6 Reasons to choose Third Party Maintenance over OEM Services
Why Choose TPM?
Organisations have traditionally relied on Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for data centre maintenance. But nowadays, budget constraints have meant that a relatively new alternative has become increasingly attractive. More and more companies are turning to Third Party Maintenance providers (TPMs) to relieve the financial and procedural burdens of IT support. But why rely on a third party vendor when you can receive support directly from the manufacturer? The most obvious reason is that TPM offers a more cost-effective alternative to businesses by working to maximise their data centre’s Return on Investment (ROI) but that’s not the only benefit.
Offering flexible contracts; pre-owned hardware, and experienced engineers all at a fraction of the cost of OEM services, third party support solutions are advantageous where manufacturer services fall short. Conforming to the OEM’s inflexible policies and warranties ends now: third party support should adapt to your unique budget and IT environment — not the other way around!
Still not sure? Here are 6 reason to choose third party maintenance over OEM services:
1. LOWER MAINTENANCE COSTS
The most obvious benefit of TPM is the fact that they should significantly reduce your company’s overall support costs. Many third party maintenance providers can cut costs by as much as 60-70% compared to OEM extended warranties. But this doesn’t mean compromising on service. In fact, TPM providers usually possess a wider variety of skills and experience with multiple manufacturer brands, as well as more flexible service options.
So, your company can usually not only save money but actually improve the quality of your support.
2. EXTEND THE USEFUL LIFE OF YOUR EQUIPMENT
Although you may have purchased a 1, 3, or 5 year warranty, that’s not actually the physical lifespan of your equipment. Most devices can actually remain productive for several years after their official End of Service Life (EOSL) date.
Manufacturers use their premature deadlines as selling incentives for newer product lines. Fortunately, TPMs aren’t bound by these EOSLs. On the contrary, TPMs’ mission is to keep equipment functional for as long as possible to ensure you’re getting the most out of your investment; this typically results in an extension of equipment life by 5-10 years. This means that a third party support option to prolong existing equipment could be invaluable in helping postpone an expensive hardware replacement until the necessary budget presents itself.
3. AFFORDABLE, AVAILABLE HARDWARE
Qualified TPM providers offer Next Business Day (NBD) parts and on-site spare kits so you don’t feel abandoned during times of need. Certified, pre-owned hardware ensures you can get the parts you need quickly without having to stress about blowing your IT budget in the process. TPMs are ‘brand-agnostic’ - not tied to any particular manufacturer so can offer the best solution for your needs.
TPM providers also are able to source parts quickly from their own inventory by utilizing smaller warehousing; this ensures that in the event of a system failure or malfunction, clients receive replacement parts swiftly from the nearest parts depot rather than waiting on the OEM to ship the part from across the globe.
4. SINGLE PROVIDER, HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS
Although large manufacturers are ideally suited to provide support for their own hardware, the reality is that most companies have a diverse mix of gear within their data centre. Between servers from one vendor, a storage system from another, and networking hardware from a third, it’s easy to see maintenance fees quickly build. Moreover, in the event of a data centre crisis, companies will often stress over which manufacturer to reach out to, which often results in an OEM “blame game”.
Meanwhile, third party support offers a Single Point of Contact (SPOC). This means you won’t have to juggle several service contracts from OEM manufacturers. It also works to eliminate any disputes that would likely occur from dealing with multiple service providers. Because most TPM providers are brand agnostic, their engineers have in-depth product knowledge across multiple manufacturers; this ensures they’re able to walk into any data centre environment and analyse multivendor IT challenges. Furthermore, many TPM providers can offer co-term support. This permits clients to consolidate all their devices onto one contract regardless of differing manufacturers or warranty periods. That’s one contact, and one contract for all your data centre needs!
5. MORE RESPONSIVE SUPPORT
While OEMs are swamped with service requests and preoccupied by technological innovation, a third party support provider is standing by to service your data centre. TPMs specialize in affordable maintenance and warranty services on current, EOL, and EOSL equipment from most OEM branded devices. And because all resources have been dedicated to mastering the support operations side of the equation, you get a much faster response time. Experienced providers like Support 247 offer 24/7/4hr support; this guarantees a response to data centre queries with on-site assistance in under four hours, anywhere in mainland UK!
6. FLEXIBLE COVERAGE
Of all the weaknesses of OEM services, a lack of flexibility tends to be the most frustrating for businesses. Your data centre is complex, and there shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach to network support. That’s why third party providers like Support 247 offer flexible Service Level Agreements (SLAs) designed to adapt to the specific needs of your data centre. Whether you require 24/7/365 monitoring with a 4 hour maximum response time, or simply parts as needed, Support 247 has a support plan for your business. This way you only pay for the services you need and avoid the ones you don’t. Furthermore, Support 247 offers co-term support solutions, permitting clients to consolidate all devices onto one contract regardless of differing manufacturers and warranty periods. Consider third party network support for service on your own terms!
Gain all 6 of these benefits with Support 247!
Hopefully, you’re now convinced of the benefits of using a TPM. Not all TPMs can help with all 6 issues but at Support 247 we can offer them all.
Support 247 specialises in affordable maintenance, support, and warranty services for all major OEM branded hardware – and many obscure ones! Whether your systems have been deemed EOSL or the equipment is reaching its original warranty expiration, we can provide you with high quality third party maintenance options to prolong the useful life of your equipment.
Contact Support 247 here today to learn more about how we can help.