5 Key Service and Technical Support Considerations

When your business buys a new addition to its IT systems, it is also buying the company behind the product or service. Your company will look to the vendor for service and technical support as it installs the new technology, learns to operate it and uses it on a day-to-day basis.

It is imperative to know what to expect from a vendor in terms of remote technical support and service before your company buys. Here are some of the considerations that should go into the purchasing decision.

1. Who will install the product? A simple product, like a word processor, can be installed by end users without much difficulty. However, complex systems like ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software require professional installation. Somewhere in between lie the systems that vendors and customers can install together. The question is, what remote technical support will the vendor provide during installation? Will there be on-site technicians to walk you through installation, or will you have to go it alone and call a remote technical support hotline when you get stuck?

2. Who will provide telephone remote technical support? Many vendors now outsource remote technical support overseas to people whose expertise and command of the English language may not be the best. It is always a good idea to meet the people who will be providing your company's tech support before you sign on the dotted line.

3. Is remote technical support “free” (included in the purchase price), or will there be ongoing charges based on usage? The former may seem preferable to paying by the service call. But if you don’t anticipate needing much support, going with a per-incident service plan may lower both the technology's purchase price and its overall cost of ownership.

4. If on-site service is needed, how will your business be charged? Some vendors charge for time spent traveling to and from an organization's location, while others start the clock when they get there and stop it when they leave. Certain types of service calls may be billed at a flat fee, while others might be billed by the hour and include materials charges.

5. How quick is the vendor's response time? You should negotiate with the vendor regarding how long it will take to get a service person on-site when your company places a service call. The final agreement should include some consequences if the vendor fails to meet the response-time goal. Define clearly whether you want availability 24/7 or just during business hours. If you opt for the latter, keep in mind that the business's systems could be down for more than 72 hours over a three-day weekend.

When negotiating service and technical support agreements, keep in mind that greater coverage equals greater cost. Get a line-by-line quote on each service/support feature that your company wants, and ask the vendor what the price differences will be if it settles for less.

Get all agreed service and technical support features in writing. A service or technical support agreement should spell out what the new system should do when it is working perfectly. This agreement should also detail terms covering response time, service fees, support details and so on. The more detailed the agreement is up front, the less room for finger-pointing there will be later.

source: itmanagement.com/features/5-service-support-considerations-061908/

London School of Economics uses web-based remote support tool to improve helpdesk service

LogMeIn Rescue is a web-based remote technical support tool that enables a technician to easily connect to a remote Mac or smartphone often in fewer than 60 seconds, without pre-installing software. Rescue enables IT technicians to –remotely diagnose system issues, manage multiple simultaneous support sessions and resolve end-user issues, regardless of organizational size.

Using LogMeIn Rescue, LSE’s IT support teams are able to remotely diagnose and resolve technical issues on PCs, Macs and smartphones across campus and support staff offsite, ensuring prompt and effective support for IT incidents.

“After an extensive evaluation, LogMeIn Rescue was adopted at the start of the academic year as a key tool for delivering helpdesk services,”

said Adam Gale, IT Services senior support officer at LSE. “Rescue has been used for remotely diagnosing and resolving remote technical support issues for the LSE user-base and the tool has been easy to use -- providing all the necessary functions for the support teams to deliver first-class remote IT support.”

Rescue provides technicians with powerful but easy-to-use functionality including diagnostics of hardware and software images, as well as critical system information, file transfer and text-based end-user chat.

“The previous remote technical support tool employed by IT Services suffered from screen-freeze issues -- which depicted inaccurate screen information,” said Gale. “We believe Rescue resolved this and proved reliable and predictable, giving our IT support staff complete confidence when tackling support incidents.”
From a service delivery perspective, IT staff have been able to provide a more responsive and effective service when handling support calls.

Rescue has on occasion eliminated the need for IT staff to pay a desk-side visit to their users or for LSE staff and students to go to IT Services for assistance. “Instead we can remotely access a computer, deal with and resolve a complex issue which has been far more effective than trying to do the same over phone or email,” added Gale.

LSE IT Services currently supports a large number of staff and students in halls of residences and away from the school. Although not a distributed campus, the pilots have shown IT staff can support users no matter where they happen to be located. “Computer users at LSE have commented they felt reassured knowing an engineer is just a mouse click away,” continued Gale. “We had a particular user in France and my team was able to deliver remote technical support and dialogue all within the application.”

IT Services at LSE comprises several IT support teams, which provide IT helpdesk services to all academic and administrative staff, and research and taught-students. LSE has an IT-estate of approximately 1,700 staff and approximately 1,000 student on campus and halls of residences as well as a number of Linux, Mac and smartphone users. IT Services also supports more than 80 networked applications for the teaching, research and business functions of the school.

