Archive for Third Party Maintenance

When you build a company and expand your reach in the modern age, you are likely to amass an extensive computing infrastructure. If left to deal with different manufacturers for service support, you could end up with incomplete and contradictory advice when compatibility issues are taken into account. Regardless of the size or scope of your company, it is crucial to have an integrated support system in place for your computing arsenal.

Thankfully, today’s businesses have an alternative option to the basic support packages of original equipment manufacturers. If you’re looking for an integrated support service that can accommodate the unique design and scale of your IT infrastructure, your best option is a third-party maintenance service. To understand the benefits of this option, we first need to look at the definition of third-party maintenance.

What is Included in TPM?

Third-party maintenance is a type of system-support service offered by a third-party service provider, outside the confines of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). A typical example of third-party maintenance is when a company hires an independent service for IT system monitoring beyond the scope of the manufacturers of the organization’s equipment.

A range of areas are covered under third-party maintenance. Depending on the reach or scope of the service you hire, third-party maintenance may include one or more of the following:

1. Phone Support

A third-party maintenance service could offer support over the phone for issues like computer troubleshooting, system upgrades, virus removal, firewall protection and other IT-related issues. Some companies will hire a third-party service for technical backup on computer issues once a warranty plan has expired with the original equipment manufacturer. Third-party phone support is an ideal option for smaller companies that cannot afford to hire an in-house IT staff.

2. Online Technical Support

Similar to phone support, third-party online support is a money-saving option for companies of varying sizes that need assistance with computer-related issues. A company might enlist the services of a third-party maintenance provider when the time comes to scale up, scale down or roll out a new computing infrastructure on a local or international level.

3. On-Site Engineering Assistance

Some third-party maintenance services offer on-site support and assistance with various aspects of engineering and equipment use. Companies may hire this type of service for help with the details of organizational infrastructure.

4. Remote Monitoring

As you roll out a system and interact with different branches and partnered entities, a third-party maintenance service could offer valuable insights into the safety and efficiency of your operation. If holes exist in your network that could expose your company data to cyber thieves, a remote monitoring provider could alert you to these dangers before a breach affects your system.

5. Operating System Support

Each time you install an upgrade to your operating system, a third-party service could help you ensure a smooth transition. For smaller companies, this can be a huge time-saver, as rollouts can sometimes take more than a week to complete across large companies with devices of varying compatibility. Third-party maintenance can also be helpful when you switch to a competing operating system.

6. Cost-Management Strategies

One of the main advantages of third-party maintenance is the money-saving benefits. The third-party service can help companies in numerous areas, saving valuable time on computer and engineering-related issues, all at a lesser charge than most OEMs. In a variety of areas, third-party maintenance services will often extend far beyond the bounds of what OEMs have traditionally offered customers.

It is important to note that with third-party maintenance, your company retains full control of its own data center and computing infrastructure while benefiting from the support and expertise of a qualified, certified, independent third party.

Who Uses Third-Party Maintenance?

The money-saving benefits of third-party maintenance are advantageous for companies of all sizes. For the smaller company, it makes expansion more manageable and affordable. For the global giant, third-party maintenance helps reduce overhead and boost profit margins. As such, third-party maintenance is used by a vast range or public- and private-sector entities that could be broken down into the following categories:

1. Small Companies

Third-party maintenance services are the perfect option for smaller companies that need to save money on IT support. If you are just starting to grow and expand as a company, you could significantly cut your overhead by hiring a third-party maintenance provider for help with all of your computing issues, from system upgrades to device integration and repairs.

For small companies, the services offered by OEMs can be especially confining because you must cope with the limited help of one or several companies. When you are starting out and trying to save money, you are more likely to buy discounted equipment from several manufacturers and combine the various devices into a single integrated arsenal. If you rely on the OEMs with this kind of setup, you are likely to wind up with a confused and incomplete service arrangement. By opting for the third-party option, all of your maintenance is included in one service at a fraction of the cost of an OEM.

2. Expanding Companies

If your company is expanding into other territories, your IT service costs could skyrocket as you add more equipment from various manufacturers. As you open up locations in different states and countries, you could end up with dozens of OEMs, each charging high fees for service support at your growing number of operating locations.

A third-party maintenance service can help you seamlessly expand the scale of your operations across state, regional and national lines. As you upgrade your system and link your international staff onto a centralized cloud network, the third-party service will help you roll out these updates and handle the more complicated aspects of updates and integration.

3. Organizations and Agencies

Third-party maintenance services are the preferable option for organizations across various industries in both the public and private sectors. For manufacturers in the automotive and food industries, third-party maintenance makes it possible to consolidate system support on complicated computer arsenals. This allows these manufacturers to save money on overhead and pass these saving along the supply chain.

