Why, When and How You Should Put Your Devices on a Maintenance Plan

Love it or hate it, maintenance is a necessary evil for many IT enterprises. 

Even for those businesses whose products or services aren’t tech-related, maintaining network devices and overall IT infrastructure is necessary for the smooth flow of operations. But it’s also a pain point for many.

While companies often have policies and strategies for infrastructure management, not much attention goes to maintenance. That’s mainly a result of a lack of options ⁠— it’s not like enterprises deliberately ignore maintenance.

For instance, OEM-provided maintenance is typically costly and has a small lifecycle. The manufacturer may simply stop providing support for a device because they have released an update. 

That leaves two options: either unnecessarily (and rather expensively) update to the new device or leave the old one as-is with in-house maintenance. 

It’s worth mentioning that not every IT enterprise or team has the expertise to maintain critical network equipment.

Whether running a data center, cloud provider, or telecommunication company, putting together a maintenance plan and opting for maintenance services may be the most efficient and cost-effective way.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• The challenges and problems enterprises face with maintenance.
• The importance and benefits of maintenance planning.
• The required frequency of maintenance.
• Understanding a hybrid approach to maintenance.

Looking for articles about options for upgrading or configuring network equipment? Give these a read:

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• Configure Network Security Using an ACL in SVI Environments

Challenges With IT Maintenance

One of the common reasons for downtime and productivity loss for tech companies is unplanned maintenance. This occurs when a device or equipment breaks down or malfunctions and requires maintenance, often ad hoc, to keep things running smoothly. 

Not surprisingly, 70 percent of companies are unaware of when equipment requires maintenance or an upgrade. As a result, there’s always a looming risk of devices in networks or other IT structures failing.

Even if a company actively pursues device maintenance, it still faces several challenges. OEM support for maintenance and upgrades may not be available everywhere, all the time. And even when available, it usually comes at a high cost. For companies struggling to keep operational expenses (OpEx) down often means not having a dedicated maintenance service. 

Then there is the problem of sourcing parts for devices or buying new devices. The latest supply chain crisis, like the chip shortage, has made it clear that enterprises need to plan for contingencies. Unavailability or delays in delivery can have a ripple effect on the overall health and performance of IT infrastructure. 

Furthermore, many companies simply don’t have the technical expertise at their disposal to carry out critical maintenance activities for their equipment and devices. In such a situation, they are left seeking OEM support, which, as discussed above, isn’t always reliable. 

How Can Maintenance Planning Help?

IT maintenance, although complex, doesn’t always have to be difficult, especially if it’s planned well. 

Most of the time, maintenance involves fixing/improving existing devices and software or upgrading from old ones. According to the 2022 State of IT, the need to bring old infrastructure up to speed is influencing 47 percent of organizations to increase their IT budgets. 

But all of that extra investment could be in vain if there’s no plan in motion or dedicated maintenance around the clock.

Here’s why your IT assets should have a maintenance plan:

More Productivity and Reliability

A strategic, well-documented maintenance plan can ensure fewer unplanned maintenance instances. More importantly, it can increase business reliability with nearly zero downtime. 

With properly and timely maintained network equipment, enterprises can mitigate risks by detecting and resolving issues before they get big. Timely software updates can ensure that performance of the devices is optimized.

Similarly, enterprises can be ready for problems when they arise by having a maintenance plan for each device, particularly critical devices.

More Robust Security

Poor maintenance is among the top reasons for cybersecurity attacks, according to a ThoughtLab report. Without proper maintenance, network and company infrastructure assets are vulnerable to threats like viruses, malware, ransomware, and data breaches. 

Manufacturers often release security patches for bugs and other vulnerabilities. However, enterprises using their devices often fail to update in time, leaving their assets susceptible to attacks.

Your maintenance plan should include regular look-ups for updates to the firmware for critical hardware in the network. They can ensure that such security patches are applied immediately with resources dedicated to maintenance, either in-house or with a third party. 

Optimized Connectivity

A well-maintained infrastructure network ensures that the flow of information within the organization is unobstructed. Even if a device is not critical, its downtime may affect operations within the enterprise and could prevent employees or customers from accessing data or services. 

Your maintenance plan can prioritize the smooth flow of information within and outside the organizational network. But that’s not the only benefit — a detailed maintenance plan can also optimize the flow of information, allowing faster communication and more throughput. 

Cost Control

Gartner put the cost of downtime at $5,600 per minute back in 2014. The cost today may be over double that when adjusted for inflation. 

Maintenance planning and execution can potentially save IT companies such as data centers, cloud providers, and service providers hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. 

In addition to preventing losses due to downtime, maintenance can also ensure that network devices stay functional as long as possible over their lifetime, meaning enterprises wouldn’t have to update them so soon. 

How Often Should You Plan Network Maintenance?

Experts recommend carrying out network maintenance at least once a year, so plans should essentially be made for an entire year. However, the schedule and frequency can vary depending on your enterprise’s unique circumstances.

If you rely on OEM-provided maintenance, you may have to adhere to their schedule. For more hands-on and detailed maintenance, many companies use third-party solutions.

A Hybrid Maintenance Approach

You can take a new approach to network and IT infrastructure maintenance by using both OEM and third-party maintenance.

PivIT’s OneCall service provides managed maintenance for critical IT infrastructure. It bridges the gap between OEM-covered devices and non-OEM-covered or legacy devices for maintenance. 

With OneCall, your enterprise can enter a wide range of service level agreements (SLA) that can deliver replacements for devices or their parts in quick periods (as early as four hours). Companies using OneCall have historically managed to save up to and sometimes over 50 percent of OpEx. 

PivIT has a global network of specialists and stockists, allowing it to deliver devices and other maintenance services promptly. Unlike maintenance services provided by manufacturers, you don’t have to fill out complex forms or wait days to get the device shipped to you or cleared through customs.

For those in the transition phase or waiting for new devices or equipment from the manufacturer, Short-Term Maintenance is also available. This SLA provides maintenance for such devices for the short period they are operational within your infrastructure before replacing them. 

Why consider a maintenance subscription like OneCall?

• It can cover legacy systems that are no longer maintained through OEM.
• Thanks to the Global Sparing Network spread in over 160 countries, it can provide spares with a guarantee.
• It can provide technical assistance round the clock with representatives worldwide. 
• It can help save maintenance costs by fixing issues timely and updating components based on priority. 

If you’ve struggled with your IT infrastructure asset maintenance in the past, this hybrid approach provides a solid maintenance plan. It makes up for the gaps in maintenance, particularly for legacy systems that may be running fine but lacks technical support when issues arise.

The Wheres, Hows and Whens

As mentioned at the start of this article, maintenance is a necessary evil for all IT enterprises. It can prevent costly unplanned downtime, and help to ensure your organization is operating at maximum efficiency.

But all of that requires a careful, considered plan. With these helpful tips, you’ll be well on your way to establishing a plan of your own — and equipping yourself with the know-how to respond to any maintenance challenge that may come your way.