Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) routinely saves UK enterprises 30-60% on hardware support vs continuing OEM contracts. The headline saving is real but the decision is more nuanced — TPM doesn't fit every workload. This is the honest 5-year TCO framework Servnet runs with every UK enterprise considering TPM.
The headline maths
A typical UK enterprise with £420k/year Cisco SNTC across 4 sites + EOSL hardware moves ~60% of that to Servnet TPM, keeps 25% on Cisco SNTC for newest gear, refreshes 15%.
Net annual saving: ~£190k (45% reduction). 5-year saving: ~£950k. Real customer example from a Midlands automotive Tier 1 supplier.
When TPM beats OEM
Equipment past OEM end-of-engineering — typical 5+ years old. OEM still charges premium for support but feature engineering is over.
Mid-tier production where 4hr SLA + UK parts is sufficient. TPM matches on SLA at lower cost.
Multi-vendor estate (Cisco + HPE + Dell + Lenovo + NetApp) — TPM consolidates to one contract, one escalation point, one invoice.
EOSL kit that OEM no longer covers — TPM is often the only option.
When OEM beats TPM
Brand-new equipment under 2 years old where firmware engineering + new features matter — stay on OEM for first half of lifecycle.
Production-critical kit where deep TAC engineering escalation is essential — OEM TAC for the most complex P1 scenarios remains best-in-class.
Cisco Smart Net Enterprise Agreement customers — bundled discounts may make OEM economically competitive at scale.
The hybrid model UK enterprises actually run
25% on OEM (newest production tier).
60% on TPM (mid-tier + EOSL).
15% refreshing (planned EOSL retirement).
See our hardware maintenance practice for the full SLA + sector tiering.