The Difference Between HaaS and Leasing

Several dozen VARs are heading to a managed services luncheon today in New York, where they’ll learn about best practices for hardware as a service (HaaS), managed printing and managed security.

I’ve attended a few of these luncheons, which are hosted by Do IT Smarter, MX Logic and Xerox. At some point during today’s event, an attendee will surely ask that magic question: What’s the difference between HaaS and good old leasing?

Yes, both approaches allow the customer to pay a predictable — and often cost-effective — monthly fee. But as one of our readers, Mike Cooch, points out in his blog:

Smart move. As a small business owner myself, I can see the potential day when our company relies on a HaaS contract for our laptops and office equipment. If our trusty Macintoshes die (say it ain’t so…), our HaaS partner would have a hot swap Macintosh standing by, along with a stored image of our typical system configuration — for quick loading onto the replacement system.

Assuming the MSP also offers storage as a service for our desktops, I’d also be able to get online and retrieve all of my backed-up files.

In the case of printers, I remain intrigued by Do IT Smarter’s work with Xerox’s PagePack program. The partner program will certainly be discussed during today’s luncheon. PagePack, in case you haven’t heard of it, allows VARs to analyze a customer’s existing printing infrastructure and then set monthly fees for ink, paper and the hardware itself.

Customers gain a clear understanding of their document expenses, and MSPs actually profit from paper and ink.

Unfortunately, I can’t attend the event in New York today because of a last minute business conflict. If you’re seeking to attend future managed services events, conferences and Webinars, check out our Event Calendar and Map.