Businesses have traditionally relied on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Cisco for data center support. However, budget constraints have made room for adversaries within the industry. Across the globe, organizations are increasingly turning to third party maintenance (TPM) providers to relieve financial and procedural support challenges. But what can a third party provider offer to your Cisco equipment that the OEM doesn’t already feature? Actually, quite a bit! This post considers the advantages of choosing third party support over Cisco to answer that very question. We hope by the end of this post, you’ll discover that TPM can actually provide a more valuable service to your Cisco networking equipment.

End of Service Life (EOSL) indicates the ending of services and updates for your server, storage and network equipment. The OEM no longer sells, provides updates, or renews hardware support contracts on these systems.

What is the viability of Cisco Networking hardware beyond Cisco’s EOS dates? That is the question on the minds of many customers as their systems  approach its End Of Support.

Upcoming EOSL CISCO Hardware:

• 3900 Series Integrated Routers (EOSL: 12/31/2022)
• UCS B260 v3 Blade Server (EOSL: 12/31/2022)
• UCS B460 v3 Blade Server (EOSL: 12/31/2022)
• 2900 Series Integrated Services Router Modules (EOSL: 12/31/2022)
• 2900 Series Integrated Routers (EOSL: 12/31/2022)
• 3900 Series Integrated Services Router Modules (EOSL: 12/31/2022)

Whether your EOL and EOS dates are approaching, or already expired, this article will cover what the advantages are of choosing Third Party Maintenance over Cisco.

OEM Maintenance Cost Avoidance

Arguably the most familiar advantage, third party support is widely acknowledged for being a more affordable alternative to manufacturer offerings. As Cisco inflates costs year after year to encourage regular hardware refreshes, third party maintenance offers OEM cost avoidance and continued price stability. Many TPM providers can cut costs by as much as 40% – 70% in comparison with the OEM contract equivalent. And contrary to this affordability, third party maintenance providers usually possess a wider variety of skills with multiple OEM brands as well as more flexible service options. Keep your budget in check and consider Cisco third party maintenance to avoid Cisco’s premium rates.

No End Of Support Life

If you’ve worked with Cisco before, you understand the term “EOSL” well. An abbreviation for End of Service Life, EOSL marks the date on which a manufacturer will formally withdraw all support on “outdated” hardware models. We say “outdated” because although Cisco devices reach EOSL on December 31, 2022, your equipment can actually function several years beyond this deadline. And with Cisco third party maintenance, support no longer comes with disruptive expiration dates! Third party maintenance providers like Pre Rack IT are brand agnostic; our only objective is to keep equipment functional for as long as possible to help you achieve the maximum possible ROI. In most cases, this works to extend the useful life of Cisco equipment by 5 – 10 years! Consider Cisco third party maintenance for extended support solutions that free you from burdensome EOSL dates.

Affordable, Available Hardware

Offering certified, pre-owned hardware in hundreds of parts depots worldwide, Cisco third party maintenance ensures the quick delivery of replacement parts without blowing clients’ IT budgets in the process. Refurbished hardware typically saves customers about 80% from buying new, helping to reduce infrastructure costs for those non-mission critical environments. Furthermore, TPM providers source parts faster than Cisco by harnessing the power of smaller warehousing; this ensures that in the event of a system failure, clients receive a replacement swiftly from the nearest spares location rather than waiting on Cisco to ship the part from across the globe.

More Responsive Support 

While industry leaders like Cisco are swamped with service requests and preoccupied by technological innovation, a third party support provider is standing by to service your Cisco networking hardware. And because all resources have been dedicated to mastering the support operations side of the industry, you get a much faster response time. Moreover, experienced providers like Pre Rack IT offer 24/7/4hr support; this guarantees a response to data center queries with on-site assistance in under four hours, no matter your location worldwide!

Act Now

Obviously, the earlier a TPM agreement is signed the sooner your business can reap the benefits of such advantageous offerings. Pre Rack IT is one of the leading providers in the industry, combining prestigious customer service with unbeatable cost savings. Get in touch today about Cisco third party maintenance and call us at 404-436-1241, or visit our website to chat live with an experienced member of the team!