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
- Premier Support – Priority access to senior-level engineers and proactive account management, 24x7
- 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)
- Premier Support – Priority access to senior-level engineers and proactive account management, 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
- 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.
On-Prem Support
| Feature | Basic | Production | Premier | U.S. Federal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Operation | 10 Hrs/Day Mon–Fri [1] |
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 or 3 Years | 1 or 3 Years | 1 or 3 Years | 1 or 3 Years |
| Product Updates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Product Upgrades | Yes | Yes | Yes | 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/ |
Telephone/ |
Telephone/ |
Telephone/ |
| Remote Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Onsite Support Services | No | No | 5 service days per contract year | Depends on Support Offering Purchased |
| Root Cause Analysis | No | No | Sev 1 Incidents Upon Request | Only with Premier Offering |
| Access to VMware Discussion Forums and Knowledge Base | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max Number of Support Admins per Contract | 4 | 6 | 20 | Depends on support contract purchased |
| Number of Support Requests | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Support Account Manager | No | No | Yes | Depends on Support Contract |
| VMware Skyline Proactive Support | No | Yes | Yes (Advanced and Early Access Features) | Not Applicable |
| Quarterly Business Reviews | No | No | Yes | Depends on support contract Purchased |
[1] Hours of operation for Latin America – Portuguese 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (BRST), Spanish 8 a.m. (ARST) to 6 p.m. (CDT).
[2] Hours of operation for Fusion are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (PST/PDT) globally.
Desktop Support
| Feature | Production | Basic | Per Incident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Operation | 24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
10 Hrs/Day Mon–Fri |
10 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 Basic | SaaS Production | SaaS Premier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of Operation | 12 Hrs/Day Mon–Fri |
24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
24 Hrs/Day 7 Days/Wk 365 Days/Yr |
| Length of Service | 1, 2 or 3 Years | 1, 2 or 3 Years | 1 or 3 Years |
| Product Updates | Yes-SaaS Updates [1] | Yes-SaaS Updates [1] | Yes-SaaS Updates [1] |
| Products Supported | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix | Support by Product Matrix |
| Method of Access | Telephone/Web [2] | Telephone/Web [2] | Telephone/Web [2] |
| Access to Senior Engineers | No | No | Support Requests filed bypass Level One to a designated priority support queue that is staffed by Specialist Senior Support Engineers. |
| Support Account Manager | No | No | Yes |
| Business Reviews | No | No | Yes |
| Response Method | Telephone/Email | Telephone/Email | Telephone/Email |
| Remote Support | Yes | 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] | Yes, and access to product SaaS Performance Dashboard [3] |
| Access to VMware Discussion Forums and Knowledge Base | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max Number of Support Admins per Contract | 4 [4] | 6 [4] | 20 [4] |
| Number of Support Requests | Unlimited | 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.