Why Standard Tech Support Isn't Good Enough

August 11, 2003 - Volume 1, Issue 3 - by DPS Telecom

Ron Stover
DPS Telecom
Technical Support

Every time I tell people I work in tech support, I know they're going to tell me a horror story about being trapped in voice mail hell. People hate calling tech support, and with good reason. The current standard of tech support just isn't good enough.

Many vendors in our industry think it's OK to make you wade through a voice mail system before you get to a human being - and then the human being is just an intern with a script, who doesn't understand your problem and can't help you solve it.

That just doesn't cut it, especially when you're alone at a remote site trying to solve a problem that threatens your business revenue. That's why you get a live person when you call DPS Telecom, not a cold, uncaring voice mail system.

I help people solve their network monitoring problems every day, and I understand the challenges you face. My tech support philosophy is that we should do more than just help you when problems arise. We work proactively to support you at every stage of your network monitoring: system design, implementation, and day-to-day use.

We're often told by clients that we have the best support in the industry. Here's what that means:

Turn-Up and Installation Assistance
This is absolutely the quickest and easiest way to get your network monitoring system up and running. Our on-site turn-up assistance team will help install and configure your system and train your staff to use it.

Databasing Services
Defining your database is the most complicated aspect of configuring your alarm monitoring system. But you don't have to worry about it when we can do it for you. This service is especially helpful if you're upgrading to DPS Telecom equipment from legacy gear - we can convert your existing database from your legacy master.

Factory Training
You can read all about factory training in this issue of QuickTips. Factory training is the most thorough way to learn everything you need to know about your network monitoring system.

Annual Maintenance Agreements
Your monitoring system is a safeguard for your network - it makes sense to make sure that safeguard is always there. Our maintenance agreements will keep your monitoring system running at its best, worry-free.

Technical Support
And, of course, we also provide complete technical support . Whenever you need help, we are never more than a phone call or an e-mail away. We also have online live chat support. Meet the DPS Technical Support Team (based in Fresno, CA)

System Design
When you need a new system, we don't leave you guessing about what products you need. Our application engineers design an alarm monitoring configuration specifically for your application, and prepare a customized report detailing every aspect of the proposed system. All of our services come with a full commitment to supplying you with the best network monitoring possible.

This is my bottom line: I will never leave you with a monitoring problem unsolved.

Sincerely,
Ron Stover,
DPS Telecom Technical Support

P.S. Participants in our latest factory training class were kind enough to help us test our new SNMP Applications Knowledge Base. It's a user-friendly Web resource that takes you step by step from your SNMP monitoring objectives, to applications that will meet your goals, to the actual products you need to make those applications work.

If you want to learn how you can do more with SNMP, try the SNMP Applications Knowledge Base now.

Factory Training Participants Agree: "This Class Will Make Your Job Easier"

Clients from four companies completed a five-day class here in Fresno in July, and toward the end of the session we asked them to share their impressions of the class.

All of our four participants - Bryce Pursely from Duke Energy, John Mullen and Dan Jackson from Dominion Resources, and Jim Evans from Silver Star Communications - play a vital role in the network monitoring systems at their companies. So we asked them, how does DPS factory training help them perform their job? And here's what they said ...

Can factory training make your job easier?

T/MonXM Tip: How to Acknowledge an Alarm by Sending an E-Mail

What's more convenient than getting alarm notifications directly in your e-mail? Acknowledging the alarm just by clicking Reply. T/MonXM's e-mail notifications are a great way of sending alarm information directly to the people who need it - and you can also extend that functionality by configuring T/MonXM to accept replies from e-mail recipients ...

Here's how to do it ...

Are you still running an older version of T/MonXM? The new T/MonXM 4.2 includes over 50 separate improvements, including new capabilities and time-saving user features. Software upgrades are free to T/Mon Gold Plan subscribers, just one of the many benefits of the T/Mon Gold Plan.

How to Synchronize Your NetGuardian with a Network Time Protocol Server

We've just added an exciting new feature to the NetGuardian 832A - Network Time Protocol synchronization. When this option is selected, the NetGuardian will periodically synchronize its internal clock with an NTP server on the Internet.

Accurate and consistent timekeeping is essential for best-quality alarm management. Knowing exactly when an alarm happened is often as important as knowing where. If your master and your various remotes don't keep the same time, your time-stamp data can be inaccurate.

NTP synchronization (which is also supported in T/MonXM) keeps your entire alarm monitoring network to a consistent timekeeping standard. When NTP synchronization is enabled, you'll never have to enter the date and time into the NetGuardian system. NTP synchronization is particularly useful for NetGuardians without the real-time clock option.

To use this feature, you need a NetGuardian 832A with the new NetGuardian firmware, version 2.9F. The firmware is available as a download from the DPS Telecom website ...

Here's how to enable NTP synchronization ...