UPDATE: Microsoft offers 0% financing to new ERP, CRM customers

Microsoft Financing announced today that it will offer 0 per cent interest over 36 months to new purchasers of selected Dynamics ERP and CRM solutions.

Microsoft Financing’s program development manager, Katrina Braund, told ARN the new promotion is aiming to help Microsoft customers and partners in the current climate of economic uncertainty.

“Their focus at the moment we feel is around IT investments that drive productivity and efficiency, and the Dynamics suite particularly addresses those needs,” she said.

“Traditionally other financing companies don’t focus on partner services or software, it’s traditionally been in the hardware area. So by increasing awareness in the market we’re driving our message into partners about how financing can be a benefit in their sales cycle and in closing deals with their customers.”

Braund said Microsoft Financing had doubled its business over the past 12 months, and today’s announcement follows several channel partners looking at alternative financing options to improve cash flow and secure customer spending.

Last week at Cisco’s Channel Exchange event, global vice-president of channels, Edison Peres, touted the importance of vendor financing in the current climate. Cisco has introduced a number of short-term cost-saving initiatives for channel partners in an effort to ease pressures resulting from the financial downturn. IBM’s director of global financing, Brett Vincent, said the company had seen a large increase in customers and partners requesting financing and has recently re-released its buy now, pay later program due to rising demand.

Business development director for Eclipse Computing, Martin Wildsmith, said managers and boards are understandably concerned with cash flow and investing funds in an uncertain market place. The Microsoft Financing announcement, he said, allows Eclipse Computing customers to address these issues.

The 0 per cent deal is on offer from November 19 until March 20, 2009 for credit approved customers on purchases between $30,000 and $1.5m.

“In establishing the min and max amounts for this promotion we wanted to ensure that it was available to the vast majority of customers purchasing Microsoft Dynamics EPR and CRM,” Braund said.

According to Microsoft the promotion is applicable only to customers who are new purchases of eligible products, which include the license with first year Business Ready Enhancement plan for Microsoft Dynamics ERP, AX, GP, SL, and NAV, as well as Microsoft Dynamics CRM SKUs sold through Volume Licensing programs (i.e. Enterprise, Open, Open Value and Select) that includes both License and Software Assurance.

Microsoft is running an event next week at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel on how the current economic climate is affecting the IT market, and what it means for businesses and their customers. The event will be filmed and available through Microsoft’s partner portal.