For organizations that run databases with sensitive private data, a third-party maintenance service makes it possible to maximize system security with a single group of trusted service hands. Each time a firewall or anti-virus software must be installed onto a system, the rollout can be conducted instantly and seamlessly across an arsenal of machines and devices, all thanks to the diverse expertise of third-party maintenance specialists.

4. Large Corporations

When it comes to IT support on a national and international scale, third-party maintenance is the preferred option among some of the world’s largest corporations. As a company grows, it becomes more likely that its computing costs will grow out of hand as different parts from different manufacturers are added to ever-expanding infrastructures at dozens of facilities. If an OEM service package is retained for each of these purchases, a company could rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual IT overhead.

For large corporations, the complexities of managing a computing infrastructure can be complicated at numerous levels, especially when you have headquarters in different cities throughout the world. When it comes time to roll out a system upgrade or install a security patch, the task should be assisted by a unified team with extensive prior experience and a vast understanding of a range of computing equipment.

What to Know About Third-Party Maintenance

Should you use third-party maintenance providers? If your computing equipment includes products from various manufacturers, one of the most practical and cost-efficient choices you could make is to hire a third-party maintenance provider, especially for benefits in the following areas:

1. Objective About Hardware Choices

Third-party maintenance providers are neutral when it comes to the hardware purchases of client businesses. When you hire these experts to come to your headquarters and examine your equipment, they will not push one brand over another or try to steer you toward a particular manufacturer. The job of the third-party service technician is to examine what you have and offer solutions for system operability.

2. Able to Handle Virtually All Equipment

Third-party maintenance specialists have worked with many different types of equipment from numerous manufacturers. Some companies use computers purchased at the same time from the same manufacturer, while others have many different types of computers purchased across a 35-year timespan. Regardless, third-party maintenance specialists can quickly find solutions for even the most unorthodox setups.

3. Capable of Integrating Equipment From Various Manufacturers

Some companies collect computing equipment over long periods from numerous manufacturers, both domestic and international. If you have a computing system that consists of components made in the U.S., Japan and Europe, you could run into complications if you opt for OEM service packages. With a third-party maintenance provider, the techs that come to your IT department will know from past experience how to integrate systems comprised of parts made in different parts of the world.

4. Seamless Rollout of System Upgrades and Security Patches

For most companies with computer networks that store high-security information, annual system upgrades are essential. For security, it is also crucial to update security patches and upgrades to anti-virus programs periodically. With a third-party maintenance service, such upgrades can be conducted seamlessly and instantly, allowing your company to carry on without interruption.

Is Third-Party Maintenance Right for Me?

What can third-party maintenance do for me? That is one of the most common questions among companies of various sizes when they first hear about the third-party maintenance option. The answer is yes if you wish to save money, consolidate your service support and extend the life of your equipment. The benefits of third-party maintenance can be summarized as follows:

1. Save Money

Third-party maintenance services are more cost-efficient and longer-lasting than the typical OEM service, which can cost more than twice as much and be far more limited in scope. While an OEM can only offer support for its own products, third-party maintenance techs can generally offer help with a vast array of makes and models within an IT system.

If like many companies, your computing arsenal consists of devices from different generations and providers, third-party maintenance can offer a more complete and integrated form of tech assistance. With a third-way maintenance service, you can extend the life of your IT equipment and boost your return on investment.

2. Streamlined Support

With third-party maintenance, you can get support from a single source on a range of computing equipment. This can be especially advantageous if your IT arsenal consists of numerous machines purchased over the years from various manufacturers. Third-party maintenance relieves you of the trouble of having to cope with conflicting services from competing OEMs and consolidate your support into one maintenance service.

With third-party maintenance, you can avoid the confusion that the advice of an OEM that fails to understand the complexities of your integrated IT infrastructure may cause. Most third-party maintenance providers offer customized service choices that you can pick and choose from to suit the scale and design of your operation.

3. Availability

Third-party maintenance providers can usually provide replacements parts for a range of makes and models in an IT system. If you deal instead with five different OEMs, you are not as likely to get all the parts you need when you need them. For instance, you might have a defect on an old machine that is nonetheless unique and crucial to your arsenal, yet the OEM in question will no longer offer replacement parts for the corresponding device.

Due to the sheer volume of systems that they service, third-party maintenance providers generally have access to a wider range of parts. Even when a part is out of stock, the third-party service will usually know who to contact to get that part back in stock and deliver it to you.

4. Extend the Lifespan of Your Equipment

Third-party maintenance providers can extend the life and operability of equipment that would otherwise be rendered unusable due to compatibility issues with newer systems. If you want to upgrade your equipment slowly and continue to use some older devices, a third-party maintenance provider can offer you that luxury. On the one hand, they’ll help you update the parts of your system that can accept new generations of software. At the same time, they’ll help you find ways to incorporate older devices into your updated system.

