Often times, client hardware in companies or institutions only for a certain period of time, sometimes only for a few days. Examples of this are trade fairs and events, equipping project teams or newly founded companies that do not have the budget to buy computers. The fact that many employees temporarily switched to working from home during the corona crisis also made it clear how important it is to be able to access inexpensive PCs and notebooks quickly and for a limited period of time. The IT Refurbisher bb-net therefore offers its customers used hardware not for sale but also for rent. "The concept had previously been tried out successfully as a pilot project with a few selected partners," says Michael Bleicher, founder and managing director of bb-net.
IT rental as a service is available to all partners of the Schweinfurt IT processor and also to commercial end users and public institutions such as authorities or schools. Private customers cannot rent directly, business is reserved for partners. In principle, the offer includes bb-net's entire inventory of notebooks, PCs, workstations, displays, servers and peripheral devices. One device can be rented. All client computers are equipped with Windows 10 and LibreOffice. There is also the option of having bb-net preinstall other customer software in order to accelerate the rollout. Renting processed hardware is particularly attractive for IT retailers or system houses, as there is no loss of value here, unlike renting new devices.
The rental period is flexible can be selected and is between a few days and a year. However, at least one month is charged. The delivery and collection of the devices as well as the deletion of data after the return is done by bb-net. There are no additional costs for the tenant. As an IT refurbisher, the company has certified methods of data deletion and uses Blancco software for this. Bb-net recently achieved Blancco ITAD Silver Partner status. Alternatively, devices can also be purchased directly after the end of the rental period.
The rental price After logging in to the processor's online shop, the devices are displayed in a rental price barometer. In this way, partners and commercial or institutional customers can call up their individual monthly rental price directly without having to wait for an offer to be prepared. No deposit is required. Alternatively, an offer can be obtained by phone or using an online form. Participants in bb-net's tecXL partner program are currently also benefiting from the expansion of the rental offer. In addition to their standardized advantages, depending on their partner level, they receive additional discounts when they offer their customers the rental service.
"For bb-net the rental offer is the first part of a comprehensive range of services that is to be created step by step. Another idea is refurbishing as a service: for a fee, bb-net takes on the processing and upgrading of existing hardware, which can then be used for longer. On request even with a guarantee.