The Importance of Regular Network Maintenance for Reliable IT Infrastructure Support

Computers today are used in almost every aspect of a business, ranging from basic tasks such as taking an order from a consumer to complicated tasks such as value chain management and company accounting details. The advantages that computer systems provide have long been indispensable, making them a must-have for almost any kind of business.

However, just like a heavy industrial machine requiring periodic maintenance to keep it running in proper condition, computer systems also require routine maintenance of network elements such as NetApp network maintenance to keep them in good running condition. With IT infrastructure forming the crucial backbone of most modern businesses, network maintenance is one area that modern companies cannot skip on.

There are some specialized areas of maintenance, such as NetApp maintenance and custom system maintenance. NetApp is a hardware and software-based data storage and retrieval system that forms the basis of many major server systems. While not overly complicated, maintenance and diagnosis of these systems require specialized technicians, due to which the need for specialized systems maintenance firms comes into the picture.

Now IT infrastructure maintenance can be done by either the original manufacturer of the IT hardware and/or software or done by a third-party IT support provider. Both of them have their own set of advantages, which we shall see below.

OEM Support: OEM stands for “original equipment manufacturer.” OEM are those who have manufactured the particular hardware unit in question, and businesses often prefer to have OEM support in place rather than a third-party support vendor. While this does make sense for relatively new IT hardware, it can be rather time-consuming and expensive if the manufacturer has officially dropped support for the hardware or is charging extra to provide support beyond its official life.

Third-Party Support: This is where third-party support vendors come in place. They offer support for almost all kinds of IT hardware, both old and new. Especially in the case of older hardware that has no OEM support anymore, hiring a third-party support vendor helps businesses extract more value out of seemingly capable systems that have been put under planned obsolescence by their manufacturers to make way for newer models.

Another benefit of third-party systems is the multiple brands and makes of IT hardware they support at the same time, something that no OEM would offer. OEMs only provide maintenance support for their own hardware, meaning a business with IT hardware from multiple manufacturers would have to contact each manufacturer individually. This is not only time-consuming but also relatively expensive and can affect the productivity of the business. Hiring a third-party vendor, even when the hardware is relatively new, is often the better choice in the business sense as they charge less for more widespread coverage of support.

Support providing vendors typically have a regular maintenance plan in place that can be modified to suit the needs of the business, depending on how frequently the IT hardware requires maintenance.