Partner Support Policy

Probax Support Policy

Last Updated 4 December 2023

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

THIS PARTNER SUPPORT POLICY DETAILS OUR SUPPORT SERVICES FOR PROBAX SOFTWARE PRODUCTS LICENSED TO YOU ACCORDING TO THE PROBAX END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA), CONTACT INFORMATION AND BEST PRACTICES FOR CONTACTING SUPPORT TO ENSURE QUICK RESPONSES AND ISSUE RESOLUTION.

SOLUTION PLANNING, DESIGN, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BACKUP SOLUTION AND PRODUCT TRAINING ARE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF PROBAX SUPPORT. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SALES REPRESENTATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE ON SUCH REQUESTS. ADDITIONAL TRAINING RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE AT OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE.

1. Support Overview
   

   All partners on a free 14-day trial or paid plan are entitled to raise a partner support case via the MSP Backup Portal, email or phone within the hours specified below in the Business Hours section. 

   To achieve a more efficient and quicker resolution, we recommend that the partner initiates a support case via the MSP Backup Portal or email before opting to contact phone support.

2. Severity Definitions & Response Time SLA

   The assignment of severity levels serves as a measure of an issue's urgency, enabling us to deliver a swift and effective response. Misclassification of severity levels can disrupt the case resolution process and may negatively impact your experience.

   The table presented below delineates the four severity levels along with their corresponding target response times. When submitting a support case via email, please ensure to specify your perceived severity level in either the subject line or the body of the email for prompt and accurate case processing.

   Severity Level	Example	Target Response SLA
   Severity 4: Low impact or a question	“How to” questions; the text of a message, or page of documentation is worded poorly or misspelled, General Feedback.	8 hours
   Severity 3: Minor impact, the majority of functions are still usable	non-Production application response times or system performance are slow, system is available. Some monitoring or backups are impacted.	6 hours
   Severity 2: Major impact on Production operations.	Production application response times or system performance are slow, system is available. Some monitoring or backups are impacted.	3 hours
   Severity 1: A critical software component or function is unavailable	Excessive abnormal terminations impacting all monitoring, backups and schedules or a down/offline production system cannot be restored; application or system failure.	1 hour

   Upon reporting an issue, it's essential for you and the Probax Support Specialist to engage in a discussion to determine and agree on the most suitable severity level. Should there be any changes in business conditions that affect the impact of the issue, you have the flexibility to request an adjustment of the severity level.

   Our response goals are designed to set expectations for the timeframe of our initial response to your issue or inquiry. For Severity 1 issues, our commitment extends to providing 24/7 support, provided you have a technical resource ready to collaborate with us continuously until either:

   1. A resolution or workaround has been successfully implemented, effectively mitigating the business impact, or
   2. The issue's severity level has been mutually downgraded.
      
      
3. Business Hours
   
   

   Probax is committed to providing exceptional support and service to our clients across the globe. Our dedicated teams operate during the following business hours:

   • Australian EST: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday
   • USA EST: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday
     
     

   Please note, these hours exclude national public holidays in both Australia and the United States. 

4. After Hours Technical Support

   We understand that critical issues can arise at any time, including outside standard business hours and on national public holidays. To address this, we offer emergency technical support for Severity 1 cases 24/7. This service is designed to provide immediate assistance for issues that significantly impact your operations.

   Please be aware that our emergency technical support outside of the aforementioned business hours and on public holidays is reserved exclusively for Severity 1 cases, as defined in this support policy. Additional charges may be incurred if you use this service and your situation does not qualify as Severity 1.

5. Logging a Support Case

   Providing comprehensive details about the problem you're facing can greatly influence the speed of its diagnosis and resolution. You'll be requested to share the following information:

   • A detailed explanation of the issue, its effects on your system and business activities, the severity level, and any error messages or diagnostic information.
   • Procedures to replicate the issue, along with any temporary fixes you're aware of.
   • Your phone number and email address for contact purposes.
   • Your preferred contact times and method (such as email or phone).
     
     
6. Accessing Phone Support
   
   While we do not discourage partners from seeking support through phone calls, we highly recommend initiating a support case via the MSP Backup Portal or email before resorting to phone support. This approach enables us to utilize advanced routing techniques to direct your call to the appropriate specialist for your specific issue and, where possible, reconnect you with an engineer who has previously assisted with the matter. For your convenience, both local and toll-free phone options can be found on our Contact Us page. 
   
