IBM Server Maintenance: Why Switch to 3rd Party Support?

The IBM server has been a staple in the IT world for decades. It was first introduced by IBM as the System/360 in 1964 and it is still being used today.

You’ve invested in some of the best servers money can buy, and created one of the best infrastructures you can get.

You need top-shelf support to confidently keep your IBM servers running at their best.

Why you are here

IBM is notorious for their exorbitant maintenance costs after the initial warranty period. Once your equipment goes post-warranty, they’ve been known to drop the hammer. Hard. The reason for this is simple, and common in the IT industry. IBM needs to sell more machines. They have stockholders that rely on their sales. Finding new customers is difficult. It is always easier to run back to the well of existing customer and sell an upgrade. It isn’t just IBM who engage in this practice.

Any hardware manufacturer that has a proprietary Operating System requiring specialized knowledge or skill is guilty of this practice. They have created a niche that makes the system all but impossible for a layman to operate and maintain.

At that point, a simple administrator cannot possibly safeguard your equipment against failure or be tasked with repairs. Enter a reputable support organization with level 3 engineers who work on these issues day in and day out.

Is that upgrade REALLY needed?

That is on you to decide. Most of the time, it is not. IBM servers are very powerful and are absolute work horses. In most cases, they are fairly reliable, and can be used for a decade with minimal issues. We still have Power 5 servers from 2005 that are under support, and running very well.

Why switch to 3rd Party IBM Server Support?

  1. Cost – this is the big one. 3rd Party Support Organizations are able to support your systems at a fraction of the cost that you pay IBM.
  2. Service times- many times, our ticket resolution (open to closed) cases are handled quicker than IBM
  3. Available on-site technicians – We have on-site techs in every major metro, as well as L2/L3 engineers at our NOC.
  4. lack of differentiation – there isn’t much IBM can do, that we as a support organization can’t do. It really makes that extra cost look unappealing.
  5. Multi-Vendor Support – We can support just about everything in your data center. No finger pointing, no blame game, just smooth running equipment.

While the Power series (Power 5, Power 6, Power 7, Power 8) does contain 2 models, the AIX and the iSeries, both systems are fully supportable. We do recommend updating firmware with IBM before leaving IBM support as that is the one limitation of 3rd party support!

We always recommend doing your own research to determine which support organization is the best for you. If you find 3rd party is the best option, give us a call! We will show you how to save money, and ease the burden maintenance for your IBM servers and storage system.

 

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