Cisco responds to channel requests with finance offer

When customers are showing some reticence about spending on IT, the ability for a partner to offer finance can often keep the investment wheels turning.

There have been recent signs that some channel players are prepared to promote financing as a way of helping partners, with TD Synnex cutting the ribbon on its Capital offering a couple of weeks ago.

Cisco has launched a Capital Business Acceleration Programme in response to partner requests to help mitigate macroeconomic uncertainty.

The programme, provided through Cisco Capital, covers all aspects of the Cisco portfolio, plus some of the services sold via partners and some third-party hardware.

The vendor is also making its Cisco Refresh portfolio of certified remanufactured products eligible for the financing programme to give the channel a spread of different priced options to put in front of customers.

The number one concern for most customers is cash flow, and the Cisco Capital Business Acceleration Programme will give those that purchase the vendor’s participating products or solutions before 29 July the chance to defer all payments until 2024.

The vendor is hoping that partners will be able to tap into the programme and present even more flexible payment options for customers that want to progress with spending but are concerned about the current economic landscape.

“The Cisco Capital Business Acceleration Programme is in response to customer and partner requests to help mitigate financial challenges based on overall market uncertainty and the impact it is having on their businesses. Our goal is to provide payment options that allow continuous technology investment to maintain productivity and business continuity while minimising cash outlays,” said Kristine Snow, senior vice-president and president at Cisco Capital.

“Customer success is our priority. The new programme is designed with this in mind and will help address some of our customers’ most pressing concerns,” she added.

Despite the gloom and doom caused by inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and the fears stoked by high-profile tech lay-offs, a decent portion of customers want to continue with their IT investments.

The latest IT Priorities research from TechTarget found that 44% of the UK customers quizzed were planning to increase their budgets as they ramped up spending in areas including security, cloud management and IT services.

At the same time as displaying a willingness to continue investing, there was a recognition from customers that they lacked the in-house skills and would need to work closely with the channel.

As a result, the year ahead should see even more close relationships struck with managed service providers as users reach out for support.

Speaking at the launch of its Capital offering late last month, TD Synnex’s senior vice-president and managing director for the UK and Ireland, David Watts, summed up the current challenges partners were facing: “As customers continue to digitally transform, there is more pressure on partners to provide alternative ways to pay for new technology.”