What Are Your Options for EMC Hardware Reaching EOL?

“What Are Your Options for EMC Hardware Reaching EOL” was contributed by CentricsIT Account Executive Michael Sulka. Michael is a data center solutions expert who specializes in third-party maintenance and cost optimization throughout the IT lifecycle. He works from the CentricsIT office in Charlotte, NC (USA).

Within the ever-changing world of information technology, it can become increasingly difficult to stay up to date with all the options out on the market place today. Furthermore, with so much hardware coming in and out of your data center, it can be even more difficult to keep track of each piece of equipment’s End of Life (EOL) date. So what do you do when your EMC hardware is reaching EOL?

End of Life

From an OEM’s perspective, this means that the equipment has reached the “end of its useful life span” whether it still functions efficiently or not. For EMC, this means they will stop marketing the hardware, & more importantly, stop selling it. A recent example of this came with the release of the VNX systems by EMC that meant the discontinuation of CLARiiON and Celerra arrays. These are two very popular pieces of equipment that reside in many organizations’ data centers.

From an end user standpoint, EOL doesn’t always mean that the equipment has reached the end of its useful lifespan. Plenty of hardware reaches its OEM EOL date while still maintaining the efficiency and operation level that your organization needs. However, EOL does indicate that a countdown has begun for the equipment to reach End of Service Life (EOSL). This has much higher stakes and more implications for the end user, like the ceasing of support offered by the OEM.

What do you do now that EMC has stopped selling the systems you were procuring?

Organizations vary in that they may have different policies around purchasing equipment that is EOL or nearing an EOL date. This may be self-evident, but once equipment goes EOL, there are great deals to be had – especially on the secondary market. The main concern for EOL equipment revolves around the ability to continue receiving system support and how to acquire spare parts.  

Michael Sulka Account Executive Email Me

This is where secondary market & OEM alternative support can turn the tides in your favor.

The pre-owned market has access to all the spare parts you need for EOL EMC systems, and they’re usually at a significant discount to you. Furthermore, a large number of secondary market providers offer the support necessary for your EOL systems as an alternative to OEM maintenance. Third-party maintenance can also offer you additionally cost savings, as TPM support can range from 50-70% off what you pay the OEM.

That’s the same 24x7x365 level of support you have become accustomed to, and at a significantly lower cost to the budget.

Now what?

Here’s the first thing to remember: when your EMC gear goes EOL (or even EOSL), it’s important to know that there are other viable options outside of decommissioning. It all comes down to knowing the available options and how you can maximize a returned based off those solutions.

Upcoming EMC EOL and EOSL Dates

Ready to discuss options on your EMC equipment reaching EOL? Contact Michael Sulka to get started.