Smartcare Qa
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Cisco Smart Care ServicePartner Q&A
This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution.
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
iiThis document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
About Cisco Smart Care Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Availability and Localization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Partner Qualificat ion and Cer tification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Partner Registration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Training and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Quoting, Ordering, and Billing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Pricing Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Cisco Smart Care Service Pr ice to Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Ultimate Contract Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Initial Price Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Final Quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Billing and Payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Quarterly True-Ups/Annual Renewals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Contract Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Contract Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Contract Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Contract Cancellations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Access Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Partner Enablement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Role of Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Features and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Discovery and Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Device Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Marketing Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Assessments and Remote Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Network Appliance (Hardware or Software Client) . . . . . . . . . . 33
Software Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Hardware Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Customer Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
IPS Signature Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Dashboard Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Advance Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Comparison to Other Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Cisco SMARTnet Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Collaborative Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Shared Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Remote Management Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Relat ion to Other Cisco Partner Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Managed Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Table of Contents
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
About Cisco Smart Care Services
General
Q. What is CiscoSmart Care Service?
A. Cisco Smart Care Service is a unique, proactive services platform
that allows Cisco Certified Partners to build upon Cisco networking
expertise, methodologies, technical tools, best practices and service
infrastructure to create new, personalized services for their customers.
Smart Care Service provides partners with the capabilities needed to
offer the network-level insight, traditional maintenance, and proactive
network services their customers require; it also helps partners grow and
differentiate their businesses in the commercial marketplace. With the
core capabilities of Cisco Smart Care Service, partners can provide their
customers with capabilities such as:
Remote monitoring and repair of Cisco devices and software
applications*
Proactive health checks and periodic assessments of Cisco
network foundation, voice, and security technologies to identify
potential issues
Technical support for all Cisco hardware and software in the
network with a single network-wide maintenance contract
Selected software updates and upgrades (see table below)
Next business day (NBD) advance replacement of Cisco devices
with an option to upgrade individual devices to 4-hour coverage
(onsite service not included)
Proactive notications to simplify the updating of Cisco devices
Assessment and preparation services to simplify the addition of
new technologies and applications over time
Disaster recovery services to back up the customers routers,
switches, and security solutions to a remote location and easily
restore the network in the event of a disaster
Offering off-the-shelf, best in class, proactive network monitoring
capabilities, backed by Cisco, as part of a service that helps provide
visibility into the customers network saves operational costs andsimplifies network-level contract management.
For the end customer, a partner offering based on Cisco Smart Care
provides a comprehensive network-wide service that can include
proactive network monitoring, health checkups, diagnostics, and
software repairs, in addition to technical support for their entire Cisco
networkin a single contract. Smart Care Service is delivered through a
local Cisco Certified Partner that works with Cisco to provide a superior
service experience.
Table 1.
ContractType Description
CCOAccessLevel
PicaAdministration
HardwareCoverage
Service LevelGroup
SoftwareCenter Access
MajorSoftwareUpdates
SoftwareMaintainence
ReleasesTAC
Access
CNL1 CNL1 ROUTR/SWTCH/SEC Partner Yes Yes 8x5xNBD Yes No Yes Yes
CNL3 CNL3 VOICE ADDED Partner Yes Yes 8x5xNBD Yes No Yes Yes
CNL4 CNL4 ADV VOICE ADDED Partner Yes Yes 8x5xNBD Yes No Yes Yes
CNLA SMARTCARE ASSESS SVC Partner Yes No SAS for client only Yes No No Yes
CNLB SMARTCARE ASSESS SVC Partner Yes No SAS for client only Yes No No Yes
CNLP SMARTCARE PREMIUM Partner Yes Yes 24x7x4 Yes No Yes Yes
*Refer to the Products section for a list of eligible devices and soft ware applications covered by Cisco Smart Care Service.
* Software upgrades do not contain entitlement for licensed upgrades. These licensed upgrades have to be purchased separately.Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Partners
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
Customizable alert services to send email or text notications of
any issue in customer networks
Proactive notications of any end-of-life Cisco devices in
customer networks
Disaster recovery services to remotely back up customer
network configurations
Partner access to the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC)
for escalations (partners take all calls from the customer and are
required to address level 0 and level 1 calls)
Software updates and maintenance releases for qualied Cisco
applications
Cisco IOS Software support, including maintenance releases
and patches and access to Cisco.com and the Cisco Smart CareService portal and tools
A network-level service contract covering all qualied Cisco
devices in the customers network (See Table 1 in the Products
section for a list of eligible devices and software applications
covered by Cisco Smart Care Service.)
Q. Why should partners sell a support offering based on
Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. Cisco Smart Care Service helps partners expand their businessopportunities by providing a proactive services platform on which they can
build the next generation of personalized services that promote higher
profit margins, recurrent revenue, and long-lasting customer relationships.
The Cisco Smart Care Service platform enables partners to:
Improve protability by transitioning to a service-led model,
which can result in higher profit margins and predictable,
recurring revenue.
Dierentiate their businesses by developing personalized services
for midsize customers.
Purchasing Cisco Smart Care Service from a Cisco Certified Partner
is the way for midsize customers to verify that their network is secure,
reliable, and functioning optimally so that they can improve their
employee productivity, increase customer responsiveness, and get
the most from their technology investments. Utilizing a service based
on Cisco Smart Care gives customers greater visibility into networkperformance and greatly reduces the time and effort necessary to help
ensure that their networks are running efficiently.
Q. What is included for partners in Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. Cisco Smart Care Service includes:
Dashboard visibility into a customers network to remotely monitor
performance and correct potential problems
Periodic assessment and repair services to identify potential
network health and security issues
Single-use network health and security assessments to provide
assessments as a one-time professional service or to demonstrate
the value of the annual service to prospective customers
Assessment and preparation services to simplify the addition of
new technologies and applications over time
Voice assessment services that can be used prior to deploying
voice in the network.
Voice quality monitoring service to help ensure the audible quality
of voice
Proactive device-level diagnostics, alerts, and remediation advice
for Cisco Smart Call Home-enabled products when an issue is
detected
Single support contract for all Cisco devices in the customers
network
Next-business-day (NBD) advance hardware replacement to
the end user for the entire network, with the option to upgradeindividual devices to premium 4-hour coverage, software updates/
upgrades and ESW equivalence. (Onsite service not included)
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Partners
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
Q. Who is the target customer for service based on Cisco
Smart Care?
