Third-Party Maintenance is establishing itself as a robust support solution that extends IT hardware lifecycles, supports sustainability initiatives and saves costs. Indeed, Gartner estimates organizations can save up to 70% with Third-Party Maintenance. But what is Third-Party Maintenance, exactly? And when is it time to call a TPM provider?
Discover what third-party maintenance (TPM) means for IT teams, what services providers offer, and its core benefits and costs to help you make an informed decision for your hardware maintenance strategy.
TPM: The essentials
- Third-party maintenance is a alternative solution to OEM support for legacy hardware or multi-vendor IT environments.
- TPM provides services including break/fix support, part replacements, diagnostics, and IT lifecycle management.
- SLAs tend to be more flexible and cost-effective than manufacturer support contract renewals.
- Evernex provides expert technical support for data center hardware, regardless of brand or EOL status.
What does Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) mean?
Third-Party Maintenance refers to support and maintenance services for a product performed by a company independent of the asset’s brand.
To understand what third-party maintenance means in an IT context, first we need to know who is responsible for maintaining IT equipment and at which points in the product’s lifecycle.
- During a product’s warranty:
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) normally provide technical support and maintenance. After this warranty ends, the OEM begins to phase out and then completely end support and updates.
- After warranty ends:
Once the original warranty ends, manufacturers often offer support contract renewals, although at elevated prices, and only until a device’s End-of-Service-Life date. It is here that Third-Party IT Maintenance becomes a strong alternative solution for businesses seeking IT hardware support services.
Check out our TPM vs OEM support guide to compare the two strategies head to head on a range of key factors, from coverage to costs.
Why do businesses choose third-party maintenance?
Third-party support providers offer various IT services to meet the diverse needs of organizations and enterprises. Such needs include:
- Onsite hardware troubleshooting
- Post-EOSL lifecycle extension
- Repairs and part replacements
- Inventory management
- Upgrades
- Installations and configurations
- Diagnostics and testing
- Proactive maintenance and optimization activities
These customizable, often on-demand services provide businesses with access to multi-vendor IT expertise covering a wide range of hardware brands and manufacturers.
As a result, third-party data center maintenance enables organizations to:
- Optimize IT infrastructure management
- Extend the lifespan of their hardware assets
- Reduce maintenance and replacement costs
- Ensure the continued reliability and performance of mission critical infrastructure
In other words: As a strategic partnership between data center operators or business IT teams and independent hardware service providers, Third-Party hardware Maintenance empowers businesses to control costs, maximize the value of their IT investments and achieve their operational objectives.
Want to dive deeper into Third-Party IT Maintenance?
Download our free, expert-written white paper Six reasons to partner with a Third-Party Maintenance Provider to discover how TPM can benefit your business IT operations.
See our infographic below to help you answer the question “what is third-party maintenance?”.
What is a TPM provider?
A TPM provider is an independent service vendor specialized in delivering IT hardware maintenance and support services.
These providers offer their services for a wide range of IT hardware, such as:
- Servers
- Storage systems
- Networking equipment
- Peripherals
See below for more information about TPM vendor SLAs and services.
How does Third-Party Maintenance work?
While the specifics of the process will depend on your provider, Third-Party Maintenance generally follows these key steps:
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Audit and inventory | The business provides details of its data center environment and hardware estate. The service provider assesses the equipment, condition, locations, configurations, and existing support coverage. |
| 2. SLA negotiation | The client and the vendor agree on response and resolution times, service coverage, escalation procedures, parts availability, and exclusions. |
| 3. Cost estimation | Based on the SLA terms, the TPM provider decides on a cost and price model. |
| 4. Onboarding | The business and vendor collaborate to establish the required information, including asset data, documentation, contacts, processes, access requirements, and escalation paths. |
| 5. On-demand support | The business reports incidents to the service provider through a single point of contact. The provider then coordinates troubleshooting, parts, engineers, and resolution. |
| 6. Service management and reporting | The vendor tracks incidents, SLAs, KPIs, escalations, and service performance, providing regular reporting and service reviews. |
| 7. Optimization | The provider identifies opportunities to reduce risk and cost, while maximizing performance. |
| 8. SLA adaptation | The business and TPM vendor periodically review operational requirements and adapt coverage, response times, assets, or pricing accordingly. |
Which services can third-party hardware support provide?