   
7. Collection & Analysis of Diagnostic Data

    

   Should your reported issue necessitate the collection and analysis of diagnostic data, the Probax Support Specialist might either request such information from you or obtain it through a brief remote session. While the Probax Support Specialist will aim to gather comprehensive details, the analysis of log files will not be conducted online. For efficient log analysis, we employ specialized log parsing tools and resources that are exclusively available internally. After obtaining the necessary diagnostic information, the Probax Support Specialist will conduct an offline investigation and subsequently follow up with you.

8. Issue Resolution
   
   

   A Probax Support Specialist will reach out to you via phone, email, or both, as deemed suitable throughout the resolution process. The severity level of your case may be adjusted upon

9. Issue Resolution
   
   

   A Probax Support Specialist will reach out to you via phone, email, or both, as deemed suitable throughout the resolution process. The severity level of your case may be adjusted upon receiving your consent and a joint assessment of the impact, guided by established Severity definitions.

   Probax is dedicated to deploying skilled professionals to research and resolve issues promptly. During the resolution period, our support team will regularly update you on the progress and notify you once your reported issue is resolved. Should you find any aspect of the resolution process unsatisfactory, we encourage you to utilize the "Talk to a Manager" form. This enables us to grasp your concerns better and adjust resources as needed.

   We will attempt to contact you for updates or additional information on an open case two times across separate business days. If we cannot establish contact after these attempts, we may close the case without your agreement. However, if the issue persists, you are welcome to open a new case and refer to the previous one.

   The resolution of a support case by Probax may involve one or more of the following outcomes:

   1. Provision of a software update or fix that addresses the problem, leading to case closure.
   2. Implementation of a permanent or temporary business or system workaround, with the case being closed or the severity level adjusted, respectively.
   3. Development of an action plan for a fix or workaround, including setting, communicating, and tracking milestones and dependencies, potentially leading to an adjustment in the case severity level.
   4. Identification of the issue as specific to the customer environment, outside the scope of Probax support, resulting in partner notification and case closure.
   5. Identification of the issue as a feature request, customization or enhancement, outside the scope of Probax support, resulting in partner notification and case closure.
      
      

   Please be aware that the installation, configuration, and upgrading of Veeam Software and/or third-party software generally fall outside the scope of support services provided by Probax. An exception to this is when these tasks are facilitated through Probax Scout, which is routinely updated to deploy Veeam hotfixes, Probax hotfixes, Veeam licensing updates, and Veeam Software upgrades. While we typically do not offer training for engineers or walkthroughs for installations and upgrades, should you require specialized assistance, we invite you to contact sales@probax.io to explore solutions tailored to your specific requirements.

10. Feature Requests
    
    Probax is always eager to receive feature requests, appreciating the insights from our community to enhance our products further. If you have ideas to improve our software's functionality or features, please consider visiting the Probax Ideas Portal to post a topic detailing your suggestion. Alternatively, you can open a case with our Support Team, explaining the desired functionality, its application, and use case. Our Support Specialist will then lodge a Feature Request for you.
    
    
11. Customer Satisfaction Surveys
    
    Following the closure of a case, we conduct surveys with customers who have interacted with our Support team to gather further feedback on their recent experiences. These survey results are then examined by our management team. The survey invitation, sent via email, includes a link to an online questionnaire that covers various aspects, such as how the support case was managed, the professionalism and expertise of the support analyst, and your overall satisfaction with the case resolution process. To participate in the survey, simply click on the link provided in the email you receive once your case is closed.
    
    
12. Support of Partners using Public Cloud Services
    
    In certain instances, when assisting customers utilizing public cloud services, Probax Support Specialists may need to carry out actions that involve these services, such as uploading or downloading data. These actions could lead to extra charges from the cloud service providers. By moving forward with these procedures, partners recognize and consent to having been clearly informed about the possibility of incurring additional fees. Probax will not bear responsibility for any extra costs or any harm that may arise from following the suggested troubleshooting actions.
    
    
13. Contact Channels
    
    

    Call Probax Support team via a phone number of the country you're based in.

    While we do not discourage partners from seeking support through phone calls, we highly recommend initiating a support case via the MSP Backup Portal or email before resorting to phone support. This approach enables us to utilize advanced routing techniques to direct your call to the appropriate specialist for your specific issue and, where possible, reconnect you with an engineer who has previously assisted with the matter.