A. The Cisco Smart Care Service is designed to enable partners
to provide support for midsize businesses, typically between 100
and 1000 employees. Target customers primarily or exclusively use
Cisco networking devices and lack sufficient in-house resources with
networking expertise, or have qualified IT staff but choose to save time
and effort maintaining and optimizing their network to help ensure higher
network security, availability, and performance.
Q. How is Cisco Smart Care Service different from other
services?
Proactive remote monitoring for visibility into the health, security,
and availability of the network
Assessment and services
Customizable alert services
Disaster recovery capabilities
Technical support to the partner for level 2+ issues (partners take
all calls from the customer and are required to address level 0 and
level 1 calls)
NBD advance hardware replacement for Cisco devices, with the
option to upgrade individual devices to 4-hour coverage (onsite
service not included)
Simplied addition of new technologies and applications over time
with assessment and preparation services
A single contract that covers all qualied Cisco devices on
the network
Increase customer loyalty by combining the complementary service
advantages of Cisco and the partner to deliver an exceptional
service experience to customers.
Grow their service business through a collaborative go-to-market
strategy with Cisco.
Reduce contract management through a single network-wide
contract
Q. Why should customers buy a partner service based on
Cisco Smart Care?
A. A partner support offering based on Cisco Smart Care Service
provides customers the following benefits:
The opportunity to choose the level and type of network coverage
to best support the size and complexity of their business
Increased network visibility with the information partners need to
efficiently manage and continually improve customer networks
Ongoing monitoring and periodic assessments of network
health, availability, and security to protect and optimize essential
network applications, communications, and business operations
so problems can be addressed before they affect business
functionality
Enhanced business continuity through disaster recovery capabilities
that remotely back up network routing, switching, and securityconfigurations, allowing the quick restoration of the network to its
prior working order in the event of a disaster
A single service contract that covers all Cisco devices to simplify
contract management and maintenance requirements
The combined strengths of Cisco, the industry leader in
networking, with a local value-add reseller, providing midsize
customers with network care and improvement planning to help
keep the network efficient and secure
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Partners
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
Note: The estimate of 50 to 1000 network users represents the number
of active, concurrent users on the network. In some industries, such as
manufacturing or healthcare, many employees access the network only
occasionally. The number of employees in a business could be much
higher. This could translate to up to 1000 users.
Q. Is Cisco Smart Care Service a good option for businesses
that want to add voice to their network?
A. Yes. Successfu l IP voice implementation requires more than simply
deploying an IP call processing solution and IP phones. A company
needs a network that prioritizes voice services, provides the necessary
bandwidth and processing resources, and is protected from common
networking issues that have negligible effects on other services but that
significantly impact voice quality.
Q. How does Cisco define network coverage?
A. Network coverage means that the customer covers Cisco devices**
in the network with a service level contract that includes proactive
network health checkups, remote monitoring, diagnostics, and software
repairs in addition to technical support delivered through their local Cisco
Certified Partner. The customer gets the same high level of service
across the network.
Since this service is designed to serve the needs of medium-sized
customers, coverage is limited to products that those businesses typically
purchase. The customer may not purchase Cisco Smart Care Service if
some of their network equipment is considered to be high-end enterprise
or service provider-class devices.
**Most commercial-class and some enterprise-class Cisco products are eligible to becovered by Cisco Smart Care Service. For more information about eligible products,refer to the Products section.
Q. If a customer already has another Cisco service contract on
some devices, such as Cisco SMARTnet Service or Shared
Support, can they get Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. Yes. The customer can choose to cover their entire Cisco network
with a partner plan based on Cisco Smart Care Service, even if they
currently have Cisco SMARTnet, Shared Support, or another Cisco
service. Cisco Smart Care Service will be applied to the uncovered
products, and at the renewal time for the other service contracts, they
will be converted to Cisco Smart Care Service. For more information,
see the Pricing section. As these other Cisco service contracts expire,
the devices will migrate over on the Smart Care contract and the price
will be adjusted as part of the true-up process.
Q. Is there a limit to the number of network users Cisco Smart
Care Service can support on any one network?
A. No. Since Cisco Smart Care Service is sold based on the number and
class of Cisco devices are on the network, the actual number of network
users will vary.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Partners
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
Next-business-day (NBD) advance hardware replacement to
the end user for the entire network, with the option to upgrade
individual devices to premium 4-hour coverage, software updates/
upgrades, and ESW equivalence (onsite service is not included)
Simplied addition of new technologies and applications over timewith assessment and preparation services
A single contract that covers all qualied Cisco devices on the
network
Q. What options does a customer have for hardware
replacement (for example, NBD, 4-hour, 2-hour)? How will
customers with current 2-hour contracts be supported until
their existing contracts expire?
A. The base-level Cisco Smart Care Service contract lets partnersprovide NBD hardware replacement. Partners also have the flexibility to
upgrade individual devices to a premium 4-hour hardware replacement
option. (Note:The 4-hour option does not include onsite service.) If
customers with an existing 2-hour contract purchase a plan based on
Cisco Smart Care Service, their existing Cisco SMARTnet contracts will
be honored for the duration of that contract. As each devices contract
expires, it will automatically be migrated to a partner offering based on
Cisco Smart Care Service and the pricing adjusted when applicable.
Therefore, a customer that has a current 2-hour Cisco SMARTnet
Service contract will still be able to get that hardware replacement level
until their current Cisco SMARTnet contract expires.
SecurityNote:For information on how your customers data is secure with Smart
Care, go to: www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/
downloads/scs_security_wp.pdf.
Q. What steps are taken to help ensure that network data sent
to Cisco is secure?
A. A network appliance or software application on the network
continuously collects data about the health of the network. This data is
With a support plan based on the Cisco Smart Care Service, a qualified
Cisco partnerbacked by extensive tools and in-depth training from
Ciscoprovides a comprehensive analysis to determine whether the
network meets these requirements before the customer invests in IP
voice technologies. The assessment tools include voice traffic injection
capabilities and detailed measurements of the delay, jitter, and loss in thecustomer network. The assessment also provides a mean opinion score
(MOS) for the customer networkthe industry-standard scoring criteria
for IP voice circuits.
Through this evaluation, the Cisco partner provides detailed information
about everything the network requires (including any devices or
links that must be replaced and any operating systems that must
be upgraded) to successfully support IP voice and helps create a
smoother, more successful implementation. According to a 2005
Cisco survey of companies with IP voice solutions, nearly 90 percent
of customers that performed a presales assessment of their networksvoice capabilities reported that they were pleased with the solution.
Alternatively,approximately 80 percent of those companies that did not
perform such assessments were dissatisfied.
Q. How is Cisco Smart Care Service different from other
services?
