ChannelThinking

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or just busy keeping the IT needs of your customers under control), you’ve probably heard the term ‘government stimulus funds’ about 1,000 times.  But I suspect many of you are wondering what that really means, and (more importantly) how you can benefit?  (I’ll tell you right now that we estimate the IT benefit of the stimulus funds in education alone is over $5 billion…!)

Lenovo started thinking about the government stimulus funds several months ago, and I was asked to be a part of the team to represent our business partners and your specific needs.  Last week, we unveiled a lot of great information on the stimulus program that I think you’ll benefit from.  Specifically, we’ve published the following information:

• Information about the Stimulus Opportunity, specifically for your education customers
• Details on why Lenovo products are a great solution for stimulus IT funds
• A BRAND NEW channel program which offers new incentives for your sales into Public Sector

Now for some of the details…
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, and is expected to jumpstart the economy with $787 billion over the next two year. More than $100 billion of these funds are earmarked for education at a time when many state education budgets are struggling for support.  There are several funding buckets with names like ‘State Fiscal Stabilization Fund’ (SFSF) and Broadband Stimulus Program for your education customers to consider when utilizing the funds.

Lenovo offers a host of innovative computing solutions for your customers.  Lenovo is proud of our strong commitment to Education and the development of students in preparation for the future. At Lenovo, we design innovative solutions to enhance 21st century learning skills like creativity, problem solving, communication, and analytical thinking so that students can compete in the increasingly digital world.  There are a number of Lenovo programs and initiatives in the education space you may not be aware of… and some pretty compelling reasons for choosing Lenovo for stimulus funds.  To name just a few:

ThinkPad 1:1 campuses-  With our ThinkPad University program, each student is provided with a device designed to withstand day-to-day wear and tear in a school environment. These award-winning laptops and netbooks, powered by Intel® processor technology and packed with industry-leading software and services, provide a capable, level playing field for students to engage in their own education, explore the world around them, and excel through collaboration with their peers.

TopSeller Education Models (available through distribution)- Each TopSeller education model we create is designed to deliver specific capabilities to support the targeted needs of individual teachers, students, educational goals and institutions.  Lenovo’s educational models are among the most durable and reliable notebooks in the industry. Preloads can include:

• Microsoft® Vista Ultimate
• Microsoft® Office Ultimate
• Microsoft® Office OneNote
• Adobe® Digital School Collection
• Broad Catalog of Academic Software

Mitigating the Funding Cliff-  Using the short term funds that the economic stimulus plan offers, school administrators need to invest efficiently for the long term.  Lenovo’s robust, reliable and durable ThinkPad, ThinkCentre and ThinkVision offerings have industry-leading low total costs of ownership that are supported by comprehensive services, highly certified green attributes, and built-in productivity tools from ThinkVantage Technologies.  Together, these solutions can save your customers up to $262 throughout the lifecycle of every PC you purchase – from deployment to disposal – all while helping them transition from the funding cutoff.  We have a host of information which can help you understand the opportunity and the Lenovo solutions.  Check out our business partner web portal (www.lenovopartnernetwork.com) for details and more info on the programs and resources available to help you sell.

The stimulus funds are already being distributed to the states, so the clock is ticking to take advantage.  Visit our business partner portal (www.lenovopartnernetwork.com) for more details on the stimulus funds and Lenovo opportunities.