Support Offerings
Support from the Virtualization and Cloud Infrastructure Experts
As part of the VMware Services family, Global Support Services works in conjunction with VMware Consulting Services, VMware Education Services and VMware Certification Services to accelerate return on investments while mitigating risk. VMware employs the largest technical force dedicated to virtualization and specializes in the support of highly complex, varied, heterogeneous and mission-critical virtual and cloud computing environments.
The combination of VMware customer-proven virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions, and world-class Global Support Services enables customers and partners to follow an evolutionary path to cloud computing. By preserving existing application and infrastructure investments while accelerating realized value from a cloud computing approach, customers can achieve efficiency through utilization and automation, agility with control, and freedom of choice. To meet the needs of organizations—large and small, global and regional—VMware offers the support options below.
On Premise
- VMware Skyline – Proactive support technology included with current Premier Services and Production Support contracts
- Basic Support - Non-critical support, 12x5
- Production Support - Production support, 24x7 for Severity 1 issues
- Business Critical Support (BCS) - Personalized support delivered by a designated team
- Mission Critical Support (MCS) - Priority Access to senior-level engineers and proactive account management, 24x7
- Healthcare Critical Support (HCS) - Priority Access to Senior-Level Engineers with Healthcare Industry Knowledge.
- Carrier Grade Support – Premier Support for Telco customers
- Extended Support - Protection against security threats and severity 1 issues after a product reaches end of support
Hosted
- IaaS Production Support - Production Support for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS Severity 1 issues 24x7)
- OnDemand Services Online Support – Email Support for OnDemand Services (Severity 1 issues 24x7)
- OnDemand Services Production Support – Production Support for OnDemand Services (Severity 1 issues 24x7)
- SaaS Basic Support - Non-critical support for Software as a Service products, 12x5 (SaaS Severity 1 issues 24x7)
- SaaS Production Support - Production Support for Software as a Service products, (SaaS Severity 1 issues 24x7)
Developer
- VMware SDK and API Support - Streamlined application and script development, 12x5
Other
- U.S. Federal Technical Support - Provided by experienced engineers with U.S. citizenship, located on U.S. soil
- Per Incident Support - Single incident or 3 or 5 per incident support packs, 12x5
- Complimentary Support - Web-based support for Fusion, Workstation Pro and Workstation Player
- AirWatch/Workspace ONE Support - AirWatch Basic Support, AirWatch Production Support, Mission Critical Support for Workspace ONE
- Retired Support Offerings - Silver Support, Subscription Services, Desktop Standard Support, vFabric Developer Support, SpringSource Developer Support, Open Source Support
Product Support Matrix
Download the quick reference guide for the current VMware support offering by product.
General Support
| Feature | Production | Basic | U.S. Federal | Per Incident |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Operation | 24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr [1] |
12 Hrs/Day Mon–Fri [1] |
24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
12 Hrs/Day Mon–Fri [2] |
| Length of Service | 1 or 3 Years | 1 or 3 Years | Depends on support contract purchased | Valid for one year after purchase of the incidents |
| Product Updates | Yes | Yes | Depends on support contract purchased | Not Available |
| Product Upgrades | Yes | Yes | Depends on support contract purchased | Not Available |
| Products Supported | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix |
| Method of Access | Telephone/ Web |
Telephone/ Web |
Telephone/ Web |
Telephone/ Web |
| Response Method | Telephone/ |
Telephone/ |
Depends on support contract purchased | Telephone/ |
| Remote Support | Yes | Yes | Depends on support contract purchased | Not Available |
| Root Cause Analysis | Available only with Business Critical or Mission Critical Offering | Available only with Business Critical or Mission Critical Offering | Available only with Business Critical or Mission Critical Offering | Available only with Business Critical or Mission Critical Offering |
| Access to VMware Discussion Forums and Knowledge Base | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max Number of Support Admins per Contract | 6 | 4 | Depends on support contract purchased | Not Applicable |
| Number of Support Requests | Unlimited | Unlimited | Depends on support contract purchased | 1, 3, or 5 Incidents |
| VMware Skyline Proactive Support | Yes | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
[1] Hours of operation for Latin America – Portuguese 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (BRST), Spanish 9 a.m. (ARST) to 6 p.m. (CDT).
[2] Hours of operation for Fusion are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (PST/PDT) globally.
