About extended support and maintenance of IT infrastructures

Everyone knows that the total cost of ownership of equipment includes several components, of which the purchase price of equipment and software is not the most important thing. One of the key components is the cost of maintenance, maintenance and repair of equipment, as well as the losses incurred by the business from unplanned downtime. In this article we will talk about support services and maintenance of IT infrastructures provided by Fujitsu

For customers, it is extremely important to have a quality, reliable and qualified service provided by both the equipment suppliers and its partners. Ultimately, such a service not only eliminates the “headache” associated with maintaining our own repair and maintenance specialists, but also makes it possible to make IT infrastructure costs more transparent and predictable, which is especially relevant during the economic crisis, when customers We have to be very careful about spending money. After all, it is cheaper to repair an old server or storage system than to spend money on a new one, especially considering such a factor as double the exchange rate. For business, it is important that all of its equipment runs smoothly at any time of the day. But failure can occur at night or on a day off. In this case, additional service support may also be required. In the process of repair, it is sometimes necessary to replace defective parts or components, it will be difficult for the customer to choose, purchase, and in some cases independently replace which parts from them.

Support Pack Services
Many manufacturers of IT equipment, including the world's leading vendors, are trying to offer their customers a range of additional service programs. Fujitsu, in addition to the standard warranty service, allows you to additionally purchase advanced service options, which include both extending the standard warranty period and improving this support by adding new features. For example, this includes an on-site warranty (optional for user devices), which involves leaving the equipment repair wizard directly to the customer, without having to independently deliver the faulty device to the service center. Such options cost extra money, but they can be immediately purchased with the equipment.
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Another example is the extension of the warranty period from three years to five or even longer, as well as the priority of the shortest repair time. Such services are called Support Pack or “Extended Service Certificates”, and they are primarily aimed at those customers who would like to expand this or that standard warranty framework. Support Pack services are both simple and complex. The latter are purchased not in the form of additional packages, but on the terms of a contract. All Support Pack can be divided into several categories, from basic to the most advanced. At the basic level, the customer receives a shortened response time of the service specialists to his problem. At the next level, the guaranteed availability of spare parts in a warehouse in Moscow is added to the accelerated reaction. At a higher level, the so-called proactive service is added to the above, which involves regular monitoring of the customer’s equipment, without the direct participation of its own specialists. In other words, the service center specialists already know about potential problems with the customer’s equipment, so they can fix them even before the latter is addressed. To do this, use special tools for remote monitoring.


Remote access and monitoring

There are several solutions for monitoring the operation of equipment and software. So, as part of the system software included in the delivery of Fujitsu servers, there are regular monitoring tools that are free for the customer. A special utility initiates the collection of log files from all components and presents them to the customer in an orderly manner. Then the customer can independently analyze the information received and, if necessary, take measures to eliminate potential problems. The procedure for starting monitoring remotely, analyzing information from log files and making recommendations for troubleshooting can be performed by Fujitsu specialists as an additional service. Finally, for a large amount of equipment, to automate the process of monitoring equipment, diagnosing errors, receiving updates and maintaining devices in operability, you can use a special hardware and software solution Fujitsu Support Gateway.

Fujitsu Solution Contract
But most often, customers purchase not a separate server or storage system, but entire complex solutions, including not only hardware, but also system software, as well as implementation consulting services. A number of questions arise: who will implement, support and modernize all this? In this case, Fujitsu can enter into a contract with the customer to support this entire integrated solution, called the Solution Contract. In addition to all the options contained in the Support Pack, such a contract provides for software support, including its configuration in accordance with the wishes of the customer and the requirements of the project. In addition to proactive monitoring of equipment condition, the Solution Contract also receives recommendations on how to optimize the IT infrastructure. And the monitoring system in the Solution Contract serves not specific devices, but the entire solution as a whole. Unlike the Support Pack, the Solution Contract, although it contains measurable quality of service parameters, does not have a rigid framework, because the solution itself, implemented by the customer, is regularly updated, modernized and developed. If the customer adds some new equipment or makes any changes to the existing equipment, he notifies Fujitsu, which, in turn, fixes these changes in the documentation for the contract.


Automatic creation of an incident ticket in the system

It is important to note that the Solution Contract may also include support for third-party equipment, including Fujitsu partners and competitors, used in the solution. If necessary, Fujitsu experts take responsibility for interaction with the service departments of the manufacturers of third-party equipment used as part of the solution, to which the Solution Contract is signed. From third-party system software under the Solution Contract, products from Microsoft, VMware, SUSE and others are supported. In fact, unlike the Support Pack, which is tied to a specific device or group of devices, the Solution Contract covers the entire solution in the complex, regardless of the specific hardware models. If the purpose of the Support Pack is to ensure the performance of specific equipment, whether it be a server, storage or other device, then the main task of the Solution Contract is to maintain the performance of the entire solution in the complex. Most often, such agreements are interested for customers whose business operates 24x7 and for whom any, even short-term failures and downtime, entail tangible financial and reputational losses. At the conclusion of the Solution Contract, the customer receives a personal manager who can be contacted with any questions and who coordinates the process of supporting all the software and hardware components of the implemented solution. Work with customers under the Solution Contract is carried out by Fujitsu system engineers located in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In other regions of Russia, this task is entrusted to the company's partners, who are also in close cooperation with the vendor's specialists. Finally, the most difficult cases are redirected to Fujitsu head offices in Germany and Japan.

Management services
The next level of technical support provided by Fujitsu to its customers can be called “Management Services”. They provide for the transfer to Fujitsu of full or partial administration and management of customer systems. If, as part of the Solution Contract, Fujitsu engineers only support system software, then “Management Services” also includes maintenance of application software and business solutions. The whole network of Fujitsu Global Service Centers (GDC), which are located around the world, is engaged in all this. They employ five and a half thousand qualified specialists who process approximately 18 million hits per year in 31 languages. There are such centers in Russia. They are located in Kazan and Voronezh, and they employ about 800 engineers. In fact, these Global Service Centers allow customers to fully outsource their IT solutions, reducing the cost of maintaining their own system administrators. By the way, 90% of current customers of the Russian GDC are located abroad. The GDC network uses a global service delivery model. This means that if the competence of specialists of any one center is not enough to solve the task facing the customer, it can always be redirected to any other GDC division where the necessary specialists will be present. In addition, the vast experience of providing services for large Western companies allows Fujitsu to solve problems and questions of Russian customers in terms of building and maintaining IT using the most advanced solutions and techniques, sometimes unique to the Russian IT market.

Earlier on this topic:

• IT management and support - Fujitsu's job offer
• Fujitsu Extended Product Support Services