As your enterprise grows, the support needs for the technology in your expanding environment grows with it. It can be extremely challenging to manage the support protocol for multiple OEMs. Organizing the contact pathways for various third-party maintenance providers can be a logistical nightmare. Despite these obstacles, infrastructure maintenance is of utmost importance for the health of your technology environment. Even a small amount of downtime can have a significant impact on business functionality, not to mention brand loyalty. Your data center’s servers, networking, storage, software and security devices are in need of a support model that streamlines maintenance under one point of contact.

Manufacturer Coverage

Volta can reduce complexity, ensure availability, and save your organization time and money. We do all of this through an expert single source support backed by IBM. Our multi-vendor maintenance covers servers, storage and networking. Some manufacturers covered include Lenovo, Sun/Oracle, IBM, HPE, NetApp, Dell/EMC, Citrix, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Brocade.

IBM’s technical support service offering is not a new topic for us to be discussing, but as IBM enhances their support portfolio with advanced technology and increased coverage, it’s definitely worth facilitating and continuing the conversation. The growth here is never-ending. Even in 3 years, from 2016 to 2019, IBM has evolved. From a practitioner-run process to identify, diagnose, and execute on a support plan, to a technology-run process leveraging cognitive capabilities, assisted by practitioners. They’ve also shifted from reactive and proactive support with automation, to predictive and cognitive support with advanced automation.

Advanced Tech

Advanced technologies are steadily assisting current TSS clients. IBM Watson, blockchain, augmented reality, and client insight portals transform and simplify the IT support process. Watson can process questions from hundreds of TSS agents. It then analyzes and ranks support solutions, which are posted instantly with probability scores. Blockchain offers the foundation for trusted collaboration between technology support systems responsible for standardizing, automating and validating issues with less human intervention and error, and more visibility, traceability, scalability, and accountability. Augmented Remote Assist enables our field technology support technicians to connect to IBM’s highest level of technical expertise for real-time assistance to perform complex diagnostics or repairs. The Client Insights Portal improves the visibility, availability and efficiency of IT support within a simple, easy to use dashboard.

Intelligent Datacenter Support

A couple of exciting developments are on the horizon as well. IBM is working on Intelligent Datacenter Support (IDS), which will provide a cognitive correlation of public domain alerts to client’s infrastructure and alerts from manufacturers of hardware and software products. Another function in the works is the Interoperability Matrix, which increases uptime by evaluating compatibility and provides additional security by identifying exposures, vulnerabilities, and provides action plans.

Interested in streamlining multi-vendor support with one point of contact and a single pane of glass? Learn how to start your integration into the Technology Support Services perspective with IBM and Volta today.