Third-Party Maintenance vs. OEM Support Blog
How Third-Party Maintenance Works vs. OEM Support Contracts
Thinking about renewing your OEM maintenance? Here’s how third-party maintenance (TPM) compares, how it actually works day-to-day, and when it can save you 50–70% without adding risk.
What Is Third-Party Maintenance?
Third-party maintenance (TPM) is independent hardware support for servers, storage, and networking gear—delivered by specialists who aren’t trying to sell you a refresh. Instead of renewing an OEM contract, you cover your installed base with a partner focused on uptime, parts availability, and response.
At Extended Technical Solutions (ETS), TPM means multi-vendor coverage (Dell, HPE, IBM, Cisco, Lenovo, Supermicro and more), flexible SLAs, onsite parts logistics, and visibility through our ETS Partner Portal and XTEKPROTECT™ proactive monitoring.
How TPM Works Day-to-Day
- Onboarding & Asset Capture. You share make/model/serials, locations, and SLA needs. We baseline firmware and confirm sparing.
- SLA & Spares Plan. Choose 8×5 NBD or 24×7×4; we stage parts and assign L3 engineers for your sites.
- Ticketing & Triage. Open cases via phone, email, or Partner Portal. You’ll talk to engineers who can diagnose and dispatch.
- Onsite Response & Resolution. We ship/bring spares and perform replacement or repair; updates are logged in the portal.
- Proactive Health. With XTEKPROTECT™, we track status, firmware posture, and SLA performance—so you can plan refresh on your timeline.
TPM vs. OEM: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Category | OEM Support Contract | Third-Party Maintenance (ETS) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Highest; renewal quotes rise near EOSL | 50–70% lower on average vs. OEM renewals |
| Refresh Pressure | Aligned to selling new hardware | Aligned to extend current hardware life |
| Vendors Covered | Single OEM (per contract) | Multi-vendor (Dell, HPE, IBM, Cisco, etc.) |
| Engineer Access | Tiered call centers; scripts | L3 engineers triage directly; faster time-to-fix |
| SLA Options | Standardized by OEM | Flexible: 8×5 NBD to 24×7×4; site-specific |
| Visibility | OEM portal (limited cross-vendor view) | ETS Partner Portal: tickets, assets, spares, renewals |
| EOSL Coverage | Drops off at OEM EOSL | Purpose-built for EOSL hardware |
When to Choose TPM (and When to Stay OEM)
TPM is a great fit when:
- You need to reduce OpEx without sacrificing uptime.
- Your gear is stable and well-understood (often 3–7 years old).
- You want one partner across servers, storage, and network.
- You’re at or near EOSL and don’t want a forced refresh.
OEM may still make sense when:
- You require day-zero firmware for brand-new platforms.
- Specialized vendor features/extensions are contractually required.
- You’re in a vendor-locked environment with unique compliance dependencies.
Getting Started with ETS
- Share your asset list (make/model/SNs, location, SLA targets).
- We baseline firmware, confirm spares, and map coverage by site.
- Pick SLAs (8×5 NBD or 24×7×4) and go live.
- Track tickets, assets, and renewals in the ETS Partner Portal—and refresh only when the business case says so.
See How TPM Works at ETS Request a Side-by-Side Quote
Keywords: third-party maintenance, TPM vs OEM support, server maintenance, storage maintenance, network maintenance, EOSL support, multi-vendor maintenance, XTEKPROTECT, ETS Partner Portal.