Most OEMs will simply tell you to upgrade your system across the board and not even entertain the more creative solutions offered by third-party maintenance providers.

Choose Third-Party Maintenance From WorldWide Services

In an era where computing is integral to business operations, it is crucial to consolidate maintenance services and reduce operating costs. At WorldWide Services, we offer third-party maintenance and managed IT services for companies throughout the manufacturing, medical, retail, enterprise, construction, gas and utility industries. Contact us today to learn more about how our services can help you streamline your computing needs.

Companies have a range of choices when it comes to choosing a maintenance provider.

You can partner with businesses certified by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) or work with uncertified organizations, like original equipment manufacturers (OEM) or third-party maintenance (TPM) providers.

While your business has a variety of options, many companies find success with GSA-certified companies.

The benefits of a GSA contract range from streamlined communication to optimized budget spending, which impacts not only the day-to-day of your staff but also the bottom line of your business.

Before your company chooses a maintenance provider, whether an OEM, TPM, or GSA-certified organization, it’s essential to understand the value and importance of a GSA-certified partner.

What Is a GSA Certification?

GSA approval is a certification that stipulates the authorization of an organization to engage in commercial transactions with the U.S. government. All sales to the government get handled through the U.S. General Services Administration, which serves as the purchasing branch of the U.S. government. The GSA produces a list of contracts and schedules that approved vendors can access to place bids on government business.

Vendors in a range of industries receive GSA approval.

Any company that manufacturers products which could be of use to the U.S. government can apply. To become eligible, a vendor must get a DUNS number and submit to the federal System for Award Management (SAM) program. An application must also contain contact information of prior customers so that the GSA can evaluate the applicant’s performance history.

To become GSA certified, a vendor must submit to a stringent round of vetting.

In addition to the application period, each applicant must undergo a pricing review and furnish proof of compliance with a range of regulatory entities. Once the application process finishes, certification gets rewarded to vendors that have met strict criteria.

To be approved, your organization will need to have a track record of success, compliance and customer satisfaction.

GSA Schedules classify the various industries and contracts that are open for transactions with certified vendors.

The biggest of the 60-plus GSA Schedulers is IT Schedule 70. Due to the rapid development of computer technology, government entities are taking extra measures to ensure that all new products are tested to the highest standards to prevent the possibility of risk.

Third Party Maintenance Providers vs. Uncertified OEMs

An uncertified original equipment manufacturer will generally require that customers submit to a pre-conceived service-level agreement, granting the customer little in terms of leeway.

OEM companies also fixate on hardware as opposed to service.

Not to mention, OEM protocols are generally rigid, as is often necessary among companies that work at such a massive scale. The service-level agreements are also strict and do not take into account the individual needs of customers. OEMs will typically stuff their service offers with disclaimers, thereby covering themselves if they cannot fulfill an agreement.

The Importance of GSA Certification

Why get GSA-certified help for your business?

When you hire the services of a GSA-certified maintenance provider, you can have access to a range of top-quality tech skills and talents, the likes of which are hard to come across in the outside world. Best of all, the services can get rendered at a much lower cost than you would otherwise pay with an in-house team or by hiring an uncertified OEM.

The best reasons to work with a GSA-certified third-party maintenance provider can be summarized as follows:

1. Communication

One of the most significant benefits of having a GSA contract is the ease of communication that the relationship facilitates between your company and the third-party IT service. The staff that provides GSA-certified maintenance services is always easy to communicate with whenever any questions, concerns or issues arise.

When you hire a GSA service, the personnel are happy to put things in laymen’s terms.

GSA-certified maintenance providers are always available for contact too.

Whether you operate from a single headquarters or multiple locations, your staff can contact people from the third-party IT department to get answers to questions at any time, night or day. GSA-certified services are staffed with IT techs that will answer any questions that you might raise regarding systems or services.

Even if an issue seems confusing to the people on your end, you can get answers quickly with a simple explanation by the IT staff of your third-party GSA-certified maintenance provider.

The IT staff of a GSA-certified maintenance provider will speak in a language that you and your team can understand. You will never have to worry about receiving answers steeped in technical jargon and industry code. Your provider will word answers in a way that’s clear and transparent.

GSA-certified maintenance providers are ready to work on your terms as a company as well.

If you need to scale your business down for a season, the third-party IT staff will be willing and ready to scale back according to your needs. The services are also flexible and accommodating. If you need to scale up for a particular time of year, the third-party staff will be willing and ready to take on the extra workloads.

GSA-certified third-party maintenance providers understand a full range of solutions.

Whatever issues arise in your computing operations, the third-party IT staff will meet the challenges head-on.

2. Service Life

Another one of the benefits of GSA contract services is the skill that the third-party IT techs can provide your organization.

