Cisco
IP Maintenance Advantage Plan
When it comes to maximizing performance and uptime of your Cisco equipment, you have a choice. Continuant’s IP Maintenance Advantage Plan is an affordable alternative to SMARTnet – an alternative that provides additional feature/benefits and substantial savings. Whether you have Cisco SMARTnet covering your unified communications system, wireless infrastructure, data center, or core network that has been recently installed or upgraded, or need coverage for Cisco equipment that has reached end-of-life, Continuant has a solution for you that is flexible, affordable and proven. If you have single site with Cisco SMARTnet or have standardized on Cisco equipment nationally, we’re a great fit. If you have equipment from multiple vendors – that’s even better.
Continuant’s Expertise
The Continuant IP Maintenance Advantage Plan (iMAP) is an innovative, affordable alternative to manufacturer’s maintenance plans. Providing direct, anytime access to certified technical experts, rapid hardware replacement, and industry-leading “time to restore” service level agreements, Continuant iMAP helps you maximize the uptime and efficiency of your voice, data, and wireless IT infrastructure.
Continuant uses advanced diagnostics and secure, real-time alarm monitoring to ensure your systems are protected 24/7/365. Continuant engineers, who can make objective decisions and conduct trend analysis in real time, respond to 100% of all alarms. In addition, Continuant will monitor across multiple vendor platforms providing you with complete network visibility with a single source solution.
Proactive Prevention and Protection
Every customer is assigned a Continuant project manager and a manufacturer-certified engineer who conducts a Maximum Uptime Analysis™ of your covered systems. Each system is accurately documented and then analyzed for potential problems. The results of the Maximum Uptime Analysis™ are then delivered to you with recommendations to improve reliability, security, and maximum uptime.
Continuant’s Maintenance Advantage Plan provides our customers with proactive diagnostics, dashboard visibility, and real-time alerts. And, most importantly, Peace of Mind.
Complete Parts and Labor Warranty
Continuant will immediately replace any failed component under coverage. Continuant guarantees that all of your critical components will be kept in stock at all times.
Managed On Site Critical Spares
As part of our Maximum Uptime Analysis™, Continuant conducts a critical analysis of all system components. These components can then be stocked on the customer’s site. Replacement of failed components takes minutes… not hours.
Preventive Maintenance
Continuant will provide an annual inspection of your system to ensure that it is in proper working condition. We will report back to you. When was the last time your existing vendor performed preventive maintenance?
Real Time Technical Hot Line Support
Continuant Tier 3 engineers are available with virtually no wait, 24/7. Continuant does not restrict your access to technical support for repair issues only. Our Tier 3 engineers will support you with your MAC work, and will answer any questions you may have regarding the day-to-day administration of your systems.
Single Point of Contact
Each customer is assigned a dedicated Continuant Account Manager and team who knows your systems and your expectations. Continuant provides you with a single point of contact that will proactively work with you to ensure that your uptime is maximized.
Accountability
Continuant promises to fulfill our responsibilities to protecting your systems by providing a guaranteed Time to Restore. If we ever miss our agreed upon SLA, we will credit your account 50% of that month’s maintenance billing.
100% Guaranteed
If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with our service, you may cancel your agreement during the first year of coverage with no penalty.
No End-of-Life or End-of-Support Announcements
We guarantee that we will provide full maintenance and support on your legacy system for the life of our agreement. We will not announce end-of-life or end-of-support and will NOT pressure you to upgrade.
Technical Expertise on Legacy Systems
A manufacturer-certified engineer who understands your legacy system is just a phone call away, with virtually no wait, 24/7. Continuant’s maintenance advantage plan provides unrestricted access to technical support for easy resolution of repair issues. Our Tier 3 engineers are also available to provide the support you need for your MAC work, or answer any questions you may have regarding the day-to-day administration of your systems.
Flexibility and Fairness
If you replace a system under coverage, you choose whether to transfer the coverage to the new system or remove the coverage. And, if your system configurations change during the year, your coverage can change with them. Or, in the event of a site closure, you can remove the systems from coverage with no penalty.
