A generation of new academy schools
in the UK could boost business for lessors as they seek to invest
in IT equipment.

The Academies Bill will allow
schools deemed outstanding by education inspectorate Ofsted to opt
out of local authority control by September 2010. As a result, they
will have more control over their budgets, although they will
remain state-funded.

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Independent IT finance provider
Syscap expects more opportunities as schools look to finance
expensive items such as computers and other technology.

Syscap CEO Philip White said:
“There are many technology colleges and academies that will spring
out of the new crop. We see that as an opportunity.”

Nick Gallop, marketing manager at
IBM, agreed. “It transfers accountability to the school, so it’s
more important to get better value out of IT spend. Financing can
help schools to do that by spreading the cost of the life of the
equipment as they are using it.”

The UK leasing market for IT
equipment in education is dominated by secondary schools, which is
what the majority of academies will be.

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Syscap has agreements with about
1,600 UK secondary schools. They include schools with specialised
computer centres which are open to the public, meaning that the
ability to upgrade to new equipment, as well as disposing of the
old, quickly and efficiently, is all the more pressing.

White cautioned that many schools
will not move to academy status immediately.

“They may wait to see the success of other academies before they
take that step themselves. The immediate impact will be less than
we anticipated but our analysis and the feedback we’ve had say
there will be a marked increase in academies,” he said.