Leasing has been around for hundreds of years, but has undoubtedly changed as products and technology have evolved overtime. Computer and IT equipment is notorious for becoming outdated extremely quickly as newer, faster, models appear on the market. You could spend thousands of dollars, wasting most of this, to continue to buy and sell your equipment as technology pushes forward. This is why the option of leasing your IT equipment, rather than buying, is an invaluable tool in maintaining a fresh business. 
There are upsides and downsides to everything, leasing equipment is no different. Looking at it from a smart business standpoint though, the upsides greatly outweigh the downsides. Keeping your equipment up to date is crucial, and is much harder to do through buying and owning than it is through leasing. Although you’ll most likely end up paying more in the long run, there are no down payments, monthly payments are predictable, and you can more easily keep up with competitors when using leased equipment.
Buying, of course, is easier than leasing. You go to the store, pick out what you want, pay, then leave and you’re done. This isn’t always the smartest route though. It’s just like financing a car vs paying full in cash. You could pay $30,000 up front, have no payments, and overtime pay less for the car, but that ties up so much more money than opting for $300 payments a month. When you’re running a business, it’s smart to not keep large amounts of money tied up in one item, especially one that will depreciate in value so much in such a short period of time.
There are different types of leases, and if you’re thinking about leasing your IT equipment you’ll have to be sure to do your homework. There are two types of leases you would be asked to sign, a capital lease, or an operating lease. A capital lease very similar to a loan, you can write it as an asset on your balance sheet, and get to incur the benefits and risks of owning. With an operating lease, the company you lease from maintains ownership of the item, and is considered an operating expense on your balance sheet. These leases are often times shorter, only 3 years of so, than capital leases which can be as long as 5 years or more.
Leasing IT equipment is a much smarter way of acquiring what you need for your business, rather than buying. This is mostly due to the fact that anything technology depreciates in value greatly in such a short period of time. The benefits outweigh the downsides, and should definitely be considered when thinking about upgrading your IT equipment for your business or office.