A. Unlike traditional maintenance services, Cisco Smart Care Service
provides you with a proactive services platform that provides tools to
deliver both traditional maintenance and proactive services, including:
Proactive remote monitoring for visibility into the health, security,
and availability of the network
Assessment and repair services
Customizable alert services
Disaster recovery capabilities
Technical support to the partner for level 2+ issues (partners take
all calls from the customer and are required to address level 0 and
level 1 calls)Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Partners
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
There is no need to request exclusions for the following devices:
The Smart Care appliance
Third-party devices
Devices no longer in the Smart Care inventory
Personal computers
Q. Can a nonqualifying product on a network be covered with
another service and the rest of the network be covered with
Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. Yes. Nonqualifying products on a network may be covered with
another service while the rest of the network is covered with Smart Care.
However, the smart service features and coverage offered by Smart Care
will not apply to nonqualifying products.
Q. Will older Cisco devices be supported, for example,
a Cisco 2503 Router?
A. This depends on the device. When an end-of-support notice is
issued, affected devices will no longer be covered. Talk to your Cisco
service account manager about replacement strategies.
Q. If a customer purchases a non-eligible Cisco product,
what happens to the network-level support contract?A. If a customer purchases a non-eligible Cisco product, that customer
still remains eligible for a partner support offering based on Cisco Smart
Care Service to continue to cover qualified devices on their network.
Products
Q. What products does Cisco Smart Care Service support?
A. Cisco Smart Care Service supports a broad range of products for
mid-sized business networks, which are organized into six technology
groups. This list is continually updated as Cisco introduces new products
into this market segment. For the most up-to-date product list, refer to
the Cisco Service Quote Upload and Estimates Tool, which is found on the
Smart Care Partner Central website, under Resources, then Tools section
(direct link: http://tools.cisco.com/ca/cacsp/application/index.jsp ).
Q. Why are some products excluded from Cisco Smart Care
Service?
A. Since this service is designed for midsize businesses, coverage is
limited to products that those companies typically purchase. Cisco has
included products that are commonly used by businesses of all sizes,
such as Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches. However, most enterprise-
class products are excluded from this service
Q. What devices are excluded?
A. Generally, any device detected will be added to the customers
contract, will be eligible for entitlement, and will be considered during
the quarterly pricing reviews. It is reasonable to anticipate that customers
will have devices in their networks that might need to be excluded from
the Cisco Smart Care Service contract. Reasons for the exclusions may
include, but are not limited to:
Cisco or partner-provided test, lab, or demo gear
Service provider-owned gear
The partner may request that these devices be excluded from the
Cisco Smart Care Service contract through the Service Support Center
(SSC). The request will be reviewed by a Cisco Smart Care Service
administrator, and, if approved, excluded devices will be marked on the
inventory as excluded and, if appropriate, removed from the Cisco Smart
Care Service contract.Back to Tableof Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Partners
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A
8This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.
Partners
Partner Qualification and Certification
Q. What qualifications do partners need to sell and support
Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. At a minimum, you must be a Cisco Select, Premier, Silver, or Gold
Certified Partner and must have passed the Cisco Smart Care Service
exam. If you meet these requirements, you can sell and support Cisco
Smart Care Service for networks that contain basic Cisco routing,
switching, security, and storage technology products. For networks
with basic voice technology, a Cisco Express Unified Communications
Specialization is required from the partner. For networks with advanced
voice technology products, an Advanced Unified Communications
Specialization is required. Specialization requirements may vary
depending on country and theater. Contact your Cisco representative formore information. Additionally, you must be able to provide 8x5 support
to your customers.
Q. May Global Service Alliance (GSA) and Regional Service
Alliance (RSA) partners offer Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. GSA and RSA partners can qualify to offer a plan based on Cisco
Smart Care Service if they meet the minimum partner eligibility
requirements. If a GSA or RSA partner chooses to offer a plan based on
Cisco Smart Care Service, the GSA or RSA benefits will not be applied
to Cisco Smart Care Service. Cisco Smart Care Service does not includerebates or discounts; GSA and RSA partners will not be able to apply the
strategic alliance benefits they receive to Cisco Smart Care Service.
Q. What if it says I am not qualified to register?
A. There are specific eligibility criteria that your partner company needs
to meet before registering for the Cisco Smart Care program. Visit the
program homepage (www.cisco.com/go/smartcare ) to review those
criteria. If you think that your company meets the criteria, visit the Partner
Self-Service tool at http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/
welcome.doto validate if the appropriate certifications/specializationsare in place.
It is also possible that your company does not reside in one of the
countries in which the Cisco Smart Care program is currently available.
Visit the Partner Self-Service tool to validate your companys address
information, and refer to the Theater Availability table at www.cisco.com/
web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/theater_availability.htmlfor
updates on availability.
Q. What if the portal does not recognize or show all the
certifications and specializations my company has?
A. If you have recently acquired a new certification or specialization, it
might not have been updated on your profile. To verify, visit the Partner
Self-Service tool at http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/
welcome.doto view your certifications and specializations and to report
any issues.
Q. How do increased specialization/certification levels affect
my registration with Smart Care?
A. If your company acquires one of the higher specializations that make
you eligible for a higher Cisco Smart Care access level, your Cisco Smart
Care access level will automatically be increased. This will allow you to
support and sell Cisco Smart Care for more complex customer networks.
To see the eligibility requirements for Smart Care, visit www.cisco.com/
web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/offer.html.
Q. What is meant by, In the event the partner is not recertifiedwithin the 90-day grace period, the customers Smart Care
Service contract will be supported until it expires.
A. Partners will still have access to the Smart Care Service Portal, but
will be unable to run any services. Customer networks are still covered by
the Smart Care Service contract, and partners can access support for the
customer networks.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
http://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/theater_availability.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/theater_availability.htmlhttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/offer.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/offer.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/offer.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/offer.htmlhttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/theater_availability.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/theater_availability.htmlhttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcare -
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Q. How do I become eligible to register for Cisco Smart
Care Service?
A. Each geographic region may have additional requirements, but the
following are the general steps to register for Cisco Smart Care Service:
Step 1: Review Minimum Partner Eligibility Requirements
1.Confirm theater availability for your partner location.
2.Hold a Select, Premier, Silver or Gold Cisco partner certification.
3. Agree to provide technical support (8x5 business hoursself-certify).
4.Complete live or online training (self-certify).
5.Pass the Cisco Smart Care Service online test (free to partners; one
person from partnership needs to pass).
