OVERVIEW STATEMENT

With over $100 million dollars in inventory – Canvas Systems is one of the largest, independent suppliers of new and refurbished  IT equipment in the world.  Our immediate access to IT equipment from the leading manufacturers, such as IBM, HP, Dell, Cisco and Juniper, helps our clients realize significant cost savings  of 50-70% off at every stage of the IT lifecycle: Acquire (buying, selling, renting, & leasing equipment), Support (maintenance & disaster recovery/business continuity services),
Remarket (reselling equipment), and Recycle (proper disposal &
destruction services).

Our staff features some of the top certified engineers in the country, all of whom spend their days testing and retesting equipment so they know it inside and out. This expertise allows us to provide a variety of high-end services, including maintenance, leasing and rental, data migration, supply chain
solutions and disaster recovery/business continuity, at rates that are a fraction of those charged by the well-known consulting
firms and service providers.

Introduction

Over the years,conventionalwisdom has said that IT equipment shouldn't be kept for longer than three years because the cost of repairing it is greater than its
depreciating value.Even before the economic slowdown,
companies questioned this guideline. Today, with many capital expenditure cuts,companies are considering the operating life of their IT assets.In this environment,the question becomes who should maintain the equipment,the original equipment,the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a third party maintenance provider?

Maintenance:Third Partyvs.OEM

When the warranty is up on a piece of IT equipment and an organization decides to continue maintaining it,they have three choices:

1) Maintain the equipment in-house

2) Retain the OEM for maintenance
3) Hire a third party maintenance provider

For a long time, companies have chosen the second option because they haven't had the technical expertise in-house and the OEM was considered the"low-risk"alternative. During a recession,however,when survival depends on cutting costs to the bone, companies are more willing to look at other options,including third party maintenance providers over an OEM.

Why choose a Third Party Maintenance Provider?

1.Cost
OEMs know that their brand carries credibility,especially when a customer has already made a high significant investment in the OEM's equipment. This brand identity allows the OEMs to charge higher prices for maintenance. However,for executives struggling to contain costs,the luxury of paying a premium for name brand maintenance no longer makes business sense.A recent surveyfound that 77% of IT executives listed cost cutting as their
most important issues. 1 Recommendations for reducing
expenses have focused on reducing the IT maintenance spend.

Because third party providers do not charge a premium for their service, they offer a tremendous value for companies. Third party providers also feature alternative service levels, which can also reduce the costs.Rather than 7x24x365,a company might elect to go with Sx24 coverage.Most OEMs dont offer this flexibility.

2.R sponsiv n ss

When an OEM takes a service call, they typically assign a designated level of importance that depends on the terms of contract and the extent of the problem. Often, incoming service calls are routed  to cal center  locations where assessing  the problem can range from a matter  of hours to a matter  of days.

Third party providers typically do not have these extensive call support hierarchies that  the OEMs do. As a result, calls are answered by individuals trained  to quickly assess the situation and help is dispatched according to the service level agreement. Also, third party providers assign account managers, which  means the client has someone to call who knows the background of the account and who can address any issues or concerns with the service that the client might have.

3.Simplifid

Because most companies have IT equipment from more than one  manufacturer, choosing the OEM for post-warranty maintenance means establishing separate service contracts with every manufacturer in the data center. In addition  to the high costs, the IT manager must engage with different technicians and manage multiple contracts that  typically feature overly rigid terms and conditions.

With a third party maintenance provider, all services are consolidated under a single contract, eliminating the need to keep multiple records and contact information for each piece of equipment. Third party providers are also more flexible, offering different  service level options and co-term contracts, which allows a company to adjust  the expiration date for multiple  contracts so they terminate on the same date.

4. Unbiasd

It's natural  to turn to a service technician  for advice on upgrading or replacing equipment, but when that technician is incented to sell equipment, as manyOEMs are, the advice may be suspect. Because they have no allegiance to a vendor, third party maintenance providers can offer unbiased advice about what  equipment should  be replaced and what  equipment can be maintained for a longer  period of time.

S.T chnical

Some companies stay with the OEM for maintenance because they believe that  third party providers do not have the right technical  skills to service their equipment. They reality, however, is that  these  technicians are some of the best trained  in the industry. Often, they have spent years working  directly for an OEM before joining the third party provider, and as part of their job description, they maintain all critical certifications. Because third party providers work on many different manufacturers'products, they have deep understanding of how a blended data center  operates and where to look to scope out problems or issues.

Conclusion

Whether the economy is booming or it's in a slowdown, finding ways to save money are critical for a company's long¬ term survival. Keeping IT equipment past the manufacturer's warranty and  using third party maintenance providers to service it can greatly reduce both capital expenditures and high monthly maintenance charges.

References

1. http://www.eweek.com/da/Midmarket/IT-Managers¬-Planning-to-Maintain-Budgets-Survey-Indicates-788225/

2 Campbell, Scott. "IT Budget-Friendly System Management:• MES Show Daily, Tuesday, May 5, 2009.