Uplevel Systems’ New IT Buying Model Empowers MSPs With Opex, Capex Options

Networking upstart Uplevel Systems, which specializes in As A Service IT solutions through the channel, has added an upfront buying model for businesses looking to reduce expenses by investing in small, capital IT spends, the firm said.

Networking newcomer Uplevel Systems is launching a new purchasing model to help MSPs extend more IT options to their end customers in the form of an upfront purchasing option.

The new, highly-demanded Equipment Purchase Program will give clients that have distributed offices or are grappling with working from home another way to procure much-needed IT products. The program will let customers buy hardware upfront, or, pay via a monthly subscription, Robin Livesay, director of marketing, told CRN.

Uplevel, with the help of its partners, wants to help businesses avoid sacrificing their budgets or IT needs, Livesay said.

“Our goal is to provide customers with options and flexibility, while reducing complexity. As companies have different business models and cash inflection points, we are looking to provide companies with an additional equipment acquisition option so they can choose what works best with their business model and goals,” she said.

[Related: IT-As-A-Service Model Marks Channel Maturity, Tech Execs Say]

Uplevel, which got its start in 2015, has focused networking and security solutions delivered in an As A Service model. The firm does all of its business through its channel of MSP partners. The company did not have an upfront buying option for end customers before now.

Both the existing subscription buying model and the new upfront purchasing models were designed to “break even” at the three-year mark, Livesay said. Customers that choose the subscription model for their equipment will receive 0 percent, three-year financing through the length of the subscription.

The As A Service buying model will continue to help customers that are looking to keep as much cash on-hand as possible, an especially important factor due to the economic downtown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many businesses to close, downsize, or move their employees to a work from home environment. But while the pandemic has made a strong case for as-a-service IT buying models, many customers are also looking to reduce their ongoing expenses through capital purchases, Livesay said.

“The uncertainty that the pandemic has induced caused companies to get lean. For some of these customers, certainly not all, they‘re choosing to make small investments with the additional cash on hand in order to reduce their ongoing expenses and prepare for additional uncertainty ahead,” Livesay said.

The Tigard, Ore.-based provider previously offered its equipment through a monthly subscription model only, which gave customers an all-inclusive hardware and software as-a-service solution. Now, customers can own UpLevel products outright via the Capex buying model and pay for standard maintenance and software services fees on a monthly or annual basis, the firm said.

UpLevel partners, via both buying models, will still have the opportunity to add their own software services onto the products for a monthly rate, Livesay said. “This gives partners both a large hardware sale and a reoccurring monthly revenue model,” she added.