Equipment service trends: Boost uptime and enhance reliability

In today’s biopharma and life sciences environments, equipment performance is directly tied to productivity, compliance, and resulting product quality. Customers are increasingly evaluating not just the equipment itself, but the services that keep it running reliably across its lifecycle.

Recent, global industry research shows a clear focus: organizations are prioritizing uptime, responsiveness, and total cost of ownership over initial purchase price when selecting equipment and service partners.

This article looks at the highlights from the research study.

1. Equipment reliability and service quality drive supplier choice

When selecting equipment suppliers, expected equipment reliability and service are now non-negotiable, with 66% of customers considering equipment quality and reliability essential in the purchase decision process for new equipment. (1) 52% also rank service quality, responsiveness, and issue resolution as essential, showing that more thought is being given to protecting and optimizing the return on investment post-purchase. (1)

This reinforces a key trend: service performance is integral to equipment performance. Customers are no longer separating product and service—they expect a seamless, end-to-end solution that ensures consistent operational outcomes.

Additionally, factors such as regulatory compliance, validation support, and spare parts costs play a role which further emphasize the importance of lifecycle service support.

2. Downtime is the biggest cost driver

Total cost of ownership is increasingly defined by operational risk, with downtime emerging as the dominant concern. 64% of customers rank the cost of downtime as the most important cost factor compared with 45% highlighting consumables costs as most important. (1) 42% prioritize service contract costs. (1)

What this means: Organizations are shifting from a focus on upfront price to minimizing operational disruption and financial risk in the longer-term. Service strategies that reduce downtime are now seen as having a direct and measurable business impact.

3. Fast response times are essential

Speed and responsiveness are among the most important differentiators in service delivery with 45% saying engineer response time to site is essential. (1) Beyond speed, customers also value first-time fix rates and remote resolution capabilities, 24/7 technical support availability and clear visibility of service scope and potential additional costs.

This reflects rising expectations for predictable, high-performance service outcomes, where rapid issue diagnosis and resolution directly translates into reduced downtime and improved productivity.

4. Core services remain foundational—while digital adoption grows

Traditional services continue to form the backbone of equipment lifecycle support, with 72% of customers using calibration services, the most used service in the survey. (1) 69% use installation and installation qualification (IQ) and 64% rely on preventive maintenance. (1) 62% use upgrades and on-site repairs. (1)

At the same time, adoption of more advanced, technologically driven services is growing. 57% already use remote technical support and 46% leverage equipment health monitoring. (1) This highlights a clear shift toward hybrid service models, combining essential maintenance services with digital, data-driven capabilities.

5. Balancing in-house expertise with external support

Internal service teams continue to play an important role, particularly when responsiveness is key for critical equipment in high throughput, biomanufacturing environments. 64% of customers cite quicker response times as a main benefit of in-house teams and 63% highlighting reduced operational disruption. (1)

However, these teams face persistent challenges keeping technical skills up to date, lacking staff capacity and absence of the necessary tools or spare parts.

6. The shift toward proactive, outcome-based services

The convergence of downtime sensitivity, rising service expectations, and internal capability gaps is driving a fundamental shift in the industry. Customers are increasingly adopting service strategies focused on:

• Preventing failures rather than reacting to them
• Improving first-time fix rates
• Leveraging remote diagnostics and support
• Maximizing uptime and operational continuity

The growing adoption of equipment health monitoring and predictive maintenance signals a move toward proactive, data-driven service models.

Conclusions

The equipment services market is evolving rapidly. Organizations that prioritize reliability, responsiveness, and proactive service strategies are better positioned to reduce risk, optimize performance, and sustain long-term operational success. At Cytiva, our Equipment Service Solutions are designed to align with these evolving customer needs and help you to maximize performance across the entire equipment lifecycle.

Learn more about our equipment services support.