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Additional Services |
The following service requests will generally require that the customer contract for "Time and Material" billing in order for work to proceed. The authorization form for this type of billing will be sent directly to the customer representative requesting the service.
In general, Software AG USA prefers that customers apply their own fixes. However, if a customer is prepared to provide remote access to their system, and to sign a waiver that absolves Software AG USA Customer Support (SCS) of future responsibility, then Software AG USA will perform this service on a fee basis. Requests of this nature will be referred to Software AG USA's Systems Engineering Services organization.
Some customers like to have access to all available fixes to a product. Fixes are available for a customer to download via QUEST. A customer may request that SCS deliver these fixes on a preferred medium, such as a tape or diskette, or electronically via an FTP dataset. SCS will perform this work on a fee basis.
If a customer is having problems with his JCL or scripts, SCS will work with the customer to try to identify and resolve the issue. However, if it is a complex JCL or script issue, and it is not a Software AG product problem, SCS will generally recommend that the customer work with someone in his own organization that has the experience necessary to resolve these installation-specific issues. If no such person is available, SCS may offer to create and/or correct the JCL or script on a fee basis. Requests of this nature will be referred to Software AG USA's Systems Engineering Services organization.
SCS will not write or debug user exits as part of our standard service. This includes any sample user exits that may have been provided by Software AG, and any user exits written by Software AG employees or consultants.
User exit support can be complex, because of inconsistencies that may arise with future product versions. SCS will provide the customer with hints to aid in debugging a user exit, where such information is available, but further diagnostic and analysis work will be done on a fee basis. Requests of this nature will be referred to Software AG USA's Systems Engineering Services organization.
SCS will not contract for long-term support for user exits. If a customer encounters a problem with a Software AG product which contains a user exit (either user written or supplied by a third-party vendor), we will first request that the customer reproduce the problem without the user exit active. If the problem does not reproduce, we will assume that the user exit is a contributing factor to the problem and, as such, further diagnostic work may be chargeable to the customer.
SCS's involvement in a customer's product migration or upgrade is generally limited to providing any information that we may have regarding potential issues that may affect the installation, and assisting in the resolution of any problems that may arise. Most issues that would be considered beyond our service boundaries concern planning, more extensive consulting, and actually performing the upgrade. Requests of this nature will be referred to Software AG USA's Systems Engineering Services organization.
This type of request (Upgrade Planning) is also part of the Software AG USA's Technical Account Management deliverables. Technical Account Management is a set of value-added proactive support services that customers may elect to purchase.
SCS will provide basic performance and tuning information, for example, explaining what effect a parameter change would have on the customer's environment. We will also provide assistance that may encompass performance and tuning suggestions in order to help a customer correct a specific error.
When a customer's requirements for this type of support are more extensive than can be provided by SCS, the customer will be referred to Software AG USA's Systems Engineering Services organization where a full on-site or remote Performance & Tuning analysis can be quoted and delivered.
It is part of SCS's charter to assist customers with the installation of our products by answering questions and resolving installation errors. However, if a customer needs assistance with the entire standard installation process, this service is most effectively addressed by Software AG USA's Systems Engineering Services.
When a customer receives an error or unexpected results in his application, SCS will generally request that the problem code be reduced to a reproducible example of the smallest possible size, preferably using Software AG test files. If for some reason this cannot be done, we will attempt to analyze and/or reproduce the problem using the code the customer has supplied.
The application code analysis will be at a cursory level, aimed solely at resolving the problem at hand. If the customer requires a more in-depth analysis of his code, this request will be referred to Software AG USA's Systems Engineering Services organization.