These are perplexing financial times for small and some medium sized businesses. You require the newest technology to expand your business. But you also require complete peace of mind being aware that you’ll obtain the most ROIs from your corporate technology investments.
You perhaps are under the impression that a simple product warranty will give that defense in case anything goes wrong with your network hardware, maybe a switch or a router. Not necessarily!
A product warranty is not the same as or equivalent to technical support. Most warranties only promise against a faulty product and will give you very limited support.
If you would like to better safeguard your enterprise against losses caused by network outages and to enhance your business efficiency and raise staff output, you must consider purchasing a Cisco SMARTnet service contract. A service plan gives you three important benefits as compared to a regular product warranty—advanced hardware replacement, software updates, and Cisco technical support via Cisco’s TAC (Techincal Assistance Center).
Certain service plans, like Cisco Small Business Support Service, provide you with next-business-day hardware replacement. This makes sure that your company stays up and running with a minimum possible amount of corporate network downtime. In contrast, warranties normally necessitate you to first return the defective pieces of hardware to the manufacturer prior to you receiving any replacement products.
With a Cisco service contract, you get ongoing major/minor release upgrades, making sure that your device is always having the latest Cisco software. This assist you to safeguard the functional health of your corporate network.
A service plan also gives you more widespread support. Most warranties don’t give you support and some will only give you very limited support for a very limited period of time. A service plan on the other hand will give you support for an extended period of time and comprises a support level which goes way beyond basic installation, analysis, and troubleshooting. The Cisco Small Business Support Service gives you 3 years of support and access to technical experts highly trained by Cisco on resolving small and medium size business network problems and device-level issues.
An extra advantage to buying a SMARTnet service contract is the human element. Via Small Business Support Service, you get access to a local Cisco reseller who is sponsored by Cisco employed on your behalf as a reliable consultant. This provides you a single point of contact (POC) for execution and problem resolution.
If you believe that a Cisco SMARTnet service contract is not appropriate for your small business budget, please consider this: A squandered client call or buying activity could cost you nearly as much—or even more—than a Cisco SMARTnet service plan. Also keep in mind that every hour of network outages and downtime will surely cost your business much needed additional profits and revenue and hurt your company’s reputation.
A Cisco SMARTnet service contract can safeguard both your company and your technology investment. Now that is what I call complete peace of mind!
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