Storage and backup appliance finance
Fund the capacity and the backup platform your data actually needs, spreading a large one-off hardware cost across its useful working life.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a storage and backup appliance?
Yes. A storage array or backup appliance is funded as business IT hardware, typically on hire purchase or lease. It sits at the better end of the technology spectrum for funders because it is a serialised, rack-mounted box that stays put and has a refurbished market. Used arrays are occasionally funded through established resellers but many lenders decline them. What people underestimate is capacity licensing: much of what you pay for on a modern array is entitlement to use the software features and capacity, and none of that licence value can be recovered, so the underwriter treats it as an unsecured portion.
Used kit: Yes in limited cases, though less often than servers. Refurbished arrays from a recognised reseller with support in place can be placed with a handful of funders, but the drives and the remaining support term are looked at closely.
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What would a storage and backup appliance cost per month?
Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
How lenders treat it
Storage is one of the technology assets I am reasonably comfortable with. It is identifiable, it lives in a rack, and there is a working channel for refurbished arrays, so recovery is not purely theoretical. What I discount heavily is the software. On most modern platforms a large slice of the price is licensed capacity or data services, and that entitlement does not travel with the box in a recovery. I therefore look at the hardware line and treat the rest as covenant lending. I also ask about the data: an array holding regulated or client-confidential information is harder to deal with in a default because it has to be securely wiped, and that cost comes off whatever I recover.
Makes and models we fund
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Dell PowerStore 500T | Entry all-flash storage array |
| Dell PowerVault ME5 | Entry block storage array for servers |
| Dell PowerProtect DD appliances | Deduplicating backup appliances for data protection |
| HPE MSA 2060 | Entry block storage array |
| HPE StoreOnce appliances | Backup and deduplication appliances |
| HPE Alletra Storage Server | Storage server for mixed workloads |
| NetApp AFF C-Series | Capacity flash storage system |
| Synology RackStation RS4021xs+ | Rackmount network storage unit |
| Synology DS1823xs+ | Desktop network storage for offices |
| QNAP TS-h1290FX | All-flash network storage for media |
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Who buys one
Media companies, architectural practices and engineering firms whose project data grows relentlessly, healthcare and legal businesses under retention obligations, and any firm that has just discovered its backup would take days to restore. The trigger is usually a capacity wall, a failed restore test, or a cyber insurance renewal demanding immutable backups. Managed service providers building shared storage for client workloads are frequent applicants, as are businesses bringing data back from cloud storage after a bill shock.
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We publish the deals we arrange, with no client named and no rate quoted. See what we have funded in IT and office equipment.
How it is treated for tax
Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Storage and backup appliance finance questions
Can the backup software licences be financed with the appliance?
Yes, that is the normal way it is packaged. Backup platforms are almost always sold as hardware plus licensed software, and funders accept the combined invoice. Just expect the underwriter to weigh the licence portion as unrecoverable, which means a package that is mostly software will be judged on your trading position rather than the box.
Is a NAS too small to be worth financing?
Sometimes, yes. Below a certain value the administrative cost of an asset agreement outweighs the benefit, and a business card or unsecured facility is the simpler route. Where the NAS is part of a broader project — a server refresh, a network upgrade — folding it into the same application makes far more sense.
Our cyber insurer wants immutable backups. Does that help our case?
It gives the application a clear commercial driver, and underwriters respond well to a purchase with an external requirement behind it rather than a discretionary upgrade. It does not change the security position of the asset, but it does make the proposal easy to understand, and clarity of purpose consistently helps applications through.
What happens to our data if an agreement goes wrong?
It is a fair question and one worth raising early. In a recovery scenario a funder takes the hardware, not the data, and the drives would need to be securely wiped before any resale. In practice most funders would rather work with a business in difficulty than repossess storage, because recovery is awkward and the return is modest.
Can we expand capacity later on the same agreement?
Additional shelves and drives are usually added as a separate schedule rather than amending the original, which is cleaner for everyone. If growth is predictable, flag it when we place the first deal, as some funders will record an appetite for follow-on business that shortens the process considerably the second time.
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
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Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
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