The way most organizations nowadays approach the maintenance of IT assets is somewhat limited. They either do everything in-house or rely on the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). However, those two aren’t always the right options. 

If you want to decrease the workload of your IT team but also achieve financial and time savings, incorporating third-party maintenance into your support strategy is something you should definitely consider.

While everyone can benefit from a third-party maintenance provider, the situation is a lot more urgent for some companies. Here are 5 apparent signs that you should make a switch as soon as possible:

• The OEM is jacking up your support costs

If you’ve ever received a notice (and we’re betting that you did) from your OEM that your device is approaching its end of life (EOL), you know exactly how it feels. Not only are you faced with the inevitability of critical equipment having no coverage, but your OEM will most likely ask for even more money for maintenance because of the device’s EOL.

To make matters worse, extended warranties usually come at a lavish price. Once you look at the price tag, you’ll most likely debate whether you should just continue running the equipment without a support agreement. 

There’s some logic to it: your IT team probably has enough expertise to troubleshoot any issues that arise.

However, proceeding without dedicated support can put your infrastructure at a big risk. For instance, your team might not be able to acquire replacement components. Even if they do, there’s no guarantee they can install and configure them properly.

This is where a third-party maintenance provider steps in to give you the necessary level of protection along with significant financial savings.

• Your IT assets have almost run out of warranty

Here’s an all too common scenario: 

your operational device has almost run out of warranty and you don’t have the budget to upgrade to the latest model. If you haven’t purchased the extended warranty, your OEM won’t provide you with the service when your device hits its end of service life (EOSL).

Even if you did opt-in for an extended warranty, this is hardly a long-term solution as you’ll eventually be forced to upgrade unless you want to continue running without coverage.

If your budget is tight and you don’t see a reason for decommissioning hardware that still works just because the OEM is forcing you to do so, it’s time to look for alternatives. The most obvious one is a third-party maintenance provider that gives you peace of mind when the OEM warranty just doesn’t cut it.

• You’re short on highly specialized talent

In companies where the budget is tight, it’s impossible to hire highly specialized IT staff. However, the problem is that some professional services can’t be successfully done by the internal staff. If that’s the case, a third-party maintenance provider might be your best bet.

Most such vendors have industry experts that can provide critical services whenever your business is facing downtime.  

For example, you can gain access to technicians experienced in working with products such as storage, networking, and service, but there are also engineers with specific skill sets. They have been trained to handle a specific manufacturer, and in some cases, even a specific product line.

For an average company, this is the most cost-efficient way to gain access to highly specialized talent, including access to Tier IV technicians.

There is a wide range of situations where a third-party maintenance provider might come in handy, such as restoring a Hard Down system, updating firmware,.implementing, installing, and relocating systems, mounting, as well as rack & stack.

Whatever the case may be, a third-party maintenance provider can assist you.

• You have bandwidth issues

If you’re experiencing bandwidth issues with your IT team, you might need to give a third-party maintenance provider a call. Whether you’re working with a smaller IT team or a few people with the required skill set, your entire department could experience huge amounts of strain.

Additionally, things can escalate quickly and once the demand for support solutions rises, your regular staff might not be able to keep up. In that case, your only options are to hire more staff or turn to outsourcing. 

With a third-party maintenance provider, you won’t need to do any of that as you’ll get the necessary help at the fraction of the cost required to hire new staff or outsource your work. 

• You’re having problems with migrating

While moving to the cloud is the logical step, most companies are surprised to find out they need short-term coverage to bridge the new gap between on-premise and cloud solutions.

Unfortunately, OEMs usually lack the flexibility to deal with unforeseeable time scales. Even if you only need a couple of months of protection, an OEM might get you to buy a full year’s coverage.

Therefore, third-party maintenance providers can be indispensable during a cloud migration. Some providers even offer short-term solutions, ranging from one month and upwards. This way, you won’t drain your budget by buying something you don’t need.

Hitting multiple birds with one stone

When compared to your average OEM, third-party maintenance providers can do so much with so little. You can save money, get help with specialized solutions, supplement your IT staff, and most importantly - get support for your devices after they hit their EOSL date.

Naturally, not every third-party maintenance provider is the same, so make sure you check how their service level agreements work, what they offer, and how they can help you succeed. Once you find a provider you click with, you’re golden.