Platformers have a full range of software platform support services available when and if you need help including:

• Learning articles
• FAQs
• Easy to use self-managed portal
• Regular news broadcasts for platform updates
• Technical support teams
• Development support team
• Consulting Team
• Business support and annual account planning
• Upvise database backup and disaster recovery

Like most software managed service providers and software vendors, the price varies according to whether its self-help support or involves human interaction. Platformer’s software platform support services range from free Learning articles, online chat, FAQs through to monthly inclusion in our Gold & Silver Plans and packs of Support Tickets or Consulting time for specific projects when you need it.

Our platforms are moderately complex as are most core business applications around the world today. Platformers have a mix of clients that either find they have their own technical experience to set up, configure and fix usual operations or make use of our setup, configuration, personalisation, and consulting services.

Regardless of your own organisation’s technical skills we have support options for you.

Technical Product Support describes when the software you have subscribed to stops working as it is specified to do. An easy example is that after changing a configuration setting one of the standard form supplied suddenly stops updating the model database.

Implementation Support describes when your own customised solution stops working. For example, following a change of a custom database your custom designed forms stop updating. It usually means something is either misconfigured or has broken in the proprietary implementation.

When the commercial software doesn’t operate as specified then the creator of the software (with our help) fixes it at no cost.

Software created by Platformers is fixed by our development team and software created by our other Vendors are fixed by them. We coordinate priority communication with all Suppliers on your behalf if you wish.

Your first decision is whether to check your system yourself or get us to check it.

If you would like our help, then you begin by logging a Support Ticket on our Support Desk in Platform Hub and our technicians will commence a discovery process with you and the platform vendors to identify the area that needs attention.

If it is a system wide issue, we recommend that you first check the News broadcast on Platform Hub for any updates from Platformers.

Sometimes you want to do something bigger or more particular than the norm. You would like to enhance the standard system in a particular way to suit your own environments.

Luckily, most of the platforms we supply have large customisation abilities and a wide range of configuration options often exist.

Usually, the best place to start is to recognise that a Consulting Project is more than likely required to get the result you want.

There are two ways in which you can identify if the problem is bigger than your support tickets can manage.

Either the Platformers support team will identify this from the details contained in your support ticket

OR

You raise this with your Account Manager who will usually suggest a short scoping study be done to quantify the work desired and investment required.

This may or not involve getting an Accredited Subject Matter Expert Consultant to quote on the project too. Scoping Studies are small consulting jobs in their own rights and come with a small price tag.

With a Scoped Consulting Proposal in hand, you can commence by accepting the proposal and scheduling the start.

Support is arranged in escalating Levels 1, 2 and 3.

Platformers has Levels 1 and 2 support for all the platforms we sell and Level 3 support for the products we produce. Our Level 1 teams will engage other Vendor’s Level 2 & 3 support on your behalf if the issues are at the Vendor level.

The fastest and best way is to log a Support Ticket via the Support Desk in Platform Hub.

This goes directly to our Support Team, and they will acknowledge this quickly and begin the discovery process.

Our account teams and external consultants are not part of the Support process so while it is good to appraise everyone on a new issue, the key is to log the issue directly on the Support Desk for the fastest commencement of support.

You can also use our Chat and Phone Support lines to open support requests.

The first thing to do if you think you have made a mistake in implementation and want our help is to lodge a Support Request with us via the Support Desk. Remember, we are here to help.

Our team looks at that and may ask some clarifying questions before finding a solution.

If they think the solution is straightforward, then they will often offer a link to a Learning article for you to follow.

If they think the solution is a minor configuration issue, then they will advise you of it and offer to make the change themselves.

If they think the issue is bigger than a simple Support Ticket, then they will advise you engage a consultant to assist. The Support Team will then prepare a base line Scope of Work (SOW) document to clarify their understanding of your request. This SOW will be both, uploaded as a reply to your ticket for your review and acceptance and forwarded to our account team to follow up. Consulting engagements are typically scoped and quoted before commencing and of course you will have full control as to accept or reject the proposed solutions.

Typically, our Consulting engagements are used for changes and projects requiring half a day or longer effort by an experienced technician or subject matter expert consultant.

Like most Consulting organisations we charge either by the hour/day or via a fixed price project. Your Account Manager will help you work out the best approach.

Platformers uses mainstream consulting process management adopted by many consulting organisations globally. The process goes like this:

A. You identify a need and write it down B. Your Account Manager reviews & clarifies key elements before getting consultants engaged C. A Scoping Study is generally required to ensure clear agreement of all parties as to the deliverables

>* For small jobs and time-and-materials projects this Scoping Study is done as a short form process known as a Statement of Work.  It identifies the deliverables, process, timing, and other parameters.  The Statement of Work is emailed to you and commences when you formally approve it.

>* Once approved the Consultant will schedule and commence the actual work.

D. For larger jobs, a Scoping Study Project is needed to clearly identify all the deliverables and considerations.

>* Your Account Manager will give you a proposal for this initial Scoping Study Project.
>* The Scoping Study will give you a summary of what is required as well as an estimate/quote on the overall Project.

E. Following the Scoping Study, you will Review and Commission a Consulting Project to deliver all or parts of the Scope identified.

>* Your account manager will give you a specific Proposal for the final Project deliverables
>* Fixed Price Consulting Projects with Milestone Deliverables are sometimes offered depending on your needs.

F. Once the Proposal is accepted the Consultants schedule their engagement with your team and begin the work. G. Depending on if you have accepted a time-and-material project or a fixed price project you will be billed each month or upon milestone deliverables. H. Finally, you will be asked to finalise the Project when all the deliverables are done.