As more and more companies look to offload
their IT business into managed service contracts, lessors will need
to become more open to working with outsourcers if they do not want
to risk losing valuable business.

ECS, the technology finance subsidiary of
Société Générale, believes that there is currently a gap in the
market, and has decided that now is a good time to approach
outsourcers and system integrators in the UK.

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“We are in the process of setting up a channel
to develop programmes with pan-European outsourcers,” explained
Chris Labrey, UK sales director at ECS. “Today, customers want to
pay for a service – they no longer want the burden of upfront costs
and monthly payments.”

ECS is currently in talks with three European
outsourcers, six system integrators and other business partners to
develop managed service contracts, which would enable it to offer a
contract for a monthly or quarterly fee which would include both
the setup and services associated with IT.

Steven Green, a director at Global Asset
Finance, a financier already offering IT outsourcing services,
agrees that now is a good time to be in this market.

“In the current climate, there’s always going
to be demand for IT outsourcing,” said Green. “Although it’s a
relatively easy process, I find that businesses are still a bit
reluctant to go forward with outsourcing their entire
infrastructure.”

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According to ECS, outsourcing IT
administrative tasks enables businesses to save time and reduce
hidden costs, allowing them to focus resources on the core
business, which has become especially important in the
downturn.

The IT outsourcing market has also felt the
effects of the recession, however, with the number of IT
outsourcing deals declining in 2008 in the UK. Forrester Research,
the technology and market research company, expects that demand
will pick up again this year, however.

“Many end users will be battening down the
hatches and others will be in pure survival mode if the economy
continues to worsen,” said a report released last month. “These
companies will be tempted by low-cost offerings in an attempt to
alleviate short-term cost pressures.”

Forrester also warns that providers should be
careful not to compete purely on price, and must be wary of signing
“bad” deals that could lead to higher cancellation rates once the
economy has recovered.

But ECS’ Labrey said he expects the business
will write £12 to £15 million (€13 to €17 million) of business this
year in this segment.

The model has already enjoyed “much success”
in ECS’ Italian operations, and the company is now rolling it
across Europe. In the UK, Labrey has already hired Ian Irving,
previously of IT finance provider Syscap, to set up the
channel.

“We were just waiting for the right person to
fit the role, and now is the right time for us to do this,” he
added.

Jason T. Hesse