Third-party maintenance providers supply a valuable resource for customers looking to support stable environments that are two to three years or older, systems that are in a steady state (limited or no changes to the firmware, patches, and updates), or end-of-life assets until they can refresh their technology or retire an old application or when they need a bridge solution during a migration.
These providers are a valuable, viable option for many organizations, and they should not be overlooked when trying to implement a “hybrid support model” to optimize capital and operational expenditures.
Advantages of third-party maintenance
The reasons to use a TPM provider can vary by organization:
- Hard dollar savings – 50-90%+
- Avoid OEM post-warranty or EOSL maintenance increases
- Extend the life of IT assets / delay infrastructure refreshes
- Redeploy existing assets
- Flexibility in contract lengths and structure
- Leverage against OEMs
- Better response and support
What to consider?
When evaluating the support capabilities of TPM providers, customers should ask the following questions:
- Whom do I trust to fix my support issues?
- Do they provide support at good value?
- Do they have the proper sparing and logistics?
- Can they respond within my SLA?
- Do they have the geographical coverage?
- How easy is it to place a call?
- Do they have the engineering talent?
- Do they have the right support options?
- How easy are they to do business with?
- Can they provide a single point of contact as well as multivendor support?
- Do they have the tools and portals to resolve issues quickly and proactively?
Takeaways
TPM providers are a viable alternative for organizations, especially as they are facing the challenge of OEM inventory issues. Tri-Net, trifecta’s alternative to costly and rigid manufacturer maintenance, can cover any equipment you have running on your network while you wait for your new equipment to arrive.