Step 2: Get Trained and Take the Online Test:
The Cisco Smart Care Service e-learning contains several role-based
training paths (including owner/manager, account manager, systems
engineer, and sales operations/administrative). It is available to you at no
cost. To view the entire range of training offered, view the training map:
www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/
training_map.html.
Partner eligibility to participate in the Cisco Smart Care Service program
requires a partner sales or systems engineer, or equivalent, to pass the
Cisco Smart Care Service online eligibility test. This test is focused on
the installation, configuration, and use of the Cisco Smart Care Service
delivery tools. Only one member of your partner organization is required
to pass the test to meet eligibility. The test must be passed before your
organization can successfully register for the Cisco Smart Care Service
program. You can access the Smart Care tests through the registration
tab in the e-learning course.
Partner Registration
Q. How can I familiarize myself with Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. Go to www.cisco.com/go/smartcare for details on Cisco Smart Care
Service. This site includes data sheets; at-a-glance documents; a demo
overview of the program and all of the tools; overviews of the network
health, security, and voice assessments; and much more.
Q. Where should I go when deciding to offer Cisco Smart
Care Service?
A. The Offer the Service section on the Smart Care website
(www.cisco.com/go/smartcare ) will take you through a five-phase
decision-making process. The five phases are:
Understanding the Smart Care value proposition
Building your business case
Building your services oering
Incorporating into your business model
Selling and delivering a plan based on Cisco Smart Care Service
Included in these five phases are the relevant documentation and tools to
guide you through the decision-making stage.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
http://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.html -
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Q. Why does it say my Cisco.com user ID is no longer
associated with the partner company?
A. Your Cisco.com user ID might no longer be associated with the
company with which you were originally registered for Cisco Smart Care
Service. If you have switched companies recently or if you believe this
message has been received in error, visit the Partner Self-Service tool
at http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.doto correct
the information.
Q. Does everyone from the partner organization need to sign up
and create a separate Cisco Smart Care account?
A. Every user should have a separate Cisco.com user ID and should be
registered on the Cisco Smart Care portal by the designated Smart Care
administrator at your company.
Q. If I am already registered, how do I become a registered
user for my company?
A. You will need to contact the designated Smart Care administrator at
you company to get access.
Q. Does everyone from the partner organization have to com-
plete the Cisco Smart Care registration click-to-accept
terms?
A. No, only the person authorized to accept the Cisco terms and
conditions will be required to sign at the time of registration.
Q. When registering, it says I need to self-certify that I am
capable of providing 8x5 business hours technical support.
What does this mean?
A. This is a requirement to sell Cisco Smart Care Service. You should
check this box only if you are able to provide technical support during
business hours (8 hours a day, 5 days a week) to customers.
There are two different tests associated with the systems engineering
training path modules. The systems engineer or equivalent needs to pass
only the test that matches the partner organizations service level. (See
notes following each test title.) The tests are:
Cisco Smart Care Base + Voice:Pass this test to sell level 3 and
level 4 of Smart Care (unified communications).
Cisco Smart Care Base:Pass this test to sell level 1 and level 2 of
Smart Care (foundation technology and security).
Step 3: Register to Begin Offering a Support Plan Based on Cisco Smart
Care Service
When your systems engineer has passed the online test and you meet
the other eligibility requirements described in step 1, you may register
to offer a plan based on Cisco Smart Care by filling out a simple
registration form.
Step 4: Begin Selling a Plan Based on Cisco Smart Care
Now that you are officially registered to start offering a support plan
based on Cisco Smart Care Service, you can begin using all of the online
marketing, selling, and delivery tools through the Cisco Smart Care
control panel.
Q. What is the URL to register for Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. The URL is https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare. All requirements must
be met before you can register.
Q. What if I cannot get to the Cisco Smart Care portal page?
A. Visithttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.do to verify that you
have a valid Cisco.com user ID for logging into the portal.
Q. What if my Cisco.com user ID is not working?
A. It might not exist, in which case you will need to create one at
http://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.do . Or you might need to
reset the password by sending an email to [email protected] to Tableof Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttps://tools.cisco.com/smartcarehttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttps://tools.cisco.com/smartcarehttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.do -
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Training and Testing
Q. Where do I go to get training for Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. For internal sales and business training on Smart Care and Ciscos
portfolio of technical services visit Accelerate, www.cisco.com/go/
accelerate, Ciscos partner portal dedicated to services training and
education. For all the tools and resources required to help you position
and sell Smart Care to your customers, visit www.cisco.com/go/
smartcare.
To gain a more technical experience of Cisco Smart Care Service, the
Partner Education Connection e-learning resources are available at
www.cisco.com/go/pec .
Q. Is there a fee for accessing the online training?
A. No. The online training is free to all Cisco partners.
Q. How do I complete the Cisco Smart Care training? Is it web
based? In person? Do I have to pass a written test?
A. You may access training in two ways: (1) Complete the training
online at your own pace. (2) There may be live trainings offered by the
Cisco channel sales team. The training should be completed to prepare
for the required online test to become a Cisco Smart Care Service
registered partner.
Q. What type of web-based training is available to me?
A. There are four role-based learning paths available for partners.
They are as follows:
For Owner/Managers:30 Minutes
Lesson 1:Cisco Smart Care Service Overview: 20 minutes
Lesson 2:Partner Registration: 10 minutes
Q. If I acquire new certifications or specializations, when
should I expect to get an email regarding my change of
access level?
A. After a partners prole has been updated with the newly acquired
specialization in the Partner Self-Service tool at http://tools.cisco.com/
wwchannels/getlog/welcome.do , the next time someone from your
company logs into the Cisco Smart Care portal, the access level will
be automatically increased. You will receive an email notifying you of
this change.
Q. Why would I have trouble registering for Cisco Smart Care
Service if I meet the minimum eligibility?
A. The majority of issues with registration involve partner certifications
levels per the Partner Self-Service tool. You can verify that you have the
right certification or specialization level to qualify by visiting http://tools.
cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.do .
Q. How many employees need to pass the Smart Care Exam
to register the program?
A. One employee needs to pass COLT.
Q. Does an employee who will take the Smart Care Exam
need to hold any kind of Cisco certification, such as a
Cisco CCNA?
A. No.
Q. What languages are available for the Smart Care Exam?
A. English only.
Q. If my companys attorney has questions about a certain
clause in the terms and conditions, to whom should these
questions be directed?
