Third Party Maintenance

With the ever-increasing demand to make constrained IT budgets stretch further and still maintain comprehensive and robust services, reducing expenditure has become a vital strategy. That said, ensuring interruptions to service are kept to a minimum is essential and that presents a challenge for most IT Managers and IT Directors. The lifecycle option to refresh hardware every 3 to 5 years is no longer the simple choice it used to be, and with vendors support pricing escalating dramatically for hardware past its End of Life (EOL), this raised the question of what alternative options are available.

The current economic climate has seen a significant increase in the use of Third Party Maintenance (TPM) providers who offer extended support solutions at a greatly reduced rate compared with the vendor. There is a wealth of choices in this market, but how do you decide which TPM to depend upon to deliver the level of service required? What assurances can you obtain until you put their service to the test?

CONTRACT FLEXIBILITY

Most reputable TPMs offer support services on short, medium or long term contracts with simplified billing options and provide a range of SLAs tailored to the customers' individual requirements. Acquiring continued support for the period required can be a very cost-effective solution for many projects such as migration. Many of these projects have a high probability of running past the forecasted or scheduled time frame, a rolling short term third-party maintenance contract provides the assurance and also mitigates that no service issues will cause any further significant delays.

NO STRICT TIME LIMIT

A TPM has no predefined rules as to when support for a system will cease to be available. The most likely determining factor will be the availability of replacement parts, which can be available for many years after the manufacturer has stopped support. This can considerably increase the Return On Investment, while also reducing the overall Total Cost of Ownership.

UNBIASED ADVICE

When and if a customer decides to replace any hardware, access to impartial technical advice is invaluable. With no quotas to meet, a reputable TPM can ensure the right technical hardware fit for the customer rather than shoehorn the preferred choice of technology of a vendor. This can assist in maximising the value of any investment in new infrastructure, as the suggested solution will be focused on the specific requirements of the customer.

CROSS VENDOR SUPPORT

Having a single point of contact when there is a service issue can greatly simplify the prosses of obtaining the support required. This can be especially true if there is an issue in an environment where there are several interconnected platforms from various vendors.

DEDICATED ENGINEERS

While a smaller field engineering resource may be seen as a disadvantage, having dedicated engineers provides a level of continuity that no vendor can match. Engineers who are familiar with an environment may be able to determine where an actual fault resides and resolve the issue significantly faster. Even the simplest of knowledge, knowing where a system is located within a data centre, or the engineer is already registered with site security can save time and expedite the fault resolution process.

With many IT departments having to provide a greater range of service while having reduced resources and smaller budgets, securing the maximum value from any services provider is essential. The priority for many IT managers today is to obtain the correct level of service at the most competitive price. That said, it is just as important to have these services in place as quickly as possible, as the most expensive resource today is time. Finding a trusted TPM by carrying out due diligence with references and case studies to mitigate any possible service risks, is an absolute priority.

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