Technical Support: Who Ya Gonna Call?

Picture this: Your Windows NT network goes down at 4:15 p.m., just 45minutes before time to go home. A problem that should take 45 minutes to correctturns into hours of tweaking and futzing around. Now it's midnight, your desk islittered with stained coffee cups and candy bar wrappers, and there you sit. Injust six short hours, the information research department will come in expectingto have all systems on line. In a panic, you think, "Who can I call to helpget my Windows NT network back on line?"

To aid in your quest for help, I went in search of around-the-clock, 24 X 7(24 hours a day, 7 days a week) technical support for NT. Here are the availablesupport options and who to call. After you digest the options, read the sidebar,"NT After Dark," on page 46 for an account of a simulated NT networkcrisis and the support people who came to the rescue.

Who's on Call?
At the first sign of trouble, you probably turn to your hardware vendor forsupport. Vendors such as Dell Computer, Gateway 2000, and Micron ship theirsystems with NT installed and provide technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days aweek, 365 days a year.

For example, after you completely load NT, Dell's DirectLine technicalsupport technicians will walk you through troubleshooting network issues,problem determination and resolution, and proposed corrections forhardware-related error messages. However, Dell will not help load or install NT,install peripheral devices, or perform work administrative duties such asestablishing user profiles, printer queues, system security, and login scripts.

Configuration and Customization
I'm not trying to single out Dell. Most hardware vendors follow the samesupport policies. The bottom line is that hardware vendors support NT only toget it working with their hardware. So your hardware vendor is probably theright call if NT doesn't work with a particular CD-ROM drive or sound card.

The best support for NT configuration and customization problems comes fromthose with the most experience: the people who designed NT, or people trainedand authorized to support it. Microsoft states, "Only one company isresponsible for the quality of Microsoft products: Microsoft." Microsoft'scomplete 24 X 7 product support for NT programs and options is the mostextensive alternative. With Microsoft's direct support, its Authorized SupportCenters (ASCs), and Microsoft Solution Providers (SPs), you get a three-tieredproduct support ladder.

Contacting Microsoft Directly
Microsoft has an elaborate and comprehensive set of technical services fororganizations worldwide. Four direct services (premier, premier global, customconsulting, and technology consulting blueprints) are available for globalenterprise organizations. You can purchase all these services with one MicrosoftMaster Service Agreement (Table 1 lists Microsoft service and support phonenumbers).

MS Authorized Support Centers
The second tier on Microsoft's support ladder consists of ASCs, which aremembers of the SP program. Microsoft specially selects them for their ability toprovide a broad range of mission-critical support. ASCs meet stringentadmittance requirements. For example, they must answer at least 20,000 technicalsupport calls per month, be specially trained and certified on Microsoftproducts, have a certain number of engineers intern with Microsoft serviceengineers, and be able to provide support and isolate problems in multivendorenvironments. ASCs must provide open support and not limit support toproprietary projects or customers who purchase the ASC's software or hardware.

Microsoft's quality control is stringent. Each ASC has a dedicatedMicrosoft ASC Technical Account Manager who ensures that ASCs have information,tools, and knowledge to support Microsoft products. Technical Account ManagerGlenn E. Morris says, "I monitor the ASC's open incidents and talk with myaccounts several times a day, acting as a resource for information, products,betas, and training. I also get involved with technical situations that requireMicrosoft expertise. My quality-control role includes monthly feedback on ASCperformance, making blind calls to ASC call centers, and regular reviews of ASCtraining and infrastructure plans. Recently, I have been gathering and preparingNT 4.0 technical support information for ASCs."

Depending on your needs and which ASC you work with, you can choose oneservice such as outsourcing your Help desk or getting support visits on demand,or you can choose full services such as complete planning, implementation, andmaintenance.

To select an ASC, Morris suggests you get recommendations from your localMicrosoft representative or service engineer, or check the ASC Web page athttp://www.microsoft.com/supportnet/SupportPartners. From this page, you canconnect to individual ASC Web sites. Or you can call an ASC for pricing andtypes of service, level of service commitment (e.g., response-time goals,escalation procedures, customer-satisfaction goals), electronic services and Webaccess, trial-period information, and references.

