Vendormaintained

Vendormaintained is a model in which the vendor bears responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of a product, service, or system. This includes software updates and patches, firmware upgrades, hardware repairs or replacements, monitoring, and lifecycle management. In this arrangement, customers rely on the vendor to perform maintenance tasks rather than performing them in-house or through a separate third party.

Vendormaintained arrangements are common for software as a service, managed software products, enterprise hardware, and network equipment. Maintenance is typically delivered as part of a service agreement, subscription, or warranty. Updates may be automatic or scheduled by the vendor, and support is provided under defined service level agreements that specify response times, uptime, and eligible issues.

Benefits of vendormaintained models include reduced internal labor, access to timely security patches and feature updates, simplified compliance, and predictable budgeting. They can also provide a single point of contact for support and easier lifecycle management, as the vendor coordinates upgrades and replacements.

Risks and considerations include vendor dependency and ongoing costs, potential loss of control over update timing or feature changes, and concerns about data privacy or sovereignty. There can also be compatibility or integration challenges with other systems. Mitigation approaches include clear SLAs, defined upgrade policies, data export options, exit strategies, and performance criteria that align with organizational requirements.

Lifecycle governance for vendormaintained solutions typically covers procurement, ongoing vendor evaluation, maintenance windows, escalation paths, and end-of-life planning to ensure continuity and orderly transition when the service or product reachs its support horizon.