Increasingly, more resources are needed to invest in technological innovation, which quickly becomes obsolete, creating a snowball effect that, if not addressed immediately, could undermine competitiveness.

The answer may seem obvious and self-evident in a globalized world where cutting-edge technology plays a fundamental role in life, not only for businesses but also for individuals. Ever-increasing resources are needed to invest in technological innovation, which quickly becomes obsolete, generating a "snowball" effect that, if not addressed immediately, could jeopardize competitiveness and even market survival. This has always been the economic problem: how can we satisfy unlimited needs with limited resources? Today, more than ever, this is the question IT Managers and Financial Managers in every industry and every market around the world are asking themselves daily.

How do we solve this in a way that makes sense, so that we can use investment budgets for income-generating assets instead of using them to buy assets that have very short useful lives and cost money?

• IT is no longer a cost center, it has become a commodity.
• IT is a strategic factor for the competitiveness of companies.
• Limited capex, increased operating costs, loss of efficiency, lower productivity, environmental impact, etc.

Fair Market Value Leasing offers a new approach, incorporating financial techniques and tools that allow companies to stay ahead of the competition in a challenging market. Ownership of IT assets is not required to use them, and their added value lies precisely in their use. This is why our way of thinking must initiate a transformation process.

IT transformation is about developing models that allow companies to obtain the necessary resources to achieve innovation without increasing their operating costs. Using leasing to carry out the required technological transformation when resources are limited is a practical and intelligent solution that can solve problems for IT managers and also create a bridge with their CFO (who generally don't speak to each other), allowing both to improve the efficiency of the companies they work for. Often, what increases operating costs is precisely the use of old equipment, but many are hidden costs (extended warranties, maintenance expenses, energy, storage, etc.), and no one takes the time to analyze these due to a lack of communication between departments.

By adopting a leasing culture, at the end of the contract term, the assets are returned to the lessor, and the company renews them, maintaining a pay-per-use policy and without requiring large outlays.

In a Transformation process, a “Fair Market Value” Leasing model puts companies in a “win-win” position, improving their Financial Statements, reducing their Hidden Costs, achieving Financial Flexibility, reducing Operational Risks to be in compliance with regulatory or certification issues, achieving Innovation in their IT platform and last but not least, complying with environmental responsibility and “Green IT” issues.

By Sergio Saenz.