When Syscap attended Britannic Technologies’ annual convergence summit in December, it was immediately apparent that the concept, techniques and technologies of convergence have really started to come of age. Advances in chip design and manufacture are making it possible to turn the possibilities of single device, mobile operations into a reality, and fully functional convergence is not just around the corner – it’s already here.

In February, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was the focus for more discussion about the realities of convergence, with companies such as Nokia announcing record sales of camera, music and GPS enabled phones, and predicting even greater expansion in the GPS market during 2008.

Both events reflect a growing demand for high end communications devices that simplify the way we do business, deliver demonstrable ROI, facilitate a more flexible approach to work and offer a robust alternative to the more traditional trio of laptop, phone and organiser. A similar trend is emerging within IT procurement, where companies have traditionally made separate purchases using cash, loan or lease depending on factors that might include the scale of the purchase, the state of cashflow and their relationship with the bank manager. Instead, customers now quite rightly expect to able to access single sources of flexible, robust finance that can simplify their financial position, deliver visible ROI and encompass a range of different acquisitions under one agreement.

At Syscap, we are working closer than ever with our ISV partners and VARs to develop the kind of ‘convergent’ finance models that customers are looking for. This means we can offer single sources of funding for multiple transactions – including hardware, software and services – develop total cost of ownership models to make budgets more transparent and manageable, offer upgrade opportunities without greater monthly costs, provide one to one consultations and deliver contracts that fund managed services.

This is an exciting time for convergence, which is on the brink of being able to offer the kind of functionality and service offering that could transform the way we all do business. Likewise, comprehensive finance programmes can now offer a much more coherent way for customers to pay-over-time, offering far greater business benefits in a simplified and straightforward way.

Philip White

Syscap