MS Solution Providers
Microsoft SPs are independent consulting companies working with Microsoft tohelp customers successfully implement business solutions. SPs include ValueAdded Resellers (VARs), developers, consultants, and technical support andtraining organizations. All SP staffs include Microsoft Certified Professionals(MCPs) who have demonstrated technical proficiency with Microsoft products. AllSPs receive early access to Microsoft product information and technology. SomeSPs can provide multivendor support, systems integration, long-term onsitesupport, and customer software development. SPs can also staff a corporation'sHelp desk or implement an ongoing training plan.

More than 2,500 SPs are in the US. The SP program is also worldwide andextends to all Microsoft subsidiaries.

Payment Options
Now that you know who to call, what will such support cost and what will youget? You can buy support on a fixed rate or on a time-and-materials basis(pay-as-you-go, hourly). Some vendors let you purchase blocks of time or bulkrate hours, and then they debit your account with each telephone support oronsite support incident. Others bill according to several prepurchased supportrequests. With a fixed rate plan, you negotiate the price of support per monthor year, per incident, or per server.

To provide Help desk-level support, Software Spectrum, an ASC in Garland,Texas, has a program called SmartLine. With a SmartLine account, you dial atoll-free number to get to a technical support analyst, and Software Spectrumtracks your incident information.

What Support Is Right?
Individuals and organizations need to choose the right type of support forthe situation. Knowing whom to call and when to call is an important part ofgetting your problem solved.

No two organizations are the same, and neither are their support needs. Youmust evaluate technical support services and options in terms of your company'sspecific needs. Jeff Bankston of BCI Associates (a Florida consulting firm)says, "Choosing the right type and level of technical support is a matterof assessing the impact a downed system can have on various business operations."

Bankston suggests looking at your company's organizational structure andanalyzing departmental and personnel functions to determine support prioritylevels for those computer systems. For example, you can develop a table showingseverity levels, definitions, systems affected, and level of support required tocorrect the problem. Based on the assigned support priority level, you candecide on an appropriate type of support and seek out a vendor (see the examplein Table 2).

Other factors that will influence the type of support for your organizationinclude budget, size of the installation, and required response time. In somecases, you need to consider a combination of in-house, Help-desk, and onsitesupport.

Choosing a Support Vendor
When choosing a technical support vendor, be sure to ask the followingquestions: What functions will the service provider perform? What percentage ofits revenue is derived from service? Can the service provider support yournetwork in every city in which you need support? How will the service providerdivide your company's support tasks between in-house and contracted expertise?Are services pay-as-you-go or fixed rate? What response time do you need? Howdoes the service provider define response time? Do you need coverage eight hoursa day, five days a week, or 24 X 7? How many technicians work for the serviceprovider, and are they certified to work on NT? What is the ratio of servicecontracts to engineers? (Look for at least 15:1) Does the vendor have a goodreputation? Also, check the contract for scope of work, a problem escalationpolicy, and a no-excuses clause.

Getting Good Support
Keep in mind that the quality of technical support you receive often hingeson the quality of information you provide the technician. Before you engage atechnical support analyst or technician, make sure you both agree on what theproblem is and the parameters for an acceptable solution.

As far as the technical support vendor is concerned, its responsibilitiesfor incident submission and resolution are to document each incident and itsresolution in a service request, use escalation management processes to helpensure timely resolution, and confirm that the incident is resolved.

You are responsible for determining problems. Problem determinationactivities can include performing network traces, capturing error messages, andcollecting configuration information. You also must perform problem resolutionactivities that the support team suggests. These activities can include changingproduct configuration, installing new versions or new components of software,and modifying processes.

To meet your obligations, collect as much information as you can. Use thefollowing checklist as a guide to the kinds of information you need when youcall for support:

Helping You Help Yourself
You can access the 70,000-plus Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and theMicrosoft Software Library files through the Microsoft Network (MSN) and otheronline services (for details, see "Online and Subscription-based SupportAlternatives," page 53). You can access information athttp://www.microsoft.com and ftp://ftp.microsoft.com.

Plan for Support
NT is a huge system, and your investment in it is substantial. Yourexpectations of this advanced network OS are probably high, too. Getting themost out of an enterprise network built around NT servers and workstations isthe result of good planning and execution--including technical support plans.Ultimately, the success of your NT network depends on your ability to keep itrunning.