Cisco Smartnet Service & Support Plans | Houston

SMARTnet Q & A

Q: What is Cisco® SMARTnet® support?

A: As part of Cisco Technical Support Services, the Cisco SMARTnet and SMARTnet Onsite programs offer innovative customer solution services that provide enhancement and maintenance support resources during the operational lifetime of a Cisco Systems® network.

Q: What is included with Cisco SMARTnet support?

A: Cisco SMARTnet support includes:

• Software support on the licensed operating system software, such as Cisco IOS® Software or
  Cisco Catalyst® OS, for covered Cisco products, including maintenance, minor, and major releases
• Access to the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Registered access to Cisco.com, for easy access to online technical information and service request management
• Advance replacement of hardware parts, depending on the customer need and the coverage selected:
  

  24x7x2—Advanced replacement parts, with or without a field engineer, are delivered within 2 hours of determining that part replacement is required during a standard work week (24 hours per day, 7 days per week).

  24x7x4—Advanced replacement parts, with or without a field engineer, are delivered within 4 hours of determining that part replacement is required during a standard work week (24 hours per day, 7 days per week). 

  8x5x4—Advanced replacement parts, with or without a field engineer, are delivered within 4 hours of determining that part replacement is required during a standard work week (8 hours per day, 5 days per week).

  Next business day (NBD)—Advanced replacement parts, with or without a field engineer, are delivered the next business day between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (provided the request is received before 3 p.m. local depot time).

Q: Why should a customer buy Cisco SMARTnet support or Cisco SMARTnet Onsite support?

A: By covering networking devices with a Cisco SMARTnet or Cisco SMARTnet Onsite contract,
a customer can:

• Maximize network availability, reliability, and stability
• Reduce the cost of network ownership by using Cisco expertise, knowledge, and availability
• Increase return on investment (ROI) by having access to Cisco operating system software enhancements
• Expedite time to repair with the right parts at the right time to resolve issues quickly
• Better manage scarce internal expert resources at all locations
• Improve productivity and revenue per employee with access to tools and technical support documentation that can increase self-sufficiency and technical knowledge

Q: Are Cisco SMARTnet support and Cisco SMARTnet Onsite support just break/fix insurance?

A: No. The Cisco SMARTnet and SMARTnet Onsite programs offer customers much more than remedies for when something goes wrong. Only a small portion of service requests (less than
5 percent) coming into the Cisco TAC deal with failures and defects. Most service requests help customers handle complex network operation and management issues such as:

• Advanced software configuration
• Interoperability and upgrade questions
• Hardware and software information

In addition, the Cisco SMARTnet and SMARTnet Onsite programs help customers protect their network investments and minimize risks by:

• Keeping the customer’s networking technology up-to-date with the latest software features and system improvements
• Supplementing the customer’s network support organization to help ensure the availability of the knowledge and skills necessary to address rapidly changing technologies
• Gaining access to knowledgeable resources and tools for rapid resolution of issues
• Eliminating the challenges of carrying replacement hardware in inventory and delivering them to
  remote sites by making replacement parts available when needed
• Providing trained field engineering resources to perform replacement services when and where needed

Q: If a product is already covered under the standard Cisco warranty, why should a customer buy Cisco SMARTnet services during the warranty duration?

A: The Cisco SMARTnet and SMARTnet Onsite programs provide more robust levels of support than are available under a Cisco warranty (Table 1). For most products, Cisco warranties are limited in duration (detailed specifically by product type), whereas Cisco SMARTnet programs can be purchased to deliver support and maintenance for at least five years after first product shipment. Services available under a
Cisco SMARTnet service contract that are not covered under a warranty are:

• Rapid replacement of hardware in NBD, 4-hour, or 2-hour dispatch options (restrictions apply; see Cisco SMARTnet data sheet below for additional information)
• Continuous technical support through Cisco TAC
• Latest software updates
• Registered access to Cisco.com

Table 1: Cisco SMARTnet Compared to Warranty