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A new subscription-based pilot scheme that pays resellers the full invoice value upfront then collects a monthly fee from the customer has launched.
HP Subscription is now available in the UK exclusively through Westcoast and HP Financial Services.
The scheme, which aims to bring ‘a new style of IT to the industry’, is a per-user monthly subscription model which is designed to cut risk and help resellers manage cash flow more efficiently.
"Under the Westcoast HP Subscription offer, through its HP Financial Services (HPFS) arm, pays the reseller the full invoice value upfront. HPFS then collects a monthly fee from the customer so the reseller bears none of the risk," reads a statement.
Peter Howell, Partner Development Manager at HP Financial Services, said: “It’s a groundbreaking model that enables the end user to buy what they need as opposed to what they can afford. It also allows resellers to accelerate their revenues by creating new and affordable tailored bundles.
"We’ll start off by targeting the SMB/SoHo market, as well as education, however, HP Subscription is a scalable solution so there’s great potential to open this out to HP’s global markets. The sky’s the limit.”
Paul Hamilton, Westcoast Client Director, said: “HP Subscription is a market-shaping move that opens up a whole new world of HP kit and bundles that were previously well out of financial reach. What’s more, it’s a model that means an end-customer’s new IT kit moves from capex to opex so that depreciation becomes a thing of the past.”
In other news, Westcoasthas announced its participation in the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program, which enables partners to provide direct billing and sell combined offers and services, as well as manage services. Resellers can sell Office 365 and Windows Intune subscriptions,as well as existing Open Licences.
Alex Tatham, Westcoast’s MD, said: “We are seeing an increasing take up of Office 365 through the IT channel in the UK. Microsoft’s CSP Program will enable all resellers to get involved in providing cloud services to their customers in a way that will enhance their own relationships to their end-users."
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