On all the equipment submitted to the third-party IT departments, everything is given careful handling during the technical processes carried out on a given shift. You never have to worry about delicate equipment falling into unskilled hands.

GSA-certified maintenance providers employ qualified techs who have each undergone extensive amounts of training. Each staffer is extensively versed in the full range of hardware installation and software programming.

If you need to have an operating system upgraded or replaced with a newer version, you can count on the expert programming of a third-party IT department from your GSA-certified maintenance provider. Whenever you invest in expensive equipment and high-tech arsenal components, you can count on the third-party IT techs to handle the hardware with the utmost care, ensuring a long-lasting service life for each part in your computer infrastructure.

Unlike in-house operations, which are often blindsided by security breaches, a GSA-certified third-party IT staff will protect your system and computing infrastructure from foreign attacks, taking on challenges the moment they get detected. When you outsource your computing to a third-party IT department, you are protecting your investment in all your high-cost computer equipment.

You never have to worry about viruses due to in-house human error.

A GSA-certified IT staff can make expensive computer equipment last far longer than it would otherwise last if subjected to the use and abuse of less qualified hands. As such, you can save money that would otherwise get invested in the frequent replacement of computer parts.

Third-party IT services allow you to maximize your investment in a computer infrastructure. Instead of having to adjust to new operating systems and update each component on a one-by-one basis for compatibility, everything gets updated and made fully compatible at once.

With all the benefits of GSA contract services, your organization can become a more profitable enterprise because it allows you to save money and time that might otherwise get spent on computing. Instead, you can focus on your core strengths as a company.

3. Savings

GSA-certified maintenance services are reasonably priced, especially when compared to some of the other options on the market in today’s third-party services sector. For example, a GSA-certified maintenance service will generally help you reap significant savings in contrast to the equivalent services of an uncertified OEM or TPM, which sometimes charge twice as much for the same services.

OEM prices are typically steep and inflexible, with a service-level agreement designed to put their needs over yours.

You are unlikely to find an uncertified OEM that will negotiate terms with consideration for your needs as a client business. OEMs will often set terms that include other services that might be unnecessary for your business. Despite this, you will still have to pay for these extra services because the agreement is ironclad and will not allow flexibility.

For example, there may be times when your business will only require computing for a range of operations at a moderate scale, yet the OEM will still have you pay for maximum, full-scale services that could more than double your overhead.

Likewise, an OEM might lock you into a set of terms with no flexibility for possible changes that may occur over the year. If you suddenly need to scale up or scale down because of a surge or gap in business, for example, you are still likely to be charged a stiff, flat rate with an uncertified OEM.

GSA-certified maintenance providers receive certification, in part, due to fair pricing and a proven track record of customer satisfaction. During the stringent application process, a service provider must demonstrate its commitment to fair service prices to become certified.

The money that your company could save by employing a GSA-certified maintenance provider could ultimately get allocated for other uses, such as new equipment, increased advertising and employee pay raises.

Overall, choosing a GSA-certified service over an OEM or TPM can help you lower costs and increase your bottom line, leaving you with more money to invest in other areas.

4. Centralized Maintenance

The importance of GSA certification becomes readily apparent when you consider the benefits of centralized maintenance, which gets provided to the highest standards by third-party IT teams.

GSA-certified maintenance providers work with simple setups that utilize necessary hardware and software. Thanks to the tech expertise of the staff at GSA-certified companies, computing arsenals are minimized to their essentials.

When you employ a GSA-certified maintenance provider, your entire IT arsenal gets organized for maximum efficiency.

There is no risk of equipment wearing down due to bent cords or dusty parts. Unlike in regular IT departments, where a company runs everything in-house and a company’s staff handles computing tasks, there is no disorganization with a certified maintenance provider.

With a GSA-certified third-party maintenance provider, all equipment gets conveniently laid out so that all functions are immediately accessible the moment one needs activating. While an in-house IT department might consist of an overcrowded room with company staff that often fumble for different commands, everything is laid out for maximum ease of use by a third-party maintenance provider.

The services provided by a GSA-certified maintenance provider get designed to meet your needs, regardless of the size, scope or scale of your company. In the areas where computing gets handled, there are no external components to soak up energy, adding needlessly to your monthly expenses.

If a component is not necessary for your operations, it is not left plugged in to serve as an energy drain.

GSA-certified third-party maintenance providers have all IT arsenals set up for easy execution.

If you need to have a program or update rolled out, it will all be done from a remote location and made universally compatible across your active, in-house devices. GSA-certified services also offer maximum security, keeping your computer system protected from viruses and cyber attacks.

5. Qualified Staff

When you enlist the services of a GSA-certified maintenance provider for your IT needs, your company will benefit from an in-depth level of computing knowledge second to none.