A. For questions regarding the terms and conditions for Cisco , contact
the SSC by sending an email to: [email protected] or open
a case at www.cisco.com/go/ssc.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
http://www.cisco.com/go/acceleratehttp://www.cisco.com/go/acceleratehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/pechttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.domailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/go/sschttp://www.cisco.com/go/sscmailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://www.cisco.com/go/pechttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/acceleratehttp://www.cisco.com/go/accelerate -
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Q. There are two different Cisco Smart Care Service tests.
How do I know which test to take?
A. When you go to the URL to take the test, you will have two choices,
either Smart Care Base or Smart Care Base + Voice. If your company
has a Cisco Express or Advanced Unified Communications Specialization
and can support level 3 and 4 Smart Care contracts, you will have access
to the voice tools and should take the Base + Voice test.
Q. Is there a fee for taking the test?
A. No. The Cisco Smart Care Service online test is free to partners.
Only one partner, sales or systems engineer, or equivalent needs to
pass the exam.
Q. How long does the test take?
A. The test should take no more than 60 minutes to complete. The testwill time out and score the test at 60 minutes.
Q. What score do I need to get to pass the test?
A. The passing score for the Cisco Smart Care Service online test is
70 percent correct.
Q. How long before I can retake the test if I do not pass it on
the first try?
A. You may retake the test within minutes of receiving your email pass/fail notification. There is no limit on the number of times you can take
the test.
Q. How often do I have to take the test to remain eligible
(for example, once, annually)?
A. You or your sales or systems engineer (or equivalent) need to take
the test only one time.
For Account Managers:1 Hour 15 Minutes
Lesson 1:Cisco Smart Care Service Overview: 20 minutes
Lesson 3:Quoting and Ordering: 34 minutes
Lesson 5:Using the Cisco Smart Care Service Tools: 17 minutes
For Systems Engineers:2 Hours 36 Minutes
Lesson 1:Cisco Smart Care Service Overview: 20 minutes
Lesson 2:Partner Registration: 10 minutes
Lesson 3:Quoting and Ordering: 48 minutes
Lesson 4:Managing Cisco Smart Care Service Contracts:
14 minutes
Lesson 5:Using the Cisco Smart Care Service Tools: 56 minutes
Lesson 6:Cisco Smart Care Service Support Model: 7 minutes
Administrators/Operations:2 Hours
Lesson 1:Cisco Smart Care Service Overview: 20 minutes
Lesson 2:Partner Registration: 10 minutes
Lesson 3:Quoting and Ordering: 48 minutes
Lesson 4:Managing Cisco Smart Care Service Contracts: 14 minutes
Lesson 5:Using the Cisco Smart Care Service Tools: 25 minutes
Lesson 6:Cisco Smart Care Service Support Model: 7 minutes
Q. Do I need to take the partner test before or after signing up
for Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. Before you can register to offer Smart Care, one person from your
staff needs to take and pass the appropriate online test. The online
test is based on the sales or systems engineer learning path content
(see above).Back to Tableof Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
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Quoting, Ordering, and Billing
General
Q. What is the quoting and ordering process through
distribution?
A. The quoting and ordering process is the same for Cisco 2-Tier and
1-Tier Partners. All partners use the Cisco Smart Care Service network
appliance and portal to discover the devices on the customer network.
They request the initial quote through the Smart Care portal, and their
selected distributor will contact the partner once the quote is ready. The
partner may check the status of the quote at every step of the process
through the Cisco Smart Care Service portal.
Q. What processes exist for checking currently uncovered
equipment?
A. The Cisco Smart Care Service inventory process detects all the
devices on the network, including those of other manufacturers.
Uncovered Cisco equipment will be discovered. All devices will be sent
through a scrubbing process to validate and make sure all Cisco devices
are included for entitlement and billing purposes.
Q. If a Smart Care partner found a device that is covered by
another partners active service contract in the discovery
and inventory process, what information on that contract will
be shown on the control panel? Can the Smart Care partner
see the information, such as service contract type, owner of
that contract, and when it expires?
A. No. If a non-Smart Care partner currently provides the support for the
customer, the Smart Care partner will not get the contract information on
those devices.
Q. Does everyone who accesses Cisco Smart Care and delivers
the service need to pass the test, or just one person: the
sales or systems engineer (or equivalent)?
A. Only one person at a given partner company is required to pass the
appropriate Cisco Smart Care test.
Q. How long does it take between the time I take the Smart
Care Service eligibility test and when I can register for
Cisco Smart Care?
A. You may start the Cisco Smart Care registration process immediately.
Q. I am having a problem launching the e-learning. What could
the problem be?
A. You may need to turn off the pop-up blocker in the browser. For
example, in Internet Explorer go to tools > Pop-up Blockers > Turn off
Pop-up Blockers. Also, if you have a toolbar for Yahoo or Google, you will
need to disable the pop-up blocker in there as well. After you have done
this, try launching the e-learning again.
Q. I am having a problem going through the e-learning. What
should I do?
A. Use the following link to find help: http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/
peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=
CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0. If you are
unable to find the answer, open a case using the link on the bottom of
the page.
Q. The exam is not available. What can I do?
A. Send an email to: [email protected] or open a case at
www.cisco.com/go/ssc.
Q. What if I do not pass the test? How often can I take it?
A. If you do not pass the test the first time, you may retake the test
immediately. There is no limit to the number of retakes.Back to Tableof Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0mailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/go/sschttp://www.cisco.com/go/sscmailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0 -
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Q. If a customer already has another Cisco service contract,
such as Cisco SMARTnet or Shared Support, on some
devices, can they purchase a partner plan based on Cisco
Smart Care Service? Or do they have to wait until their
current service contract expires?
A. Customers can choose to cover their entire Cisco network with a plan
based on Cisco Smart Care Service, even if they currently have Cisco
SMARTnet, Shared Support, or another Cisco service. Devices already
covered by another service are excluded from the Cisco Smart Care
Service price charged to the partner until their service plan expires. The
initial customer quote includes up-front prorated costs for devices that
will be covered by Cisco Smart Care later in the contract term.
Then when the other service contracts expire, those devices would
automatically migrate over to the Cisco Smart Care Service contract, and
the price to the partner for the Smart Care Service would be adjusted at
that time. It is anticipated that the partner would adjust their price to the
customer as well.
Q. How is the Cisco Smart Care Service priced relative to Cisco
SMARTnet Service?
