IT leasing and financing set to top US$100bn by 2010

The global IT leasing and financing market exceeded US$70bn in 2006 and will pass the US$100bn mark by 2010, according to IDC.

The analyst firm predicts that the sector, which encompasses leasing or financing IT equipment, software and IT-related services, will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of more than eight per cent over the next three years.

Equipment leasing, the industry's mainstay product, is expected to come under increasing pressure from changes in accounting treatment, heightened global competition and limited increases in IT equipment spending growth.

"New systems management and virtualisation software is poised to streamline end-user processes for provisioning and de-installing IT servers, storage and network equipment, driving fundamental changes in end-of-lease portfolio dynamics," said Joseph Pucciarelli, programme director for IDC's Technology Financing Strategies research team.

"This change, combined with shifts in the nature of the financed collateral, and strong market pressures driving consolidation among existing participants and new market entrants, has created an unparalleled market opportunity for captive and independent market providers such as CIT Group, GE Capital, HP Financial Services, IBM Global Financing, Microsoft Financing and Oracle Financing Division."

Pucciarelli added that the changing market for IT equipment leasing is likely to be overshadowed by strong growth in the financing of IT software and services.

Equipment leasing accounted for approximately 70 percent of the worldwide leasing and financing volume in 2006.

IDC predicts that this share will drop by about 20 percentage points by 2010, while software and services financing will comprise approximately 50 percent of the worldwide market.

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