Premium Support Handbook
Contents
Purpose of the Premium Support Handbook. 2
Changes to the Premium Support Handbook. 2
2. Premium Support Overview.. 2
3. Premium Support Account Team.. 4
Your Technical Account Manager (TAM): Working with You. 4
Your Customer Success Manager (CSM): Working with You. 5
C. Items Needed to Open a Support Case. 7
MySymantec – Case Management Portal 7
Enterprise Customer Support Portal 7
Contacting Premium Customer Support by Phone. 8
Regional Coverage and Languages. 8
Monitoring and Updating a Case. 9
Appendix I – Glossary of Terms. 10
Appendix II – Links and Contact Information. 10
Copyright, Trademarks, and Legal Disclaimers. 11
The Premium Customer Support team is committed to responding quickly to your inquiries. Our goal is to keep your IT infrastructure and business information secure. We help you get maximum return on your investment in Symantec technology by providing tools, resources and technical assistance.
Welcome to your Premium Support Handbook. This overview provides information about the Premium Support services available to you, and outlines how to access these services.
Symantec publishes revisions on the Support Quick Reference Guide website. Symantec reserves the right to make changes to this handbook and the policies included herein or referenced hereto at any time.
For questions regarding this handbook, or its referenced policies and procedures, contact Enterprise Customer Support via the Enterprise Customer Support portal or by phone.
The links below provide overviews and options for all support options.
o Legacy (previous) support options
For terms and conditions that apply to your use of Symantec products and services, search the License and Service Terms & Repository.
With your Premium Support portfolio, you have access to deep expertise and innovative support technology. Symantec’s flexible offerings help optimize your IT infrastructure and manage your IT risk.
This section delves into the support options and what they mean for you. For even more specific details, refer to your License Agreement, the Technical Support Terms and Conditions, and other relevant policies. Terms used in the handbook have the same meaning as in these documents.
Essential Support (or an equivalent standard Maintenance offering) is a prerequisite to all Premium Support offerings. With Essential Support you receive critical security content updates, product updates, software version upgrades, and year-round access to Symantec's Enterprise Customer Support team. With your Maintenance benefits, you keep your products current throughout your service term.
The highly skilled Enterprise Customer Support team has deep knowledge and experience across the breadth of Symantec’s security products. Whether you need help resolving technical issues or advice on installing, configuring or upgrading, our experts are available around the clock, every day of the year. This helps you stay secure and minimize downtime. For more detailed information, consult the Support Quick Reference Guide.
Premium Support includes Symantec’s best technical support offerings, and is available for all eligible software in production environments. The list below and the related Support Offerings Matrix demonstrate what Premium Support adds to Essential Support. Symantec tailors Premium Support service features to match different business needs. Both Premium Support offerings include expedited response targets to minimize customer IT risk and maximize uptime.
· Your Technical Account Manager (TAM) is your named technical contact for Premium Support. TAMs provide technical expertise for a particular product family. They own and manage your support cases for a specific covered product family during business hours. In off hours, you also have priority access to the highly experienced Technical Support Engineers (TSEs) on the Enterprise Customer Support team.
· Your Customer Success Manager (CSM) is your named account manager for Premium Support. Your CSM focuses on your business success, and helps coordinate your support experience across all your eligible products. Your calls to technical support get priority handling, and the CSM is your champion when you need an escalated response.
· Priority queuing puts you at the front of the line for your support cases and threat submissions. (If you have more than one Symantec product, this benefit may apply only to the products covered by your Premium Support entitlement.)
· Managed case advancement enables your escalated cases to be managed by your CSM or TAM (during local regional business hours, for your covered products). You also receive quicker responses to your high priority cases.
· The CSM and TAMs provide periodic case reports to identify recurring support issues and trends, as well as identify areas needing improvement. In addition you receive Account Reviews quarterly and annually.
· Benefit from upgrade planning help from your TAM.
· Product Optimization Services using the Symantec Diagnostic tool (SymDiag). SymDiag helps enterprise customers find solutions to technical product issues and offers industry-leading, zero-day threat analysis. The tool provides best practice recommendations and takes a proactive approach to monitoring your protection status and providing in-depth recommendations for improvement.