Premier Support
| Feature | Mission Critical | Healthcare Critical | Business Critical | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Operation | 24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
| Length of Service | 1 year or multi-year | 1 year or multi-year | 1 year or multi-year | 1 year or multi-year |
| Product Updates | Included with required Production Support and Subscription Service | Included with required Production Support and Subscription Service | Included with required Production Support and Subscription Service | Yes |
| Product Upgrades | Included with required Production Support and Subscription Service | Included with required Production Support and Subscription Service | Included with required Production Support and Subscription Service | Yes |
| Products Supported | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix |
| Method of Access | Telephone/Web | Telephone/Web | Telephone/Web | Telephone/Web |
| Response Method | Telephone/Email | Telephone/Email | Telephone/Email | Telephone/Email |
| Remote Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Onsite Support for Exceptional Escalations | Yes | Yes | Not Available | Not Available |
| Max Number of Support Admins per Contract | Unlimited within contracted support region [1] | Limited to 10 per HCS contract per support region [1] | Limited to 6 per BCS contract per support region [1] | 6 |
| Number of Support Requests | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Direct Routing to Senior-level Engineers | Support Requests filed bypass Level One to a designated priority support queue that is staffed by Specialist Senior Support Engineers. | Support Requests filed bypass Level One to a designated priority support queue that is staffed by Specialist Senior Support Engineers. | Support Requests filed bypass Level One and will be routed to your assigned Senior Support Team during local business hours, routing to production support during off hours. | Not Available |
| Point of Contact | Assigned Account Manager and Specialist Senior Support Engineers. | Designated Senior Support Engineer with healthcare industry knowledge | Designated Senior Support Engineer | Not Available |
| Customer Support Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not Available |
| Support Review Meetings | Daily, Weekly or Monthly (As Desired) | Monthly | Monthly | Not Available |
| Customer Site Profile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not Available |
| Root Cause Analysis | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not Available |
| Support for Migration and Updates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not Available |
| Quarterly Business Reviews | Yes | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available |
| Prerequisites | Requires VMware Production Support in place for all VMware products to be covered and supported under VMware Mission Critical Support. One customer contact must be VCP certified. A VMware TAM is required. | Requires VMware Production Support in place for all VMware products to be covered and supported under VMware Healthcare Critical Support. One customer contact must be VCP certified. | Requires VMware Production Support in place for all VMware products to be covered and supported under VMware Business Critical Support. One customer contact must be VCP certified. | Not Applicable |
| VMware Skyline Proactive Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
[1] Support Regions are defined as
- Region #1: The Americas (North, Central and South)
- Region #2: EMEA
- Region #3: APAC
Desktop Support
| Feature | Production | Basic | Per Incident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Operation | 24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
12 Hrs/Day Mon–Fri |
12 Hrs/Day Mon–Fri |
| Length of Service | 1 or 3 Years | 1 or 3 Years | Valid for one year after purchase of the incidents |
| Product Updates | Yes | Yes | Not Available |
| Product Upgrades | Yes | Yes | Not Available |
| Products Supported | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix |
| Method of Access | Telephone/ Web |
Telephone/ Web |
Telephone/ Web |
| Response Method | Telephone/ |
Telephone/ |
Telephone/ |
| Remote Support | Yes | Yes | Not Available |
| Access to VMware Discussion Forums and Knowledge Base | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max Number of Support Admins per Contract | 6 | 4 | Not Applicable |
| Number of Support Requests | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1, 3, or 5 Incidents |
SaaS Support
| Feature | SaaS Production | SaaS Basic |
|---|---|---|
Hours of Operation |
24 Hrs/Day |
12 Hrs/Day |
Length of Service |
1, 2 or 3 Years |
1, 2 or 3 Years |
Product Updates |
Yes-SaaS Updates [1] |
Yes-SaaS Updates [1] |
Product Upgrades |
No |
No |
Products Supported |
Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix |
Method of Access |
Telephone/Web [2] |
Telephone/Web [2] |
Response Method |
Telephone/Email |
Telephone/Email |
Remote Support |
Yes |
Yes |
Access to VMware Web site |
Yes, and access to product SaaS Performance Dashboard [3] |
Yes, and access to product SaaS Performance Dashboard [3] |
Access to VMware Discussion Forums and Knowledge Base |
Yes |
Yes |
Max Number of Support Admins per Contract |
6 [4] |
4 [4] |
Number of Support Requests |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
[1] "SaaS Update" means a subsequent release of the SaaS product which VMware generally makes available for its SaaS customers with an active SaaS product’s license and support contract at no additional fee. SaaS Updates may contain, but are not limited to security fixes, critical patch updates, general maintenance releases, selected functionality, and documentation updates. SaaS Updates do not include any product release, option, service or other SaaS product that VMware licenses separately. For more details, see SaaS Support Policies.
[2] Email where Web access is not available.
[3] Where available : Horizon Application Manager, Socialcast.
[4] You are required to establish and maintain an internal help desk for your employees and act as first-line support for the SaaS product. First-line support shall include, but not be limited to: (i) a direct response to users with respect to inquiries concerning the performance, functionality or operation of the SaaS product, (ii) a direct response to users with respect to problems or issues with the SaaS product, (iii) a diagnosis of problems or issues of the SaaS product, and (iv) a resolution of known problems or issues with the SaaS product with the help of technical knowledge base articles. For more details, see SaaS Support Policies.