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Third-party support for IBM equipment

Ensuring your IBM hardware is up and running is one task on your growing list of responsibilities. Leverage data center support that works alongside your team to meet IT goals.

THIRD-PARTY SERVER, STORAGE AND NETWORK SUPPORT

Understand your maintenance options

IBM hardware is built to last. Take advantage of the opportunity to extend the life of your investment while continuing to meet your performance demands with the help of third-party maintenance for IBM equipment.
*These options apply to North American contracts only.

IBM

Service Express

Maintenance Support Features
24/7×365 onsite support
Warranty & post-warranty support
Gap coverage
EOL & EOSL support
Dedicated primary & secondary engineer
Engineer callback in 30 minutes or less
Locally stocked parts
Adjustable & penalty-free terms
Easy-out agreements & locked-in pricing

Third-party IBM I And AIX Support

Unbundle hardware and software support

Ensure your IBM hardware continues operating at peak performance with third-party IBM i and AIX software support.
Our certified IBM experts provide the guidance you need to continue meeting demands.

IBM

Service Express

Third-party IBM i & AIX support
24/7×365 remote support
Dedicated software support team
Extended support for older versions
Annual health check
Layered product support

*OS version upgrades, Service Pack and Technology Level updates require OEM entitlement to access – contact us for more information.

Get the most from your third-party IBM data center support

We understand the challenges of increased workloads, demands and requirements you face every day. ExpressConnect® helps your team accomplish more by simplifying support and optimizing performance.  

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30+ years of experience

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Average 10-minute engineer callback

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97% first-trip repair success

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13,000+ IBM products on contract

All supported IBM products

BladeCenter

Flex System

iSeries – AS/400

Power Systems

pSeries – RS/6000

PureFlex

xSeries

zSeries

3584 Tape Library

DS Series

ESS Series

FlashSystem

N Series

PureData System

Storwize


SVC Series

TS Series

XIV

Server Networking

Storage Networking

AIX

IBM i

Understand your equipment life cycle

 Where is your IBM hardware in the product life cycle? Select the year below to discover equipment support options and the next steps for your equipment.

General Availability

New equipment is introduced and made available to consumers. OEM warranties are typically sold with the equipment and vary in timeframes between 1-5+ years.


Support options:

End of Life (EOL) / End of Sale (EOS)

Manufacturers begin sending EOL alerts for equipment. This means the OEM no longer produces, markets or sells the equipment. At this point, firmware, patches or upgrades are reduced.


Support options:


Action:

  • Connect with a third-party maintenance provider if you have immediate concerns regarding bug fixes, security, performance, etc. Third-party software maintenance may be a good fit if firmware or microcode is freely available.
  • Evaluate your immediate and long-term infrastructure strategy. Just because your equipment has approached the EOL milestone doesn’t mean it’s time for a hardware refresh. Your hardware will continue performing well beyond the 6-year lifespan. Consider a third-party maintenance provider to help you extend the life of your equipment and save critical budget dollars.

End of Development (EOD) / End of Service Life (EOSL)

Manufacturers no longer produce, develop, update or support the equipment.


Support options:


Action:

  • Take the time to determine if a hardware refresh is the best decision for your business needs. If your equipment is meeting immediate compatibility, capacity and reliability needs, consider delaying a hardware refresh to extend the life of your investment.

Real customers, powerful solutions

Service Express

Data Center and Network Third-Party Hardware Maintenance

Gartner Peer Insights Custom First
  • 5 Reviewed Jul 31, 2023

    The engineers are well experienced and have good knowledge. They have timely responses.

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed Jul 21, 2023

    Service Express has provided hardware services for our older servers and storage well after the manufacturer has dropped support and they do it for much less.

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed Jul 17, 2023

    They truly try to help customers save money without sacrificing support or degraded service. This service will truly help you optimize your budget dollars and extend the life of technology hardware.

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed Jul 13, 2023

    Switching Service Express is the best decision we have made

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed May 1, 2023

    We had a great experience with them. They are more concerned with getting things fixed for us than making sure they get paid. We had one location that was not in the contract.

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed Apr 11, 2023

    We have a very complex environment and it makes servicing our datacenter very tricky. Service Express constantly strives to provide the most customized and tailored support,

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed Apr 11, 2023

    When we were faced with the decision on how to move forward with our aging equipment that would no longer be supported by the original manufacturer via a support agreement,

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed Jan 19, 2023

    The transition to ServiceExpress was seamless. Once everything was onboarded, support continued as it should with no interruptions. Service delivery has been top notch, with

    (read more)
  • 5 Reviewed Jan 19, 2023

    Service Express' response times to tickets is phenomenal, their network engineers are very knowledgeable and helpful when needed

    (read more)

IBM maintenance FAQ

EOL and EOSL are terms used to indicate an equipment life cycle stage related to OEM support, updates and development. Your hardware will continue to perform well after its EOL or EOSL milestone. View our EOL vs. EOSL Tip Sheet to learn more about what these terms mean for your equipment. 

Our team of IBM experts can help you determine what equipment is best to remain on OEM maintenance or switch to third-party maintenance. We’re always available to discuss your options — contact us to get started. 

Switching to third-party software support ensures your IBM hardware continues to operate at peak performance without the high price tag. 

  • Access to our dedicated software support team without phone trees or delayed callbacks  
  • Assistance troubleshooting performance and reconfiguration issues 
  • Maintain legacy equipment without upcharges or penalties 
  • Easily make changes as they occur with flexible coverage 

Contact us for more information about third-party software support.  

Coverage that meets your needs

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24/7

30-minute engineer callback

Four hour onsite response

24/7×365

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Same business day

30-minute engineer callback

Four hour onsite response

M-F, 8am-5pm

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Next business day

30-minute engineer callback

Next business day onsite response

M-F, 8am-5pm

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Custom

Need a customized solution?

We’ll work with you to create an SLA that meets your needs.

Other IBM services

Improve efficiency, stability, security and performance. Our team of certified engineers, technicians and consultants are
committed to helping you protect and extend the life of your IBM equipment.

Featured resources

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Videos Sep 21, 2020

What is Third-Party Maintenance (TPM)?

EPISODE TWO Our In a Flash video series aims to educate IT professionals on popular topics and solutions for data centers in a concise and straightforward way.   In this episode, Service Express IT aficionado, Chad, covers the basics of third-party maintenance and how it fits into your overall data center maintenance strategy. How is third-party data center maintenance different than OEM support? What […]

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The distribution company dealt with repeated service gaps, support issues and a lack of confidence in their current third-party maintenance (TPM) provider’s expertise. A new solution would include responsive communication, reliable service and consistent responses. The IT team connected with Service Express to support over 400 systems, including Brocade, EMC, HPE and IBM, in 28 locations.

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Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) vs OEM Support

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Discover what’s next for your IBM hardware support