GSA-certified maintenance providers only employ the most qualified IT techs, each of whom come to the job with vast experience in all areas of computing technology, from hardware repair and troubleshooting to program installation and security.

The skills that each IT tech brings to the table for a GSA maintenance provider combine to make third-party IT services virtually foolproof. There is almost no risk of programs getting executed poorly or corrupting your pre-existing system when you outsource to a third party.

With a third-party IT service, you also get access to numerous insights regarding computer efficiency.

You might learn that various machines within your arsenal are unnecessary and have served as nothing more than an energy drain. The IT tech professionals employed by GSA-certified maintenance providers are also known for having great foresight when it comes to security matters.

The moment a new threat appears, the IT staff will set up barriers to prevent an attack on your system.

GSA-certified maintenance technicians are also creative when it comes to solutions that make computer arsenals more efficient and up-to-date. When you have access to the ingenuity of some of the most skilled and insightful minds and hands in the tech world, your company can gain invaluable insights that will help you save money and move forward in the marketplace.

Overall, GSA-certified companies provide organization to the computing operations of the client businesses they serve. When you outsource your computing operations to a GSA-certified third party, you can save money and allocate more resources for running your company.

GSA-Certified Maintenance From Worldwide Services

When you run a business, many different areas need simultaneous management.

Even though computing is one of the most crucial aspects of business operations in today’s world, computing requires a set of skills peripheral to most companies. The solution is to hire a GSA-certified maintenance third-party service provider, which will handle your computing needs so that you can focus on running your business.

Consider GSA-certified third-party maintenance with Worldwide Services.

To learn more about our range of services, contact us today and request a quote.

All equipment breaks — it’s just a matter of time. What’s most important when that happens is how soon you’ll be back up and running. Your choice of maintenance providers and repair services can mean the difference between keeping your network going strong or having to wait, delay and refund customers.

It can be difficult to understand when to use third-party maintenance providers in these mission-critical situations. We’d like to provide you with five main things to consider about your big maintenance decision.

1. Supporting Every Piece

One of the best reasons for choosing when to use third-party maintenance is when your network uses equipment from different providers. A TPM can provide service on equipment from multiple OEMs and even more product families under a single contract.

Having one source for your maintenance and emergency repair support means you only need to have one contract, regardless of what needs service. When a TPM is your sole provider, you can save significant time when your network goes down, and it can speed up repairs to get top-line equipment back in the field.

Third-party service providers also have more experience with different OEM equipment. Their expertise ensures the technician can address your product and its larger role in your network. For instance, our support team can best advise repairs or replacements for your Oracle gear based on what’s deployed in your back office, remote sites and on-premise installs.

Knowing when to use a TPM can dramatically speed up your recovery with comprehensive support.

2. Saving Money

You already know that third-party equipment providers can help you save significantly on the items you purchase. Turning to that same company to provide your service and maintenance can continue those savings.

Your equipment provider typically offers a comprehensive warranty on the goods you buy. For instance, Worldwide Services provides a lifetime warranty on each piece of new or refurbished equipment we sell. Relying on that warranty, instead of purchasing a warranty or service through an OEM, ensures you’re getting the most out of your investment.

The main concern for costs with a TPM is whether you’re using unauthorized or unlicensed hardware and software. Ask your TPM about the products they sell and the support they offer. Always request documentation around licensing, too. One of the biggest questions around when to use a third-party maintenance provider is if you can trust them. It is perfectly reasonable to ask a TPM to back up that trust.

3. Prioritizing Availability

Large OEMs have large maintenance and service departments filled with multiple layers of managers and complex hierarchies. Every request for support is raised up the flagpole higher and higher, until it’s finally approved. For your network and mission-critical components, this might take too long.

TPMs specialize in availability. It’s how they earn their living with support, plus it’s how they ensure they have the right products people need. To meet these needs, TPMs have teams that can quickly be deployed to service or replace customer components. The faster a TPM can get to you and make that repair, the sooner they get paid or have a new piece of equipment to sell to someone else.

TPMs prioritize speed to maximize customer satisfaction as well.

4. Extending Equipment Life

Equipment in your network can be dozens of years old. Some pieces might even be beyond their end-of-service and end-of-life dates. When equipment reaches those dates, traditional OEMs limit or halt the service and maintenance they provide.

If you’re looking at older equipment you need to keep to run your networking, consider a TPM. These providers are often able to keep your equipment in prime condition, extending its life. TPMs aren’t trying to get you to replace equipment with the newest model. TPMs want to help you maintain your network however is best for you.

5. Improving Costs Versus OEMs

In our experience, OEM support costs and contracts tend to rise in price after your initial term, sometimes as short as a few months. In other words, the costs go up when you’ll actually need maintenance or service. You don’t have a chance to negotiate this either.

