Microsoft Australia has introduced a new technology financing offering in conjunction with finance provider De Lage Landen Australia, promising to cut the average Australian company’s up-front financial investment by two-thirds and help businesses develop their technology capabilities faster.

The financing program aims to make software more affordable for businesses by allowing them to spread their payments over several years and preserve their capital.

“Traditional sources of financing, such as IT hardware vendors and banks, have preferred to finance hard assets rather than software, so customers have had to turn to other niche financial offerings which have offered uncompetitive or inflexible terms,” said Elizabeth Aris, project lead, Microsoft Financing, Microsoft Australia.

“Microsoft’s aim is to liberate Australian businesses from this no-win situation by establishing a program that will enable them to obtain finance for 100% software projects, or a combination of software, implementation services and hardware, at a highly competitive rate.”

According to Microsoft, its research has shown there is significant demand for competitive financing from customers, with more than 75% indicating they would prefer a “pay as you go” payment structure.

“Microsoft has listened to its customers and partners, who tell us regularly that they have great aspirations for what they would like to be able to do with their technology, but are constrained by budget issues,” said Ms Aris.  “This competitive offering will help these businesses achieve their objectives faster.”

The Financing Program will require no minimum amount of hardware investment, which is typically required by other technology financiers to be a major percentage of the deal.  The financing agreement minimum is $15,000 and interest rates are determined by the size of the loan.