IBM Global Financing General Manager John Callies said today it is critical that chief executives model a funding strategy to help them upgrade their technology infrastructures for the 21st Century. Callies, who heads the $34 billion lending and leasing business segment of IBM, said that investing in new infrastructure can help prepare businesses to capitalize on new opportunities when world economies inevitably improve.

Callies' statement was made in a letter to all IBM Business Partners. His advice to business leaders comes on the heels of IBM's latest announcement of a range of new products and services that could help companies move closer to a technology infrastructure better able to respond to the challenges and opportunities of today's globally integrated planet. Amidst the current financial crisis, which has driven up the cost of capital and tightened liquidity for businesses, the C-suite's ability to access new infrastructure solutions has indeed been made more difficult. Callies signaled that the current economic situation should be viewed as an opportunity to drive change and innovation.

"Despite this momentary setback in our financial markets," said Callies, "Companies must make critical decisions to plan, invest, manage and eventually retire their infrastructure assets if they hope to survive this crisis over the long-haul."

On Monday, IBM announced three critical requirements for a 21st Century Infrastructure. They are: the ability to integrate all of a company's digital and physical infrastructures; the capacity to store, manage and analyze massive amounts of data and the wherewithal to reduce inefficiencies in business processes, technology and costs. IBM also announced products and services to address these three requirements.

"Such is the current state of business," Callies said. "Enterprises interested in their long-term survival must chart a course towards dynamic infrastructure solutions and model a funding strategy to get them there."

For over 25 years, IBM Global Financing has been helping customers find funding for their technology needs. IBM Global Financing's deep understanding of technology, as captive to IBM, gives it clear insight into how best to structure complicated technology implementations. IBM Global Financing's Project Financing capability is responsible for helping clients transform the business infrastructure via its ability to align upfront costs to future anticipated benefits.

As clients look to access new infrastructure solutions, IBM Global Financing can help factor in the value of a client's existing IT assets towards the upgrade. It can also manage the implementation and deployment of services and provide for the safe disposal of hardware equipment in compliance with environmental laws at the end of its useful life.