ACADEMIA

Today Sun Microsystems announced the expansion of its customer financing and leasing unit under the new name Sun Microsystems Global Financial Services (SMGFS). SMGFS, formerly called Sun Microsystems Finance, is building out an array of worldwide programs for businesses of all sizes looking for flexible and affordable financing options. By delivering custom-fitted financing plans, SMGFS plans to put the newest Sun technology into the hands of more customers without the need for significant upfront capital expenditures. The new SMGFS unit has the resources in the field globally to help provide customers, the distribution channel and resellers immediate access to creative financing options, accelerating the acquisition of fully-integrated business solutions worldwide. The enlarged international team of Sun experts plans to cover regions where the demand for financing alternatives is growing rapidly, such as Asia and Latin America. SMGFS has expanded operational capabilities, building a richer financial services platform that supports not only traditional financing and leasing, but also financial structuring for emerging metering solutions, such as utility and grid computing, with the convenience of a flexible payment plan. "The expansion of our financing unit is part of Sun's plan to help reduce its customers' total cost of ownership, while making them increasingly competitive in their marketplace," said Kris Snow, Vice President, Sun Microsystems Global Financial Services. "Sun works closely with its customers, evaluating their current environment and upcoming business needs to customize a financial plan that makes the ideal technology accessible to them. This is a very successful recipe." SMGFS offers a variety of flexible financing plans that help customers manage IT ownership risk and protect against technology obsolescence, while lowering total cost of acquisition and ownership. As a single source for financing worldwide, SMGFS also reduces complexity for global customers taking advantage of its competitive financing packages for complete solutions, including Sun hardware, software, services and related third-party products. For example, the Capacity Management program allows customers to lower the initial investment costs by tying payment amounts to the actual amount of technology used instead of the cost of what is installed. Current Sun leasing customers will continue to enjoy the same high level of business support and can work with their Sun leasing representatives and account managers for a customized solution.