Japanese corporation Hitachi, ranked at an impressive 38^th in the Fortune Global 500 and 129^th in the Forbes Global 2000, specializes in all things IT; including big data, infrastructure, AI, and the Internet of Things. Their data storage and analytics solutions are favored by a whole host of businesses worldwide and their parts prove long-lasting, high quality, and well-performing.

Hitachi produces a variety of storage, server, and networking products on an almost continual basis and so periodically, their hardware reaches its EOSL point.

What does “EOSL” actually mean?

EOSL, or End of Service Life, is the point at which the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) stops offering their warranty and support services on hardware. This isn’t to say necessarily that the equipment stops working on this date, but that there is no further access to support for it directly from the manufacturer.

Which hardware will see its Hitachi support withdrawn in 2022?

Hitachi support is being withdrawn for a whole host of hardware from 2022 through 2025.

In 2022, the 520H B3, 520X B2 will reach their EOSL point, in May, the VSP G1000 RAID 800, HNAS 4040, and VSP G1000 in June, and the 520H B4, 520X B3, CB2500, and CB500 all in December. These dates coming up so soon is seeing businesses using them moving toward third-party maintenance options as a result – but this isn’t where the EOSL scope ends.

The VSP F400, VSP F600, VSP F800, VSP Fx00, VSP G200, VSP G600, and VSP G800 will reach their EOSL in 2024; and the VSP F1500, VSP G1500, VSP N400, VSP N600, and VSP N800 all in winter 2025.

My business has products with Hitachi support ending. What can we do?

Given the sheer amount of hardware that’s coming up to its EOSL date, it’s no surprise that a myriad of businesses are still using products near expiration – and don’t have the budget to immediately switch to disposal and replacement. If the hardware is still working but requires the backup of maintenance support services to keep them performing, services can be procured through a third-party maintenance company such as Procurri. Support is offered both remotely and on-site as and when required and often with automated proactive monitoring to help identify and resolve issues before they cause any disruption to end-users.

How far in advance should a business plan for maintenance past the OEM EOSL point?

It may seem a little far in advance to start preparing for the EOSL of equipment when it doesn’t happen until 2025, but in truth, there’s no such thing as too early to plan. Procurri’s third-party maintenance contracts don’t impede on existing OEM support plans and compliment them to work alongside direct services. Businesses also don’t need all their equipment to be post-EOSL date to access third-party support from Procurri – contracts can just cover the hardware needed.

If you have equipment for which Hitachi support is about to end, contact Procurri to discuss maintenance contracts and possible support services.