IP Monitoring and Issue Resolution
Our engineers will work with you to back up your firmware or your specific configuration so that you will never again lose the software version that works in your production environment. And if you are ordering new equipment, we can load your firmware and configuration onto your equipment before it gets shipped to you—reducing the time it takes to rebuild your system.
We can also help you avoid a potential compatibility problem when introducing new equipment or software version into your existing production environment.
How it Works
The first step in keeping your equipment performing for you is to assess your current situation. To do this, we will visit your site, take inventory of your equipment, and record all relevant details such as make/model, IP address, and authentication.
Next, we will back up all your firmware and your equipment configuration.
Finally, when this process is complete, we will provide you with a Secure Application Server (SAS). The SAS server will be installed in your network, where it will play a key role in monitoring your system.
Monitoring & Remediation Process
The SAS regularly checks on your equipment for key indicators to ensure that the system is running within the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines. When that threshold is crossed, the SAS will generate an alarm notification. In addition, when any event that requires an engineer’s attention occurs, the SAS will relay an alarm notification to our Network Operation Center via secure, encrypted Internet connection.
Our NOC then notifies our certified engineer, and, together they will call up the alarming device via remote-access VPN account (or other remote-access method that is in compliance with your corporate remote-access policy).
Our engineers will analyze the situation, identify the problem, and get it fixed.
SAS Connectivity
The SAS is configured just like your internal server with a private IP address behind a corporate firewall, with access to the Internet. The SAS is shipped pre-configured. Your private IP address information will be obtained from you during the site-survey phase. To activate the SAS, you just need to connect the SAS to your LAN and turn the power on.
Equipment <-> SAS
Depending on the protocol used, your equipment needs to be able to send SNMP trap (UDP/162), Syslog (UDP/514) and ICMP to the SAS.
The SAS needs to be able to communicate with your equipment using one of the following protocols ICMP, SNMP (UDP/161), HTTP (TCP/80), HTTPS(TCP/443), Telnet (TCP/23), SSH (TCP/22), and WMI ports.
SAS <-> NOC
The SAS will communicate with the Continuant NOC via the following ports: DNS (UDP/53), HTTPS (TCP/443) and OAM (TCP/9222).
Continuant Engineer <-> Equipment
Continuant NOC engineers will use a remote access VPN client that you provide to access covered equipment.
- Q. Is Continuant a Cisco channel partner?
- Q. What Cisco products do you maintain and support?
- Q. Does Continuant maintain equipment that has been deemed “end of Life” by Cisco?
- Q. Does Continuant provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?
- Q. Does Continuant provide a Technical Assistance Center (TAC)?
Q. Is Continuant a Cisco channel partner?
Yes. Continuant is a Cisco Premier Partner. As a Continuant customer you will still have access to Cisco resources and expertise.
Q. What Cisco products do you maintain and support?
Continuant maintains and supports all Cisco products.
Q. Does Continuant maintain equipment that has been deemed “end of Life” by Cisco?
Yes. In addition to all new Cisco products, Continuant maintains products which have been deemed “End of Life” by Cisco. Continuant will provide expert maintenance for your systems regardless of their position in the OEM lifecycle. Continuant believes customers have the right to receive maximum longevity and value from their technology investment. No forced upgrades. No pressure to upgrade. Guaranteed.
Q. Does Continuant provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?
Continuant provides the best SLA in the industry. Not only will Continuant guarantee when replacement parts will arrive at your location, but Continuant SLA’s provide a guaranteed Time to Restore, as well. Continuant also provides an online report that allows you to track SLA adherence. And, if Continuant ever misses an SLA, you’ll receive a credit on your next month’s invoice.
Q. Does Continuant provide a Technical Assistance Center (TAC)?
Yes. As part of Continuant’s IP Maintenance Advantage Plan (iMAP) Continuant provides immediate access to Tier 3 engineers who know your network and your expectations. All calls are answered by US-based engineers who can resolve your problem without multiple transfers, lengthy hold times or triage processes.