· Note that your Maintenance offerings include access to product upgrades, updates, patches, & security content (plus warranty coverage, if applicable).
Service Feature |
Standard Technical Support |
Premium Support TAM |
Premium Support CSM |
Named technical point of contact |
|
+ |
|
Priority escalation management |
|
+ |
+ |
Periodic, automated support case reports |
|
+ |
+ |
Quarterly/annual account reviews |
|
+ |
+ |
Product upgrade planning |
|
+ |
|
Priority access to experienced engineers |
|
+ |
+ |
Service level guidelines for initial technical response; high severity issues |
30 minutes |
15 minutes |
15 minutes |
24x7 technical support |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Product optimization services, featuring the Symantec Diagnostic Tool (SymDiag) |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Product upgrades, updates, patches, & security content (plus warranty coverage if applicable) |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Access to technical webinars |
+ |
+ |
+ |
As a Premium Support customer, you receive account management services from Symantec 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. Your support team includes one or more Technical Account Managers (TAM) and/or a Customer Success Manager (CSM). These named contacts work with you and your team during normal business hours.
Premium Support also gives you priority access to experienced Technical Support Engineers and their expert knowledge of the Symantec product portfolio.
Of course, you also retain access to the Enterprise Customer Support organization that delivers your Essential Support services. Together, the Premium Customer Support and Essential Support organizations deliver rapid responses to your critical situations, and proactive services to help you avoid unplanned outages.
This Premium Support offering focuses on timely, accurate issue resolution by placing a product family expert at the center of your tailored support experience. When you purchase the Technical Account Manager option, Symantec chooses a TAM to work with you and your team. Your TAM provides technical support, manages case advancements, delivers case and system reviews, oversees environmental health checks, and provides proactive services like upgrade planning and feature optimization. Their deep product knowledge and familiarity with your IT environment result in rapid diagnosis and enable them to address your problem quickly.
You designate up to six (6) contacts to comprise your team. They contact your TAM, who personally handles your product-specific critical cases during local business hours. Outside of those hours, or if the TAM is not available, experienced TSEs remain accessible to work with your contacts.
Your TAM provides quarterly Account Reviews to analyze your current security posture against your ongoing security strategy, in order to refine your product settings and align to the appropriate best practices. The quarterly review also compares your business requirements to how Symantec performs against them. Lastly, the review provides insight on the global security threat landscape.
Your TAM also gives you monthly reports on your case history to identify support issues and trends, and to highlight areas of improvement.
Once assigned, your TAM hosts an introduction call to meet your team and to gain an understanding of your environment (for example, products deployed, configuration, and versions.), and how your company conducts business (examples include reviewing your change controls, key deliverables and security requirements). Your TAM uses this information to expedite troubleshooting efforts, and to tailor the support experience to meet your specific needs and concerns.
Your TAM shows you how to open a case, both during and outside local business hours. Your TAM also provides you their contact information, your contract particulars, and additional contacts for case advancement.
During your local business hours, you have direct phone and email access to your TAM. If your TAM is unavailable, you can still get priority access to Symantec’s team of technical experts by calling your regional Enterprise Customer Support team.
When you purchase the Customer Success Manager Premium Support offering, Symantec designates a CSM to work with you and your team. Your CSM serves as your assigned point of contact for your support experience across all of your covered Premium Support products. Your calls to the Enterprise Customer Support team get priority handling and the CSM is your champion when you need an escalated response.
Your CSM serves as your advocate within Symantec, manages technical resolution of critical support issues, and helps you advance your case if necessary. Our system alerts your CSM when you open a Severity 1 support case, so that they can provide case management assistance to you (during local regional business hours).
Your CSM provides quarterly Account Reviews to analyze your current security posture against your ongoing security strategy, in order to refine your product settings and align to the appropriate best practices. The quarterly review also compares your business requirements to how Symantec performs against them. Lastly, the review provides insight on the global security threat landscape.
