While the number of hardware vendors used by an enterprise varies greatly depending on the business’s size and operations, data centers are undoubtedly becoming ever more multi-vendor. This shift towards multiple suppliers has gained traction as businesses strive to avoid vendor lock-ins and find the best deal.
However, the more vendors your company manages, the more complex your IT ecosystem becomes. A fragmented IT ecosystem can cause a range of issues, from support delays to elevated maintenance costs. This checklist will help you determine if it’s time to consolidate.
What are the challenges of a multi-vendor data center?
An average data centers will consist of several different hardware devices, including:
- Servers
- Storage equipment
- Networking equipment, including
- Routers
- Switches
- Power supplies
- Cooling systems
Sourcing each component from a different hardware vendor can be cost-effective in the short term. It also helps ensure that each device meets your specifications. However, a multi-vendor model can produce several key issues. The main difficulties of multi-vendor data centers include:
- Incompatibility risks: Not all hardware is universally compatible. Even if devices are suited in principle, incorrectly configured assets can present compatibility issues. This can cause poor performance or even system failures.
- Lack of coherent overview: When each component is maintained by its own manufacturer, this can lead to miscommunications. It can then be difficult to trace root causes of failures or optimize performance across the entire system.
- Inefficient support: If multiple items experience issues at once, an OEM will only provide support for its own products. This means arranging callouts with each manufacturer, causing delays in returning the system to full functionality.
- Increased costs: Paying for multiple maintenance contracts can lead to higher overall costs.
- Administrative burden: Juggling several service agreements, as well as the EOL/EOSL statuses of each product, can be time-consuming to manage.
The checklist: Is it time to consolidate your IT support?
Read our easy-to-use checklist to find out if your data center vendor strategy needs a rethink:
| Problem | Tick here |
|---|---|
| You are paying for several different maintenance contracts and are beginning to feel the strain on your budget. | 🟩 |
| Your maintenance contracts all have different terms and conditions and run out at different times, causing administrative headaches. | 🟩 |
| Your data center hardware often experiences compatibility issues, slow performance, failures, or error messages. | 🟩 |
| Your incident response and resolution times vary due to different vendor SLAs, causing unpredictable downtime. | 🟩 |
| Your internal teams focus less on core operations because they spend excessive time managing multiple vendor relationships. | 🟩 |
If you checked 3 or more boxes, it may be time to consider consolidating your IT vendor landscape.
How to simplify your IT vendor landscape?
One effective, actionable solution for your multi-vendor data center issues is to consolidate your IT support with Third-Party Maintenance. TPM providers like Evernex offer expert IT lifecycle management services for your entire infrastructure, no matter how many makes and models it includes. Here are some of the top benefits of switching from multiple OEM support contracts to Third-Party Maintenance:
- Multi-vendor and multi-model expertise: Our trained engineers have extensive experience with a wide range of hardware brands and models.
- Single point of contact: You can say goodbye to the administrative burden and excess costs of multiple contracts with one flexible Service-Level Agreement.
- Comprehensive IT lifecycle management: TPM providers optimize your IT infrastructure in every stage of its lifecycle, from installation to disposal. We take out the hard work for you.
- Hardware lifecycle extension: Through maintenance, repairs and part-replacements, Evernex helps maximize the lifespan of your IT assets. This reduces hardware refresh costs while supporting your sustainability objectives.
- Access to refurbished components: Evernex’s Spare-as-a-ServiceTM provides over 1 million certified refurbished components, even for legacy models.
Is it time to consolidate your data center support?
Book a consultation to learn more about Evernex’s comprehensive, multi-vendor IT maintenance services.
