The rising costs of maintaining vital corporate networksis forcing more and more organizations to gamble on how much protection they realistically can provide for what is arguably one of the most crucial aspects of any business. The growing reality of constrained IT budgets, however, is that many IT managers have to pick and choose where to spend their limited dollars while constantly looking for new ways to solve old problems.

Recent industry reports reveal continued cost-cutting and slowed IT investments that make it increasingly difficult to protect all business-critical network elements, especially networks with dispersed locations. As a result, its become common practice to keep only core network elements under OEM maintenance contracts while leaving equipment on the network edge exposed and vulnerable to risk.

Hard Times, Difficult DecisionsOEMs maintenance contracts are extremely priceysometimes costing more than the actual equipment thats being protected. So, is there any benefit to safeguarding previous generation and end-of-life gear or should restricted maintenance budgets be focused only on the most mission-critical areas? Adding to the support conundrum is the fact that the leading manufacturers of networking equipment constantly accelerate timetables on product updates and introductions, leading to vendor-forced, often premature, equipment upgrades.

As the worlds leading source for preowned networking equipment, Network Hardware Resale (NHR) viewed thisreality so often that it became readily apparent an

By Mike Sheldon, Network Hardware Resale

The Worlds Most Trusted Source

Maintenance Alternatives Cisco Wont Tell You About

Santa Barbara Dallas New York London Amsterdam Singapore

alternative to standard OEM maintenance contracts coulddeliver much-needed relief. Called NetSure, this hardware maintenance program provides around-the-clocktechnical support with next-day hardware replacement. While targeted primarily for the huge installed base ofCisco equipment, NetSure is available for other leading brands of networking gear, including Juniper, Extreme and Foundryeven if the equipment was not purchased from NHR.

A survey of 400 NHR customers nationwide revealed that nearly half of the respondents sought to augment their SMARTnet with complementary technical support. More than one-third of those surveyed also revealed theyonly covered core equipment under SMARTnet while nearly 40 percent expressed interest in finding moreaffordable, flexible technical services for remote offices and edge routers. More judicious use of SMARTnet, coupled with an alternate maintenance program, delivers the ideal blend of network security for companies of all types, sizes and budgets.

SMARTnets 8x5xNBD (next business day)

replacement coverage for Ciscos popular

Catalyst WS-C6509 chassis configuration is

$6,825, regardless of configuration. The yearly

cost for NHRs NetSure 24x7xNBD replacement

typically is $1,750, assuming a fully loaded

chassis. Ciscos 24x7x4 coverage costs 10 times

more than NetSures comparable support.

Price Comparison: SMARTnet vs. NetSureNetSure debuted in late January 2008 to provide an alternative to being locked into OEM maintenance contracts. The 50-to-90 percent savings vs. CiscosSMARTnet provides a welcome security blanket for previously unprotected gear. For a price comparison, SMARTnets 8x5xNBD (next business day) replacement coverage for Ciscos popular Catalyst WS-C6509 chassisconfiguration is $6,825, regardless of configuration. The yearly cost for NHRs NetSure 24x7xNBD replacementtypically is $1,750, assuming a fully loaded chassis. Ciscos 24x7x4 coverage costs 10 times more than NetSurescomparable support.

Besides the obvious budget savings, embracing a lower-cost alternative for maintenance helps organizations avoid OEMs forced upgrades. For example, choosing NetSure lets end-users extend the lifecycles of viable equipment that has reached OEMs end-of-support status and therefore can no longer be placed under their maintenance. Users of Ciscos 6500 Series Switches, of which there is a reported installed base of more than 350,000 units, now have a viable and affordable maintenance option for equipment that is no longer eligible for new SMARTnet support contracts, such as the popular Cisco Catalyst 6509.

NetSure also offers an enhanced level of support, which includes installation assistance, configuration review andadvanced troubleshooting for rapid issue resolution on a variety of platforms. In addition, NetSure provides a singlepoint of contact for multi-manufacturer networks, including highly-trained experts on Cisco, Juniper, Foundry and Extreme technologies. NetSure is pricedon a per-module basis, which allows companies to specifically tailor support for different locations or portions of their networks.

Secondary Market Delivers Budget ReliefIn seeking greater returns on their budgetary investments, organizations of all sizes also are looking beyond new maintenance options to consider moreflexible procurement opportunities. Specifically, the

secondary market for pre-owned network equipment isgaining market momentum as increasing numbers of companies continue to embrace this alternative channel to reap equipment savings of up to 90 percent off OEMs list prices.

Whether companies are looking to extend network capacity, configure next-generation services, plan fordisaster recovery or acquire network spares, the secondary market has emerged as a significant option forexceptional savings and response time. The opportunity to buy a full range of used, new-surplus as well as new-in-box network equipment at a fraction of the OEMs prices is yet another way to safeguard mission-critical networkswith cost-effective spares.

The ability to obtain all kinds and types of gear in a matter of hours or days provides ample time in most cases to replace non-essential network equipment and quickly restore operations. In contrast, obtaining replacement equipment from OEMs, especially if the gear is previous generation or nearing end-of-life, often takes weeks or monthsif the equipment can be obtained at all.

While leading providers of pre-owned equipment offer one-year warranties on all their goods sold, knowingthat extended options over OEM maintenance are available should bring even more buyers to the pre-owned market. Economic necessity alone is forcing more and more organizations to make hard choices about their future maintenance contracts. Knowing that innovative alternatives existand that they offer up to 90 percent savings over OEMs offeringsgoes a long way toproviding IT management with increased peace of mind and improved network protection.

Mike Sheldon is CEO of Santa Barbara, California-based Network

Hardware Resale. He joined NHR in 2001 as VP of sales and was

named CEO in January 2006. Under his leadership, NHR continues to

post record revenues and expand its operations worldwide. Prior to

NHR, Sheldon had a successful career in investment banking for UBS

and Barclays Capital in New York. He holds a bachelors in philosophy

from MIT.

North American Corporate Headquarters

6500 Hollister AvenueSanta Barbara, CA 93117

Tel: 1-805-964-9975 Toll Free: 1-800-301-0282

www.networkhardware.com 2011, Network Hardware Resale, LLC. Network Hardware Resale, the Network Hardware Resale logo and NetSure are registered trademarks of Network Hardware Resale, LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. NS2-10/11