Take note of support levels
January 12, 2006
HP's two extra years of 3000 support have been celebrated by some, scrutinized by many. But it's important to evaluate how much service you can expect from a vendor which has been plain about getting out of the HP 3000 marketplace — even if the exit is slower than HP first planned.
The third party support community now has an extra two years to either endure, or build up, before moving away from HP support becomes a necessity. There are already 3000 hardware and software support options available from providers such as Pivital Solutions and Genisys. Today's third parties make a case that moving today is a better choice than waiting for the level of HP's support practices to ebb.
One newcomer to the 3000 total-support market, Bay Pointe Technology, shared some comments with us on this subject. Bay Pointe reports that it has recently "joined with some of the top MPE consultants and hardware professionals in the US to form a 'one stop shop' for 3000 users looking for hardware and operating support as well as selling and installing hardware upgrades," Bob Sigworth said. "I am still overly concerned about the level of support from HP that an end user will experience once a support call is actually logged. Any vendor can take a support contract. It’s what you do with that account once a call is generated."
Having questioned how well HP can service your 3000 needs, Sigworth adds, "We have a great relationship with the HP CEs that have visited Bay Pointe. Very professional as well as knowledgeable." But he makes his case for better support from non-HP sources:
I think the real issue is a word that I have used many times in my 31 years of selling computer equipment; commitment. I am sorry, I do not sense a real commitment nor any passion regarding this latest announcement from HP. They are going to pick and choose who they want to support and at their discretion dispatch a “third party” vendor to solve the problem. All this for an “increased” cost. I know there are better support options for 3000 users.
I think it would be in the best interest for any 3000 user to know that they can cancel their annual HP contract with a 30 day written notice. They will receive money back from HP for any remaining months of the unused contract. This is what I have been told by numerous sources.
If I am a 3000 user, I am going to locate a third party vendor where there is passion and commitment to the 3000 marketplace as well as their own account.
I will leave you with this opinion: If at the end of 2006, every 3000 user has selected a third party service provider, HP would be celebrating beyond belief.