RIM’s Technical Support levels have always confused me. Now RIM just announced yet another curveball by splitting both the enterprise and small/medium business support tiers into another 3 levels for each. YAY!
I realize that some companies warrant more support and others need the constant hand holding. On the other hand just reading the differences between each support level gives me a headache. For example, the basic and enhanced support levels for small businesses do not give you notifications of service status nor do they get updates to BES. The advantage level subscribers do get both of those with the addition of “Problem Management.” I guess lower levels are not allowed to have big problems?…
The enterprise plans add to the fun by playing acronym bingo. For example, standard level subscribers get a SSS (Support Service Specialist) but premium and elite subscribers get a SAM (Support Account Manager). In short that means you have somebody you can always call. Standard plans only give you direct to Level Two support and premium/elite users get a cooler sounding DART (Direct Advantage Response Team).
I guess I was just not meant to understand. If you care to know what all this means you can read the full press release after the jump or at www.blackberry.com/btss.
RIM Announces Enhanced BlackBerry Technical Support Services for Small-Medium Businesses and Enterprise Customers
WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – May 26, 2009) – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced an enhanced BlackBerry(R) Technical Support Services offering with new levels of support and support service options for small to medium sized businesses and large enterprise customers.
"We have developed a more comprehensive, flexible, scalable BlackBerry Technical Support Services program that can help small-to-mid-sized businesses and large enterprises keep pace with their evolving mobility needs," said Alan Panezic, vice president, platform product management at RIM. "The new program includes new levels of support and a range of add-on services, allowing customers to select the right mix of technical support resources to meet the specific needs of their organization."
The enhanced program features:
– New levels of support – designed to provide the right level of service at the right price for both small-medium businesses and large enterprises. Three support levels are available for each BlackBerry Technical Support Services program, including Basic, Enhanced and Advantage Support for small-medium businesses; and Standard, Premium and Elite Support for enterprise customers.
– Comprehensive programs – extending beyond standard customer support to include access to support professionals for planning, management and preventative maintenance, as well as web-based training, instructor-led webinars, certification, online newsletter, and access to the BlackBerry(R) Expert Support Center for informational resources, self-service tools, and account monitoring and management.
– Direct access to advanced support professionals – available with select service levels or purchased as add-on services, with options for direct access to Support Service Specialists, Direct to Level Two Support Resources, designated Support Account Managers, the Direct Advanced Response Team (DART) or full-time, on-site technical assistance.
– Preventative maintenance services – including Health Check Services and Change Management Planning Services, as well as optional Performance and Load Testing Tools to help maximize uptime.
– Application development support – included with select service levels or as an add-on service, providing assistance with custom application development, application coding and the use of application development tools.
– Add-on support options(i) – offering customers who selected lower-tier support service levels the option to purchase advanced support services incrementally, including Direct to Level Two Support Resources, Health Check Services, Change Management Planning Services, Tech-to-Site Assistance, and Application Development Support.
– Access to customer support 24 hours per day, 7 days per week – available with all service levels.
BlackBerry Technical Support Services programs are available on an annual subscription basis, with the option to upgrade to the next support level at any time as customer needs evolve. For more information about BlackBerry Technical Support Services, visit www.blackberry.com/btss.
(i) Some support services options available only with select support levels. See www.blackberry.com/btss for details.
