What is Third Party Storage Maintenance?
Third-party storage maintenance involves outsourcing the Hardware Maintenance of a company’s data storage equipment. Called Third-party maintenance (TPM) for short, the outsourced provider assumes the role of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), with the goal to deliver quicker repair and replacement cycles and more budget-friendly rates. TPM can also apply to a client’s server and network devices.
Although computers and other related hardware purchased brand new from the manufacturer typically come with warranties, such warranties eventually expire. As the technology ages, the cost for warranty extensions tends to be higher. A qualified third-party storage maintenance provider can help keep your current hardware in top condition so you can continue using it beyond the OEM’s declared limit.
Third-party storage maintenance services are manned by certified professionals who know the ins and outs of your hardware in the same way as the OEM. Plus, Third-party storage maintenance often provide individualized and dedicated support so you can say goodbye to getting on client support calls with a chain of people that never seems to end.
A competent and reliable Third-party maintenance provider works to extend the useful lifespan of your hardware while preventing the need to spend on new, expensive assets prematurely. With a third-party maintenance provider on your side, you can expect fewer hardware breakdowns, greater data security, and more efficient equipment performance.
Third-Party Storage Maintenance
OEMs (like IBM, EMC, Dell, and NetApp) usually offer warranties of up to three years on their data storage equipment and then ask you to buy an extended service agreement when these expire. This is all good, and there is no issue with an extended agreement. But what Service Level Agreement (SLA) are they quoting you, and is it necessary? Many auto-renewals are generated at the highest most expensive SLA, with customers not even realizing it!
After about six to 10 years, when the cost of maintaining close-to-obsolete storage devices increases, OEMs will likely start sending out end-of-service-life notices, which means support can no longer be provided. At this point, you can expect somebody from the sales department to start convincing you to invest in brand new storage systems.
A third-party storage maintenance provider’s objective is not to sell you new hardware. Rather, the goal is to help make your current equipment last longer so that you can funnel your finances towards more productive and revenue-generating initiatives.
Third-party storage maintenance companies have OEM-certified technicians and IT engineers on board to conduct regular checks and repairs on your existing storage devices. NorthSmartIT has a large inventory of spare parts (spanning many generations of hardware) and accessories by leading data storage brands, allowing us to address a wide gamut of issues. Did you know that many OEM’s struggle to get parts for their own equipment? Unlike the OEM, at NorthSmartIT we are not limited by where we can source parts. We can acquire parts from anywhere in the world and from any number of sources. In fact, we sell parts to the OEMs from time to time.
What Can You Expect in a Storage Maintenance Agreement?
A storage maintenance agreement with NorthSmartIT typically includes the following:
- Rapid Response: Incident report to the first response averages less than 15 min and is escalated at 60 mins.
- Fast and Accurate Resource Deployment: We ensure that the right support team responds, so your incidents are quickly resolved.
- Critical Situation Incident Management: Throughout the incident, our service delivery managers and executive management collaborate closely to ensure timely resolution.
- Flexible Support Models: We provide flexible and fully customizable service levels to meet your specific requirements.
- Access to 24/7 customer service and Level 4 tech support as well as automated call-home capability support.
- Substantial savings of as much as 70% (compared to OEM)
- On site part stocking if requested
Why Choose NorthSmartIT?
NorthSmartIT provides fast, customizable, reliable, and cost-effective third-party storage maintenance solutions with consistent results. We aim to help you maximize the useful life of your existing hardware so that you can focus better on building your business and driving revenue streams.
NorthSmartIT has a vast stock of parts and accessories from leading tech companies, allowing us to cover all major OEM platforms at friendly price points.
Some of the Manufacturers We Support
Dell EMC
VMAX, DMX, VNX, CLARiiON, Celerra, Data Domain, Isilon, PowerVault MD, PowerVault TL & EqualLogic
Hitachi
VSP, USP-VM, USP-V, HUS-VM, HUS-110, HUS-130, HUS-150 and AMS
HPE
3PAR, EVA arrays, StorageWorks, MSL Libraries, LeftHand, MSA arrays and MDS arrays
IBM
DS8xxx, Netezza, XIV, Storwize (V7000, V5000, V3700), DS6xxx, DS5xxx, DS4xxx, DS3xxx, 2105 Shark, TS3500, TS3400, TS3310, TS3200, TS3100, 3494 Library, LTO Drives, 3592 Drives, 3590 Drives and 3588 Drives
NetApp
FAS Filers
V-Series Filers
Quantum
Scalar i40, i80, i500, i2000, i6000
Superloader
StorageTek
StorEdge, STK 9310/9311/9330, SL500E, L700E, SL8500, 4480s and 9490s
