Maintenance functions are a necessary part of every business’s operations. No matter what hardware you have or software you use, you need to keep it up and running to its peak every day, lest it ultimately become unusable. While most will go with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for maintenance—it often comes with the product purchased, after all—the time when OEM maintenance runs out is a time of great angst in companies. Third-party maintenance, particularly third-party hardware maintenance, can be a great solution, and a real help to a struggling bottom line.

How Does Third-Party Maintenance Help My Bottom Line?

The use of third-party maintenance, or third-party hardware maintenance, offers several points to improve a company’s bottom line.

Immediate cost savings. Though this varies from provider to provider, an OEM’s extended warranty can cost double what an equivalent third-party provider costs. Since it often offers the same level of protection, that means immediate value.

Extended hardware life. Replacing hardware requires cash. Extending the life of the hardware that’s currently in play allows you to replace it less often, which means less spending over the long term.

Streamlined, available support. When something goes wrong with hardware, its value is lost to the user. By getting disabled hardware back up and running faster, its value is recovered, and the company has a chance to reduce lost opportunity costs.

Improved accountability. A Curvature study found 81 percent of OEM users have at least some problem with a current OEM provider. With that level of dissatisfaction, it’s easy to see why a lot of users turn to third-party maintenance providers to get the job done right the first time, saving time and saving money.

Customization. It’s important to get what you pay for, but it’s perhaps just as important to not pay for what you don’t want or need. A third-party provider can customize service offerings in ways OEMs can’t or won’t in many cases, which allows for direct cost savings by not paying for service that turns out to be unneeded.

How Do I Get Started Establishing Third-Party Maintenance?

Setting up third-party maintenance or third-party hardware maintenance really only requires one step: finding a provider. While you’ll have many such providers to choose from, one of the best around is Emcon IT. We have a range of services available to help you cover maintenance after the OEM pulls out. Just drop us a line and we’ll help you get started.