RedPC hails success of alternative HCI scheme

VAR RedPC Services has proved there is life after the Home Computing Initiative (HCI) by securing 25 contracts for its replacement scheme in its first year.

RedPC was the first victim to go into liquidation following the chancellor’s announcement in last year’s Budget that HCI was to be scrapped. However, managing director Martin Prescott fought back to form VAR RedPC Services and devised his own alternative HCI scheme – the Home Training Initiative (HTI) – which he claimed is beginning to bear the fruit.

Speaking to CRN, Prescott said: “We could still do with one or two big clients to crack us through, but HTI now represents 85 per cent of our business. The challenge has been in convincing organisations that HTI is not something the government can just eradicate like it did with HCI.”

RedPC’s HTI is primarily an e-learning staff-development scheme that comes with a free PC.

“Organisations offer HTI to staff via a salary sacrifice scheme,” said Prescott. “We offer more than 600 modules of online training. The more training elements someone buys, the better specification PC they’ll get.”

Packages can be for one, two or three years and at the end of that period, the user can either keep the PC for a small fee or give it back.

RedPC has secured HTI schemes with NHS trusts, local councils and housing associations, among others.

“We’re also starting to get repeat business,” Prescott said. “The majority of organisations initially run a scheme for six weeks as they are still nervous, but we are now relaunching schemes with several clients.”

Ian Wilson, head of performance and development at Darlington Borough Council, said: “We ran an HCI scheme through Evesham and were pretty shocked when HCI was scrapped. We initially did a six-week scheme with RedPC and had 50 staff take it up. We’ve now relaunched it, but this time will keep it open.”

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