Which to Choose? Short-Term vs. Long-Term Maintenance of IT Assets

Remember the age-old saying: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

In today’s IT landscape, this applies many times over. According to IBM, 89 percent of asset failures occur at random, so now is as good a time as any to assess this top priority for any IT enterprise.  Not having a sound maintenance strategy or executing maintenance poorly can lead to easily preventable losses. 

The maintenance of these IT assets can be short-term or long-term, depending on your unique circumstances. If you’re finding yourself at a crossroads, this article will:

• Provide guidance for those deciding between short-term or long-term maintenance.
• Lay out the pros and cons of each choice.
• Elaborate on the needs, which might determine which option is more suitable.

Looking for articles on configuring your hardware? Check out these articles:

• Best Practices for Switch Stacking Configuration
• Must-Have Port Security: Simple but Efficient Layer 2 Protection
• What Is a GRE Tunnel and How Do You Configure One?

Understanding Short-Term Maintenance 

Short-term maintenance for IT assets can range from a month to 12 months. This duration of maintenance may be offered by the OEM or a third party specializing in IT equipment maintenance. 

While the exact maintenance coverage may vary by provider, typically, we consider a maintenance contract of a year or less as short-term. 

It may cover your entire IT infrastructure or specific devices within it. Within this coverage, the OEM or third party would be responsible for fixing issues with the device or replacing it in case of failure.

What Use Cases Are There?

There are several scenarios where short-term IT asset maintenance is useful. 

End-of-Life (EoL)

Suppose switches in your network are reaching the end of their lifecycle, for example, end-of-life (EoL), according to the manufacturer. You decide to upgrade and get new switches, but those switches don’t arrive for another six months, and the EoL date is in two months. 

You’ll continue using the switches until the new ones arrive, but for four months, you’re without maintenance from the OEM. In such a case, a short-term maintenance plan can cover the duration between EoL and the time the new switches reach you.

This may also be applicable in scenarios where EoL has been reached, but the devices continue to work. You may not want to upgrade just yet, but you also don’t want to sign up and pay for long maintenance coverage with a third party in case the device stops functioning and inevitably needs an upgrade.

End-of-Sale (EoS)

End-of-Sale (EoS) indicates the last day to order a product from the manufacturer. In other words, this is the last day the manufacturer would sell that product. This also means that the manufacturer would stop supporting this particular product. 

However, EoS only means the end of production and support from OEM. It doesn’t mean that the device or equipment would stop functioning. So you may not want to upgrade to the new offerings just yet. 

Short-term maintenance would help ensure that such devices are covered for the foreseeable future while you determine whether upgrading to the new devices is feasible for your enterprise. 

Benefits of a Short Period

There are obvious advantages to having some form of maintenance for critical components of your network or IT infrastructure, even if for a short period. 

Preventive Coverage

Whether you’re sticking with the old devices that the manufacturer doesn’t produce or support anymore, or you’re simply waiting for the new devices to be delivered, having maintenance even for a few covers your bases for that duration. 

During this time, should the device fail, your coverage can ensure you have a prompt fix or replacement and prevent outages. According to Uptime’s Data Center Resilience Survey, 60 percent of outages cost $100,000 or more.

Cost Saving

If you leave a device from your maintenance plan, you risk it malfunctioning or failing. That, in turn, can cost significantly in various ways (costly repairs, outage/downtime, or failure of other parts/devices). 

Similarly, if you sign up for long-term maintenance coverage for a device you might not use for very long, you’re wasting money.

A short-term maintenance plan can save you money by preventing costly scenarios like downtime. Similarly, it saves money because it’s not as expensive as long-term coverage. 

What to Know About Long-Term Maintenance

Long-term maintenance of IT assets typically covers: 

• Critical maintenance requirements like upgrading firmware. 
• Replacing components or entire devices.
• General maintenance tasks such as performance monitoring. 

Manufacturers and third parties may provide long-term maintenance coverage that may last anywhere from a couple of years to the entire lifetime of the hardware. 

Most IT enterprises go for long-term maintenance for new infrastructure, especially when the manufacturer or seller provides it. 

However, there are other scenarios, too, where long-term maintenance is a more viable option.

Use Cases of Long-Term Maintenance

Here are the typical use cases of long-term maintenance:

New Devices

If a device is new and has years remaining till its EoL date, opting for long-term maintenance is the common option. 

In some cases, this maintenance may be provided by the manufacturer. In the case where OEM maintenance is short or unavailable, companies may sign up for a third-party maintenance provider.

Legacy Devices and Systems

Today’s tech enterprises, especially those that have been in business for decades, may rely on legacy systems. 

There could be several reasons why they need the legacy system. For example, the system works just fine or is too complicated or costly to modernize.

For such systems, OEM support is unavailable. For that reason, enterprises with such critical legacy systems opt for long-term maintenance from a third party. Depending on how long they plan to use such devices and systems, the maintenance may last for years.

Benefits of a Longer Period

Long-term maintenance is beneficial for infrastructure you know you will use for a considerable time. It can be cost-effective in the long run as you have continuous support. It can ensure that problems are resolved promptly and replacements are available.

Long-term maintenance also saves you the hassle of updating or signing contracts frequently. With long maintenance coverage contracts, you’re set for years, or at least until EoL for a specific device. 

The Options Out There

If there are gaps in your maintenance coverage, short-term maintenance can provide that safety cushion without costing a lot.

OneCall by PivIT provides customized coverage for both short-term and long-term maintenance, designed with the needs of the IT enterprise in mind. PivIT is a reliable stockist and maintenance provider for data centers requiring critical and time-sensitive maintenance support. 

For scenarios where you only need maintenance for a short period, OneCall’s Short-Term Maintenance coverage bridges the gaps and ensures your equipment is maintained effectively. This can be a good solution for those data centers that mostly rely on OEM support but require a short-term solution for certain parts of their infrastructure. 

With short-term coverage, you’re not necessarily bound for long durations and can choose to upgrade your infrastructure. More importantly, OneCall’s short-term coverage can save you up to 65 percent in operating costs.

Whether you’re looking for short or long-term, the service level agreements (SLAs) offered and committed through OneCall range from four hours to the next business day. 

A dedicated part or device is delivered to your data center within hours. The global network of PivIT ensures the devices covered can easily be replaced, no matter where your data center or enterprise is located. 

Which One Should You Choose?

In the end, the final decision of which type of maintenance to choose is up to you. The use cases discussed above clarify when it’s more pertinent and useful to go with short-term maintenance. Other times, it’s best to think for the long run. 

There’s no question that keeping on top of maintenance for your IT assets is crucial, and with these steps, you’ll be well-equipped to respond, no matter what goes wrong.