Are you weighing your options of refreshing hardware, signing an OEM post-warranty contract or deciding to use third-party maintenance for your data centre hardware?
What is third-party maintenance (TPM)? TPM is an alternative option to OEM server, storage and network equipment support. Instead of undergoing a hardware refresh or signing a post-warranty support contract, TPM is another option. TPM providers offer comprehensive support, reduced costs, improved service experience and more. Discover more advantages of TPM.
Use the checklist below to help you evaluate and find the best data centre support provider.
Third-party maintenance (TPM) provider checklist
Experience
- Proven track record of maintaining the type of equipment in your data centre, such as multivendor and multiplatform support
- Industry certifications and partnerships
- Service coverage area and global service locations
- Customer satisfaction score (CSTAT), customer retention rate and Net promoter score (NPS)
- Customer reviews, case studies and references
Service and engineers
Quick response times are essential when experiencing hardware failures or downtime. Evaluate the ease of placing a service ticket and the TPM provider’s average response time to ensure you receive support quickly.
- Support availability and location of customer support team; 24/7×365 support should be the standard to ensure you’re addressing failures when they happen
- Remote, onsite support or both
- How to place a service ticket (phone, online, email, chat, etc.)
- Average engineer response time for each new service ticket
- Engineer-to-account ratio
- Engineer training and continued education
- First-trip repair percentage
- Escalation process
Quality parts
Service quality is one element of the experience; you need quality parts to ensure your equipment is up and running.
- Access to new, recertified and refurbished hardware
- Average time to receive a new part
- Locally stocked parts inventory
- Quality assurance and testing for parts
- Average part dead on arrival (DOA) rate
- Partners in hardware network
- Number of parts in current inventory
- IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) services for retired or unused equipment
Communication and service flexibility
Clear communication without complexities makes all the difference when dealing with a data centre maintenance provider.
- Multiple SLAs to meet your business needs
- Gap coverage options
- Single point of contact for billing, agreement updates, etc.
- No charges or penalties for adding or deleting equipment coverage
- No hidden cost increases
- How to view equipment coverage, warranty dates, service ticket history, etc.
- Ease of making agreement changes, including adding and removing equipment
- Customised solutions for service, billing, terms and conditions and more
Invested in your long-term success
How does the TPM provider help you maximise your IT strategy, budget, business priorities, challenges and long-term vision?
- Lowers data centre maintenance costs by 30–70% from OEM pricing
- Discusses service activity, performance and project roadmaps
- Offers additional services and solutions to adapt to your changing business needs
- Identifies and addresses any issues or concerns
- Reviews your equipment reliability and longevity data when applicable
When evaluating your data centre hardware support options, this third-party maintenance checklist will ensure you select a provider that aligns with your business priorities and exceeds your service expectations.
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