IBM Readies PC Financing Blitz

IBM will allow solution providers to resell its PC Price Per Seat (PPS) program starting at the end of next quarter, said Kevin Quarantello, vice president of worldwide small- and midsize-business financing for IBM Global Financing, in an interview at PartnerWorld 2005 in Las Vegas.

The current PPS program--which includes installation, rollout planning, help desk, virus management and PC asset disposition--is available through IBM's direct-sales force and is aimed at customers with at least 3,000 PCs. Quarantello said IBM wanted to work out the kinks in the program before offering it on a wider scale for smaller deals through solution providers.

"We are expanding into the PC marketplace," Quarantello said. "Up until now, we have been very focused on eServers. Now we are maniacally focused on the PC space."

IBM is aggressively recruiting VARs that sell PCs in order to get their customers to finance those purchases through IBM Global Financing for a monthly fee, Quarantello said. IBM was meeting with the major distributors at PartnerWorld as part of its strategy to get more partners to leverage IBM Global Financing, he said.

IBM has reduced the amount of time it takes to lock in financing for a $300,000 deal to one hour from a day-and-a-half. "This is all about utility computing," Quarantello said. "Customers are sick of the costs associated with PCs. It costs five times the amount of the PC to manage the systems. This allows customers to lease those systems."