Firms defy recession to keep IT up-to-date

More firms are performing office equipment refresh cycles despite the economic downturn, research claims

Show me the money: Companies are finding the money to keep their equipment up to date

Firms are determined to keep up with their IT and office equipment maintenance despite the recession, according to research by Siemens Financial Services.

The firm questioned 1,500 companies in the UK, France and Germany, asking about the average replacement periods for technology, preferred financing methods and the main motivations for replacing equipment and software.

In terms of replacement periods, the average across all three equipment categories (hardware, software and office equipment) in each country were found to be virtually unchanged in three years. The UK was 34 months, Germany 37 months and France 38 months.

Unsurprisingly, 24 per cent of European companies are looking to different forms of leasing and asset finance, according to Siemens, allowing them to spread the cost across a set period.

A total of 76.8 per cent of UK firms are still relying on cash to fund equipment acquisition, compared to 75.6 per cent of French firms and 67.5 per cent of German businesses.

Key drivers for replacing equipment, according to the findings, were to obtain greater capabilities and functionality from the equipment and to improve business efficiency.

Derek Ryan, sales director at Siemens Financial Services UK, said it was encouraging that so many firms realised the importance of buying the right equipment to stay competitive.

“They are fighting back against recessionary pressures to make those investments. The need to deliver added value and service to customers has become even more important as markets contract,” he said. “As standard lines of bank credit have become more costly and less available in the past year, a significant proportion of companies are turning to asset finance techniques as an alternative means of financing such essential acquisitions.”