Network Appliance PRODUCT BULLETIN #688
Technical Global Advisor
Original
Date: October 29, 2004
Last Updated: March 5, 2007
Network Appliance Internal Communiqué
NetApp Confidential Information
Redistribution outside of an authorized NetApp
distributor or reseller
to third parties prohibited without prior written NetApp approval
Release Notes:
3 May 2006 – Removed the price band range table, in line with the new
Technical Global Advisor PB released.
5 March 2007 – Rewrote to apply new language and positioning and remove
outdated references to prior offerings.
Contents
|
|
1.
Summary 2.
What's New? 3.
Internal Tools (sales guides,
training presentation, SE presentations) |
1.
Summary
The Technical Global Advisor service
offering assigns a NetApp professional with strong technical expertise and
exceptional customer-management skills to monitor and coordinate support
services across a customer's global storage infrastructure.
The Technical Global Advisor (TGA) provides the customer with
personalized enterprise-class support, and becomes intimately acquainted with
the customer's business requirements, systems, environment, and service
history. The TGA is the customer's
technical advocate within NetApp, a liaison to resources within NetApp (such as
Support Services and Engineering). The
TGA is responsible and accountable for providing the customer with the highest
levels of proactive and reactive customized support services. The TGA works proactively to identify and
reduce risks before they result in service events. If there is a problem, the
TGA makes sure it's resolved quickly and to the customer's satisfaction. Technical Global Advisor
service complements SupportEdge Premium service, and is ideal for customers seeking proactive
global support.
2.
What's new?
Technical Global Advisor Service
TGA simplifies the NGS service portfolio and increases the
value-add of our services. The new
systems-based pricing model makes it easier for our sales teams and customers
to choose the appropriate level of service.
Value Proposition
A
customer's IT environment not only has to work well—it has to work well for the customer. Technical Global Advisor provides a dedicated
person working proactively to keep the customer's global IT environment finely
tuned for performance and reliability. The TGA has intimate knowledge of NetApp
processes, resources and technology, and develops an intimate understanding of
the customer's operations and goals. Equipped with this knowledge, the TGA is
strategically positioned to help the customer achieve maximum efficiency and
minimize risk.
Target Customers
Technical Global Advisor services are targeted for Global
Enterprise Accounts and Top Enterprise Accounts (who are also the target for SupportEdge Premium services.) TGA
service complements SupportEdge Premium service by providing regular, personalized attention to
the customer's business and IT environment needs. Typically, TGA target
customers have:
- A globally distributed storage infrastructure
- A complex technical environment and
- Mission-critical availability requirements
Given their large and complex structure, these customers can
benefit from a comprehensive, continuing, and personalized approach to support
services in addition to system-based or event-based support.
Technical Global Advisor
Responsibilities
1.
Proactive Support from the TGA
The
Technical Global Advisor receives and reviews daily reports that identify
problems with the customer's systems, and follows up with the customer and
the NetApp Global Support team when problems are indicated. The TGA works proactively to identify and
reduce risks before they result in service events.
To maximize
operational efficiency and minimize risk for the customer's specific systems
and environments, the TGA:
µ Recommends OS and Firmware revisions
µ
Helps plan hardware and software
upgrades
µ
Analyzes and evaluates software
releases
µ
Analyzes and evaluates field product
alerts for potential impact on the customer environment
µ
Keeps the customer aware of NetApp
published best practices
µ
Performs trend analysis
µ
Ensures that all the customer's NetApp
systems have optimal configuration and option settings
2.
Reactive Service Deliverables
The TGA is
an integral part of the customer's dedicated support team. To make sure that
problems are resolved quickly and to the customer's satisfaction, the TGA
provides case monitoring and management, including:
µ
Rapid response to Priority 1 (P1) cases
µ
Management of P1 cases to successful resolution within the
µ
Invoking standard escalation procedures
µ
Regular reporting to the customer during the case resolution process
µ "Post mortem" case and event analysis at customer request
3.
Account Management/Relationship Management
A TGA relationship is an excellent enhancement to both SupportEdge Premium and SupportEdge Secure for Government services, offering an improved Total Customer Experience (TCE). Because the TGA is an "insider" in both the customer's business and in NetApp, nothing is "lost in translation" when information needs to be communicated. To build and maintain a good account relationship, the TGA attends regular TGA-customer meetings, such as conference calls, quarterly or semi-annual reviews, and planning sessions
Customers should always be encouraged to include all their
systems under Technical Global Advisor coverage to ensure the greatest
advantage and value from the TGA service.
3.
Internal tools (sales guides, training presentation, SE presentations)
Check
the NGS site and the Partner’s site.
4. Customer ready tools (customer
presentation, datasheets)
Check
the NGS site and the Partner’s site.
5. System
Requirements
All major platforms are supported. NetApp recommends that AutoSupport
be enabled on all systems. Not enabling AutoSupport can adversely affect the
support of those systems."
6. Pricing and Ordering Instructions
TGA was released in August 2, 2004 as an improvement to the previous offering, Global Advisor, and consistent with the capabilities of SupportEdge Premium. Revisions and enhancements have been made. Order through eConfigurator.
Please visit http://ngs-web.corp.netapp.com/service_offerings/index.html
for more information, sales tools and additional links.
Product Bulletin Author: Howard Dernehl
Contact Howard Dernehl (dernehl@netapp.com) at 408-822-6236 for
questions regarding this Bulletin.