Agile iManage+ Plan Frequently Asked Questions 1 Why should we contract a service provider instead of engaging one on an ad hoc

basis? Picture this: The server of a company crashes and their staff couldn’t access shared files, access the Internet, and send e-mails. They’re currently not working with a regular IT service provider. What would they need to do? Search for a list of possible vendors, request for quotations, select a vendor, seek management approval, and schedule an appointment with the chosen vendor. How long do you reckon this process would take? A few hours… or a few days? Further, would a service provider raise their service fees knowing that the company requires urgent attention? Besides cost savings, lesser HR issues, and more time spent on core business, the key advantage of contracting a service provider is: you have a ready partner to seek help in times of emergency.

2 Why is the Agile iManage+ Plan based on Support Hour deductions? How do you ensure your records are accurate? When you sign up a support plan with us, you’d acquire a block of hours. These hours are then utilised based on the amount of time we accumulate on a job. Support Hour deductions are made for work done either onsite or via remote access. Customers tell us they do find this model fairer as they’re only charged based on actual time spent on them. Nevertheless, we acknowledge there could be times when we’re unable to fix a problem on first try because of its rarity. That said time is spent by our engineer fixing the problem, so Support Hours will still have to be deducted. However, our engineers had been instructed not to conduct lengthy research work on a customer’s premises or during a remote engagement. Research will be done back at our office so that our customer’s Support Hours won’t diminish unnecessarily. A subsequent visit will be arranged only after the engineer is able to come up with a few more possible fixes. To track the amount of time our customers utilise, we use a CRM application specifically tailored to IT service providers – it’s called “Commit CRM”. Our customer records, issues raised by our customers, resolutions done, Support Hour deductions made and hours remaining, changes to their network, and so forth are all managed using this system. Further, service statements generated by Commit CRM will be sent to you monthly.

3 Why is remote access support provided? Would security be an issue? Internet and modern technologies have made remote access support robust and very efficient. And remote access isn’t new – it’s been around for ages. Microsoft had even incorporated it into its Windows operating system since Windows XP. Remote access makes providing support more efficient because it can be done anytime, anywhere – as long as there’s an Internet connection. Customers having a pressing issue on hand particularly like the short lead time. What’s more, our customers save on transport reimbursement costs required for onsite service. We’ll be using TeamViewer to support you remotely. When remote access is required, we’ll have to ask you for an ID and a randomly generated password presented on your

computer for authorisation. So, we won’t be able to gain access to your systems without your expressed consent. Teamviewer is trusted by Canon, IBM, Siemens, UPS, and other established organisations – so it shouldn’t be wrong.

4 Why are Support Hour deductions for transport reimbursements necessary? This is because transport costs had risen substantially in recent years, and we can no longer absorb it. We could either raise our hourly rate or ask our customers to reimburse us for transport when onsite services need to be rendered. Most of our customers prefer the latter and feel it’s a fairer system, as remote access can also get the job done without incurring transport costs.

5 What’s the difference between “Acknowledgement Response Time” and “Resolution Time”? Once we receive a message from you requesting for help, we’ll respond to you by phone within two regular (working) hours. And when we acknowledge you, we won’t just tell you: “We’ve got your message.” We’d conduct our initial fact-finding as well, so it’d be an engineer who’d be responding to you. It’s more efficient this way. This is “Acknowledgement Response”. Based on research, we’ve created priority based “Resolution Times”. Similar to a hospital A&E, we’ll determine the support incident to attend to first by the severity and extent to which our customer’s business is affected – not by chronological order. Frankly, some of our customers weren’t happy initially. However, they saw the rationale of our method when something major hit them and they’re given priority treatment.

6 Why are equipment setup services and projects not included in the Agile iManage+ Plan? The purpose of the Agile iManage+ Plan is to provide helpdesk and systems support to organisations. Projects, like a server setup, may span a few days. If they’re included in the support plan, your Support Hours would deplete quickly. Further, certain equipment, e.g. a firewall appliance, may require an engineer with a specialised skillset to deploy. Costs associated with such a resource are usually higher. Thus, it’d be a disadvantage to our customers to include such services in the support plan, as the hourly rate would then have to be raised.

7 If a software or hardware is not stated to be supported in the SLA, would they still be supported? We’ll provide support on all software and hardware products spelt out in the SLA. Conversely, we’ll not support items that are specifically excluded. This is because getting specialised engineers to support them would translate to much higher costs for our customers. For products that aren’t yet listed, we’ll try our best to help our customers out. If a situation is beyond us to manage, we’d inform them accordingly.

8 What should we do after our support plan expires? And what happens to the remaining hours? The Agile iManage+ Plan expires either at the end of the Active Period (usually one year after the contract is signed) or once all Support Hours is expended, whichever comes first. If there’re unused Support Hours at the end of the Active Period, you may carry forward up to 10 remaining hours to the new plan signed. However, if you choose not to renew the support plan, the remainder hours will be forfeited.

9 How does your satisfaction guarantee work? Even though most companies understand the benefits of contracting an IT service provider in order to obtain ready support when needed, many of them are highly concerned about being bonded to the wrong partner for a lengthy period of time. Thus, whenever our (new or existing) customer acquires a support plan from us, they’d be given an evaluation period of three months. If the customer chooses to discontinue the plan during the evaluation period, they’ll obtain a refund on the remainder hours. This gives you the opportunity to try our service first.

10 Why is performing the payable network discovery and documentation service necessary before we engage your company? Every network is different. And there’s a need for any credible IT service provider to first assess and understand the network before they can confidently undertake supporting the company. However, a network discovering and documenting service needs to be performed by a qualified engineer. This is why a fee is required. From our findings and the network diagram we provide, our customers can then benefit by having a complete understanding of the composition of their network – which many of them don’t.