IBM guns for Sun-Oracle and HP customers

Hardware giant announces financing scheme to lure end users of rival server technology

Tug of war: IBM hopes financing scheme will help it wrest customers from Sun-Oracle and HP

IBM has launched a Europe-wide financing programme to lure Sun-Oracle and HP server end users.

The programme’s launch, spearheaded by IBM’s Global Financing division, follows on from the introduction of a similar initiative in the US.

The scheme allows customers to acquire products from IBM’s Power Systems server range using loan and leasing agreements.

It also provides credit-approved Sun-Oracle and HP customers with the option to defer interest-free payments on Power Systems hardware until 2011.

Additionally, IBM will also offer cash back on used, marketable server equipment from Sun-Oracle and HP to certain customers.

Carmen Ene, vice president of sales for North East Europe at IBM Global Financing, said: “Competitive leasing rates and payment deferrals will make it easy for European businesses to migrate to the new IBM's workload optimised systems.”