When the typical three-year warranty support period ends, many customers begin to investigate how to renew support with NetApp so that they can extend the life of the hardware with confidence.

However others are starting to look for alternatives other than NetApp, especially if the cost of the OEM contract. Or the support level options are not suitable for your needs and budget.

However, limited information is available on long-term support options and their respective pros and cons. We are here to change that.

NetApp support levels

Let's start with what NetApp offers. With NetApp's extended warranty support, customers gain:

• Technical support
• Spare parts delivered the next day (for self-installation)
• Access to the support site
• Some remote diagnostic tools

In addition for IT organizations that need more robust assistance, NetApp therefore also offers standard and premium contracts.

NetApp's standard service allows faster delivery of spare parts and the option to install NetApp. In addition as some response SLA based on the level of severity for technical support.

After that the expensive premium support from NetApp:

• Offers customers the opportunity to select SLAs for delivery and installation of spare parts;
• Provides faster technical response (albeit with waiting times still based on the severity level);
• Adds software support and installation of software updates;
• Troubleshooting on-site resources;
• Includes “unified support”, a promise to work with other vendors when the equipment is connected to the NetApp hardware is causing problems;

NetApp's premium support can meet the needs of many IT companies. However, it is not the best option or the most economical on the market.

The competition: options and costs

In reality, only NetApp premium support can come close to the quality provided by top-tier third-party maintenance providers, such as DC Parts. In other words, DC Parts customers spend at least 50% less on their annual contracts while gaining more support resources, including:

• Immediate support. 

  DC Parts works only with engineers, so our customers get help and answers right away. Compare that to NetApp, where a simple question called “Severity Level 4” is attributed to the wait time of at least an entire day, even for customers who pay for premium support.

• Installation of parts. 

  DC Parts parts service is superior to NetApp's warranty or standard service. Spare parts always arrive quickly and an engineer installs them.

• Full hardware, software and firmware support. 

  As well as regardless of the level of service chosen by the customer, DC Parts offers a complete NetApp support solution that is just as effective in dealing with drive failures as it is with ONTAP dilemmas. So there is no need to pay a premium price to get help from ONTAP!

• Proactive monitoring with DC Parts.

  Our 24/7 monitoring system is one step up, with integrated machine learning to proactively identify failures in the early stages. In addition, the system also sorts and automatically archives the problem record. So our engineers are on the way to a fix, often before the customer even realizes that there is a problem.

• Support for multiple vendors. 

  DC Parts offers contracts for a wide variety of storage, server and network equipment. In other words, the end result is an inclusive and uncomplicated support solution for the entire data center.

DC Parts has NetApp experts. As well as combined with our scheduling policy, they make it easy to get quick service. It is effective for any problem or doubt that customers may have with NetApp or ONTAP hardware.

To learn more about how we outperform NetApp support, contact contact with us today.