Which support service is right for you?

[Jill Wells (JMW)]

Every year, most of us will renew one or more forms of insurance policy – whether for our car, our home, our pets, our health, our lives, our central heating or electrical appliances - the list is endless! We don’t think twice about the importance of having these policies, although we will take time to make sure that those we choose offer the best value and exactly the cover we need.

It’s the same with Polycom support services. As an organization, you’ve invested in video conferencing as a way to help your teams collaborate. So you’ll want to ensure that as the technology evolves, you won’t miss out on new capabilities as they become available to further improve your productivity, and also that should there be a problem, you have the peace of mind of access to technical support for help.

At Polycom we include support services for the first year, but you then have to decide if you want to continue with that support. Like any other insurance policy, you have to weigh up the cost of renewal versus the risk of not having a contract in place. But to my mind the decision to have a support contract isn’t ‘Should I have one?’ but ‘What kind of support do I need?’

Why? A single time and materials callout could cost more than an annual contract, so why take the risk? And it’s not as if the support teams are just sitting waiting for your call, and you don’t receive any benefit in the meantime, because you do. A service contract with Polycom or one of our partners gets you immediate access to a wide range of support. Our Premier support service, for example, gives you:

• Continued and accelerated return on your investment – through software upgrades and updates which include the latest features, functionality and enhancements as soon as they’re released.
• Answers – through unlimited telephone technical support during normal business hours and also extensive online support.
• Minimum downtime – should replacement parts be required we aim to get them to you the next business day, with an optional onsite support service to install the replacement parts if needed.

The number one reason customers choose our Advantage service, meanwhile, is for proactive support from a trusted advisor – whether that’s Polycom or one of our Polycom Specialized partners. Advantage includes:

• 24x7 access – for organizations that span borders or continents, priority access to 24x7 ‘follow the sun’ support is key.
• Insight – see how well your organization is embracing video collaboration, the savings you’re making, and potential adjustments that you can make to further increase your use of video. Our reports can also provide you with an external comparison to other organizations using video conferencing, to see if you’re a leader or if there’s more that you can do.
• Self-select training - short, easy to watch videos to help users gain confidence in how to use the technology remove the burden of user training and make our solutions easier for everyone to use.

Global organizations with mission critical video collaboration needs can also enjoy the scope and flexibility of supplementing Advantage with modules from Advantage Plus. These have been created in response to customer feedback and requirements, and provide:

• Direct, proactive business and technical support from subject matter experts who truly know and understand your video collaboration environment.
• Always-on remote monitoring enabling over 85% of potential issues to be resolved before they happen.
• An appointed, dedicated advocate to represent you within Polycom, take personal responsibility for your environment and act as your company’s voice.

So the question really isn’t ‘Do I need a support service?’ but ‘Which support service is right for me?’ Bottom line:

• If you have in-house technical collaboration experts, you’re happy with telephone support during normal business hours and next-day parts delivery then Premier gives you what you need.
• Choose Advantage if you have limited in-house technical staff, or want 24x7 priority access to telephone support.
• Add one or more Advantage Plus modules to receive the highest level of response and resolution, remote monitoring, and/or a close business and technical relationship with Polycom.

Polycom and our partners can help you decide on the level of support service you need. As a first step, download our infographic and then visit www.polycom.com/services to find out more.

#support services, #videoforall