The following are the main services that Third-Party Maintenance providers offer:
1. Hardware Maintenance
Comprehensive maintenance and support services for IT hardware components. Such support covers:
- proactive monitoring
- Break/fix support and troubleshooting
- resolution of hardware issues
The combination of proactive and corrective maintenance ensures optimal performance and reliability throughout the IT infrastructure.
2. 24/7 Technical Support
Round-the-clock technical support services to address IT issues and emergencies at any time, day or night. Services include:
- Access to expert engineers and IT support staff
- Timely on-site and remote assistance
- Guidance to resolve critical issues and minimize downtime
3. Remote Monitoring and Management
Remote monitoring and management (RMM) services proactively monitor the health, performance and availability of IT infrastructure components. RMM services include:
- Real-time monitoring of hardware metrics
- Proactive alerting
- Remote troubleshooting to identify and resolve issues before impact
4. On-Site Support and Field Services
On-site support and field services for hardware installations, repairs, and maintenance activities that cannot be performed remotely. TPM providers send trained engineers to customer sites, wherever they are based, to execute tasks such as:
- Identifying and address hardware issues
- Performing upgrades
- Unpacking and installing new equipment
Check out our Smart Hands service page to find out more about our onsite services and technical assistance.
5. Inventory Management and Spare Parts Logistics
Management of spare parts inventory and logistics ensures rapid availability of replacement components when needed. This includes:
- Inventory forecasting
- Stock replenishment
- Efficient distribution of spare parts
- Minimising downtime
- Maintaining IT service levels
The Evernex SPaaS™ (Spare as a Service) program ensures rapid access to hardware parts, even to parts no longer manufactured.
6. Customized Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Tailored service level agreements (SLAs) are customized to meet the specific requirements and budget availability of customers. This includes:
- Defining response times
- Resolution targets
- Service availability guarantees
These agreements offer flexible contract terms that change as your IT environment evolves and help you avoid overspending on services your business do not require.
7. End-of-Life (EOL) and End-of-Service (EOS) Support
Continued support and maintenance services to maintain the resilience, performance and security of hardware and software that have reached their:
- end-of-life (EOL)
- end-of-service-life (EOSL)
The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) establishes the EOL and EOSL dates. A product’s EOL refers to the date when the manufacturer stops making the product and phases out support. After the EOSL date, the manufacturer ends support completely. Post-EOSL maintenance focuses on:
- Extending the life of legacy systems
- Providing workarounds in place of OEM security updates
- Sourcing compatible spare parts
8. Consulting and Advisory Services
Expert consulting services to help customers maximize the value and efficiency of their IT systems. Advice can include strategies to:
- optimize their IT infrastructure
- streamline operations
- plan for future growth
- save money
Such services include:
- Assessments
- Recommendations
- Strategic guidance
Come to Evernex for advice on hardware refresh cycles, technology upgrades and IT best practices.
9. Compliance and Regulatory Support
Assistance with compliance and regulatory requirements related to IT infrastructure, data security, and industry standards. This includes:
- Adherence to regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA and PCI DSS
- Industry certifications through maintenance and security practices
10. Asset Management and Lifecycle Services
Management of IT assets throughout their lifecycle. This means from procurement and deployment to retirement and disposal services (also known as IT Asset Disposition). This includes:
- Asset tracking
- Asset tagging
- Asset audits
- Disposition services
These services optimize asset usage, minimize costs and ensure compliance with environmental regulations. Find out more about Evernex’s comprehensive IMACD services to see how we support IT hardware throughout its lifecycle.
Why are smart businesses shifting from 3-year refreshes to lifecyle extension?
Read the Q&A with our experts to find out why small and medium businesses are breaking the cycle and adopting lifecycle extension strategies like TPM.
