Is your IT infrastructure suffering failures, crashes or just performing more slowly than it used to? It may be time to consider IT support and maintenance services for your business data center.
Discover what IT maintenance services include and if they are right for your business here. We also explore how Evernex can optimize your IT infrastructure.
IT support and maintenance services
✅ IT maintenance prevents issues to keep IT infrastructures functional and secure.
✅IT support resolves any problems to minimize damage and downtime.
✅The best maintenance type for you depends on the needs and budget of your company.
What are IT support and maintenance services?
IT support and maintenance services are tasks which ensure the high performance, security and reliability of business IT infrastructures.
These tasks range from keeping the data center environment clean and cool to testing, optimizations, repairs and replacements.
However, while IT support and IT maintenance are closely related, they do not mean exactly the same thing. So, what are the differences?
- IT Maintenance: These services proactively prevent, identify and resolve potential IT issues. This keeps systems operational, high-performing and secure.
- Support: IT support is more reactive in nature, fixing issues when things do go wrong. Support services provide efficient resolutions to minimize downtime and damage.
Want to talk to an expert?
If you have any questions or if your data center needs support, contact an Evernex expert now.
What services are included?
Maintenance services normally include, but are not limited to:
- Routine inspections
- Upkeep
- Cleaning
- Diagnostics
- Repairs
- Part-replacements
- Optimizations
- Updates
Meanwhile, support services normally cover:
- Troubleshooting
- User support
- Recommendations and best practice guidance
- Updates and patching
- Disaster recovery
- Incident response
- Remote and onsite assistance
Who are they for?
More and more businesses rely on IT for all kinds of operations. These range from communications and data processing to storage and resource management. A robust IT infrastructure allows business operations to run smoothly and efficiently. This means that basically any business will gain from effective IT support and maintenance services.
However, companies facing certain situations may find them more immediately beneficial. These situations include, but are not limited to:
- Businesses which do not have the resources or space for internal IT support teams.
- Businesses whose IT assets are no longer under the Original Equipment Manufacturer‘s warranty.
Why are IT support and maintenance services important?
More and more, businesses rely on IT systems to conduct all kinds of operations. These include:
- Resource management
- Resource sharing
- Virtual communications
- Data storage
- Data processing
- Transactions
- Website management and hosting
This means that, clearly, a business needs its IT systems to be fully functional, efficient and reliable. Slow performance and crashes can lead to poor user experience, reduced productivity and data loss.
This is where IT support and upkeep come in.
Support services keep a data center infrastructure high performing and secure, with maximum uptime.
Here are some ways we achieve this:
Benefits of IT support and maintenance:
- Inspections allow engineers to identify and address damage or flaws before they impact on user experience.
- Scheduled hardware and software servicing maintains performance and reduces risk of failure.
- System testing finds issues such as poor configurations and security vulnerabilities, getting ahead of crashes and data breaches.
- Repairs and part-replacements extend the lifecycle of IT hardware, avoiding the need to refresh the whole system.
- Optimizations maximize IT assets’ potential, helping businesses get the most out of their IT infrastructures.
- Data recovery planning and execution ensures data availability after critical failures.
Different types of maintenance and support
There are various styles of IT infrastructure maintenance and support. What you choose will depend both on your business IT needs and your budget.
Managed Infrastructure Services
When a business uses Managed Infrastructure Services, they outsource the management and maintenance of their IT systems to a third party.
MIS takes a holistic approach to IT maintenance. This means it controls, maintains and optimizes the entire system, from hardware to software and networks.
Third-Party Maintenance
Third-Party Maintenance is similar to MIS, but with some key differences. While Managed Infrastructure Services cover all aspects of an IT system, TPM primarily supports the infrastructure’s hardware. Effective TPM keeps ensure the optimal performance of a business data center and reduces any unexpected downtime.
Businesses also tend to use TPM for support in case of issues such as failures or slow performance.
TPM is a cost-effective solution to extend hardware lifecycles, especially those assets out of OEM warranty.
Corrective, Preventive or Predictive?
Within data center hardware maintenance, the three most popular styles are corrective, preventive and predictive. This table offers a brief explanation of each:
| Type | What is it? |
|---|---|
| Corrective maintenance | Corrective maintenance focuses on diagnosing and resolving existing issues in an IT infrastructure. |
| Preventive maintenance | Preventive maintenance uses pre-planned, routine repairs and replacements to avoid potential failures. |
| Predictive maintenance | This type of maintenance uses monitoring and diagnostic tools to predict and avoid potential problems. |
Evernex and your business: TPM
Who is Evernex?
Evernex is a global leader in third-party data center maintenance. Businesses across the world trust us to expertly manage and support their IT hardware. We provide comprehensive IT lifecycle management services, as well as corrective hardware support and refurbished spare-part replacements. Here are some of our main services:
- IMACD (Install, Move, Add, Change, Dispose)
- Data center hardware inspections
- Repairs and corrective maintenance
- Part-replacements through SPaaSTM
- Buy-back program
- IT Asset Disposal
- Disaster recovery planning
Benefits of partnering with Evernex
Choosing Evernex as your enterprise’s IT support and maintenance provider offers a range of advantages. Here is a handy cheat sheet outlining the main ones:
| Benefit | Why? |
|---|---|
| Expert hardware support | Our skilled engineers receive ongoing training by Evernex. This allows them to efficiently and effectively resolve any issues that may arise. |
| 24/7 technical assistance | Our technical support teams are available around the clock in case of any unexpected problems or queries. |
| Buy-back program | We buy back your old hardware, allowing you to recuperate some of your original investment. We refurbish and recycle all possible components, before responsibly disposing of non-recyclables. |
| Global presence | Evernex is present in over 165 countries and has 330 warehouses. This means we can support your data center, wherever it is. |
| Multi-vendor and multi-model experience | Evernex has expertise with a wide range of hardware brands and models. We can therefore offer a single point of contact for all your maintenance needs, rather than juggling multiple contracts. |
| Flexible Service-Level Agreements | We tailor our SLAs to your specific business requirements. This means you only pay for the services you will use, presenting a cost saving for your business. |
Want to talk to an expert?
If you have any questions or if your data center needs support, contact an Evernex expert now.
FAQ
What services do IT support and maintenance include?
IT support and maintenance cover hardware diagnostics, software updates, network monitoring, cybersecurity, data backups, and troubleshooting. These services ensure systems run smoothly and securely.
Is it cheaper to outsource IT support or have an internal team?
Outsourcing is often more budget-friendly for businesses, reducing costs while providing access to specialized expertise and 24/7 support.
