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Federal Reserve Opens Main Street Lending Program with $600 Billion

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(Published 4/25/20 – New links to program information)

On April 9, 2020, the Federal Reserve System quietly announced the opening of the Main Street Lending Program.  Through this program, the “Fed” is providing $600 Billion in loans to small and mid-market businesses. Loans are available to companies with up to 10,000 employees and annual revenues up to $2.5 Billion. Business must commit to make reasonable efforts to maintain payroll and retain workers.  Loans may be new, or may be used to expand existing loans.

Given the limited funds in the SBA’s EIDL Program, the Main Street Lending Program may be a useful alternative.

The program has two types of loans:

  1. Main Street New Loan Facility (MSNLF), which provides new loans to businesses per the MSNLF Term Sheet.
  2. Main Street Expanded Loan Facility (MSELF), which expands existing loans to businesses per the MSELF Term Sheet.

The minimum loan is $1 million and the term is fixed at 4 years with the amortization of principal and interest deferred for the first year.  The rate is adjustable based on the Secured Overnight Funds Rate (SOFR) plus 250 to 400 basis points, equating to a current rate between 2.51% and 4.01%.

5 Ways We Can Lower Your Chrome Device Costs

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As part of our ChromeCycle Program, we help you manage the total cost of ownership of your Chrome devices.

Here are five (5) ways we can lower the purchase cost for your next round of Chrome devices.

1. Preregister Your Purchase:

We can often secure preferred pricing when we preregister your intended purchase with your preferred Chrome device manufacturer. Letting your manufacturer know now how many units you plan to buy later helps them plan production and distribution. Some of those savings come back to you.

3. Competitive Bidding:

If you do not have a preferred Chrome device manufacturer, we can bid your intended purchased out across manufacturers and distributors to obtain the best purchase price possible.

3. Trade-In: 

Trading in devices at the end of their life cycle can lower the cost of refreshing your devices by as much as 20%. We can estimate trade-in value now, to help with your budgets for purchases later in the year

4. Buy-Back:

Even if you are not buying your refresh fleet from us, we can buy back devices you are retiring. The international market for used devices and parts can save you money.

5. Financing Services:

We work with multiple finance partners to offer both finance and fair market value leasing options. We can put your purchase financing out to bid to help get the best rate and terms possible.

Chrome Device Costs

Chrome devices are typically sold with a license included, which provides access to the Chrome operating system and management console. However, if you need to purchase additional licenses for your organization, the cost can vary depending on the type of license and the number of devices you need to license.

There are two main types of Chrome device licenses:

  1. Chrome Enterprise Upgrade: This license provides access to additional features and management tools, such as enhanced security, access to the Chrome Web Store, and support for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). The cost for the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade license is $50 per device per year.
  2. Chrome Education Upgrade: This license is designed for educational institutions and provides additional features tailored to the needs of students and educators, such as Google Classroom integration and content filtering. The cost for the Chrome Education Upgrade license is $30 per device per year.

When you sign up for a Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, you will get a free 30-day trail. Final prices are subject to change, and may vary by region. Please contact us if you have any questions about the specific pricing available in your area, and to best determine how much value a Chrome Enterprise upgrade will have for your unique situation.

Click here to learn more about our ChromeCycle services, or contact us for a no-obligation Cloud Advisor consultation.

 

Creative Solutions Help Schools Deploy Chromebooks and Google Apps

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Schools looking to engage students and deploy one-to-one technology programs face many challenges, including limited budgets, annual budget cycles, and the need to select technologies and services that integrate with curriculum goals and objectives. To overcome these challenges, schools are turning to creative funding solutions like those offered by Cumulus Global through its strategic partnership with First American Education Finance. By offering deferred initial payments, flexible payment schedules, short term rentals, and lease rates as low as 0%, the newly announced alliance offers schools more ways to fit Chromebooks, Google Apps for Education deployments, and related services into their curriculum and their budgets.

“Chromebooks make a great choice for student computing as they enable web-based learning and enhance student-teacher interaction,” notes Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global. “Chromebooks also work well for schools as they cost half to a third of laptops and tablets, and as much as 80% less for administration, management, and support.”

Adding value beyond traditional financing services, First American Education Finance provides a web-based asset management system that reduces a school’s cost of tracking and managing devices, device assignments, and refresh cycles. Cumulus Global and First American Education Finance will also help schools dispose of older technology, applying funds to new purchases and lease payments.

“We are uniquely positioned to help schools acquire and deploy Chromebooks while saving them time, effort, and money,” added Falcon. “Schools can obtain equipment now, and pay for it as their budget cycle allows.”

Chad Wiedenhofer of First American Education Finance echoed Falcon’s statements. “As a finance company committed to the education community, we are excited to make Chromebooks more easily available to Cumulus Global customers. We are committed to developing innovative finance solutions that help schools to acquire leading classroom technology.”

Schools interested in Chromebooks for Education and financing options can contact Cumulus Global for more information at http://www2.cumulusglobal.com/Chromebook_funding.

About First American Education Finance
First American Education Finance is dedicated to bettering your student’s lives by providing your school with the resources to succeed. First American provides competitive leasing, financing and asset management solutions that help schools budget and manage new technologies. First American is a City National Bank Company.

About Cumulus Global
Cumulus Global (https://www.cumulusglobal.com) is Cloud Solutions Provider and a Google Apps Premier SMB Reseller helping small and mid-size businesses, non-profits, governments, and educational institutions move from in-house systems to cloud computing solutions. We align technology with our clients’ goals, objectives, and bottom lines. In addition to Google Apps, Cumulus Global offers a range of cloud-based security, storage, and server solutions.