11. Training and Knowledge Transfer
Training programs and knowledge transfer empower customers’ IT teams with the skills and expertise to manage their IT infrastructure. This includes:
- Technical training on hardware platforms
- Best practices
- Troubleshooting techniques
These services allow 3rd party IT support providers like Evernex to deliver cost-effective, flexible IT support solutions that meet the requirements of businesses and organizations across various industries.
| 11 services TPM providers offer – cheat sheet | |
|---|---|
| Service 1 | Hardware maintenance |
| Service 2 | 24/7 technical support |
| Service 3 | Remote monitoring and management |
| Service 4 | On-site support and field services |
| Service 5 | Inventory management and spare parts logistics |
| Service 6 | Customized SLAs |
| Service 7 | End-of-Life and End-of-Service-Life support |
| Service 8 | Consulting and advisory services |
| Service 9 | Compliance and regulatory support |
| Service 10 | Asset management and lifecycle services |
| Service 11 | Training and knowledge transfer |
What are the top third-party maintenance benefits?
Here are seven of the main advantages of TPM over OEMs for businesses looking to support their IT infrastructure:
Reason 1: Cost effectiveness
Third-party hardware maintenance typically offers cost savings of up to 70% compared to traditional OEM support.
As they don’t make huge investments into hardware R&D like OEMs do, TPM providers are able to provide support at much lower costs.
This makes it an attractive option for organizations looking to reduce their IT expenses.
OEM sales teams are also encouraged to sell new equipment rather than extend the life of existing hardware. Consequently, manufacturers often increase the cost of support contract renewals to drive hardware refreshes over maintenace.
In contrast, Third-Party Maintenance and support companies have no vested interest in pushing businesses to replace their IT. Instead, they provide reasonably-priced support to help businesses extend the lifecycles of their infrastructure.
Reason 2: Single Point of Contact
Generally, a third-party service provider is a single point of contact for all your support, maintenance and spare requests, including for multi-vendor environment. TPM engineers are capable of servicing and providing hardware maintenance for all major providers including IBM, HP, Dell, EMC, Cisco, and Juniper. This eliminates the lack of visibility and accountability that can occur when dealing with multiple OEM service providers, which only support their own branded assets.
Consolidating contracts into a SPOC helps to reduce administrative burden, as well as the costs implied by juggling several maintenance agreements.
Reason 3: Flexible SLAs
TPM providers offer transparent, customizable service-level agreements. This means simplified contract terms, services adapted to your infrastructure needs and your budget, and no hidden costs or complex pricing structures vendor lock-in.
Businesses can pick and choose their SLA features, with common options in TPM SLAs including the following:
- 4 hr up to next-business-day response times
- 5- or 7-days per week coverage
- Repair parts
- Up to unlimited service calls
- 24/7/365 technical support helpdesk
- Remote monitoring
- Access to service via phone and online customer portals
Reason 4: Experienced technicians and quality support
The technical assistance and personalized service of TPM providers are of extremely high quality, with trained engineers and onsite, multi-lingual support.
Third-party service providers maintain global networks of locally-available technicians experienced in dealing with multi-vendor support, including legacy systems. They develop in-depth expertise through extensive, ongoing training and real-world experience servicing both traditional and AI-ready data centers and infrastructures.
Looking to expand your IT team for a project or during peak demand?
Evernex IT staff augmentation lets you slot trained, experienced experts into your existing IT team for as long as you need the support – without the costs and commitment of permanent hires.
Reason 5: Capacity to extend hardware lifetime
TPM services help extend the useful life of IT hardware through:
- Proactive maintenance
- Timely repairs
- Access to replacement parts
This allows organizations to maximize the return on their hardware investment, avoid refresh-related downtime and ensure system stability.
Reason 6: Spare parts and legacy equipment availability
As well as supporting legacy servers and other hardware through repairs and maintenance, TPM providers also facilitate access to a wide range of replacement spare parts for discontinued assets.
For example, Evernex has over 3.4 million certified refurbished parts in stock across over 330 locations around the world, offering delivery in under 72 hours.