Working with a TPM gives you a chance to have costs set for the full contract or warranty period. Plus, most offer packages designed to reduce your costs or are willing to discuss specific coverage and pricing options to fit your budget. An OEM is large and has standard contracts to streamline the process on their end. What’s most important, however, is getting things right on your end.

Think about your biggest concern. Is it price, replacements or innovation? How does an OEM’s rigid structure support these ideals? What would make it more appealing to you?

The right TPM can help you answer those questions and tailor a package to suit your needs based on those answers. Worldwide Services does just that for the more than 14,000 businesses we partner with each year. It’s the main reason they come back time and again.

Contact us for a free consultation to see why it might be the right option for you.

IT managers spend ample time choosing network equipment that best suits their companies’ needs, but often make less-than-optimal decisions about the most cost-effective strategy to save money on network maintenance costs. However, the job doesn’t end with selecting and installing the equipment. Understanding which maintenance and support contracts to purchase, aligning their payments with other contracts, planning for the machine’s projected lifespan and taking advantage of new technology are only a few aspects of how you can reduce network equipment maintenance costs.

Network equipment maintenance is necessary to make sure your investments in equipment last as long as possible and keep your tools operating at the highest efficiency levels. Every internal and external device within a network plays a role in ensuring data is accessible, and all facets of the system are functioning properly. Without a properly working network, strategic decisions become more volatile and unpredictable. There are several ways to increase network availability, reduce maintenance costs and make your business run much more cost-effectively.

Review Projections to Reduce Costs

IT professionals should always keep thorough documentation of the inventory and map of the network. Doing so allows you to assess each network component, and assign it an appropriate maintenance service level. Implementing a good network strategy will make it easier to create and meet measurable goals while optimizing network design, making the wisest investments for necessary equipment and gaining maintenance contracts.

Conduct network growth projections two to five years in advance. Doing so will save you time by not having to establish different subnet designations each time you make a change to the network, and you can also find areas where you can save money by reviewing how critical each component is to the business. After deciding which elements are the most vital, IT professionals can better plan for network performance and alternative support options, and further improve hardware, maintenance and support.

Analyze Current Maintenance and Support Contracts

When reviewing existing maintenance and support contracts, the first step in measuring their effectiveness is to rank them in order of their importance. The more critical the device is to the business, the higher the service level it requires. Gear more toward the bottom of the list may not need any maintenance. When considering the application of maintenance and support in your networking software and hardware, here are some things to consider:

• Importance equipment has to the business
• Risk of having lower-level service
• Impact equipment failure would have on the business

For example, if a workgroup switch goes down and affects a dozen or so employees, it won’t be too detrimental to the company’s well-being, and the workers will likely be happy to have a bit of a break in their day. However, if a core router goes down and impacts many functions and individuals working throughout a network, significant problems could arise for the company.

Keeping spares on hand is a great idea, combined with spares management contracts for your equipment that will replace a faulty part upon its failure. Instate a sparing policy to determine the minimum total cost of investment and load curtailment costs, while classifying spares and failure rates. Using a sparing method can optimize your substation components to maintain network uptime and save your business money by helping you know what spare materials you have on hand and how best to use them.

OEM contracts have also earned a reputation for tacking on certain perks that aren’t necessary to gain access to a service or offering you may need. By bundling services, they appear to be offering more value, but in reality, they are just creating unnecessary coverage and substantially increasing the cost.

Maintenance contracts often include guarantees for replacements or repair if you have an issue with any parts. Frequently, the agreement encompasses more than just this benefit, and regularly releases software updates that keep routers and firewalls running optimally. IT managers often overlook these updates, so make a point to check equipment for software updates.

Worldwide Services customers save as much as 50 to 90 percent on network equipment preventive maintenance with NetGuard. NetGuard is Worldwide Services’ third-party maintenance program that allows IT professionals to add and manage any support contract. If you order a replacement, it will arrive within 24 hours, and come with expert-level technical assistance.

Extend Equipment Life

Once a piece of equipment is more than 10 years old, it is likely time to consider a replacement. When searching for equipment to purchase, always be mindful of limited lifetime warranties many manufacturers offer. These types of warranties are best for less critical parts of your network, and come packaged with technical support and hardware replacement. In addition to the benefit of not having to worry about your equipment failing prematurely, you also can save on support and maintenance costs. When deciding the best maintenance service level to purchase, a few elements should be at the forefront of your decision:

• Type of equipment
• Age of equipment
• Importance equipment has to the business

IT managers often choose the same level of service for all their equipment to save time and maintain uniformity among contracts. However, this isn’t the best practice, since it typically results in wasteful expenditures that would have been preventable with a little more research and time during the selection process.