Your CSM also gives you monthly reports on your case history to identify support issues and trends, and to highlight areas of improvement. CSMs generally delivered their services remotely, with the exception of certain Account Reviews.
Once assigned, your CSM hosts an introduction call to meet your team, share contact information, and gain an understanding of your environment (for example: products deployed, configurations, and versions.), and how your company conducts business (examples include reviews of: your change controls, key deliverables, and security requirements). Your CSM uses this information to expedite troubleshooting efforts, and to tailor the support experience to meet your specific needs and concerns.
Before accessing your Premium Support services, prepare three items:
A. Create a list of Designated Contacts: determine the team of people who have the appropriate skills to use your Premium Support offerings.
B. Familiarize your Designated Contacts with determining severity levels for cases.
C. Gather the necessary information to open a case.
Your specify Designated Contacts, people in your organization, that you will allow to use your Premium Support.
· If you have a Customer Success Manager, work with your CSM to register a reasonable number of Designated Contacts.
· If you have a Technical Account Manager, you are eligible to register up to six (6) Designated Contacts. To effectively leverage your Premium Support TAM service, your Designated Contacts need a thorough understanding of the technical environment, including a technical understanding of the Symantec product being discussed. They also need the applicable technical knowledge to work toward a timely resolution of your case. If your TAM determines that your Designated Contact lacks the necessary technical or product knowledge to be effective, we reserve the right to request that you change your Designated Contact. If you cannot provide a qualified Designated Contact, our ability to resolve your case is adversely affected.
Register your Designated Contacts on MySymantec, using the serial number on your support certificate. If you do not have your support certificate available, follow the directions for How to Add or Change Named Technical Contacts. To provide timely support, keep your Designated Contacts’ information updated.
You determine the initial severity level of each case you log with Symantec. The severity level reflects your assessment of the potential adverse impact to your business. To do this, match it to one of the definitions below and select the corresponding level.
As cases progresses, sometimes their severity changes and no longer match the initial severity level assigned. In such cases, Symantec reclassifies the case to its new severity level and handles it in accordance with the new response target. For future reference, the Support Quick Reference Guide also includes the list below.
Severity Level |
Impact or Significance of Problem |
Response Target* |
Level 1 |
Severity 1 or Severity Level 1 means that a problem has occurred where no workaround is immediately available in one of the following situations: |
Within 15 minutes |
Level 2 |
A problem has occurred that severely impairs a major functionality. Your operations can continue in a restricted fashion, although long-term productivity might be adversely affected. |
Within 2 business hours |
Level 3 |
A problem has occurred that has had a limited adverse effect on your business operations. |
Within 6 business hours |
Level 4 |
One of the following: · A problem where your business operations have not been adversely affected. · A suggestion for new features or an enhancement regarding the licensed software. |
By same time next business day |
*Response time starts with acknowledgment (see Case Management Acknowledgement section below).
When opening a support case for your licensed product, either via phone or via MySymantec, ensure you have gathered the following information. This labels your case correctly and assists in expediting the resolution of your issue.
· Your Symantec support ID or contact ID (a unique set of letters or numbers assigned to you to indicate your entitlement under the support offerings you have purchased.)
· Your company name
· Location (the location of the actual problem)
· Name, email address, phone and extension
· Symantec product and version
· Platform (OS) and version
Assign a Severity Level of 1 to 4 as outlined above (also in the Support Quick Reference Guide).
Provide a concise summary of the problem you are experiencing. As you describe your problem, please include the impact the problem is having on your business.
Ensure you have direct access to the system you need us to troubleshoot.
All customers with Essential Support (or equivalent standard maintenance offering) have access to the following self-service support options.
MySymantec offers you a secure, interactive and personalized website. Search for solutions yourself in the extensive database, or opt to ask the Enterprise Customer Support team for help with your case. If you have open cases already, you can track, update and close these cases. You can even review your closed cases and their resolutions. MySymantec allows you to access and manage all your cases, including those that were initially opened via a phone call.
