Data center hardware maintenance can either be done by your own employees or can be outsourced to a maintenance company. There are pros and cons to doing it both ways, and learning about these will help you make an educated decision for your business. Here is what you should know about outsourcing your data center hardware maintenance.

Cons

  • You Give Up Some of Your Security

One of the downsides to outsourcing your data center hardware maintenance in lieu of having your employees do it is that you give up some of your security and privacy. When you hire a company to perform your maintenance, you give this company complete access to your network and data center equipment. They will know the ins and outs of your websites and your company's private, employee-only computer network. Accessing the websites and network your employees use is the only way to ensure your hardware is functioning as quickly and efficiently as it should. If you take the time to research a company for its integrity, giving up some of your security may not necessarily be a bad thing. But if your company has top-secret information or if you really want to keep everything private, completing maintenance in house allows you to retain complete control and privacy of your company's information.

  • Cost

The second disadvantage to outsourcing your data center hardware maintenance is that there is a cost involved with it. You are paying a company to perform all of your maintenance and repair needs. These companies may be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in case a piece of your equipment fails, and you pay a price for this sort of convenience. If you already have employees who handle your network and business's IT services, they likely can perform maintenance on and troubleshoot problems with the data center, though it may take away from some of the other tasks they normally perform. Hiring a service may be an additional expense to your company. If your business is on a tight budget, outsourcing may not be ideal for you.

Pros

  • Increased Employee Productivity

The biggest benefit to outsourcing your data center hardware maintenance is increased employee productivity. The reason for this is twofold. First, your IT staff does not have to perform maintenance on your hardware center. This frees up their time to perform other functions, such as improving the network and helping employees troubleshoot computer problems. This makes them more productive at the tasks they were hired to do.

The other way outsourcing your data center hardware maintenance increases employee productivity is that it ensures that all of your data center hardware, such as servers and data systems, are running as smoothly as possible. This decreases downtime and allows everything to run quickly and smoothly. As a result, without system lags or systems going down, employees can complete all of their work in a timely manner and won't have to worry about losing their work.

  • Maintain Your Warranties

The other benefit to outsourcing your data center hardware maintenance is that you may be able to keep your warranties intact. When you purchase certain products, they come with a warranty. However, the warranty stipulates that the piece of equipment be maintained and repaired by an authorized or certified service company. If you fail to have the work done by an authorized or certified company, your warranty may be void. Typically, this certification isn't something an IT specialist that you hire is going to carry. Because of this, finding a data center hardware maintenance company that has the certification or authorization from the manufacturers who make your equipment helps ensure your warranties don't become void.

Data center hardware maintenance should be performed routinely to ensure all of your equipment is running properly. It is also needed when something goes wrong or doesn't work correctly. As a business owner, you have to decide whether to perform the maintenance and do the fixes in house or whether to outsource it to a data center hardware maintenance company. Learning about the benefits and downsides of this type of business will help you decide whether it is ideal for you or whether using your own employees makes more sense.

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