“The London School of Economics and Political Science is a world class centre for its concentration of teaching and research across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences and we are proud to be part of delivering the IT support solution to this iconic learning institution,” said Erik Driehuis, VP of sales, Europe, LogMeIn, Inc. “We believe LogMeIn Rescue has made it possible to more quickly, easily and cost effectively diagnose and repair hard to reach computers and the association with LSE continues that work."

source : publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16204

Move Your Business from Windows to Linux and get remote technical support

Windows Vista debuted to muffled applause, followed by lackluster sales. Up until June 30, cash-strapped businesses looking to avoid the cost of upgrading to new Vista-compatible hardware could still purchase . Now, however, Windows XP is available only as a costly "downgrade" from Windows Vista--if you buy a copy of Vista, you can install the 6-year-old XP operating system using the Vista license.

If that feels like a waste of your small business's precious IT budget, and you're still , look no further than . The latest distributions are free, easy to install, and highly customizable; they harness your existing hardware without overtaxing it; and they include a wealth of productivity applications and utilities. You may already have a closet Linux expert on staff, but if you don't, paid support is usually available at rates far less than Microsoft's.

Making the switch from Windows to Linux will incur some costs as employees and support staff adjust to the new system's configuration settings, utilities, and applications. Even so, the savings in future hardware and software upgrades could be huge.

No License, No Fee, No Problem

Though you can purchase boxed commercial versions of Linux that include support, every Linux distribution is also available for free under the terms of the open-source Once you figure out which distribution you'd like to use (see below), you can simply download, burn, and install it on as many systems as you choose. Your software licensing fee is zero, compared with the $300 per seat for the full version of Windows Vista Business Edition. And, another bonus, Linux lacks Microsoft's intrusive activation requirements.

In addition to thousands of other free applications ( for some of my favorites), most Linux distributions come with a copy of Though not a feature-for-feature substitute for Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org definitely does the job, and for $500 less per workstation than the cost of Office Professional 2007. OpenOffice.org lacks an equivalent to Microsoft Outlook, but just about every Linux distribution includes Novell's free PIM.

A few key Windows-based applications such as AutoCAD and Photoshop lack Linux replacements, but for many office workers the missing functionality hardly merits spending $800 more for Windows and Office. Many Windows applications will run at native speed under Linux via the utility included with most distributions. For those that don't work with Wine, two more options exist: You can install a copy of Windows using one of the available free virtualization utilities, such as or you can install Linux to dual-boot with Windows.

For most distributions, the same disc will contain server applications, including the Apache Web Server, the MySQL database engine, virtualization, and support for leading commercial databases and CRM applications from companies like Oracle, Sybase, and SAP. The Samba networking software emulates Windows Server's networking features admirably, and for free, versus starting price of $999. You can even replace your costly Exchange server installation with the free, open-source .

Whether you're using desktop or server versions of Linux, the operating system is famous for one other important feature that Microsoft is still gradually adding to Windows: security. Linux is not somehow magically immune to viruses, worms, and other Internet-based attacks. However, the reality is that the vast majority of existing attacks target Windows and Windows applications. Mostly , Linux is simply not subject to most of the Internet-based malware that threatens PCs. The targets Windows.

Don't Panic at the Distro

No two Linux distributions are the same, differing mainly in how user-friendly their installers are, how willing they are to include experimental or nonstable versions of software and utilities, and how they offer access to updates.

Linux distributions also differ in how well they support your particular hardware, especially wireless networking devices and display adapters. Perhaps the easiest way to directly assess this support on your particular hardware without having to actually install Linux is to download, burn, and boot a live-CD distro. Ubuntu, OpenSuSE, and literally hundreds of other Linux distributions come in versions.

Get Help, If You Need It

The reality of operating system support is that it costs a lot of money, whether it comes from Microsoft, Apple, Novell, or Canonical. Your copy of Windows Vista comes with 90 days of remote technical support via phone, e-mail, or chat that starts the day you activate the product. After that, Microsoft charges $60 per support incident.

Commercial Linux distributions offer similar, but less expensive, support options. The community-supported OpenSuSE 11.0 comes with 90 days of installation support. For long-term support, choose SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (currently in version 10) for $50 per year, or go with Ubuntu and buy a support contract from maker Canonical starting at

If you're already doing without dedicated support staff for Windows, one year may be all the paid support you need for Linux. Ubuntu users joke that simply googling for technical support usually results in the exact answer you're looking for on Canonical's forums.

Linux is different from Windows, but it isn't an alien life form. The human investment you make in transitioning away from expensive Windows and Office licenses may pay for itself quickly. More important, you'll be free to run the desktop and server software of your choice, on hardware you can afford.

source: pcworld.com/article/147879/move_your_business_from_windows_to_linux.html

Technical support global partner program

Xceedium, a company providing security and compliance solutions, said it has launched the Xceedium Xcelerate Partner Program to expand its market presence.

