively impact students’ experience.
Additionally, it is usually possible for universities to sell old equipment to their lease provider to help fund upgrades and lower the cost of lease payments – keeping budgets manageable without needing to sacrifice quality.
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