Chipmaker Intel announced the availability of a new on-site repair service for small and midsize businesses. Intel On-Site Repair for Servers is offered through resellers to customers with Intel server systems. The company noted SMB customers who do not have their own IT support will be able to secure a three-year contract that provides 24×7 telephone technical support, next business day on-site repair or replacement and complete backing from Intel. The service will initially be available in the United States, according to a company release.
On-site repair services are provided by a third party for Intel white-box servers. The contract provides three-year coverage and Intel helps diagnose the issue, while a technician will replace faulty hardware on-site. The service is available for all current and future generations of Intel server systems and modular server systems. Users also have free access to a host of online services including the ability to download Intel software, drivers and utilities, view tested third-party compatibility lists, retrieve technical specifications and other documentation and purchase spare parts online.
Earlier this year, the company launched the AppUp Small Business Service, a service running on the company’s Hybrid Cloud platform that enables server manufacturers, software vendors, and service providers to offer small businesses advantages of cloud computing with applications and data running on their own premises.
The AppUp Small Business Service, enabled by the Hybrid Cloud platform, represents a new business model for Intel. The solution consists of a server, a catalog of prepackaged small business applications from a broad range of software providers, and Intel-developed software to securely manage and track use of the application software. Small business customers access the solution through service providers, paying on a monthly basis for the software they use, just like in the cloud, but getting the responsiveness and control of running their applications and data onsite.
Benefits include use of a subscription-based delivery model for software applications. Intel-developed software activates, deactivates, and then tracks the customer’s usage of those applications on a platform that is secured using Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) in Xeon processors. Each month, that server tracks software usage and sends a secure encrypted report to an Intel data center. Intel invoices the small business’s service provider, which bills the small business customer.
In addition, service providers can remotely manage their customers’ servers that employ the Hybrid Cloud reference design by using a Web portal hosted by Intel and secured by a Web application firewall and HTTPS encrypted communication. Using the company’s Active Management Technology (AMT), service providers can remotely troubleshoot, diagnose, and support the servers, saving the time and cost of sending a technician onsite in most cases.