There are a number of ways to describe Third Party Maintenance (TPM) in the IT industry. A clinical definition is that third-party maintenance is the continuation of the professional support of your IT hardware after the OEM warranty window has expired. This OEM service window has 2 key benchmarks that key you to look for alternative support. EoL or End of Life occurs approximately 5 years after the hardware has been released into the market. The OEM states a line of hardware as EoL and this is a warning that in the near future they will no longer be supporting that equipment. They are typically no longer releasing any software patches, they are not manufacturing any of the key internal parts and are moving their focus to their newer lines. The OEM will continue to support this hardware until they deem the equipment EoSL. EoSL is the end of service life. This is the end of the road for OEM support. At this point, they will not offer support contract renewals against this equipment; as a matter of fact, they typically will not even accept service requests or tickets against the specified line. This is when many equipment owning clients begin to learn about TPM.
Now, we can discuss the primary purpose of TPM. Third Party Maintenance is a global market of suppliers who offer support for your IT hardware; most of that hardware is EoL and EoSL hardware but it never hurts to check with your TPM and see what they can support for you. This allows you to extend the usable life of your hardware beyond the support period and maximize the ROI (Return on Investment) of that equipment. Stretching the usable life of your hardware is commonly referred to as Asset Sweating. As mentioned previously, every piece of hardware has a shelf life – from market release to EoSL. This timeframe is typically 5 years but that is just a general rule of thumb. Most OEM’s will release the scheduled dates when each piece of equipment will come off of support aka End of Life (EOL) and/or End of Service Life (EOSL) dates. These dates are always subject to change and OEM’s often make exceptions for particularly large clients. Top Ten USA offers a real time updated EoL and EoSL schedule for all major OEM’s **HERE**.
When a piece of hardware goes EOL or EOSL, TPM suppliers are primed and ready to step in and offer high quality hardware support allowing clients to keep their hardware in place and avoid the expense of upgrading perfectly functional equipment. Quality TPM vendors will maintain the highest levels of quality in both service and replacement parts while keeping your costs at a much more effective level. TPM support can include replacement parts (available to be stored at your facility if you choose this coverage), remote technical assistance via screen sharing sessions or telephone support, and onsite technicians dispatched to your location to handle any repairs you request based on the support level you choose. Highest quality TPM providers will offer you a wide range of support options to best fit your needs and budget. TPM companies will offer you a number of ways to save time and money vs OEM coverage - take a look at ours **HERE**. We will sit with you, review your asset inventory, discuss what you are looking for in support and review how we can meet or exceed those expectations.
Third Party Maintenance offers clients equal or greater support for their hardware at deeply discounted prices. TPM’s offer greater flexibility, technical knowledge, and personalized support on average than OEM’s. The ability to cover multiple OEM’s with one vendor is essentially the greatest asset a TPM can offer. Simplification of your support all under one contract allowing you to save time and money in your data center is just another of the benefits you can take advantage of. High quality technical support, best in class parts and round the clock availability are the bedrocks of TPM. We look forward to showing you the very best we have to offer. Please feel free to contact us using the below form with any general inquiries or to get a free no obligation quote for maintenance.
