Annual Service Agreements?

[Plumcrazy09]

Do you guys pay annual service agreements to your Shoretel partner? Is there a way to get an annual software agreement only which covers patches & upgrades?

Just curious.

[cburgy]

There was a software only subscription but effective April 1, this is going away. Minimum coverage must incorporate software and switches.

[Plumcrazy09]

Can it be purchased directly from Shoretel or do you have to go through a VAR?

[cburgy]

You can purchase an Enterprise Support Contract through Shoretel. You can obtain Partner Support through Certified or Orange Certified Shoretel Partners.

There is significant value in obtaining support from Shoretel partners who have strong technical abilities in the product and who understand other components of technology infrastructure. Shoretel cannot, for example, provide much guidance on network issues. The best resellers also have direct access into Tier 2. Some of these organizations, one can argue, know the product better than Shoretel.

[Plumcrazy09]

Well the reason I'm asking is I received my first renewal today from my Shoretel partner and for almost $9000 it sure doesn't seem like they are covering alot of stuff. See below for examples:



• All parts are covered for the contracted maintenance period or for the duration of manufactures standard warranty. Maintenance/Warranty coverage is for work of a repair nature only.

• All shipping and handling charges will be billed back to the customer.

• XYZ Company will provide Advanced Replacement for hardware that is deemed mission critical only.

• Emergency replacement of parts warranted or under a maintenance contract will be repaired or replaced within standard delivery timeframes, (depending on product availability and does not include products that have reached end of life.) All shipping and handling charges will be billed back to the customer.

• Travel expenses incurred outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul 7-County Metro area during a warranty support issue ARE NOT included and will be charged back to the customer.

• Warranty support means the examination, testing, repair or part replacement performed to restore the equipment to its proper operating status.

• Labor for emergencies is available outside of normal business hours for Premium customers only.

• Any hardware/software added during the warranty period, provided it is purchased through XYZ Company, will be warranted for the initial period.

• All Hardware/Software Additions will be prorated to co-term with your existing contract.

• Patches and updates will be installed at XYZ Company’s discretion if deemed to improve system performance. Any hardware enhancements that may or may not be required to support these upgrades or updates are not included.

• Major Releases/Upgrades - while under warranty, the software to perform major releases/upgrades is provided to the customer at no charge; however, labor for installation and support services that will be required to implement major upgrades is subject to the type of maintenance package purchased.

• Professional Services provided by XYZ Company is to be used in 15 minute increments. There is no carry-over of unused hours.




Warranty and Maintenance Stipulations

• Non-emergency repairs shall be made on an as-soon-as-possible basis during normal business hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (CST); excluding holidays.

• Parts that have been named “end of Life” by the manufacturer are NOT covered.

• Parts that have been named “end of Life” by the manufacturer will be replaced if a suitable replacement part can be sourced on the refurbished market. Note, availability may vary when sourcing parts on the refurbished market, therefore we cannot commit to a timeline for replacement of “end of Life” parts.

• XYZ Company will only provide support for release versions that are considered still under support by the manufacturer.

• Additions, deletions, and/or modifications to the System are not included. Any on-site or remote technical assistance that is not of a repair nature shall be billable at XYZ Company current labor and material rates.

• Applications that have been created by parties other than XYZ Company are not supported by XYZ Company.

• Customer understands that the equipment purchased may be connected to a variety of customer-supplied pieces of equipment such as “UPS” devices and or other telephone networks. Should these external devices cause XYZ Company’s equipment to fail, XYZ Company may, at its sole discretion, charge the Customer the current rates for diagnosing and repairing any and all equipment necessary to bring the solution back to working order.

• XYZ Company shall determine the number of personnel required to respond to a request for warranty support in accordance with sound maintenance procedures.

[cburgy]

Fairly standard language for a support contract. You should get advance replacement of parts though (i.e. support on the SG switches and phones, if covered).