Certified refurbished parts undergo rigorous testing procedures to ensure that they will continue to perform according to their original specs. This helps safeguard the availability and reliability of mission-critical and older equipment, minimizing unexpected downtime and avoiding unnecessary refreshes and disruptions.
Reason 7: Greater sustainability
TPM providers contribute to businesses’ environmental objectives by:
- Extending hardware lifecycles
Keeping functional servers, storage and networking equipment in service for longer, while repairing or replacing individual components rather than entire systems. This can delay unnecessary refreshes and reduce electronic waste.
- Reducing demand for new hardware
Extending the useful life of existing equipment and keeping assets in the market can reduce the need for new manufacturing and the associated carbon emissions and use of raw materials.
- Supporting circular IT strategies
Where appropriate, TPM providers can reuse or refurbish spare parts, helping organizations make better use of existing hardware resources and keep them in the circular economy.
By extending hardware lifecycles, TPM can help organizations align cost-efficiency objectives with sustainability goals, minimizing their ecological footprint and supporting compliance with increasingly stringent environmental regulations.
Reason 8: Scalable, repeatable procedures
Evernex’s TPM services are globally available and consistent, whether in Japan or the UK. Consistent processes and consolidated agreements mean that businesses can trust their distributed or international infrastructures without a contract for each country where they have equipment.
TPM providers should be certified according to international standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 4001, and comply with local and regional directives, such as WEEE (waste from electrical and electronic equipment) for IT disposal.
TL;DR – TPM benefits:
- Costs
- Simplicity (Single Point of Contact)
- Flexibility
- Experienced technicians
- High service quality
- Hardware lifecycle extension
- Spare parts availability
- Sustainability
- Globally scalable processes
What are the risks of using Third-Party Maintenance?
The potential risks of using a Third-Party Maintenance provider are:
- Compatibility issues
- Warranty concerns
- Limited access to manufacturer-specific tools and resources
However, these risks are often exaggerated and don’t align with the reality of TPM maintenance.
Can Third-Party Maintenance provide software support?
In general, TPM primarily focuses on hardware maintenance. Some providers may offer software support services as part of their comprehensive maintenance packages. However, it’s essential to clarify the scope of software support with your TPM provider.
Which brands does Third-Party Maintenance support?
Third-party maintenance offers comprehensive maintenance and support services for a wide range of hardware brands and models. While support capabilities vary by provider, many organizations use TPM to extend the life of servers, storage, networking equipment, and tape libraries long after OEM support has ended.
For example, Evernex supports the following brands:
| Brand | Examples of Evernex-supported product lines | Explore Further |
|---|---|---|
| Dell | PowerEdge servers, PowerVault, Unity, Isilon (now PowerScale), EqualLogic, Compellent and networking | Dell / EMC Third-Party Maintenance |
| HPE | ProLiant, BladeSystem, Synergy, Apollo, MSA, StoreOnce | HPE Third-Party Maintenance |
| IBM | Power Systems, PureFlex systems, FlashSystem, Storage, xSeries | IBM Third-Party Maintenance |
| Cisco | UCS servers, Catalyst, Nexus, MDS, ISR and ASR networking | Cisco Third-Party Maintenance |
| NetApp | AFF, FAS and E-Series storage systems | NetApp Third-Party Maintenance |
| Lenovo | ThinkSystem servers and storage, ThinkAgile servers | Lenovo Third-Party Maintenance |
| Oracle | SPARC servers, Oracle Server X-Series and storage | Sun / Oracle Third-Party Maintenance |
| Huawei | FusionServer, OceanStore | Huawei Third-Party Maintenance |
| Fujitsu | Primergy, Eternus, Primepower | Fujitsu Third-Party Maintenance |
Depending on the provider, third-party maintenance will also support other brands and manufacturers, including legacy models.
What types of companies use third-party maintenance services?
Companies across various industries rely on TPM services to maintain and support their IT infrastructure. These range from telecommunications and healthcare to manufacturing and edge computing giants.
Any organization with data center hardware can benefit from Third-Party Maintenance services to keep its infrastructure running smoothly. Well-known companies, such as Walmart, Boeing, and FedEx use TPM.
