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Articles & Insights • 2 min read

Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) vs OEM Support

OEM support vs. third-party support – be prepared with what to know for each:

  • How costs differ and why
  • Coverage and service offers of each
  • Flexibility and support options for both
  • Is there possibility of customization?
  • Which fits your needs better?
  • Which option should you choose?

When it comes to post-warranty maintenance, shouldn’t the advantage really go to you?

Costs

OEM

  • Sky-high costs
  • OEMs favor a new hardware sale over a maintenance contract (even when new hardware isn’t necessary).
  • High support costs can lead you back to the purchasing table sooner than really needed.

TPM

  • Significantly lower costs
  • Third-party maintenance providers’ goal is to meet your need with the best custom solution. 
  • Lower maintenance costs keep your current data center equipment functioning well, even post-warranty. 

Coverage

OEM

  • One brand only – no option or flexibility
  • OEM engineers service their own brand of gear only – data centers with more than one brand will need another engineer
  • Unnecessary time is spent on determining who “owns” a problem rather than taking action to fix a problem, extending your downtime. 

TPM

  • Multiple vendor options for your whole data center
  • Third-party maintenance engineers apply expertise to a variety of OEM storage, server and network gear, not just a single brand. 
  • Your issue is resolved no matter what – your third-party maintenance support engineer is your dedicated service provider and understands your custom solution.

Administration

OEM

  • “Our way is the only way”
  • OEM contracts tend to lock you into a narrow set of data center support options.
  • Not unusual for your changes and customization requests to be met with delays and penalties. 

TPM

  • “Your way! We will customize your data center support.”
  • Third-party maintenance agreements offer you flexibility and a wide range of data center support options.
  • You’ll find one simple customized solution that solves multiple issues – data center updates, budget constraints, and other key business considerations. 

Additional resources