Save 55% In 2023 With A Hybrid Maintenance Plan

Maintenance is that topic no one wants to discuss, but all networks need it. And in this day and age of locked up supply chains, it's even more necessary to level up your 2023 maintenance strategy for 2023. 

Given the complexity and layers of devices and software involved in a typical enterprise network, it's no surprise maintenance renewals are the pain point for many IT teams. Planning for your maintenance renewal is a huge undertaking, often involving different vendors and manufacturers. 

Shockingly, 70 percent of enterprises lack awareness of maintenance or upgrade requirements. That’s a big problem.

Most IT enterprises, particularly those with a large ecosystem of devices, equipment, and software tools, have two options for maintenance. Either they can opt for maintenance directly from the manufacturer or hire a third party to carry spares on their equipment should something fail.

Even if enterprises have a dedicated maintenance schedule, issues can arise because of the maintenance coverage gaps of OEMs. 

There’s a need for a better approach to infrastructure maintenance. Without a solid optimized hybrid maintenance strategy, issues like lead times, outages, and misconfiguration — or worse, data breaches — are likely. It’s also critical from a compliance point of view, as many tech enterprises are liable for maintaining networks to protect data. 

Maintenance is costly and can quickly inflate IT operational expenses (OpEx). Not every business has the capacity to afford such costs.

In this article, we’ll teach you how to optimize your maintenance strategy with a hybrid approach that can allow you to refresh and maintain your network, on your terms, and usually at a 40-60%  discount. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• A comparison of OEM and third-party maintenance. 
• A discussion surrounding how a hybrid maintenance approach may be more effective.
• Talk about OneCall and its benefits (with the help of a case study).

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OEM vs. Third-Party Maintenance-- What's the difference?

When To Use OEM Support

Manufacturer or OEM maintenance is typical (and the better choice) for new devices, as companies producing this equipment offer maintenance and replacement as part of the package. Thus, it makes sense for IT teams relying on such equipment to leverage the maintenance service from the manufacturer. However, there comes a point in the life of a piece of equipment when it is costly and unnecessary to keep it on OEM support. We'll revisit this later in the article.  

The Advantages and Disadvantages of OEM Support

The number one advantage of using OEM support is that this support uses OEM parts for repairs and replacement, saving you the trouble of navigating aftermarket parts and equipment. This may also ensure that any warranty isn’t voided and remains in effect for the remaining duration. 

There’s also a detailed track record of maintenance services maintained by the manufacturer, which makes things easier should the warranty expire or you opt to unsubscribe from OEM support. 

The biggest disadvantage of using OEM maintenance includes unimpressive cost savings and inflexibility. On paper, going with a manufacturer’s support looks like a cost-effective option, but that’s not always the case. Such services are often over priced and your options are limited once the equipment goes End of Sale or End of Life. Additionally, if there’s a device shortage on the manufacturer’s end, there’s not much you can do.

When equipment reaches the end of service life (EOSL), the manufacturer will gladly continue to take your money while removing the support for equipment also ends.  And often, they require their customers to upgrade even if the existing devices work fine. That results in expensive and unnecessary upgrades. You are essentially handcuffed by the OEMs requirements on your network. 

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Third-Party Maintenance

Most companies opt for third-party maintenance support for cost savings. Such companies can offer support even after EOSL. As such parties specialize in maintenance, they can provide prompt services and offer more flexibility. 

For instance, if a device or part isn’t available from the OEM, they can source it from another manufacturer and fill the need.

That said, there’s no guarantee that the OEM has the spare in place when you need it. More importantly, a third party may not have the same rigorous quality standards as an OEM. In other words, they may get your systems up and running but not at an optimized capacity. 

Then there is the issue of long delays, especially if their service level agreements (SLAs) are already long.

Implement Hybrid Maintenance With OneCall

With all of this in mind, what if you could take a third approach that combines the benefit of OEM and third-party maintenance support? Such an optimized hybrid approach can be realized with the help of PivIT’s OneCall. 

OneCall is a customized hybrid solution for IT asset maintenance that goes one step beyond traditional OEM or third-party support. The unique value of OneCall is its industry-leading Sparing Integrity Program (SIP) and 800+ global sparing depots that keeps spares dedicated to your operations. 

For critical and non-critical infrastructure use cases, especially for data centers and service providers, this hybrid approach combining OEM support with OneCall can address the gaps and drawbacks that come with just relying on OEMs.

For instance, if you need a new part, with OneCall's Sparing Integrity Program you never have to wonder if your spare will be where you need it, when you need it. We will even give you the serial number and address of the depot, if you want it. 

No matter where your equipment is in the world, OneCall has a dedicated tech support agent at your fingertips 24/7/365. Whether you choose the 4-hour, NBD, or 24-hour SLAs, you can get your hands on the spares you need in a matter of hours--no matter where your network is around the globe. 

Your Network, On Your Terms

With optimized maintenance from OneCall, you can extend the life of your legacy systems without committing thousands or hundreds of thousands of capex dollars to upgrade the system. For perspective, a survey revealed that the cost of modernizing an application could be as high as $1.5 million. 

You can strategize keeping some equipment on OEM support, while saving thousands by putting other equipment on OneCall support. For instance, the warranty and maintenance provided by the manufacturer or retailer can suffice for new equipment. For the rest of the equipment, especially legacy devices and systems, OneCall can provide coverage. 

One Case Study Says It All

OneCall may be a third party for maintenance for companies like Cisco, Juniper Networks, DELL EMC, and HP Enterprise, but it takes a different approach than other maintenance service providers. Many enterprises have addressed performance concerns and saved money on maintenance through OneCall.

A global beverage company with $50 billion in revenue saved $1 million on maintenance by moving its complicated network of OEM and third-party maintenance agreements to OneCall. 

The company faced tremendous issues with maintenance because of fragmentation. Delivery delays were common because of a complex network of third parties for maintenance. To add fuel to the fire, over 50 percent of the infrastructure was at EOSL. OneCall, with its central portal OneHub, brought all the infrastructure maintenance to a single place, allowing more transparency, less confusion, and of course, more savings.

Not convinced? Here's another case study where OneCall saved a customer $75,000:

The Bottom Line

Take a step back and analyze how your IT infrastructure is being maintained and what problems it is causing for optimized performance. 

Whether you’re just using OEM support or have a third party, chances are the SLAs are being missed. 

To create a hybrid maintenance strategy, identify parts of your infrastructure that are either not covered or have subpar coverage (from an OEM or from another company). You don’t necessarily need to move maintenance for the entire infrastructure to a third party like OneCall.

You can benefit from a hybrid maintenance strategy by moving uncovered or underperforming parts of the IT infrastructure to OneCall. If your enterprise has infrastructure well over its EOSL, you can arrange maintenance with OneCall at affordable prices. 

Filling gaps in maintenance coverage is crucial for your bottom line. With OneCall, you can feel secure knowing issues like downtime, outages, misconfiguration, or even data breaches are well in hand.