Server renting and leasing
Infrastructure is the IT investment with the highest ticket and the longest cycle. It is also the one where paying upfront hurts cash flow most, and the one where financing is easiest to approve, because the equipment has a recognised value and working life.
- 60 months of possible term
- Hardware + software in the same contract
- €0 of upfront investment
What can be financed
Contrary to what people think, the contract is not limited to the hardware. Virtualisation licensing, multi-year subscriptions, migration and installation services can go into the same deal, as long as there is a hardware component to support the share the funder requires.
That limit varies, and it is precisely because it varies that comparing pays off. A project with a lot of software and little hardware is approved by some funders and turned down by others.
- Tower, rack and blade servers
- SAN and NAS storage, and hyperconverged solutions
- Virtualisation and operating system licensing
- UPS, racks, cooling and cabling
- Migration, installation and configuration services
Renting or leasing for infrastructure
Here the choice between renting and a finance lease is less obvious than with laptops. A five-year-old server still serves many companies, and in that case a finance lease with a purchase option lets you keep the equipment for a residual value and use it for another two or three years with no rent at all.
If, on the other hand, the policy is to renew the infrastructure after five years, operating renting is cheaper and takes care of removing the old equipment. In the scenarios we send, we always present both options with the total cost of each.
Sale and leaseback of existing infrastructure
If the company bought infrastructure recently and needs to free up cash, it can sell that equipment to the funder and start paying a rent for it. The equipment does not leave the premises and the company receives its market value in cash. It is a little-known deal and one of the most useful in tight years.
Typical investment
| Configuration | Components | Investment |
|---|---|---|
| Single SME server | Tower/rack, RAID, UPS, base licensing | €7,500 |
| Virtualisation cluster | Two nodes, shared storage, licences | €32,000 |
| Hyperconvergence | Three nodes, dedicated switching, migration | €68,000 |
Frequently asked questions
Can I include VMware or Microsoft licences?
Usually yes, as long as they come with hardware in the same deal. The accepted share of software against hardware varies between funders, and it is one of the things we check before submitting.
What if the project is delivered late?
It is common with infrastructure, and it is solved with staged payments to the supplier: the funder pays in stages and the contract only starts with the final delivery certificate. It is best to agree this at the start, not halfway through.
Does it make sense to finance infrastructure if we are moving to the cloud?
It does, if the migration is gradual, and it almost always is. A 36-month term follows the transition without tying the company to five years of equipment it will stop using. It is the typical case where the shorter term is worth the higher rent.
Keep exploring
Laptop renting and leasing for companies
The laptop is the equipment that ages fastest and the one that costs most to maintain after the third year.
Computer and desktop renting and leasing
Fixed workstations, all-in-ones and mini PCs are still the right choice for counters, receptions, laboratories and production lines.
IT renting for accounting and consulting firms
It is the sector that best understands how renting works and, for that very reason, the most demanding when comparing.
Want to see the numbers for your case?
Tell us what you need to equip. We consult the four funders and send back compared scenarios within 48 working hours, with no commitment.