A. The Cisco Smart Care Service and Cisco SMARTnet Service are very
different offers and share only some elements in common. Cisco expects
the types of services that a partner ultimately wraps around Cisco Smart
Care Service to make it a dramatically different offer that encompasses
more consultative services. Cisco Smart Care Service assumes the
partner is providing engineers to manage the tools platform, plus non-
maintenance services such as assessments and monitoring. Therefore,
the total costs considered as well as the value delivered are very different
and make it very difficult to make a comparison. Cisco Smart Care
Service pricing is based on the number of devices on the network and
the types of technologies and applications on the network. Considering
those two factors will determine the network-wide service price to be in
one of 60 different total price points.
Pricing Framework
Q. How is Cisco Smart Care Service priced?
A. Cost is determined by two factors: (1) the number of devices on the
network (categorized across 10 fixed pricing bands) and (2) the typesof applications and devices that reside on the network. The number
of devices on the network is a combination of those automatically
discovered and inventoried along with any manual additions made by you.
This may increase over time because of the weekly discovery process.
Q. Can an end customer purchase directly from Cisco?
A. No
Q. Can 1-Tier partners buy Smart Care?
A. Yes, but exclusively through Cisco authorized Smart Care distributors.
Q. Does Cisco set the customer price for partner plans based
on Cisco Smart Care Service?
A. No. You establish the price to each customer, depending on the level
and type of services the customer and you agree on.
Q. How is the Cisco Smart Care Service price to the
customer determined?
A. You pay Cisco a price for using this proactive services platform, based
on the devices and applications in the customers entire network. You then
establish the price to the customer, taking into account each customers
unique requirements and the value-added services you are providing.
For instance, the price to the customer may take into account not only
Cisco devices and applications on the customers network, but also the
frequency of assessments and additional services that you provide.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
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To help ensure that Cisco Smart Care Service is priced fairly, the device
counts for these complex devices are weighted using a device multiplier.
Q. How are the Cisco Smart Care network client and the
Cisco Smart Care network appliance priced? Can they be
purchased as standalone products?
A. The Cisco Smart Care network client and the Cisco Smart Care
network appliance are part of the service offering and are not available for
a standalone purchase. The cost of either the software client or hardware
appliance is built into the price of the annually renewable contract.
Q. Do Cisco IP phones count as devices?
A. No. Phones are covered, but are not counted in the number of
devices. One goal of the Cisco Smart Care Service is to simplify network-
level pricing. By eliminating the number of phones and the number ofusers, Cisco makes it easy for you to determine your cost for each
network you support.
Q. What percentage of Cisco commercial products is covered?
What are the major products that are excluded from Cisco
Smart Care Service?
A. More than 95 percent of commercial class products are eligible for
Cisco Smart Care Service coverage. In some cases, there may be a time
lag between when a new commercial product is launched and when it is
available for the full suite of service in Cisco Smart Care Service.
Q. Is there a separate cost for the hardware appliance? Why
isnt the service less expensive if the partner takes the
software client?
A. The hardware appliance is included in the price of the service. A core
design criterion for this service is simplicity. By including the appliance
in the cost of the service, you need to perform only one transaction.
Further, the choice of a software or hardware network appliance is not
intended to be a core differentiator for this service.
Cisco SMARTnet, in contrast, has a discrete service price for each
individual device and application on the network. The price of Cisco
SMARTnet is based on the sum of the prices for each covered device
and application on the network. Since the required coverage model and
the pricing calculation are so different, Cisco Smart Care Service pricing
does not have a direct correlation to Cisco SMARTnet Service pricing.
Cisco Smart Care Service Price to Partner
Q. How is the Cisco Smart Care Service price to the partner
determined?
A. The price to you is determined by two factors: the number of devices
on the network and the types of applications and devices that reside on
the network. You can simply and quickly determine what their cost will
be by asking a few questions and running the Cisco Smart Care Service
discovery tool on the customers network. The discovery tool will locatemost of the devices on the network and automatically add them to the
service contract, reducing the operational costs associated with contract
ordering and administration.
To simplify pricing, there are 20 pricing bands that cover eligible
networks, which can have as many as 200 Cisco device counts (IP
phones are covered, but do not count as devices). Plus, there are three
technology price levels. This means that the partners price changes
only when the number of devices in the customers network crosses
into a new price band or a new type of technology is added. So most
minor additions to a network will not result in a price increase, unless thenumber of devices crosses into the next band of pricing. The following
link shows the Smart Care pricing framework: http://www.cisco.com/
web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_
Pricing_QRG.pdf.
Q. What is device count weighting? Why do some devices
count as more than one device?
A. Many complex, high-value devices can replace multiple,
simpler devices.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
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Q. I did a manual quote. Now when I run the discovery it shows
New devices found even though these devices are already
covered under the contract. What should I do?
A. First you need to add the automatically-discovered devices to the
inventory then run inventory. Next, exclude the manually added devices
and click on Save and continue.
Q. I have manually added a device to the inventory. How
long does it take for the contract to be updated with the
device SN?
A. 48 hours.
Q. How do I get access to the SC portal for the employee of the
SC registered partner company?
A. Access can be given by the CCO ID of the employee who registered
to SC. Advise the caller to refer to the partner company administrator. If
the requestor is the partner company administrator and needs to know
how to add new users, the requestor needs to sign into the portal,
Administration > Users > Add new.
Ultimate Contract Value
Q. Release 1.7 of Cisco Smart Care Service now includes
Ultimate Contract Value (UCV), where upfront prorated
service costs are included for devices that will be coveredby Cisco Smart Care later in the contract term. Do partners
need to re-install QUE to take advantage of this feature?
A. No, this feature is included as part of the Smart Care Service
application update 1.7.
Q. If devices are covered under a pre-existing Cisco SMARTnet
contract, how are terms and renewal handled upon
expiration? Are customers forced to renew their Cisco
SMARTnet contracts for a limited time? Do they know what
the price will be ahead of time?
A. If there is a preexisting contract, the product will be marked as do
not renew in the contract management system, and its pro-rated service
cost will be included as part of the initial Cisco Smart Care Service quote.
When the device is up for renewal, it will be discovered during the Cisco
Smart Care true-up process, and the product will be covered for the
remaining period of the Cisco Smart Care Service contract.
Q. What happens to the price if the customer retires some
Cisco equipment during the year and has fewer devices?
A. The price will be adjusted downward at the time of the annualrenewal.
Q. How do renewals work?
A. The Cisco Smart Care Service automatically generates a new quote
through distribution. However, Cisco Smart Care Service does not
provide automatic renewals or automatic invoicing. You may work with
your distributor to purchase a renewal within 90 days of receipt of the
quote.
