Rapid Server Response Coverage

Forsythes IT offers services contracts to customers to assist with business continuity requirements especially during a server failure.

Most servers are issued with some level of manufacturer hardware warranty, usually 3 years parts and labour with a next business day onsite response. Often this standard warranty can be uplifted by purchasing additional warranty 'packs' which broaden the window of services offering and provide for a faster response from the vendor's service provider.

The concept of a warranty response from the vendor is often misunderstood. An onsite response does not mean that a guaranteed fix will happen in the time frame. Often the onsite warranty response simply ensures that the service provider responds within the time frame. Parts may need to be ordered in to complete the repair.

Once a server's warranty expires, customer has no priority with the server vendor and any IT provider to which the customer may be aligned. Repairs can be expensive and time frames to effect repairs can become excessive.

In both cases, in warranty or not, the time to repair a server places great stress on a small business where dependency on the server is critical.

We provide access to a pool of dedicated Forsythes IT "Rapid Server Response" spares and provides guaranteed onsite engineer response time with a hot spare equivalent to the installed server. This also covers the time to restore the customer to a working condition based on the last known good backup (disk imaging software and valid image is required).

This only provides coverage for the main server parts including motherboard, disk, disk controllers and ram. Tape drives (internal or external), UPS products and 3rd party controllers are not covered by this service. Operating system or data corruption is not covered. Contract covers replacement server and swap-out and swap-in labour only. In the case of warranty cover the vendor is engaged to repair the server. In the case of post warranty Forsythes IT completes the repair to server with exchange parts.

Coverage cannot be offered for all server models as it depends on server models we hold in maintenance stock.