If there was even just a 20pc take-up by Irish employees buying computers through their business employers, a leading bank estimates the Irish Government’s home computing initiative could unlock a market worth €140m to equipment vendors and financiers.
A subsidiary of AIB Corporate Banking, the AIBIT Technology Finance Unit, said the initiative is expected to help significantly boost internet and PC penetration, which currently stands at 55pc.
Under the new initiative Irish companies will be able to offer computers, laptops and PC peripherals to employees in a cost-effective and convenient way.
The move will cost businesses and employees only a few euros per week and can be deducted from employee salaries each month.
According to AIBIT, the new initiative will unlock a market valued at close to €140m if just 20pc of employees in Ireland’s medium and large firms take up the programme.
A similar level of opportunity exists in the public sector where if just 10pc of civil servants and State agency workers participated the unlocked market would be worth over €70m to equipment vendors and asset finance vendors.
“We see this as a massive opportunity for Ireland, and for our own customers,” explained Cathal O’Connor, senior product manager with AIBIT. “This initiative is a tangible step forward in the Government’s objective of supporting and driving a sustainable knowledge economy.”
O’Connor said that using the corporate citizen to promote the take-up of technology in the home is an effective mechanism to reach as many families as possible.
“It may also have the potential to reach sections of society such as pensioned staff which expands the reach of the initiative significantly. Employees will now have the option of buying a leading edge PC or laptop in a very convenient way,” O’Connor said.
By John Kennedy
