Well, if the President can’t get European and Asian governments to do stimulus programs, maybe private enterprise can fill in the gap. IBM Global Financing, the financing arm of IBM is the leading single-source provider for IT financing of solutions has announced that they’ll expand their $2 billion US stimulus program (aligned with US government priorities for transportation information, healthcare informatics and smart electrical grid systems) to address opportunities in other countries.
$5 billion has been allocated for financing (where available based on local financing practices) for smart technology projects with credit-qualified clients. The US pilot accounted for $2 billion and is being expanded to encompass opportunities in Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. The financing could be in the form of:
- Low rates and flexible financing options.
- Deferred payment plans.
- Enterprise Financing facilities that offer structured lines of credit.
- Specialized project financing packages that allow clients to align payment streams to anticipated benefits throughout the project.
IBM Global Financing stimulus financing targets enterprises and municipalities looking to implement technology projects consisting of a majority portion of IBM hardware, software and technology services components. Financing also can be applied to non-IBM technology as part of a larger IBM solution.
This initiative will attempt to accelerate the benefits of a stimulus project by providing the IT share of financing in a as a stop-gap measure. Usually a government project languishes on paper while much of the monies to fund projects under government economic stimulus programs take time to work their way through the system. Projects depending on funding may not commence work until the money is available sometime in 2010 or 2011.
Getting the money for the IT portion of a project helps the client reap the benefits of the project, helps IBM sell equipment and services that would not otherwise have been purchased this month or this quarter or this year and helps employ folks in related preparation and operational tasks who otherwise might have been laid off or not hired at all.
