IT Hardware Support for India’s Multivendor Data Centers, Enterprises, and SMBs

Park Place Hardware Maintenance


Ian Shearer February 27, 2020

Nearly every company has a multivendor IT environment, if for no other reason than different original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) specialize in different parts of the technology infrastructure. Cisco, Brocade, and Juniper are known for networking equipment. NetApp, EMC (now Dell EMC), and Hitachi built their names in storage. And where would we be without the likes of IBM and HPE in servers?

There is overlap, of course. HPE, for instance, dabbles in most fields, and converged and hyperconverged systems put server, storage, and networking in one box. Nonetheless, most enterprises and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) tend to acquire hardware from various companies to tap the best combination of performance and price.

The natural instinct to rely on the OEM for support can become a real challenge in this scenario. Fortunately, there is a way to tame the maintenance beast in the multivendor environment.

Third party data center maintenance services offer a unified, non-OEM support option, but India has, to date, been something of a blind spot for world-class alternative maintenance companies. A key exception is Park Place Technologies, a global data center and networking optimization expert with well-established capabilities stretching from Ahmedabad to Thiruvananthapuram to New Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai.

The Downsides of OEM Maintenance

If you’re using the individual OEMs for IT hardware support, things get complicated when something goes wrong. The IT team must first identify the source of the problem, figure out which OEM’s equipment is involved, and navigate that company’s specific requirements.

Who should you call? Will there be a severity level assessment? How fast will support be available? All of this varies from OEM to OEM and contract to contract. It can be frustrating with the simplest problems, and when complex issues involve hardware from multiple OEMs, coordinating their response can be exceptionally frustrating.

Even with these downsides, the OEMs charge a fortune for support contracts, yet will declare end of support life (EOSL, when they will no longer maintain hardware) at their own convenience. Suddenly, an enterprise or SMB can find themselves with perfectly functional hardware but no access to support.

The Multivendor Maintenance Solution

Wouldn’t it be easier to work with a single company for most or all of the organization’s server, storage, and network support needs? That’s the point of multivendor hardware maintenance from Park Place Technologies. We offer:

We are IT support specialists with experience maintaining hardware from all the major manufacturers and some not-so-major ones. Whether you have Oracle, HPE, Hitachi, IBM, Cisco, Dell EMC, or a range of other equipment installed, we can put the hardware under a single, flexible, easy-to-manage contract.

Alternative Maintenance Advantages

Why do clients turn to Park Place Technologies to replace their OEM support as soon as possible after the initial warranty expires? Because our IT hardware maintenance is:

  • Simple.
    When a problem occurs, there is just one support provider to engage. And with ParkView IT infrastructure management services, your team doesn’t even need to triage, our system will identify emerging issues at the earliest signs, automatically diagnose the fault, file a trouble ticket, and deploy a field technician.
  • Manageable.
    All the details can be orchestrated within Central Park, our powerful customer portal. Update coverage to match changes in hardware’s criticality, delete contracts on equipment you’re sending for reclamation, file and monitor trouble tickets, and more.
  • Reliable.
    There is no EOSL in the Park Place maintenance model. We’re in the business of helping clients keep the hardware that is delivering value to their organization, regardless of its age. You can count on us, because we’ll never tell you that that the equipment you rely on is obsolete and unsupported.
  • High Quality.
    Clients gain access to more responsive, higher performing support. Park Place reduces outages and disruptions with 31% faster mean time to repair and the best first-time fix rate in the business. High-quality support translates into greater uptime, and who doesn’t want that?

It surprises many IT leaders, but this premium maintenance also delivers savings of at least 30%-40% off any OEM contract, guaranteed. Our comprehensive solution is available nearly anywhere on the subcontinent, so there’s no reason to keep juggling support contracts from numerous OEMs.

You can achieve greater uptime and headache-free support with Park Place Technologies. There’s a lot more to know about how we can enhance your IT infrastructure, though. Maybe it’s time to talk? Just contact us.

About the Author

Ian Shearer,
As Managing Director of our operations in the Asia Pacific region (APAC), Ian has overall responsibility for the growth and development of Park Place across Asia. Ian brings a wealth of Third Party Maintenance experience, having joined Park Place Technologies following the acquisition of Computer Computer (Com-Com) Limited in September 2016, which he had owned and operated for 24 years. During a successful stint as General Manager of Europe for Park Place, he was heavily involved in the acquisition and integration of his own former business as well as the two subsequent UK acquisitions of Prestige Data Centre Solutions and NCE computer Group into the Park Place family.