Hardware and peripherals maintenance firm Advanced Technology Maintenance Ltd is predicting that a weakness in DEC maintenance provisions will allow a new back-up service of its own to flourish. The MicroVAX Maintenance service, to be launched in October, hopes to capitalise on the trend towards the use of third party maintenance in mixed vendor environments, and Advanced Tech says it will be able to provide a service that, on average, charges 20% less than DEC’s equivalent. The new service, which includes software back-up, extends to most DEC compatible devices, and claims to give customers a tailor-made service that includes repair, installation and cabling. Callout is usually within four to eight hours, and the company claims its first time fix pledge will hold for 90% of users; it hopes that a large pool of customers will come from unhappy MicroVAX users whose 12 month warranty is coming to an end. Advanced Tech says DEC charges have risen by up to 50% in the last year, while new provisions mean MicroVAX customers must accept a single hardware and software package – or receive no software support at all. While admitting that the fortunes of the service will largely depend on DEC’s response, the company claims that DEC may welcome the opportunity to allow third parties to service MicroVAXes and that an improved service may even boost future sales. Greenford, Middlesex-based Advanced Technology Maintenance which was formed after a management buy-out from Hamilton Group in 1983 – employs 100 and claims to have a customer base of 4,500; MicroVAX Maintenance will be funded by an initial investment of UKP500,000.
