Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s financing unit today is making some special accommodations for customers and business partners whose information technology operations are affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The company has earmarked $2 billion to lend to customers for equipment purchases or to buy their IT assets at book value rates. HPE is also instituting a payment relief program under which customers can pay only 1% per month of the total value of any new contracts through 2020. Beginning next year, payment terms will revert to the regular schedule. Finance charges will accrue throughout the term of the promotion.

“There’s a liquidity crunch in business. Customers are focused on preserving capital, lowering expenses and better managing capital,” said Brad Shapiro, managing director of HPE Financial Services for the Americas region. “At the same time, there are demands on them to continue with existing digital transformation projects. Financing minimizes cash flow in the current period.”

To some extent the promotion is as much public relations as financial relief, since HPE isn’t changing financing eligibility requirements or qualifying applicants any differently because of their exposure to the coronavirus. The equipment buyback program also isn’t new. HPE has purchased more than $600 million of customer infrastructure over the past two years, Shapiro said.

“To some degree what we’re communicating here are existing offers so customers know they will be available to them,” said Michael Swan, director of global business development for HPE Financial Services.

The promotion also has bottom-line benefits to HPE since it simplifies customer decisions about buying new equipment. HPE, like many companies, has withdrawn financial guidance for the current fiscal year because of coronavirus-related uncertainties.

Other offers include a phased deployment program under which customers can configure and deploy systems before paying for them and the availability of short-term rentals of refurbished HPE equipment for up to 12 months.

The company is also offering to refurbish PCs it has acquired through buybacks and make them available through channel partners on a rental, purchase or lease basis. “Customers are struggling to find PCs, so we’re seeing a spike in demand for pre-owned products,” Shapiro said. Any used equipment will be “in top-grade condition,” he added.

Photo: HPE