SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 20, 1996 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced twoactions that expand the global scope of its customer support and service.First, Cisco's authorized partners in 16 European countries can now offerfor resale two of Cisco's flagship support services. In addition, Ciscowill offer customers who have multinational operations new purchasing andsupport delivery options. Both announcements represent Cisco's continueddedication to ensuring customer success.
The Unique Requirements of End-to-End Network Connectivity
Cisco and its partners will together provide an integrated suite ofservices that address the unique needs of corporate customers and serviceproviders who want to work closely with a single supplier for end-to-endnetwork connectivity. These needs include:
- one-stop, anytime, anywhere access to premier technical assistance
- consistent levels of service worldwide
- constant advances in internetworking software in such areas as:
- multi-protocol, any-to-any connectivity
- bandwidth management
- routing/switching/ATM integration
- network security
These businesses, who run their mission-critical operations on bothcorporate intranets and the global Internet, require support that providesthe essential tools for network management. These services ensure thatcustomers' networks maintain high-performance and availability, even duringperiods of rapid growth and technological change.
Cisco's partnership with the premier service providers of Europe serves tofulfill those customer needs.
SMARTnet and Network Supported Accounts Programs to be Resold byPartners
Certified partners in 16 European countries are now able to resell Cisco'sSMARTnet serviceand Network Supported Account(NSA) service to customerswho will receive the services directly from Cisco. This action, taken inresponse to customer requests for direct access to the manufacturer,enables partners to bolster their support offering portfolio and scalesupport delivery, where necessary, to ensure customer success with Ciscoproducts.
SMARTnet, Cisco's industry-leading support program, provides subscriberswith core technical support:
- "evergreen" software updates to ensure system compatibility and on-goingavailability of technological advances,
- online access to Cisco Connection Online (Cisco's computerized knowledgebase and order management system that provides real-time, anytime accessover the Internet to Cisco's full customer support capabilities, includinginteractive user applications),
- telephone and online access to Cisco's worldwide team of over 300technical assistance engineers, and
- advance replacement of hardware.
More intensive on-site services are supplied by Cisco's European partners.
The Network Supported Account (NSA) program, now being made available toEuropean customers, was developed by Cisco for the growing number ofcustomers with extensive, geographically diverse and increasingly complexnetworks. NSA supplements the SMARTnet service contract by providingcustomers with a designated team of
The benefits of the program for Cisco customers include faster networkimplementation, high network availability and performance, and streamlinedproblem resolution. The NSA program is already available in North America,where it is experiencing a 100% renewal rate.
While SMARTnet and NSA address customers' remote support needs,Cisco's Gold-certifiedpartners worldwide provide a complete range of locallydelivered core maintenance and value-added services at Cisco-equivalentquality levels. Cisco's rigorous certification process ensures thatpartners have the capabilities to deliver consistently superior service totheir customers. A current list of Cisco's Gold-certified partners is available over Cisco Connection Online (http://www.cisco.com).
Global Solution Services
In a related announcement, Cisco announced
Under the SPOC option, a customer has 24-hour, 7-day-a-week access to Ciscointernetworking experts at any one of its four international technicalassistance centers. On-site service is delivered either by an authorizedCisco partner or by Cisco, whose network of direct and partner-suppliedinternetworking experts in over 60 countries totals more than 4,000 people.
The Local Support option provides decentralized, in-country supportdelivered by local Cisco partners. Under this option, Cisco establishes asupport relationship for customers with a local provider in each of thecountries in which customers have a network installation.
Cisco offers two categories of GSS customer-support contracts: SMARTnet,which provides software maintenance, hardware replacement and technicalsupport for self-maintenance; and Comprehensive, which provides allSMARTnet services, plus on-site hardware service. Installation servicesare also available upon request.
GSS also provides a Central Purchasing option for customers who wish to buyproducts and services through a single location but have them delivered tomultiple locations worldwide. Cisco processes the order and coordinateswith partners in each country to manage local delivery. Both Cisco and itsauthorized partners will market this program.
Promoting Customer's and Partner's Joint Success
"Today's two announcements meet Cisco's twin goals of satisfying ourcustomers' support needs as they expand globally and promoting ourpartners' success," said Douglas Allred, vice president of customeradvocacy for Cisco. "These changes give customers greater flexibility inhow they satisfy their network support needs, a growing concern as intra-and internetworks experience explosive global growth. By offering timelyand constantly available services, Cisco is allowing customers to moreeffectively and expeditiously deploy their internetworks without concernfor the ability to scale their internal support mechanisms. At the sametime, this initiative gives our partners both the chance to selladditional, high-value services and to continue to support their customerseven as those companies expand beyond the partner's traditional geographicreach or manpower capabilities."
Posted: Thu Jun 13 15:35:59 PDT 1996