The Enterprise Customer Support Portal provides a multitude of self-service online resources. The site links to an extensive knowledge base, product information, technical support links, and Symantec Connect, where blogs and forums can provide useful information as well.
Symantec’s Security Response research centers evaluate computer threats such as viruses, worms, Trojan horses and macros. They then categorized the threats according to their risk level. From the Security Response website you can search and review information about any threat. To receive regular updates on security threats directly, use the Security Response RSS feed.
An infected system can be tedious and extensive to clean. You have access to a safer and easier approach – Symantec’s Malware Removal Tools. These automated threat-removal remedies do the tricky work for you.
As noted above MySymantec has self-service options. It also allows you to start a case online. With an open case, you have the option to chat online with an agent or receive a call back from Symantec.
To open a case online, start at MySymantec. Log in using your credentials (or create these), then click the Create New button. Follow the steps on screen to create the case. The next section has a sample of the types of questions on the form.
Before you submit the case, the knowledge base displays suggested articles for you to review. One of these may resolve your problem without the need to open a case. If not, proceed to submitting the case. Proceed to providing your contact details and a brief summary of the problem you are experiencing.
Once you submit the information, you receive an eight-digit case number. Symantec contacts you based on the response timeframes relative to the severity level of the problem and your Premium Support offering. Alternately, put yourself in a chat queue and wait to exchange instant messages with the next available agent.
Telephone support for Premium Support customers typically starts one of two ways. If your CSM or TAM has given you a contact number, use that. Alternately, the Enterprise Customer Support team remains available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. Find the phone number appropriate to your country, the local business hours, and the languages available all from the Contact Support webpage.
The Enterprise Customer Support team provides support from a number of countries in a number of languages. From the Contact Support webpage, select the drop-down list and choose your country. The site displays a list of regional phone numbers, language capabilities and the business hours when TAMs and CSMs are generally available.
Symantec offers toll-free phone support in many areas. You are responsible for all other charges incurred (for instance, Internet services, cell phone minutes, or VOIP software). In some instances (for example, inter-country calls, particular cell phones or cell plans, and certain VOIP software products), you may not be able to dial in on the toll-free lines. If you choose to dial in on a non-toll-free number, you are responsible for any long-distance charges you incur.
Case management includes a few key activities. The first occurs when Symantec acknowledges that you have contacted us by phone or via MySymantec. We aim to acknowledge your request for assistance within five minutes.
When Symantec acknowledges the problem via email or phone, we have verified your entitlement to receive support services and noted the severity level you assigned to the problem.
The TAM or TSE assigned to your case contacts you to ask specific questions about the problem and drive the problem to resolution. They work to isolate the cause of the problem, involving you by asking you to answer additional questions, run diagnostics, apply patches, or grant remote access.
Symantec endeavors to resolve issues within a reasonably short timeframe. However, Symantec has no obligation to meet any specific response or resolution time frame.
Note that if you have logged a Severity 1 problem, our initial efforts focus on making your software operational; there may be temporary degradation in performance while we continue to resolve any underlying issue.
The agent managing your case updates you on the case status and maintains a plan of action. You have the option to monitor the status of the case via the MySymantec web portal. To follow up, feel free to use any of the contact options available to you: MySymantec, phone calls, online chats, or replying to related emails at your convenience
When you call to follow-up on a case, a representative transfers your call to the agent managing your case. If that agent is unavailable, you have the option to leave a voicemail or to speak with the next available agent.
Symantec delivers high quality products and support services to our customers. However, in the event that you are not satisfied with the way your case has been handled, please let your CSM or TAM know. Together, discuss whether advancing (escalating) the case would be an appropriate option.
The Technical Support Terms and Conditions document describes the support services we offer to customers who both have a current License Agreement for Symantec software, and who use that software in a supported configuration, in accordance with the terms of their License Agreement and product documentation. We maintain a link to the updated current support policy within the Support Quick Reference Guide. This Premium Support Handbook and related policies apply to the Symantec technology identified as Covered Products.
