Siemens Maintenance Agreement Contract 1

[lhiraman]

Hey Everyone,

Our contract with the Siemens Maintenance Agreement Contract is almost up (JUNE). I was wondering if there is any recommendations for alternatives? Lately, Siemens has been slow to response to issues everything seems to pipe it's way via BLS or overseas. I would be looking for support on HiPath 4000. 3800, Procenter, and Xpressions.


Any suggestions would help, I am looking into Telizent, any comments?

 

[donb01]

I would recommend Black Box Network Services - I have been using them for over 25 years, and they have always provided excellent service if I've needed it. I have purchased all of my current systems from them - Hicom 300, Hicom 150, and HiPath 4000 with ProCenter, as well as CallXpress and RightFax. One nice thing is that just because Siemens doesn't necessarily support something anymore does not mean that they won't if they can. Of course they can't do anything with unsupported systems (like upgrades, etc) if Siemens no longer supports it.

Just my experiences - others may vary. I'm serviced by the Wisconsin group out of Milwaukee (formerly Norstan).

 

[lhiraman]

Donb01 Thanks! I tried calling them today and I am awaiting a call back.

 

[biglebowski]

Dolphin telecoms in forest gate always used to be good, all ex siemens working there.

Biglebowskis Razor - with all things being equal if you still can't find the answer have a shave and go down the pub.

 

[Iamnothere]

In my opinion, if you have noticed a slower response time or other issues, and you are a "premium" service customer, then something is very wrong. You should be on the phone with your Siemens service manager complaining this very moment. However, based on info provided by you in previous posts, I believe your company may have a "time & material" contract, which may not be the best choice for you if response time is a factor. You should review your company's telecom priorities before switching vendors. In the service industry, a time & material contract does not guarantee a quick response. Therefore if you take your time & material business elsewhere, the grass may not be greener.

Fact: Siemens technicians are better trained on Siemens equipment than any other service provider.

Fact: The other service providers frequently escalate their trouble tickets to Siemens.

 

[donb01]

I can tell you that as Iamnothere says Black Box also assigns a lower priority to their T&M work than they do to their contract customers. The response time still isn't bad, but it may take longer to get parts sometimes. The contract customers get guaranteed response time and priority access to parts. I think that's pretty much an industry trend these days to try to motivate you to stay in a contract.