Surge in demand for software rental service

Dec 18 2008 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

AS businesses continue to slash IT budgets amid tighter financial conditions, one North East technology firm is taking advantage of the growing cost-cutting trend of software rental.

Newcastle-based ZebraHosts has seen a surge in demand for its service offering Microsoft applications on a cost-effective rental basis after becoming an accredited Microsoft Partner.

The company has seen around 20% of its clients take up the rental service and, according to the company, this figure looks set to grow in the new year as the economic slump continues.

ZebraHosts’ strategic account and project manager Belinda Kent believes the company could even see up to half of its customers opt to take up software on a temporary basis next year.

She said: “Often businesses looking to undertake short-term projects are looking to minimise their front-end costs and avoid having to purchase licence agreements for software applications they only need for a short period of time.

“The Service Provider Licence Agreement (SPLA) is an ideal example of how we can do this. Effectively the SPLA enables us to rent out software applications on a monthly basis.

“It could be large companies working on short-term projects or small and start-up businesses looking to minimise their overheads.”

ZebraHosts clients who currently use the SPLA include Eagle-i – an established Manchester-based asset management and monitoring services company – and Newcastle process business Innovation Technology Solutions.

Seven-year old ZebraHosts, which is headquartered on Newcastle’s Westgate Road, launched a new division offering IT consultancy services last October.

It has also helped develop a groundbreaking piece of software which aims to counter the UK’s obesity epidemic.

The software has been adopted by the NHS and primary care trusts and is being used nationwide to analyse the growth statistics of children to identify high-risk groups and tackle obesity.