It is still surprising to see as many vehicles as we have seen of late lying idle just off our motorways. Vehicles that for all sakes and purposes look fit to be driven. And yet, with a knowing quick glance, we can tell something catastrophic has occurred that has brought these engineering marvels to a complete stop. Could it possibly be that regular, routine maintenance had been neglected? Might the vehicle be in need of a tune? Does it leave us pessimistic about just how valued these modes of transport truly are for their owner?
As the purchaser of any modern vehicle can attest to, bringing their pride and joy back to a dealership for scheduled services is important for the ongoing health of the vehicle. Neglect at your own peril. As these forlorn vehicles are passed, it leaves you to wonder why so many motorists neglect such simple tasks. Left out in the cold cannot be doing them any good, we wonder. Routine services, perhaps. Required services, absolutely.
The media has been diligent of late in reporting servers that have been left inoperative, by the wayside. Whether a software glitch, a faulty network connection, poor oversight of a routine update – the cause matters little when headlines flash news of yet another major component in the infrastructure we so depend upon in our daily lives, suddenly is taken offline. Nonstop Compute is renowned for the levels of uptime it delivers. However, the question “is the system up?” can still be heard.
Fault Tolerance is all about ensuring no single point of failure can lead to an outage. And yet, even for the seasoned professionals looking after Nonstop, there is a compelling argument to be made that their applications and general operational procedures are subjected to a check-up from time to time by parties not tightly bound to the day-to-day functioning of Nonstop. Every Nonstop installation has become fully aware that there are always opportunities to do things better.
There is a reason why so many vehicle dealerships provide a simple checklist at the end of any scheduled service. Its often just a single page where task and components are flagged as either green, yellow or red. Yes, oil change with new filter? All in the green! Windscreen wipers? Illustrated as yellow and should be replaced next visit! Tire ware? All red – replacement should be of paramount importance considering the safety implications!
In her Nonstop Technical and Business Conference, 2025, Nonstop Compute VP & GM, Casey Taylor, talked about Market Trends & Challenges. As she went down the list, in second place and clearly a priority was a reference to “Access to skills and Managed Services” including additional references to Vulnerability scanning tooling.” Highlighted on a subsequent slide was “Needs around Nonstop Services” followed by “Education & Training.”
While being a pessimist when faced with a vehicle lying by the wayside may be an initial reaction – yes, the auto has died – there are other emotions in play. Were these vehicle owners looking for cost savings? Are they simply forgetful? Is time a problem and perhaps they just couldn’t get by with a car left at a dealership. Well, it seemed to be in tune – didn’t it? For TCM as a managed services provider, we witness first hand the importance of that all-important tune-up but whenever effective tuning is performed and where the expertise of those who can do it better are utilized, pessimism gives way to optimism.
“For years, the industry has focused on fault-finding—identifying what went wrong after the fact,” said TCM’s Andy Vasey. “In 2026, TCM as a managed service provider, is pivoting towards optimizing performance. We see that pursuing simple changes can lead to big differences in performance and this is something that in pivoting, TCM knows how this can be done.”
By revitalizing TCM’s core analytical tools, we are shifting the conversation from “is the system up?” to “is the system optimized?” With as much discussion that took place at conferences and events in 2025 focused on migrations – new hardware, upgraded software, the impact from Hybrid IT, virtualization, clouds and AI – it was expressions of interest in modernization projects that held center stage for many of those discussing Nonstop.
“Our goal here at TCM is to provide non-intrusive, high-fidelity insights that allow organizations to modernize their environments while ensuring peak operational efficiency,” said Andy Vasey. “Operationally, there are many ways to improve the overall performance of Nonstop systems and with our InSight product offering, TCM can quickly identify possible problem areas and instigate corrective steps that can be taken. Initially a tool for the TCM consultants, the acceptance of this tool as a product has gone a long way to helping these TCM consultants advise a large number of customers on how best they can improve the performance of their Nonstop systems.”
Just as auto dealerships provide simple green-yellow-red indicators, this well-recognized way to comprehend the results of actions taken by a dealership translates well to how TCM can summarize their observations about the deployment and operation of your Nonstop system. What we have observed is how with TCM’s help, as a managed services provider, a gentle reminder can be provided that any path to modernization needs to take that first step. Optimization is welcome but is not readily achieved without making a move; change can happen but just a little prodding might be all that is needed.
Vehicles lying by the wayside, waiting for a response from an auto club that might include a tow to a garage’s service bay, is never something we wish on any one. At TCM, Managed Services is our core business and rather than you waiting for rescue, we are nearby ready, experienced and tools in hand, to ensure your Nonstop is not just healthy, capable of performing the tasks expected of it but optimized to deliver performance levels that spotlights why the presence of Nonstop is still as valued as it is today.
2026 is shaping up to be a very busy time for conferences and events. With that said, you will see a continued presence of TCM throughout the year. For now, we at TCM would like to wish you the very best as the New Year unfolds and it is with much anticipation we look forward to helping all Nonstop customers come to appreciate that yes, with TCM, there is a better way!
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