IBM yesterday laid down the gauntlet to the proliferating third party maintenance companies invading its turf (see Memorex story, this page) by declaring that from the beginning of next month, customers will no longer be charged for the time spent by IBM engineers locating the cause of a problem, even if it turns out to have been caused by non-IBM equipment, by non-standard modifications, or even if the box is in an unsuitable environment.
MAINTENANCE: IBM TO END BILLING OF ALL TROUBLESHOOTING TIME
