I am sure you all have an opinion on Support Contracts, after all it is a very emotive subject, and a bit like another subject you will be familiar with, car insurance.

You often pay through the nose for car insurance but you can be sure that when some idiot totals your car and nearly wipes you out, you will begin to appreciate the benefits of having it just when you need it most.

Don’t get me wrong, you can be ripped off when it comes to software support just as easily as you can with car insurance but again it is only when you need it most that you will begin to appreciate the benefits of having it.

Anyone who has experienced a major ‘system outage’ will vouch for that !

Typical FUSION Command & Control Workstations

So lets assume (for the sake of this article) we are all agreed that in theory a software support contract is worth having, subject of course to cost, or in other words subject to it being ‘value for money’.

Having established this let us now explore what would constitute a worthwhile software support contract from an end user perspective.

The first requirement is telephone and email support.

As an end user you need to be able to report and discuss your problem. Depending on your support arrangements this maybe via your 1st line service provider who is responsible for your entire system or it maybe direct with the manufacturer.

Watch-out for additional charges though. Some contracts only include a limited number of hours free support. After that you will be charged, quite often at a premium rate. Obviously only simple problems can be resolved this way as the support provider has no direct access to your system.

Next up are updates and upgrades. Updates, or as they were previously known ‘bug fixes’, are usually available from the manufacturer's website and you maybe advised to download the latest update to resolve your particular problem.

Upgrades on the other-hand are new releases of the application and will normally be on a CD and posted out to you. Reasons for an upgrade may include a change in the operating system, e.g. moving from Microsoft Windows XP to Vista or, the addition of new features to the application.

Be careful though, whilst it is advisable to always upgrade to the latest version of the application you may run into problems if your PC hardware is old or if the upgrade recommends a different Operating System (OS) to the one you are currently using. If in doubt contact your support provider for advice. In either case the problem can be rectified. The upgrade just needs to be planned.

If your organisation does not have the IT personnel necessary to support PC hardware and software then you may want to consider a support contract which offers ‘Broadband Support’.

Broadband or Remote support as it is sometimes referred to is usually provided directly by the manufacturer and is a very powerful support tool. Through broadband support the majority of software problems can be resolved (with the possible exception of major OS issues) by the support engineer. Updates and upgrades can be quickly installed and configured. Even remote commissioning can be carried out with this level of support.

It is crucial though that with this type of support that you confirm your support provider’s staff have been ‘Security Vetted’ to HM Government level as they may have access to sensitive information.

Beyond the basics and essentials of a software support contract what else can you have ?

Well the most obvious one is on-site support for that ‘I hope it doesn’t happen to me moment' when you experience a major software crash, a malicious virus or a hardware failure. Typically this means that the manufacturer will attend your site to diagnose and resolve any problems you may be experiencing and get your system back up and running. A step-up from this is to include an annual planned maintenance visit by the manufacturer to check your system is correctly configured and everything is functioning as it should be.

As we mentioned earlier it maybe a requirement with software upgrades that you will need to also upgrade your OS which may mean having to upgrade part of your PC hardware which is very often fraught with potential problems. So it would be nice if there was an option which took care of OS upgrades.

Finally, there is the PC hardware itself. It is all very well having a support contract for the software but what if the hardware fails ? You can’t run your software ! Now if the support contract included options to repair and provide advance replacements for the hardware you would have complete peace of mind.

Meyertech’s FUSION software and workstations provide users with comprehensive Command & Control solutions. To back that up Meyertech offers an extensive choice of support to the end user through its Fusion Support Plans. There is a choice of four plans Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum which provide support from the Basics through to the Comfort Factor. With Meyertech’s FUSION support plans you can have it all !

See our Fusion Service Plan to choose the correct one for you.