When it comes to equipment financing, IT and related services now get the biggest sector slice of the new business pie, according to the 2018 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.
Also notable is the doubling of managed equipment services in volume from 2016 to 0.1% in 2017. These services include subscriptions, installation, training, maintenance and cloud, which can be part of total solution financing that also includes hardware and software.
Here's a breakdown of ELFA’s 2017 member survey:
IT and tech services: Equipment leasing facts
- IT and related tech services: 25% of equipment financing new business volume (up from 21.6% the previous year)
- Technology and related services: Now the #1 equipment category
- Software: Comprises 6.6% of equipment financing new business volume (up from 5.9%)
Equipment financing is widespread
- 78% of respondents in a survey of businesses used at least one form of financing to acquire equipment (up from 72%)
- 68% of the total value of equipment and software acquisitions was financed (up from 55%)
Trends: Ups and downs
- IT networking equipment: 3.2% of equipment financing new business volume (up from 2.8%)
- IT storage equipment: 1.2% of equipment financing new business volume (down from 1.6%)
- Tablets, smart phones, mobile devices: 0.1% of equipment financing new business volume (down from 0.2%)
- Managed equipment services: 0.1% of equipment financing new business volume, nearly doubling in volume over one year
Tech investment growth
- Q1 2018: Investment in computers increased at an annualized rate of 47%
- July 2018: Computer investments were up 19% year-over-year
- Investment growth in both computers and software are expected to remain stable through end of 2018
IT/tech market
- Expect a continued drop in unit sales of PCs and notebooks in 2018
- Watch for sales growth in two market segments: servers and premium, ultra-mobile devices (UMD)
- Growing interest in tech wearables could positively impact secondary market
Here's more on optimal financing solutions for technology and related services:
