Gartner defines independent third-party software support (TPSS) of the megavendor market as a lower-cost alternative to the maintenance, support and consulting service fees charged by IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and VMware by Broadcom. Independent TPSS service providers are not authorized channel partners. They offer independent support. The independent TPSS providers have no relationship with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or independent software vendor (ISV). As a result, they cannot access intellectual property, software updates, firmware updates or security advisories, or obtain OEM/ISV Level 3 or backline support. TPSS is typically delivered via cloud-based professional services.