Symantec Unifies Enterprise Support Offerings

Symantec Monday took the wraps off a revamped enterprise support offering that unifies legacy Veritas support packages with its own existing support programs.

With its new Enterprise Support Services portfolio, Symantec has integrated its support delivery and merged the separate enterprise resource planning systems into a single management system that works globally and is managed by multiple people, said Hal Stanley, senior director of service and support at the Cupertino, Calif.-based vendor.

The new support offerings come in three tiered levels: Business Critical Services, Essential Support and Basic Maintenance. The highest level, Business Critical Services was launched in July, and features onsite support and access to Symantec technical experts, as well as speedy response times, Stanley said.

Essential Support includes product upgrades and 24x7 support, and Basic Maintenance consists of support during business hours and limited upgrades, added Stanley.

Customers that buy support packages for both security and availability products will get a 20 percent discount, and can have their support issues handled by an account manager who coordinates the efforts of multiple support staff, said Stanley.

Most customers need to have integration between security and availability support because it removes complexity, drives more sales, and helps with customer relationship management, said Mark Arnold, vice president of enterprise services at Strategic Technologies, a Cary, N.C., solution provider.

Symantec has also upgraded its online support offering by linking it with its knowledge management database and threat intelligence network to help customers resolve issues on their own, Stanley said.

Symantec's Enterprise Support Services offerings are available now. The vendor didn't disclose pricing information.