Companies usually purchase equipment from OEMs (Original equipment manufacturers), such as IBM. These OEMs want you to upgrade your hardware regularly. After all, this is how they maintain their profit margins, but it only drains your resources.

In all honesty, your hardware can probably work for another 5 to 10 years. This is where IBM Third Party Support comes in! 

The great thing about third-party support is that they relieve not only the challenges regarding procedural support but also financial challenges. 

What is IBM Post-Warranty Support?

Every product has a warranty of its own.

In most cases, the product has a 3-year warranty, after which it is denied any maintenance and support. This is when IBM Post-Warranty Support options may be the best solution!

Post Warranty Support is simply the support provided to your IT asset once its OEM’s warranty has expired. You may be familiar with it as third-party maintenance (TPM).

Advantages of IBM Third-Party Support

There are many advantages of choosing third-party maintenance for products that have reached their End of Service Life. Besides providing better responsiveness, options more flexible than the OEM’s recommendations, and lower cost, the following are some additional advantages of IBM Third-Party Support: 

• Longer Service Life

You need to keep in mind that the OEM telling you to replace your device in just three to five years is optional. With IBM Post Warranty Support, you can enjoy access to critical technical expertise and strong support for years even after the End of Service Life date has been announced. 

• Boosts ROI (Return on Investment)

Investments made on IT hardware can be pretty costly. However, a regular refresh cycle would not allow for the maximum ROI (Return-on-Investment). What third-party support does is boost that ROI by extending the lifespan of your IT equipment. 

• Uptime

Proactive hardware monitoring combined with top-notch engineering and spare parts strategically located near client sites, result in a faster mean time to repair. These factors, in turn, translate into more Uptime. 

Additionally, Third-Party Support also promises a competent team at your service along with customizable and scalable SLAs (Service Level Agreement). This means you are no longer at the mercy of the OEM!

Upcoming EOSL IBM Hardware

At Pre Rack IT, we offer extended support on primarily all IBM Storage and IBM Server models, including but not limited to: 

• Flex System x240 Compute Node
• Storwize V7000 Disk System
• zEnterprise 14 (z114)
• System Storage DS8880
• System Storage DS8884
• System Storage DS8886
• System Storage DS8888
• FlashSystem 900
• Storwize V3700 Disk System
• FlashSystem V9000
• FlashSystem A9000R
• Storwize V5000 Disk System

While IBM might be eliminating service and encouraging customers to upgrade to newer server hardware, there is no reason to invest that much time and money. With the right third-party support, you could see another five to 10 years of reliable use from your existing technology.

Are You Ready to Get the Support You Require? 

From what we have seen, IBM Third Party Support can be very beneficial in extending the ownership and lifespan of your IT asset. From scalable and customizable SLAs to having the best support team at your service. Additionally, you can finally be free from the headache of getting a hardware refresh and boost the ROI. 

With so many pros knocking at your door, it is time to consider IBM Third-Party Support as a post-warranty option. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!