The Wonderware Customer First programme is a new multilevel software maintenance and support initiative to help customers get maximum value from their Wonderware software solutions.
“As a leading supplier of automation and information software solutions, we understand the critical role of our solutions within our customers’ businesses,” says Deon van Aardt, MD of Wonderware Southern Africa, a member of the EOH group of companies. “In order to compete globally, we recognise that our customers must deliver as promised to their customers and critical stakeholders time and time again. We are ever mindful of the continuing pressures that today’s mining and manufacturing businesses face to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase productivity. Continuous peak performance means no unpleasant production surprises, minimal interruptions to the business and rapid recovery when problems occur. Anything less, means increased costs and missed opportunities – and that is where the Customer First programme comes in.”
What is it all about?
A recent survey of Wonderware customers indicated that an average cost of software system downtime would be over $10 000 per hour and there were examples as high as $500 000 per hour. With this level of potential risk, businesses need rapid response and access to round-the-clock technical support. Even with the most rigorous planning, the unexpected sometimes occurs and whenever issues arise, immediate access to support is critical to minimise the impact to the bottom line.
Some details
The Wonderware Customer First programme offers support options tailored to meet specific customer needs, including 24/7 support, a dedicated technical account management team, critical incident response, software updates and advice on software architecture and security. The programme is designed to exceed traditional, reactive support programmes by providing assistance and expertise during the planning, building, commissioning, operation and evolution of customer applications. The Wonderware Customer First programme offers four distinct levels of support to help clients sustain and improve manufacturing and industrial infrastructure operations. Members of the programme can choose the most appropriate support level based on project milestones, complexity of the production operation, maturity of the application and the level of available expertise.
Customer First benefits at a glance
Software Maintenance and Enhancements – Extends application functionality and improves user experience by taking advantage of free software upgrades, updates, service packs, patches and hot fixes.
Enhanced Technical Support
* Level 2 Direct/Advanced Support provides access to advanced support engineers at Wonderware to help expedite resolution on complex technical issues.
* 24 hour Emergency Technical Support via telephone 365 days a year.
Critical incident response – This exclusive benefit of the Elite level provides a level of confidence beyond traditional phone-based support. Wonderware will dispatch an expert resource to the customer site to quickly resolve outstanding technical issues and help get the production line back on track.
Automated communications – Members can receive timely electronic communications of important alerts and news. Support Usage and Summary Reports highlight Wonderware technical support case activity and history to quickly view the state of the customer’s technical issues.
Exclusive events – At a qualifying level, members enjoy attendance at our annual Wonderware Premium Support Symposium with specialised forums and workshops that provide for knowledge sharing.
On-line support – Customers can take advantage of Wonderware’s user-friendly technical website that includes an Expert Knowledgebase, the Wonderware Developer Network, the Wonderware Security Central, tech notes and white papers. Customers can also use this facility to submit and track support cases.
Hosted application clone – An Application Clone hosted by Wonderware closely mimics what is in production use at customers’ site(s). This eliminates the time consuming 'set up and replication phase' to help resolve technical issues quickly. Testing services are available to enable low-risk hot fix, patch and product release testing on an exact copy of the customer’s Wonderware software and hardware application.
Software audit service – Customers get a 50% discount on software quality audits for software applications intended to be used in validated environments. Software quality audits provide an independent evaluation of conformance of software products and processes to applicable regulations.
Application consulting services – These services provide expert guidance on best practices during the initial rollout and on-going phases of customers’ applications. Prepaid application consulting services can be used to help manage complex migrations, conduct routine performance assessments and to assist with new product deployment.
Dedicated customer portal – This leads to improve standardisation within applications and to lower the cost of software ownership by leveraging the global capabilities of the customer’s internal teams. The Wonderware Customer Portal is a private universal window for all users to access and contribute. Features include: online content library, communications central, online chat and forum, profile management and licence management.
Personalised and dedicated support team – A designated, senior level support team ensures that customer-specific issues are receiving top priority, so that they can focus on maximising results from their core business. Benefits include:
* Customer Support Programme Management – A dedicated key business liaison and customer advocate.
* Technical Account Management – A dedicated technical liaison person, familiar with the customer’s operating environment and who manages issue escalation and resolution.
* Planning and Technical Advisement – Exclusively for the Elite level, this strategic advisor provides best practice and optimisation recommendations, technical and strategic direction for multisite rollout of standards and advises on software life-cycle management.
Access to success
Wonderware Customer First members gain access to a wealth of online tools and services to help them be successful wherever they are in their system lifecycle:
* The Wonderware Developer Network with extensive resources and a venue for on-line collaboration between Customer First members, integrators, 3rd party suppliers and Wonderware subject matter experts.
* Whitepapers and documents designed to help customers benefit from best practices.
* Detailed technical notes and how-to descriptions to help customers get the most out of their Wonderware software and hardware solutions.
* Up-to-date security advice and configuration guidance for both operating systems and software applications that help customers to build robust, secure and available systems and also to take the guesswork out of applying security patches.
* Secure remote on-line access to systems helps minimise downtime by eliminating time-consuming data gathering and issue replication steps.
* Detailed design and deployment guides to help customers get started and build efficient and well-designed implementations.
* Regular on-line training seminars to help keep customer teams up-to-date and their skills honed.
* Interactive problem-solving and diagnostic tools to supplement technical support and enable the customer’s own expert users to quickly resolve system issues.
* Direct interface with technical support to help ensure that customer needs for new product features are acknowledged by Wonderware.
Conclusion
From a professional solution provider’s point of view, success is not judged by the sale but by the reference. If an account cannot be used as a reference, then it is a failed account. Wonderware is fortunate in having thousands of reference accounts worldwide not because it makes for good marketing mileage but because without the success of its customers, any solution supplier in today’s tightening marketplace is not going anywhere. To succeed, one has to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem, an integral part of the customer’s production team rather than just an onlooker and a trusted partner rather than just a solution provider.
For more information contact Deon van Aardt, Wonderware Southern Africa, 0861 WONDER, [email protected], www.wonderware.co.za
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