The debut program is designed to enable partners to quickly tap into compliance requirements for the financial, utility, manufacturing and government markets, and to enhance their current security practices with products and services revenue.

"We're a high-growth startup that's been growing very rapidly, in a direct manner with our own sales people," explained Cheryl Traverse, CEO for Jersey City, N.J.-based Xceedium. "We've now reached the point where our volume demands to go and build a channel. So we hired Dave Ballard -- an experienced channel person from HP Opsware -- to basically build this channel for us."

Moreover, Xceedium identified its pain points and subsequently delivered new requirements for the estimated $15 billion (US) compliance markets, Traverse continued.

"Where we come in is the privileged (internal IT operations) user and external user (vendor, applications developer, or outsourced IT operations person)," she said. "Eighty-six percent of all internal attacks came from a current or former technical support employee and 60 percent of all companies do some sort of technical outsourcing . . . in the government (sector) that figure is 70 percent.

"Lay all the compliance regulations on top of that . . . and you've put the pressure on companies to come up with ways to take the privileged and external users and figure out a way to implement and validate controls for them."

"We are targeting a select group of partners with existing security practices that are looking for differentiators in key hot markets, such as PCI compliance, vendor access control, enhanced security for the Citrix environments and secure touch free support," said Ballard, the vice president of sales at Xceedium. "Most importantly, we've put together a solid team dedicated to enabling and supporting these partners."

The Xcelerate Partner Program includes:

Channel Commitment -- a dedicated team of partner resources to help partners quickly roll out and sustain their businesses.

Partner Portal -- an exclusive online repository of partner-specific sales, marketing and technical tools.

Dedicated Technical Support -- a separate 800 number and exclusive instant messaging link directly to technical support reps.

Opportunity Registration -- Partners can register their deals and receive all the support necessary to close opportunities; also provides partners with price protection and qualifies them for additional margin.

Maintenance Renewals -- Xceedium would work with partners on renewal tracking and alerting to ensure regular, up- to- date maintenance for their customers.

Education -- all the necessary training to sell and install Xceedium solutions from delivering pre-sales tools through to implementation.

Field Support -- Xceedium works directly with partners in the field to ensure clients receive the highest level of service and education both prior to and following their deployment of Xceedium solutions.

Joint Marketing -- joint press releases, seminars, tradeshow exhibits, conferences and webinars to increase their visibility in the marketplace.

Joint Development of Security Assessment Practice -- For solutions partners and systems integrators, Xceedium provides a comprehensive set of tools and services for risk assessment, policy creation and deployment, and reporting and usage data for privileged users.

Xceedium channel and solution partners benefit from a comprehensive training process, including sales training and pre- and post-sales technical training. Additionally, partners at the solutions partner and systems integrator level receive Xceedium Security Assessment enablement training. Xceedium also offers a Referral Partner Program for those organizations that would like to recommend Xceedium Gatekeeper and Xceedium services to their customers.

http://www.foxriverantiques.com

Source : http://www.echannelline.com/usa/story.cfm?item=23303

GlobalLogic Speeds Software Time to Market with Open Source Application Framework

VIENNA, Va., April 16 - GlobalLogic, Inc., the leader in global product development, has introduced an open source framework, Velocity Objects, that can shorten a product's time to market by as much as 30 percent. Velocity Objects, based on the company's award-winning GlobalLogic Velocity(TM) Method and Platform for distributed agile software development (, combines J2EE components with best practices so that GlobalLogic's engineers can bring client products to market even faster.

"There is no need to reinvent the wheel each time a software product is developed," said Peter Harrison, CEO of GlobalLogic. "There are many components that are common across products, and code can be re-used. GlobalLogic has spent the last six years assembling a library of reusable components and frameworks that can accelerate the development of the next generation of software products and services."

Velocity Objects provides a sound architecture, framework and building blocks for developing high quality products swiftly. It ensures quality by integrating best-of-breed open source technologies and code components developed by GlobalLogic and its partners, which have already been used successfully in other commercial products. The offering speeds development by making components reusable and eliminating the need to write infrastructure code or research the hundreds of available frameworks to find the right one for a given product.

"We needed a cutting-edge technological solution for meeting our aggressive automation needs. The solution needs to scale linearly and at the same time be extensible enough to cater to future requirements," explained Ashish Sharma, Manager Technology at iYogi, a VC-backed company in the technical support industry. "GlobalLogic's Velocity Objects helped iYogi craft a product by assembling the 'best-of-breed' components available in the open source world. Sound design principles, along with reusable frameworks and components, helped us reduce the time to market. Additionally, the flexible architecture served well to seamlessly incorporate our growing demands."

