For business, a maintenance contract for a Cisco router is the only way that they can upgrade their operating system, other than purchasing the upgrades as they come out. The SMARTnet contract which is available for the routers has updates as they are available and can be downloaded. This plan is available in two types - the 'software only' version and the 'hardware and software' version.
When purchasing the 'software only' version the updates are available from Cisco as they are released. With the 'hardware and software' version, if something should happen to the hardware and Cisco agrees that it is broken, they will replace it. This contract is available in two versions, SMARTnet Base and the SMARTnet Onsite, both of which will replace faulty hardware.
However, SMARTnet Base ships the replacement to your business and you must either install it or find someone to do so. The SMARTnet Onsite plan will send someone to install the hardware for you. The hardware will either be sent to you or the installer will bring it when they come to install it. Both are called Advance Replacement because they are sent before the faulty hardware is returned to Cisco.
A business that depends on their Cisco equipment should purchase one of the plans if for no other reason, then for the upgrades that are available. This reduces the need to purchase them every time there is an upgrade. In addition, if by chance there is a hardware failure, the need to purchase another system is not necessary.
Two periods of coverage for support are sold and this is the period of time that you can report a problem to Cisco. The least amount of time is the 8 x 5 plan and this covers 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. If a plan is needed for reporting a problem on an extended basis, there is a plan that allows reporting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are three time periods available for shipment of replacement parts. One is called Next Business Day (NBD) or Same Day Ship (SDS) which allows you to get the replacement the next day. For businesses to be down due to a hardware problem, this can be incredibly detrimental for business. Therefore there are also the options of replacement in 4 hours or 2 hours. This will depend on the area of the country your business is located.
Cisco has a technical support program, the Technical Assistance Centre (TAC) which provides support for their products. They are located in many places around the world, which is part of their 'follow the sun' support. What this means for business is that no matter what time of day or night; you can still talk to a support tech. If you are having networking problems, assistance is provided by a knowledgeable technician from the TAC, who will get the problem solved.
The coverage plan prices are dependent on the category of the hardware. Each one is assigned a number from 1 to 18. The higher the number the higher the amount of coverage costs. The 800 series router is a category 1 and the 3620 router is a category 7. This system was put in place before Cisco phones were a part of the plan. The choice of acquiring any of the plans is of course up to the individual business. However, when time is of the essence for getting your business back up and running, it makes sense to have a maintenance plan for your Cisco router.
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