The University of Natal (NU), one of the largest universities in SA, has financially structured its PC replacement through RentWorks to the value of R20 million.
The deal with RentWorks sees the replacement of between 600 and 700 desktops per year at the university, as part of a five-year rolling plan that commenced in July 2000. The desktops are used by both the administrative departments, as well as by the students in resource centres around the campus.
"Taking the rental route has numerous benefits for the university, of which the biggest is the ease of budgeting and standardisation," says Professor Roger Peplow, Acting Director of Information and Technology at the University of Natal. "By using the rental scheme, we have been able to maintain a smooth co-ordinated flow of replacement PCs within a fixed and readily determinable budget. This has had significant benefits over the previous, ad hoc and uncoordinated purchasing approach that existed prior to 2000 and has resulted in reduced total cost of ownership."
The agreement with RentWorks will give the university access to new desktop equipment immediately on a 48 months rental contract. The university has the option to upgrade portions of the fleet at no extra cost within the 48 months using the RentWorks Exchange Plan.
"By using the rental option, NU has turned the financing of their IT upgrade into an easy manageable process," says Gary de Souza, director of RentWorks South Africa. "The university is now in the position to upgrade to new equipment in the future, without having to spend large amounts of money at once."
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RentWorks provides rental solutions to a global customer base. Established in Australia in 1988, RentWorks provides rental finance solutions directly to large and medium enterprises and through the development of vendor finance programs for technology manufacturers and large resellers.
Operating in five countries, RentWorks has developed an extensive suite of flexible rental solutions and has grown to become a leader in the rental finance industry. In SA, RentWorks has serviced over 400 clients with around R2.6 billion worth of assets currently under management. Its rental solutions allow customers to redirect their capital towards investment in assets that appreciate rather than assets that drop in value quickly, while at the same time spreading the cost of the rental equipment over its useful life.
For more information on RentWorks, visit http://www.rentworks.co.za.
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