Axis Security Provides New Lease of Life for Security

Axis Security – the nationally based systems and manned guarding operation – has launched a new leasing initiative to help more businesses achieve the security they are looking for but without having to find the money upfront.

The new ‘package’ includes an initial site survey and technical assessment to determine the technology required. A rental fee is then agreed that includes not only the cost of installation and ongoing maintenance, but also the cost of monitoring if needed. Systems are leased over five years to reflect the typical warranty period of new products, and the lease can be extended as required.

The new service is flexible such that it can cater for both green field and brown field sites. If the requirement is to upgrade an existing installation, where the cabling and various elements of hardware are already present, then this is reflected in the overall cost.

Walter Fitzpatrick, Head of Axis Security’s Systems Division, says that leasing is a viable proposition for security managers wanting full use of the latest technology without having to find significant capital upfront: “Leasing makes affordable a new installation or upgrade that might otherwise have been discounted, postponed or even refused on the grounds of cost and lack of available capital,” he says.

“Finding large sums of capital expenditure at present, especially in those areas that might be considered ‘non-essential’, is a challenge. Security managers are increasingly having to ‘make do and mend’. With leasing, however, they can argue that capex is not the issue; the cost of the equipment is spread over five years.”

Walter believes that this concept of ‘affordability’ goes further: “Increasingly, security managers are looking at the role that technology can play in supporting their existing manpower-based solutions,” he says. “A typical CCTV installation leased over five years equates to £1.75 per hour; this makes for an interesting comparison against £9 per hour for a security guard.”

Leasing will of course never suit everybody, Walter concedes: “But for those that may have lost the argument with the Board, primarily because of the lack of available funds, it represents a serious alternative to ensuring you are never left without the security technology your business needs,” he concludes.