Q. Are multiyear contracts and discounts available?
A. Smart Care allows for terms of 1, 2, or 3 years. The corresponding
discount will apply.
Q. If the customer reduces the number of devices on their
network, does Cisco adjust the price of their service
midyear or mid-contract?
A. At present, Cisco Smart Care Service contracts are not renegotiated
for a device count decrease until the annual renewal period. Cisco does
not accommodate midyear or midcontract true-downs.Back to Tableof Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
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Final Quote
Q. Does the pricing on the estimate or quote reflect what I am
supposed to charge customers or what I am being charged
by Cisco?
A. The pricing on the quote reflects the price of the Smart Care Service.
The price the reseller would be charged is negotiated between reseller
and distributor.
Q. How can I make changes to a pending quote?
A. Changes cannot be made to quotes once submitted. However, you
may request additional quotes by making changes in the Inventory or
Request for Quote pages and resubmitting your quote request to your
Cisco authorized distributor.
Q. Once I submit the request for a quote, how long will it take
to get revised quotes?
A. You should receive responses within 24 to 48 hours.
Q. What difference is there between the NBD and the 4-hour
contract price?
A. NBD is next-business-day delivery in areas where there is no
coverage for part replacements. Four-hour coverage is available in
available in select areas.
Q. Do partners need to recalculate estimates created by the
previous version of QUE, to create a UCV price?
A. Smart Care Service release 1.7 will migrate existing estimates, and all
existing/original estimates ultimate price will be converted to a Provisional
Estimated Price (UCV price).
For quote requests that are created before 1.7 release, partners can
order these quotes (without the UCV price), and the DWC devices will be
true-up and invoice at the quarter when the device rolls into Smart Care.
Or they can resubmit a quote request to create a new quote that will
include the UCV price.
Q. Do partners still need to include at least one DNC device on
their quote request?
A. Yes, this rule still applies.
Initial Price Estimate
Q. What is the difference between an estimate and a quote?
A. The price estimate was put in place to allow partners to quickly get
a price to the customer while selling the program. After you and your
customer have agreed to move forward with purchasing the service, then
you will need to request a final quote. The customer data is then sent to
Cisco for further data scrubbing and validations. The final quote that is
received may differ from the initial estimate. Some examples might be
that a given device is at its end of support and will not be included withinthe Smart Care customer network or if a customer has existing contracts
covering a specific device.
Q. Do I need to complete the onscreen questionnaire and
update the estimate before I can request a quote?
A. Yes, you should review the questionnaire and answer any relevant
questions on your customers network. This will help ensure that the
correct network complexity is being detected and your customer receives
the right level of support.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
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Features
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Comparison
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Services
Partners
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Q. What happens to the appliance when the contract is
terminated?
A. Following a termination, the Cisco Smart Care appliance is the
property of Cisco and remains the property of Cisco even after
installed at the customers site. The return policy is 10 days post
contract termination
Q. How do I return the appliance?
A. To return the appliance, send an email with the subject line:
SMART CARE RETURN-ONLY ORDER [Partner Name] Contract # to
[email protected] you will be informed of the
information to include with the return.
Contract Management
Q. What happens if customers do not have a physical location?
For example, they may be currently in the process of moving
or setting up their offices. What can partners do to create
Smart Care quotes for them?
A. A valid physical address (street, city, and zip code) is needed in order
to add a customer to Smart Care. Partners may use any valid address
(we suggest entering the customer owners home address). Then once
the customer office is established, partners may change the address
to the new address. All devices will be moved to this new location. The
changes would be made in the background through the move process.
Please note: if the addresses are not in the same zip code and the
new address is outside a depot sites range, = premium requests may
become invalid.
Ordering
Q. I requested a quote a while ago and am ready to execute the
purchase. However, when I log into Smart Care, the quote is
not found. What happened to the quote?
A. If this email notification has not yet been received by the distributor,
it is possible that the device data is causing an error. Log into the Cisco
Smart Care portal to see if any devices still have an issue. If the quote
was generated more than 60 days ago, it might not be visible because it
has expired.
Billing and Payment
Q. What if there is an error on my invoice? Whom should I
contact?
A. For any invoicing questions, contact your distributor.
Q. We are having trouble collecting payments from our
customer. Are we still obligated to make our payments?
A. Yes. You are still obligated to provide payments on time per your
agreed upon contract with your distributor.
Quarterly True-Ups/Annual Renewals
Q. How are we notified when a payment is due?
A. You will receive a notification that the end of the quarter is coming
up. This will be an indication to expect an invoice from your distributor in
response to your order or if a price band or technology level has been
crossed during that quarter.
Q. How do annual renewals work?
A. The Cisco Smart Care Service automatically generates a
renewal quote 30 days prior to the contract end-date unless the
customer cancels.
Back to Table
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About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
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Services
Partners
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Q. Can I order more than one Smart Care Service for the same
customer network?
A. Each customers network can have dierent service levels (next
business day (NBD) and premium 4-hour service), which results in
separate contracts. However, they are part of a single Smart Care Service.
Contract Updates
Q. How can a new device get added to an existing Smart Care
contract?
A. After a new device has been plugged into the network, you have two
options. The first option is that you may run the discovery and inventory
services manually in order to add the device onto the Cisco Smart Care
Service contract. The other option is that the automatic weekly discovery
will detect the device after it is plugged in and send an alert. You should
log in to run the inventory service and provide the device passwords.
After this is completed, the devices will be added to the Cisco Smart
Care Services contract.
Q. How do I enable SNMP on Cisco devices?
A. Information on enabling SNMP on Cisco devices can be found at:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk648/tk362/technologies_tech_
note09186a0080094aa4.shtml#snmpcommstrings.
Q. What happens if customers upgrade from lower-end devicesto higher-end devices?
A. When customers upgrade to higher-end devices, the service contract
will need to be upgraded to a higher contract level. Partners will be
notified when their contracts have been upgraded and when they have
access to more services in the Smart Care control panel. At the end of
the contract quarter, partners need to submit a quote to their distributors,
negotiating the price of the true-up quote. They will then receive an
invoice from their distributor for this technology level change and for any
device weight band changes that were made during the quarter.
Q. What is PICA and why is it important for customers
who have purchased a plan based on Cisco Smart Care
Services?
A. Partner-Initiated Customer Access (PICA) is a global program that
allows qualified Cisco partners to selectively entitle their customers to
have registered use of Cisco.com, where they are able to download
software and review support cases logged against their contracts.
Customers will need to be sponsored in advance in order to register on
Cisco.com. To learn more about the Partner-Initiated Customer Access
tool, go to www.cisco.com/ web/applicat/picaadmn/applications_
overview_partner.html.
