Posted on Friday, July 15, 2016
Occasionally strategic decisions mean that it becomes necessary to move from one OEM to another. Following a merger It is not uncommon for the group CTO to want to standardize on storage from a single vendor for instance.
However, the process can become incredibly complex – particularly as OEMs typically try to slow, or prevent, the migration. After all, losing a client and their lucrative maintenance contract dents the OEM’s profits. As you announce plans to move from one vendor to another, you can expect interim support costs to escalate considerably for any equipment schedule to go EoSL or post-warranty during the transition period.
Maintenance during migration projects
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the new OEM is unable to provide maintenance or support for equipment from another vendor. This gap in support coverage is obviously unacceptable in a data-driven organization.
The answer is to partner with a third party maintenance provider like Computer Data Source who can provide vendor agnostic support for all affected equipment. This kind of maintenance agreement is particularly useful for homogenization projects that involve equipment from multiple vendors.
CDS are able to provide pre- and post-warranty support for storage equipment from all of the major vendors – EMC, NetApp, HDC, Hewlett Packard etc – and supply spares for thousands of pre- and post-EOSL units.
Global coverage for mergers and acquisitions
In the age of the connected marketplace, mergers and acquisitions typically involve data centers located abroad. For global OEMs, providing support to any territory is relatively simple. When choosing a third party maintenance provider, it is vital that they too can over localized support and access to spares in every country where you have a presence.
And unlike OEMs who have to protect their margins by increasing prices to cover the loss of your account, maintenance contracts offered by CDS are typically 40 per cent to 70 per cent less than your existing costs. Which means that you get the coverage you need to complete a timely migration project and you free up cash that can be invested in other aspects of the project – such as buying new equipment.
To learn more about how our vendor-agnostic support services can help you with a major migration project please get in touch.
– See more at: http://www.cds.net/news/2016/07/oem-migration/#sthash.jguHXdQG.dpuf