Vendor Financing Frenzy

The latest is Hewlett-Packard, which this week intends to announce a three-month lease deferral program on hardware, software and services. Through Jan. 31, qualified U.S. customers will be able to lease the gear they need and defer payment for three months, an HP spokesman said.

HP, like IBM and Microsoft, hopes to convince SMBs to upgrade with low interest, deferred payments and other perks.

"I believe vendors are trying to create their own IT economy," said Andy Vabulas, president of I.B.I.S., an Atlanta-based Microsoft partner.

HP's move follows the rollout of IBM's 90-day "zero-down, zero-payment, zero-interest" deferral plan on software and select hardware. IBM will also make interest rates as low as 3.1 percent available to customers buying at least $25,000 worth of software. The minimum had been $100,000.

Brian Pelletier, president of Trifecta Technologies, an Allentown, Pa.-based integrator, said IBM's plan will help partners customize software, add services and offer it all at a competitive and predictable price.

Microsoft kicked off the financing melee with its Total Solution Financing program in September. Customers must buy at least $10,000 worth of Microsoft Business Solutions offerings to qualify, but the plan also covers third-party software, hardware and services.

Vabulas credited Microsoft's plan with helping I.B.I.S. land a $1.16 million deal.

While not entering the financing fray just yet, Oracle is stepping up what it pays for certification and training for its partners, an Oracle executive said.

The vendor also is segmenting its partners along product lines and enhancing its Oracle PartnerNetwork portal to address their specific needs.

Before the changes, an Oracle e-business suite partner and an Oracle 9i database partner received the same benefits, although "their go-to-

market [strategy is very different," said Julie Tung, vice president of global alliances and channels at Oracle.

Partners wanting to resell Oracle products are now required to join the Oracle PartnerNetwork for $1,995 or source the software through a value-added distributor, she said. The changes will be unveiled this week.

STEVEN BURKE contributed to this story.