Q. Does PICA work with Smart Care Service contracts?
A. Yes.
Q. Can partners get credit for the one-time assessment
services applied to a one-year Smart Care Service contract?
A. No, not at this time.
Contract Creation
Q. Why do I have to fill out a customer network questionnaire?
What is it for?
A. The customer network questionnaire is used to further refine the
customer network complexity that has been discovered by the CiscoSmart Care appliance. The results of the questionnaire will help you to
modify the contract type that is appropriate for your customer.
Q. Is there a boilerplate Smart Care contract that I can use as
a template for building my own Smart Care proposal for
the customer?
A. Yes, the Smart Care Proposal Template can be found at http://www.
cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/
smart_care_proposal_template.doc.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
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Q. My customer called and said they want to switch to another
partner. What happens to the Cisco Smart Care Service
contract the customer has through us? Do I need to go
remove the appliance?
A. In order to process switching partners on an existing Cisco Smart
Care Service contract, contact the SSC by sending an email to: ask-
[email protected] or open a case at www.cisco.com/go/
ssc. The SSC will work with the appropriate Cisco Smart Care Service
contacts to initiate the cancellation of the original contract. Customers will
need to provide documentation of the change in partners and work with
their new partner to complete a discovery and inventory and the creation
of a new contract. New partners should not request a final Cisco Smart
Care Service quote until the old contract is canceled, or the system will
find that there is existing coverage on customer devices.
Q. My customer has removed a device from the network. How
do we remove this from the service contract so they will not
be billed for it?
A. You will either need to run the Cisco Smart Care discovery service
proactively, or the Cisco mandated discovery service will run weekly
to detect that the device has been unplugged. Once this has been
detected, the device will show up as Missing on the device inventory
page. You must confirm that the device should really be removed from
the contract by selecting that device and using the delete function. Then
click the Submit Changes button so that the device will be removed
from the Cisco Smart Care Service contract.
Q. I want to make changes to one of my customers Cisco
Smart Care Service contracts. How do I get into the contract
to make changes?
A. In order to make contract changes, you need to log into the Cisco
Smart Care portal at https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare. Select the
customer for which you want to make changes and search for what
you want to change. Location changes, device additions, and device
terminations can all be managed from the Cisco Smart Care portal.
Q. When changes are made to an existing contract, when will
billing be affected?
A. Dates of when devices are added onto existing Cisco Smart Care
Service contracts are tracked. This information will be used during thequarterly true-ups. If changes have occurred during a particular quarter,
this information will be gathered and used to calculate if any price bands
have been crossed. If price bands have been crossed, partners will be
expected to purchase the true-up quote that will have been generated
by the end of the contract quarter.
Back to Table
of Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
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Q. My Cisco certification/specialization has lapsed, and I no
longer have access to certain Cisco Smart Care Service
capabilities. What should I do? How will this affect my ability
to service my existing contracts?
A. You need to renew your Cisco certification/special ization to regain
access to those capabilities. Temporary exceptions can be requested
for continuity.
If your Cisco certification expires, you will be given 90 days to regain the
certification. If it is not renewed in those 90 days, you will lose the ability
to sell any new Cisco Smart Care Service contracts for new customers.
You will still be able to support the existing customer contracts, but the
contracts will not auto-renew at the respective anniversary dates.
If your Cisco specializations expire, you will also be given 90 days to
regain them. If the necessary specializations are not renewed, you will be
downgraded in access level and will not be able to sell the contract typesthat were associated with the higher specialization. If you have existing
contracts at the higher level, you will continue to be able to support them,
but the contracts will not auto-renew at the end of the year.
Q. How do I assign administrative rights to another user at
my company?
A. First, if you have administrative privileges, log in to the Cisco Smart
Care portal at https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare. After you log in, in the
left column, find the Administration section and then select User. Next,
select the user who needs more administrative rights and then click Edit.
Change the access type on the profile page of that user.
Q. We have just increased our specialization and should have
access to sell voice (CNL3 or CNL4 contracts). How long will
it take before these tools are turned on for us?
A. When you log into the Cisco Smart Care portal, if the specialization
has been associated with your partner profile, it will automatically
increase your access level. You should receive an email notification letting
you know that this has happened within 24 hours. If you do not receive
Contract Cancellations
Q. How do I cancel a contract?
A. If canceling a Cisco Smart Care Service contract is warranted,
contact the SSC by sending an email to: [email protected]
or open a case at www.cisco.com/go/ssc.
Access Management
Q. What if I cannot get to the Cisco Smart Care portal page?
What login and password should I be using?
A. A user must have a Cisco.com user ID and password in order to
access the Cisco Smart Care portal. Verify that you have a valid Cisco.
com user ID. If you do not, obtain one by visiting http://tools.cisco.com/
RPF/register/register.do . In addition, the user needs to be linked to the
partner account in the Partner Self-Service tool. Verify this by visitinghttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.do.
Q. I cannot remember my Cisco Smart Care Service login or
password, or my Cisco.com user ID is not working. What
should I do?
A. First you need to verify that you have a valid Cisco.com user ID. If you
do not, obtain one by visiting http://tools.cisco.com/ RPF/register/register.
do. If you are sure you have a valid Cisco.com user ID, you might need to
reset your password by sending an email to [email protected].
If you are still experiencing issues with your Cisco.com account, go towww.cisco.com/msgs/sorry-pw.html and follow the instructions on the
bottom of the page.
Q. I do not have access to the correct tools in the Cisco Smart
Care portal. What could be the problem?
A. If your company does not have the appropriate certifications/
specializations, you will not be able to access the respective services. If
you are sure your company has the correct certifications/specializations,
visit http://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.do to make sure
they show up in your partner profile.Back to Tableof Contents
About Cisco
Smart Care
Services
Features
and Tools
Comparison
to Other
Services
Partners
https://tools.cisco.com/smartcaremailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/go/sschttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.domailto:cco-locksmith%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/msgs/sorry-pw.htmlhttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://www.cisco.com/msgs/sorry-pw.htmlmailto:cco-locksmith%40cisco.com?subject=http://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://www.cisco.com/go/sscmailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare -
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Financial Modeling Tool creates customizable scenarios that
provide a snapshot of the financial business benefits a partner
might experience by offering Cisco Smart Care Services. It can be
found on the Smart Care page of Partner Central on the Tools tab
under Resources.
LabOps demonstrates common Cisco Smart Care Service tasks
partne