Original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, get IT managers to spend extra money by building in a need for equipment replacements, or double-covering existing equipment. A strategy they use is to issue an “end-of-life” notice on equipment that may be at the end of its shelf life, but is still performing perfectly. Taking the OEM’s word for the equipment needing a replacement leads many customers to make new purchases unnecessarily.

Proper Management of Maintenance Contracts

Networks are always changing, with new parts coming in simultaneously as older parts are getting repurposed and swapped to other machines, or in some cases, discarded. While there’s such a vast variety of devices on different contracts from separate vendors and expiration dates, managing contracts and keeping track of equipment can be incredibly stressful and time-consuming.

Most IT professionals who deal with these challenges in their line of work use basic methods of contract management that may do a proficient job at keeping track of your assets, but ensuring with complete certainty your inventory is not causing any problems due to coverage gaps can allow you to create an even more successful maintenance strategy.

Aligning your contracts to terminate simultaneously can make for an easier renewal process going forward. Consolidating various maintenance contracts to tailor to your business’ needs, instead of a deal that spans multiple years or locks you in indefinitely, is a lousy option as opposed to a more flexible monthly plan. Avoiding automatic renewal clauses is good practice, because although these contracts ensure you’ll never lack coverage, they keep you locked into the same coverage and price plan, potentially prohibiting you from getting their best rate. By planning when your contracts will renew, you can enjoy increased network availability and reduced maintenance costs.

A good practice is to lock in your annual rate for three to five years ahead of time. Negotiating a set rate ahead of time will save you time annually because you won’t need to renegotiate budgets, which simplifies planning. You can use the time you saved to look further ahead in your business plan and figure out the best method of attack once the predetermined time you set your annual rates expires.

Be sure your contracts explicitly state a clear understanding of requirements, so no party involved can plead ignorance to fulfilling it. Any network maintenance contract should describe which services the agreement covers, what it does not, the role of both the OEM and the client within the deal, timeframes of service and specific procedures for resolving issues.

Many inventory and contract management tools have systems in place to help maintain your network equipment and develop better strategies without the added stress. If your network uses more than 1,000 devices, it is even more important to use third-party software to organize your inventory maintenance and renewal processes.

Consider Hybrid Support Services

Hybrid support services — the combination of internal and external services using both internal and public clouds to support a business outcome — are a growing trend that is transforming the role of information technology. These services are best for the following:

• Connecting several clouds
• Identifying and classifying data
• Implementing a more service-oriented architecture

Cloud computing comes with advantages and disadvantages. It offers significantly lower overhead through the transfer of services to cloud providers in exchange for a more volatile and dynamic market than traditional IT computing environments.

It may be a good idea to use cloud computing for less critical IT services like projects in the development phase or testing applications. There’s little risk in experimenting with hybrid support services in situations that prove less detrimental if anything were to go wrong.

When handling critical data and essential applications, several drawbacks make IT organizations more reluctant to embrace cloud services fully. Common issues include:

• Failure to meet security requirements
• Failure to integrate with enterprise management
• Hosting critical applications is not guaranteed

Combating these issues is where hybrid IT architecture can come into play. By using both the external cloud and internal methods, IT organizations can offer their customers the speed, price and capacity of the cloud while keeping the security the organization requires for its most critical components.

Be a Savvy Shopper

Limited research leads IT decision makers to succumb to marketing tactics, or arrive at a costly decision when there is a better one at a more affordable price right around the corner. Take ample time when choosing equipment and contracts, and always be sure to get quotes from multiple vendors to drastically cut costs from your IT budget.

Shopping around allows you to become more familiar with the market and make more sensible decisions on what a reasonable price is for the sort of coverage you are looking for. Also, be wary of deals that seem to be a steal, because you have very likely overlooked details in the fine print.

Once a potential vendor has informed you of their rate, make sure that is the best price they are willing to offer. Rates are always negotiable, and the vendor is likely to reduce their costs if they know it’s the difference between landing you as a customer or not. It never hurts to ask, even if you have to be assertive in your negotiations.

Third-party hardware maintenance providers are also excellent for finding coverage very similar to more expensive competitors while paying a fraction of the price. Compared to OEMs, third-party providers also generally operate more freely, allowing them to grant you more flexibility in a plan. Their business also usually follows fewer protocols compared to a large manufacturer, so they can tailor a plan specifically to you. It is important to research a third-party company to ensure you are not sacrificing quality, but most of the time, manufacturers use third-party providers on their own accord to handle maintenance coverages.

A used product is also an option if you are not looking to invest in brand-new equipment. Considering purchasing a secondhand device isn’t a bad suggestion if its function is less critical to your business. If a used product is significantly less expensive than its brand-new counterpart, a little research into the item to determine if it has any faults, or its projected lifespan, could prove to be cost-effective if it operates just as well as a new part.

