Third Party Maintenance Provider & IT Support Company

Most IT professionals are familiar with server, storage, and networking support contracts provided by the original equipment manufacturers (OEM), whether that be IBM, HPE, Dell/EMC, NetApp, Cisco, or any other major manufacturer. When purchasing IT hardware, customers are typically offered the a 1-3 year warranty with an optional maintenance contract. Given the financial investment that IT hardware represents, most IT managers will sign up for this service automatically and may renew it several times over the years until end-of-support-life (EOSL) is declared.

Third-party maintenance (TPM) is an alternative to OEM-based support. It is delivered by other, non-OEM companies such as NorthSmart. At NorthSmart, our third-party support offerings are equivalent to or better than that of the OEM in terms of SLAs and inclusions. We add features and services to our offering including onsite parts spares, parts retention, and flexible service level agreements (SLA) to name a few.

Third-party maintenance (TPM) brings competition to the support market which traditionally has been monopolized by OEMs. By offering greater choices, TPM is helping to drive innovation in IT support, with lower costs, extend the lifecycle of your IT assets, enabling our customers to break free of the OEM stranglehold on support and upgrade timeframe. TPM is fast becoming the solution of choice by many IT professionals to control Capital Expenditure and Operating expenses spending, maximize operational efficiency while exceeding our customers’ expectations.

TPM helps your company in many ways. Aside from the substantial cost savings, we provide you with the services you need, depending on your requirements. Here is a rundown of some of the benefits that TPM brings to the table: Goal-specific services: OEM service agreements can be pretty black and white, almost to the point of being inflexible. Much of what is contained in an OEM services contract is unnecessary, and often unusable. A TPM contract gets you direct access to IT support whenever you need it and addresses any specific hardware maintenance issues you may encounter. Retaining total control of your systems: With TPM, there is no need to worry about your maintenance provider removing sensitive information from your site. Disk retention is included at no additional charge. As your TPM provider, we will work with your existing IT specialists to ensure a better experience than that with the OEM. Extended lifespan for hardware: TPM provides maintenance services 5-7 years beyond that of the OEM, often even longer. Once the end of service life (EOSL) date is reached, the OEM will no longer support that equipment in an attempt to force you to refresh. A service contract with a TPM allows you to be in control of your data center and how you spend your IT budget. Faster return on investment (ROI): With TPM, you reduce your IT spend and channel maintenance savings toward other priorities rather than spending it on costly OEM maintenance support. This way, your company can hit its revenue goals faster and more efficiently.