Today’s government entities are operating with lean budgets, so when one state needed to upgrade its anti-virus technology, the biggest hurdle was finding a source to pay for it. Thanks to a forward-thinking technology partner and Key Government Finance, the state was able to get approval to finance more than $2 million of technology in less than 24 hours.
Like organizations across all sectors, state governments are operating in an environment where budgets are tight and expenditures are closely scrutinized. When one state government needed to upgrade its antivirus software to better protect the state’s IT infrastructure, the biggest challenge was identifying how to cover the cost.
Many technology resellers, including Tempe, Arizona-based Insight Public Sector, offer equipment financing as part of the sales process specifically to help businesses, government entities and nonprofit organizations answer that very question. When Insight got the call that this particular state government was interested in a bid for McAfee antivirus software, hardware and services, the company’s finance team was able to offer a solution to help overcome budget constraints quickly and easily.
“We have a partnership in place with Key Government Finance that enables us to finance deals for government entities,” said Bob Stall, director of leasing and financing sales at Insight Global Finance, the equipment leasing subsidiary of Insight Public Sector. “Key Government Finance has been providing lease financing to all types of government entities for years. Key already had a relationship with this particular state, which paved the way for a smooth and easy transaction.”
Because Key Government Finance already had a master service agreement in place with the state, the state was able to get approval to finance more than $2 million of technology in less than 24 hours.
“We have more than 5,000 master services agreements in place, including all 50 states and thousands of municipalities. We have worked with this particular state purchasing department on many occasions in the past, and that history made it easy for both sides to come to an agreement with minimal documentation in order to get the technology they needed on the books and installed as soon as possible,” said John Miller, vice president and lease manager at Key Government Finance.
In addition to helping the state acquire its antivirus technology quickly and easily, the flexible financing package provided substantial financial benefits, as well.
With financing, the state was able to spread the cost of the hardware and software over three years, rather than requiring one large, up-front cash payment.
The state was able to bundle the cost of the software, servers and other hardware into one, predictable monthly payment, making it easy to budget for all costs associated with the technology acquisition.
Financing makes it easy to add or upgrade software or hardware technology, and flexible end-of-term options mean the state doesn’t have to worry about being stuck with obsolete technology in three years.
Cities, counties, towns, states and other tax-exempt entities can take advantage of low financing costs, tax-exempt financing rates, streamlined processing and other benefits designed specifically for organizations with government affiliations.
The financing agreement, which includes ongoing services, also allowed the state and Insight Public Sector to enter into a long-term relationship; a very strategic component of the overall relationship.
This technology acquisition was a win-win for everyone involved. “This particular state is a large software client for us, so we were pleased to be able to meet their needs so easily, and the state was able to get the technology it needed in short order even during the busy month of March,” said Robert Sutton, senior leasing and software financing specialist at Insight Global Finance. “Lots of companies offer financing, but the relationships in place at Key Government Finance made it possible for this deal to happen. We hope we can help meet the needs of other state purchasing departments in a similar fashion in the future.”