When it comes to TPM, the size and industry of a business is less relevant than what it needs to get the most out of its IT infrastructure. Companies looking for alternative support solutions for legacy hardware, or to consolidate support in a multi-vendor IT environment may find Third-Party Maintenance to be a perfect fit. For businesses looking for proactive system management as well as physical support and maintenance, comprehensive outsourcing options such as Managed Infrastructure Services may be a better fit.
Who are the best Third-Party Maintenance providers?
Now you know what third-party maintenance is and what it includes, the next step is knowing which provider is best for your company. Choosing the right TPM provider is a crucial step to ensure an organization gets the most out of its contract.
Key capabilities to look for when selecting a TPM provider include:
- Required experience, expertise and services for your IT infrastructure
- Adherence to agreed conditions, including response times
- Global presence and onsite engineers, even for remote locations
- Certifications including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001
- Compliance with directives such as WEEE and R2v3
- Offers flexible support options
- Multi-vendor expertise
- Large spare parts stock for repairs and maintenance
When comparing service providers, make sure to check for high customer retention rates and strong industry recognition demonstrating high-quality, consistent service.
|
TPM Provider |
Key Features |
| Evernex | Global coverage, corrective maintenance, cost-effective. |
| Park Place Tech | Customized support, technical expertise, customer service. |
| Service Express | Multivendor support, 24/7 monitoring, flexible contracts. |
| CDS | Mission-critical support, certified site engineering assistance, global reach. |
How much does TPM cost?
The cost of Third-Party Maintenance services varies. It depends on factors such as:
- the scope of coverage
- the level of service required
- the size of the IT infrastructure
TPM offers financial savings compared to OEM maintenance contracts. This makes it a cost-effective solution for organizations of all sizes.
Check out our TPM cost guide for more information.
Does your company need TPM?
Is your organization looking to reduce IT maintenance costs while maintaining high-quality support for your hardware?
Contact Evernex today to learn more about our Third-Party Maintenance solutions and how they can benefit your business.
Short on time? Here is a video that answers the question “what is third-party maintenance?”:
FAQ about Third-party IT maintenance
What is third-party IT maintenance and how does it work?
Instead of relying on vendor support, or if OEM support is no longer available, companies can outsource their data center maintenance to a third-party support provider. TPM covers a range of professional IT support services, from installations and lifecycle management to repairs and IT recycling.
What are the main benefits of third-party IT hardware support?
Third party hardware support offers a range of advantages for businesses. TPM allows businesses to keep their legacy hardware running smoothly well after the device’s EOL or EOSL dates, maximizing the asset’s ROI and minimizing disruption. It also helps businesses save costs through flexible, affordable SLAs. Maintaining legacy hardware helps businesses reach their ESG goals, such as through e-waste reduction.
How does TPM compare with OEM maintenance?
OEM maintenance contracts are generally one-size-fits-all. When an IT asset’s warranty expires, the OEM ceases providing hardware support and updates, and renewing vendor support can be expensive and inflexible. In contrast, third-party IT support provides maintenance services for hardware well past the end of its original warranty. It is also far more budget-friendly and flexible than traditional OEM support.
Which types of equipment do Third-party IT maintenance services cover?
Third-party IT support covers all aspects of data center equipment, including servers, networking equipment, storage devices and power supplies.
When should a company switch to TPM?
Businesses should consider switching from OEM to TPM support when OEM maintenance contract costs become too expensive to sustain for your IT budget or are too rigid to accurately meet your infrastructure needs. Companies may also switch when their equipment reaches EOSL and is no longer eligible for manufacturer support, but continues to meet business demands – in this case, TPM can provide the necessary support to keep the asset secure, functional, and compliant.
Is TPM safe after EOSL?
Yes. In fact, third-party hardware support is employed by many businesses to maintain their EOSL infrastructure secure and compliant for years after the OEM-established End-of-Support date.
How much can TPM reduce support costs?
Third party data center maintenance is often cited as reducing enterprise IT support costs by up to 70% in comparison to manufacturer extended support contracts, following a 2017 report by Gartner.