Portal launch gives SME employees HCI boost
Computacenter and FSC's online facility to help small businesses to manage home computing schemes
The Home Computing Initiative (HCI) could now be much more accessible to SME employees, following a joint agreement between corporate VAR Computacenter and vendor Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC).
The firms have jointly launched a portal that allows an SME to manage and administer an HCI scheme online. Its employees can then apply for a tax-exempt loan towards the cost of an FSC desktop PC or laptop computer. These will then be supplied by Computacenter.
HCI schemes allow employers to give their staff a loan to buy computers for personal use at home as a tax-free benefit. They have now been offered to about five million people, an increase of 39 per cent on last year.
However, Roger Smith, HCI sales director at Computacenter, told CRN that until recently HCI had failed to actively address the SME market.
“For Computacenter, the advantages are that it’s a low-cost sale compared to traditional HCI sales methods. We can penetrate a large market very easily too,” he said.
“We will be looking to provide support and installation services to users as well, which will be a further advantage for Computacenter.”
Both employers and employees will be able to access the portal. Employees will have the ability to place orders online through Computacenter’s web site using a secure user-name and password related to the HCI sceme.
FSC claimed that by buying IT equipment through the HCI portal and Computacenter, each SME could receive up to 40 per cent off typical high street prices.
Jeff Kirkham, HCI business manager at FSC, said: “HCI is often associated with larger businesses that have more funds available to implement and manage such schemes. However, the SME market is very important to us. We believe it is vital that they too have the necessary tools to offer the scheme to their employees.”