IT End-Of-Life Extension and Opportunity: Your Options
While your customers constantly evaluate their position within their hardware and software lifecycles, the bulk of their budgets will go toward extending their current technology investment while only a small portion will go toward purchasing new solutions. When they hit these pivotal moments, they turn to the channel–seeking the resources that will save them thousands in the long-term.
When it comes to software, staying within legacy products can sometimes pose certain risks, because end-of-life often means end of critical security updates. But not everyone wants to undergo what can sometimes be a painful and expensive migration to a new system. Partners in the channel can help customers evaluate their best options to extend end-of-life solutions, or to move onto something new with the smallest impact on running operations.
Much of this is similar within hardware asset management teams as well. Companies may sometimes undergo months of testing seeking a product platform that fits their business needs, only to find a new model will be replacing it just around the corner. IT departments may find difficulty in managing total cost of ownership when they find that required options, upgrades and accessories are also no longer available when they are needed.
You can provide customers a wide array of choices with the help of those specializing in the secondary market, (like IT Xchange’s Options Continuation Program for Lenovo and IBM) who have helped businesses extend their hardware investments by addressing these issues. Covering both new and recertified options of discontinued laptops, desktops, servers and parts, secondary market specialists can help your customers save substantially by continuing the life of their initial hardware install–opening up funds for necessary software upgrades and other IT costs.
Down the road, these users may also find it ideal to purchase a new set of equipment from recently discontinued models, making a huge impact on reducing capital spend while still meeting all of their company requirements.