GlobalLogic Velocity is employed across a growing number of the company's 140 technology client software product development initiatives Objects is particularly applicable to the company's newly announced Version 1.0 service offering, which helps both entrepreneurs and established technology companies rapidly launch new products and enter new markets without the need for an engineering team Velocity Objects is already helping these clients accelerate quality products to market.



source : http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/543200

Digital Support Technology Releases New Computer Support Automation Utility

Menlo Park, CA May 2, 2008 -- Digital Support Technology, Inc. a pioneer in automated computer support over the Internet, announced the release of PC Fixer, a proprietary computer technical support automation utility today.

With an innovative Reverse Search Engine and a comprehensive knowledgebase of support procedures, Digital Support Technology has the ambition to empower individual computer user to diagnose and fix problems on a computer. By downloading and installing PC Fixer, a computer user connects the computer to the Reverse Search Engine, which not only detects problems on the computer but also explains the problems to the computer user. After going through details of the computer problems, the computer user may decide which problems to be fixed by PC Fixer. At present, Digital Support Technology fixes the majority of computer problems for free and charges a nominal fee for some specific fixes.

Since the beta release of the automation utility, thousands of computer users have tried the simple, secure, fast and easy-to-use tool and provided enthusiastic feedback. One user of the tool acclaims, "Great job in fixing my problem. I only wish I had discovered your service sooner, I could have saved myself a lot of time and frustration. Kudos to you!"

Although the online computer support landscape is already crowded with established players like Geek Squad and Firedogs, and new comers like iYogi and Support.com, Digital Support Technology intends to differentiate itself as the most innovative and the most cost-effective online technical solution provider for millions of computer users. In addition, the company commits itself to protecting privacy and security of computer users and builds its software on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).

source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb908264.htm

'Consumer Reports': Apple technical support is aces

The surveyed its readers to gather their experiences with technical support for personal computing, and Apple's organization far outpaced its rivals in the PC industry. Readers assigned the company a score of 83 for its computer technical support, which translates to "very satisfied" on Consumer Reports' rating scale. You have to be a Consumer Reports subscriber if you want to access the articles and graphs on its Web site.

Lenovo and Dell ranked second and third, respectively, with scores of 66 and 60, or "fairly well satisfied." Hewlett-Packard, , received the lowest score and the worst rating for its technical support staffers. Apple also led the desktop technical support pack with a score of 81, trailed by Dell and Gateway with scores below 60.

Apple has also ranked well on the , a yearly measure of consumer taste in various brands. The company solves problems quickly, especially for customers who take their Mac to one of the company's retail stores for service. But if you don't live near an Apple Store, the company offers the shortest amount of free telephone support of any of the PC companies.

When it comes to the number of problems that appear, Apple's record wasn't as stellar. The company was ranked last in the number of defects that cropped up in its notebooks between 2003 and 2007, although the margin of error in that survey meant that all the surveyed manufacturers essentially tied with defects found in between 20 percent and 23 percent of their notebooks.

source: news.com/8301-13579_3-9937231-37.html?tag=nefd.only

SCC Soft Computer Improves Customer Service With Knowledge Management Module Of Soffront CRM

the leader of mid-market CRM software, recently announced that SCC Soft Computer (SCC) has implemented Soffront Knowledge Management System (KMS), a module of the company's popular Soffront CRM solution. SCC, a leading Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) vendor and one of the largest LIS programming houses in the world, is using Soffront KMS to improve customer service and save time.

"We needed a better way to organize, maintain, and reuse knowledge," explained Mary Ann Cavener, Knowledge Base Administrator, Team Leader. "We found it difficult to provide customers with timely technical data in our manuals alone. We stored important data in notes, documents, and emails--resources that were unavailable to customers. Additionally, if a knowledgeable employee left SCC or documents were misplaced, our resources were negatively impacted."

SCC evaluated many KMS solutions before selecting Soffront. "Soffront offers robust features, such as a powerful search engine, category assignments, and hot topics," continued Cavener. "Soffront has all of the features we needed at a lower price than other leading KMS solutions."

Cavener noted that their favorite feature of the software is its data storage structure. "Soffront KMS categorizes data and multi-assigns articles to different areas of interests, thereby streamlining the information. The robust search engine and advanced search options also enable SCC to organize the data by interests and categories. These features allow customers and employees to find data quickly."

Soffront has helped SCC meet the needs of both their internal users and customers by improving the documentation available to them. "Since deploying Soffront KMS in 2007, our computer Technical Support Center Resolution rates have improved dramatically," concluded Cavener. "We resolve issues faster, which saves us time and money."

source: crmmarketplace.com/content/news/article.asp?DocID=%7B83CB8A49-0A73-41B1-8FB6-038FAFDD23B6%7D&Bucket=Current+Headlines&VNETCOOKIE=NO