Technical Support Management

Since our focus in on Services within a high technology product company, it is important to establish the overall mission of services in that context. The mission statement we developed at Informix, I think is a good example:

The company’s success is totally dependent on the users of its products being successful with the product. For a consumer based product the basic services provided are good documentation, training tutorials and access to technical service/support to provide usage assistance in addition to repair of failing parts. For products that target the enterprise – small or large, additional services like classroom training, Professional Services for installation, implementation assistance and migration assistance are necessary additions.

In either case, it is necessary to establish the roles and responsibilities of the respective service function and the processes to ensure that the service offerings and delivery work in a coordinated way to maximize value to the customer.

Business Models: The services organization will have a key role in the overall business model of the company, and the services models reflect the overall company strategy. In most cases services are now separately priced offerings from the product (see variations below).  Metrics

Hardware Companies – most hardware companies sell product for a purchase price today. That means that the support services are offered in the form of warranty support and maintenance support. Warranty support is typically free for a specified period after the product is purchased, and maintenance support is offered either as a fee when needed, or on an annual basis for a percentage of the original purchase price.

Software Companies – the typical software company model is similar to the hardware company model since the hardware is necessary to run the software. The main differences are that what is purchased is a license to use the software for a finite time. The maintenance support also typically includes updates and upgrades in addition to fixing specific product failures. In addition software requires more assistance in how to properly use the product than hardware – thus Technical Support includes both updates, upgrades and usage assistance.

Variations – both hardware and software can be offered in the subscription model where the usage is paid for in a monthly/annual fee. In this model maintenance and support are included in the fee for usage of the product. The newest version of this model is Software as a Service (SaaS).

Purpose - This section is designed to provide best practice guidelines and processes focused on how to accomplish the above.