Hardware Support Companies

[Bob_the_Goon]

Hello all,

 

Do any of you have hardware support contracts with other third parties? I'm thinking coverage of devices such as switches and servers that may have already dropped out of the usual manufacturer warranties. So if a switch was to die, you could call company X and they would visit the site to either fix the issue or perform a swap of the hardware with a like for like model.

 

I've heard of a company called Comms-Care which comes recommended. Are there any others?

 

Kind regards,

 

Bob

[Dos_Box]

One thing to consider is how much per year do you spend currently in doing this. I would suspect a support contract would be far more expensive than the cost of time/equipment should an 'emergency' occur, especially over the course of several years.

Whilst nothing beats peace of mind, it may just be easier to have a word with your bursar and set aside ££££'s to cover urgent purchases.

Given the reliability of equipment these days it usually is the case of that if it doesn't fail in the first 12-18 months (when it would still be under the manufacturers warranty) then chances are it will last until you have to replace it.

[bald_pig]

If it's out of warranty, and the manufacturer has stopped supporting it, then it's probably old enough that it's worth replacing anyway for piece of mind. I'd be budgeting to replace OOW/discontinued equipment where I can, and keep the old stuff for emergency replacements if there's a problem elsewhere.

[Bob_the_Goon]

Thanks for the responses so far. I can't argue with your opinions, however as this isn't purely my decision, I would like to explore all avenues, which is why I was asking for possible support routes.

 

If any Edugeeker's use such companies/services, it would be interesting to hear who they have chosen to go with.

 

Bob