If you are unhappy with your current partner, you should discuss it with them. Shoretel Enterprise support won't be any less expensive. It might be slightly more. If you still are unhappy with your partner, you have to submit partner of record change request. At that point, Shoretel will engage you to understand the issues and notify your partner of the request. The partner will have an opportunity to resolve any issues, otherwise you are free to move.

[Plumcrazy09]

Its not that I'm not happy with my partner, its more that I'm spending $9000 and what am I really getting? They have not contacted me in the past year about any updates, anything new, nothing. So what happens if I don't want to sign an agreement? Does that mean I'm on my own or I pay as I go or what?

I hate feeling like I'm getting ripped off and thats exactly how I feel when I read this contract.

[cburgy]

Its not that I'm not happy with my partner, its more that I'm spending $9000 and what am I really getting? They have not contacted me in the past year about any updates, anything new, nothing. So what happens if I don't want to sign an agreement? Does that mean I'm on my own or I pay as I go or what?

I hate feeling like I'm getting ripped off and thats exactly how I feel when I read this contract.

I am sorry to hear that. There are a number of good partners that do provide quality service that is worth the yearly price. Note, Shoretel won't do anything different than your current partner. You'll just hop on to check yourself (it's much more reactive than other partners who are proactive). For example, we bundle in monitoring of your server, backups and virtualization of Director in the event of a hardware failure (with our premium plan), notification of new releases and discussing how to implement, and support (of course).

If you don't sign an agreement, you'll go on T&M. Your partner will bill you T&M and if Shoretel has to be engaged, they will also bill you T&M. In the event of any hardware failure, you are buying new hardware. You won't get any software updates and if you experience any issues that are resolved with newer builds, you have to purchase them (and they are NOT inexpensive).

It really isn't recommended (we don't have a single customer on T&M, for example). Also, when you decide to reinstate your agreement, you will be assessed a reinstatement fee of 20%.

I am the bearer of great news this morning, huh?

[Plumcrazy09]

I am the bearer of great news this morning, huh?

You sure are but thanks for the replies. It is much appreciated.

[royb]

My own opinion tends to agree with PlumCrazy. We're in much the same situation.

Burgy, thanks for the info. It ain't good news, but it's some news. Makes this a valuable, and appreciated forum. If it wasn't for you guys, we wouldn't have any real ShoreTel news at all.

[ga20646]

I just received my first maintenance renewal and it's almost $60k! They want us to pay a maintenance fee on the extension and mailbox licenses. Is anyone else paying that?

[cburgy]

Yes, that is normal. Maint incorporates either software & SG switches or software, sg switches and phones.

[Jlorenz]

Personally I think your better off buying a Enterprise contract and calling ShoreTel on your own. NOT BELITTLING Partners at all. I just believe it is easier for the customer in the long run.

Many partners are very good at getting the customers up to date information and keeping them well informed.

Many Partners do not, it is simply about economics, you pay the partner 9k for assistance and many take that money and offer no assistance or are difficult to get info form.

I know by experience, many partners never updated their customers systems after the initial install. I was told and I quote, THAT COSTS US MONEY. Well hello, that is what your customer has paid you for.

I am not a certified ST Partner or Reseller, I am a Ex ShoreTel TAC Certified Engineer and work on contract. For many customers using the ShoreTel Enterprise it fits better in their budget because they have the manpower and admins to work the ST system.

That is just my opinion.

[JasonC]

We had the same issue. We're providing our own support in house, and when we did need our VAR, most issues ended up having to be being forwarded to Shoretel.

I think the phones come with 1 year support automatically, so we dropped the additional warrenty/maintenance fee's on the phones. It was my manager that ended up dealing with this, and he had a meeting with our VAR, and a Shoretel VP. In the end, all we pay for now is Switch and Software warrentymainenance. We were able to stop paying warrenty for the phones and license's.

[Plumcrazy09]

What do you loose by not paying for the phones & licenses?