From the wide range of our support service portfolio – from telephone support during working hours through remote system management to continuous support with guaranteed availability for critical systems – we believe everyone can find the right choice for their systems and their company. We try to make the selection process easier by offering discounted yearly contracts that have been fine-tuned based on the actual feedback from our customers.

The expertise and long experience of our certified professionals make it possible for us to provide services – telephone and on-site support, proactive remote management and consulting – that previously could only be accessed from abroad. As part of the Novell support and consulting organization, if necessary, by cooperating at the highest level with the Novell experts, Novell PSH guarantees the peace of mind and the continuous operation of the systems.

Most of the support services are centered around so-called incidents. An incident is any reported problem or failure, or simply a technical question from the customer’s side that can and should be treated as one unit. One incident is closed when the problem is solved or worked around and is not dependent upon the number of site visits or the time spent on solving the problem. Should the incident result in identifying a failure of some Novell software, the incident is not charged on the customer.

Telephone support
Engineers of Novell PSH are available non-stop (from 0:00 AM to 24:00 PM) for our contracted partners depending on their contracted level. The authorized contacts of the customer are designated in the support contract. Within a response time depending on the service level, the Novell PSH engineer contacts the professionals of the customer and starts solving the problem. If he/she is successful, the incident will be closed. If not, the incident will not be solved as long as the problem is still pending. Again, depending on the service level, the Novell PSH engineer arrives at the site within a designated period of time. If the problem cannot be solved with local resources, the incident will be escalated to the international support organization of Novell.

On-site support (visits)
If the Novell PSH engineer identifies the necessity of direct, on-site interaction, or if the customer expresses such a wish, then the Novell PSH engineer arrives at the site within a designated period of time and starts investigating the reported problem.

On-site service after working hours
There are two ways on-site services can be performed after working hours:

1. The service level agreements (SLAs) may define a daily availability period that may extend over working hours. In this case no further costs are charged to the customer.
   
2. If the daily availability defined in the service level agreement does not extend to overtime hours, then the customer may require overtime work upon paying extra charges – for example, by using some days contracted for consulting.

Online incident reporting and tracking via the Internet
Using the Novell online incident reporting and tracking service, our customers may report incidents to NPSH and track them later via the Internet. The current status of the incidents can be queried at any moment.

Providing technical information
Within this service, we provide the professionals of our customers with technical information in electronic form – e.g. technical notes, patch lists, current news and notifications about the availability of new files and service packs.

Proactive user support using a Support Account Manager (SAM)
The dedicated Support Account Manager (SAM) of Novell PSH maintains a personal relationship with the designated manager and professionals of the customer and gathers a precise, up-to-date picture about the infrastructure, needs and problems of the customer. The SAM visits the customer at least once a month and helps them using the Novell support tools better and more proactively. Also, the SAM creates a support plan for the next month together with the authorized person. Informs the users about the new technical possibilities and tells them how the system can be further improved.

Periodic incident tracking report
From time to time (e.g. monthly or quarterly) we prepare an incident tracking report that includes details about all recorded incidents. We list the times when the incidents were opened and closed, the engineer assigned and a short description of the solution.

Remote services
With the customer’s permission, Novell PSH may use an online connection to perform system management and maintenance tasks remotely, identify problems and use diagnostic tools to assess the performance of the network and the system. This not only results in faster problem resolution but if done regularly, the network can be maintained proactively and uptime can be maximized. Also, valuable time can be saved if remote services are used to prepare on-site visits.

On-site support engineer
The support engineer helps on-site with troubleshooting, installing patches or service packs. With periodic visits he/she supports the operation of the systems. The personal contact (one customer meets the same engineer through the contract period) guarantees that the support is as customized as required.

Preventive assessment and configuration management
Within our preventive assessment service, the support engineer assesses and records the condition of the existing Novell systems and continuously updates this database. It means that when performing support work, no time needs to be wasted on situation analysis but actual work can be started at once. The result of the assessment is reported quarterly to the customer.

Scheduled availability
Customers may require scheduled availability of our professionals. In this case Novell PSH makes an engineer available as telephone support for pre-planned repairs, upgrades or hardware replacement. The engineer is available from one hour before the planned time and supports the professionals should any unexpected event occur. If needed, scheduled on-site presence may be required.

The Novell East European Support Center operated by Novell PSH per Novell East European Support Center provides all the services of Novell Technical Services – telephone and on-site support, proactive remote management and consulting – that previously could only be accessed from abroad. Organizationally, our center is under the Novell European Support Center. We use the standard Novell support resources and systems and if necessary, we cooperate at the highest level with the Novell experts in order to solve the problems.

Delivery of support
The following figure shows how support is delivered to the Customer.

Professionals identified in the figure may change during a contract period but in all cases they can be replaced with someone having the relevant knowledge and certifications.