Companies such as Worldwide Services provide millions of products that are available online and for immediate delivery. Worldwide Services offers 24/7 technical support, certified engineers for configuration support and system design and spare and repair services, all to the highest international standard. If you believe a third-party hardware maintenance company may not offer the same security in your purchases compared to a name brand, this is untrue for many smaller, reputable dealers. Worldwide Services provides a lifetime warranty, and we give value to our customers by offering information and assistance on our company blog that has industry-specific insights into the IT world you can use to optimize your career. You can also contact us directly here for any questions you may have.

Understanding the Market

Saving on network maintenance costs ultimately comes down to allocating your time and resources to the right actions. Projecting the rate of growth within your network, setting a standard for equipment and contracts years ahead, reviewing ongoing contracts’ efficiency and relevance to your business’ success, choosing the correct warranty for your equipment and exercising wise shopping practices are at the forefront of importance for how your business can reduce network equipment maintenance costs.

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Can third-party maintenance services really save you money? Accenture, a leading worldwide business consulting firm, reported numerous saving opportunities, as a result of utilizing third party maintenance services for their network maintenance needs.

Companies can experience significant savings if they are willing to consider third-party maintenance options to optimize their IT cost structure, and the added benefit of possibly improving their global coverage.

Let’s highlight two ways your IT department can enjoy the same benefits from third-party maintenance (TPM) providers:

• Extended coverage on products no longer supported by OEMs
• Reduced IT maintenance and network costs without compromising quality

Continue reading to learn how you can start saving 50% to 80% simply by making the shift from your Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to TPM service providers.

Why shift from OEM services to TPM providers?

OEM’s are seen as the best option for IT maintenance services primarily because they are the manufacturers of these products and devices. OEM’s also have highly skilled and knowledgeable service engineers who are experts in troubleshooting hardware and network problems. So why are businesses making the shift from OEM’s to third-party maintenance services?

The demand for maximum value on hardware investment

It all began with the era called “end of support life (EOSL).” When these OEM’s ended their services and discontinued providing parts for certain product models as a strategy to compel their customers to upgrade, IT organizations looked for a more economical option. They sought a solution that could help them extend the life of their hardware investment — TPM providers.

TPM’s response to EOSL: The power to say “NO”

While OEM’s are putting an end to the service of outdated products, TPM providers breathed hope into these devices. They extended the coverage on products no longer supported by the OEM. Thus, rather than saying “YES” to the demand of OEM providers for them to purchase a new product model, businesses were able to say “NO.”

With this, third-party maintenance providers gave the power to decide, back to these companies. As a result, they are able to:

• Keep their current hardware infrastructure
• Maximize the value of their hardware investment
• Save on IT maintenance costs

NetGuard Maintenance Plan, the third party maintenance service offered by Worldwide Supply, is the top alternative to OEM’s network maintenance today. Learn more about the difference between OEM and TPM.

TPM and the disenchantment with the OEM’s service (CISCO)

Another reason for the shift from OEM to TPM is the level of service provided by these OEM’s. For decades, many thought of OEM’s as the best maintenance provider for their piece of hardware. It’s the brand name they carry, so they must be the best. Highly unknown is that many of these OEM’s are actually outsourcing their service delivery to other service providers.

CISCO, the number one provider of network equipment and flexible networking solutions, outsources their CISCO network service, CISCO maintenance, and CISCO router troubleshooting services.

Yes! This may come as a surprise, but the Level 1 and Level 2 support are often performed by CISCO partners and not CISCO themselves. The only time it is handled by an OEM is when the service has been escalated to a Level 3 request.

Why is this?

OEM’s reward their partners for the minimal use of OEM engineering resources. Therefore, these partners do their best to handle your service request at their level without escalating it to CISCO, even when it is clearly needed. This escalation process serves as a barrier, and, as a result, you end up waiting for hours before your concern is properly dealt with.

That is, however, never the case with TPMs. There are no artificial access barriers and all of the service requests are treated as a priority and are handled without undue delay.

Now it makes sense, right?

OEM providers are seeking help from third-party maintenance service providers to lower their operational costs at your expense. So why continue to pay more when you can directly hire the services of a TPM provider?

Now is the perfect time to make the shift. Start your savings today, especially with the following numerous benefits Worldwide Supply has to offer:

• Equipment substitutions with a 24-hour support line
• Impressive response time with 4-hour onsite service
• Single portal service for all your maintenance agreements and plans
• Vast troubleshooting capabilities support with over 100 past and present product lines, including 400 global service and sparing centers in 79 countries

Deciding to outsource to a third party maintenance service provider for the first time can seem like a big endeavor. However, the savings can be substantial and possibly include other benefits such as flexible SLAs and inventory management services.