Symantec provides different levels of deliverables under your Support Agreement depending on where your software is in its lifecycle. For more information on our product lifecycles and related deliverables, please refer to the Enterprise Security (Symantec) End of Life Policy, posted in our Policies webpage.
The Customer Care team responds to non-technical inquiries such as licensing and serialization questions. Call Customer Care for inquiries related to license activation, software version upgrades, product access and renewals. The Contact Support webpage offers regional Customer Care phone numbers.
Term |
Short Explanation |
Premium Support Handbook |
This document. It provides an overview of Premium Support services, contact options, and references on to where to find more information. |
Technical Account Manager (TAM) |
A named contact for Premium Support customers, this agent has an advanced level of expertise for a specific product family. This agent handles your cases directly. |
Customer Success Manager (CSM) |
A named contact for Premium Support customers, this agent focuses on ensuring your products support your business goals and security strategy. This contact oversees your cases, while Premium Customer Support agents own and handle the technical aspects of the cases. |
Premium Support |
Symantec’s top technical support offerings, which equip your enterprise with a single point of accountability and security expertise when and where you need it |
Premium Customer Support |
The team that provides technical support for all Premium Support customers. |
Designated Contacts |
Your team members who contact Symantec: · As part of your Premium Support TAM entitlement, you designate six (6) specific team members who will have permission to contact Symantec on your company’s behalf. · For Premium Support CSM entitlements, work with your CSM to determine the Designated Contacts. Only Designated Contacts have rights to access your Premium Support services. |
Essential Support |
The name of the most common standard Maintenance support package for Symantec software. |
Blue Touch Support |
The name formerly used for Blue Coat support services. For more information, reference the Support Quick Reference Guide. Now known as Symantec Network Protection, this technology is eligible for the Premium Support services described above. |
Maintenance |
A service offering attached to a technology purchase granting you updates, upgrades, security content, warranty coverage (if applicable), and 24x7 technical support. |
MySymantec portal |
A website service that allows you to open, review, update and manage your support cases. |
Enterprise Customer Support portal |
A website service that offers various self-service support tools such as the knowledge bases, product information, and the discussion forum. |
Support Agreement |
Symantec’s agreement with you describing the deliverables, entitlements and other terms for the support services that you have purchased for a specific license of software. The Support Agreement includes Symantec support certificates and any documents that the Support Agreement specifically incorporates by reference. |
Premium Support |
|
|
Premium Support overview |
||
Update your Designated Contacts |
||
Technical Account Manager (TAM) Service Description |
||
Customer Success Manager (CSM) Service Description |
||
Support Tools |
|
|
Support Quick Reference Guide |
||
Enterprise Customer Support phone numbers, including region/language options |
||
MySymantec |
||
Enterprise Customer Support portal |
||
Symantec Security Response |
||
Symantec malware removal tools |
||
Symantec Diagnostic (SymDiag) |
www.symantec.com/content/dam/symantec/docs/data-sheets/symantec-diagnostic-tool-en.pdf |
|
Symantec Education Services |
||
Other Support Options |
|
|
Maintenance benefits |
||
Essential Support overview |
||
.cloud Support overview |
https://support.symantec.com/en_US/cloud/cloud-technical-and-language-support.html |
|
Legacy support links |
||
References |
|
|
Eligible Product List |
||
License and Service Terms & Repository |
||
Copyright © 2017 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Symantec, the Symantec Logo, and the Checkmark Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
The product described in this document is distributed under licenses restricting its use, copying, distribution, and decompilation/reverse engineering. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written authorization of Symantec Corporation and its licensors, if any.
THE DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID. SYMANTEC CORPORATION SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH THE FURNISHING, PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS DOCUMENTATION. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENTATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
The Licensed Software and Documentation are deemed to be commercial computer software as defined in FAR 12.212 and subject to restricted rights as defined in FAR Section 52.227-19 "Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights" and DFARS 227.7202, et seq. "Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation," as applicable, and any successor regulations, whether delivered by Symantec as on premises or hosted services. Any use, modification, reproduction release, performance, display or disclosure of the Licensed Software and Documentation by the U.S. Government shall be solely in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
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