After Sales Support - What to Look For

In this third article by Tom Swan, he turns his attention to the period after a successful broadcast system implementation. The SI role is not only to build systems but also to provide after-sales support options. Broadcasting often involves time critical applications, and periods of downtime just cannot be tolerated. So what is involved in after-sales support and what should broadcasters be looking for from their suppliers?

A basic requirement is to ensure that manufacturers' warranties are in place and secure; these may be accessible either through the SI or direct. Customised warranty, spares and support packages can be developed to meet the customer's specific needs; these will include warranty on the supplied equipment and installed cabling. To add further value, dB Broadcast has a policy of negotiating extended warranties on third party products to be passed on to the benefit of the customer.

External support to the customer will be important at critical operational periods. A clear Service Level Agreement should be in place, covering the range and metrics of services to be provided; these typically include onsite support during critical operational periods, telephone support, remote monitoring and diagnostics, product software updates and system enhancements. For example, dB Broadcast's commissioning engineers can provide on-site support during a migration phase, go-live period or any other crucial times. dBs approach of maintaining a permanent in-house engineering team pays dividends here as the same personnel who undertook the project are used during these periods and have an intimate knowledge of system design and operation.

dB provides optional remote diagnostics and monitoring of installed systems via a VPN.

The full article is in the attached PDF.

LINK:	http://www.dbbroadcast.co.uk/news.asp...
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