[BES admin]

I think it would be good to hear from BES Admins who use or who would use TSupport.

If you have ever used or currently use TSupport, please provide your opinion about TSupport so that others considering it can get some feedback.

Thanks.

Our company does not use T-Support, we depend on our ability to resolve our own issues, and if ever there is an issue we cannot resolve, we plan to call our Cellular vendor, and if necessary, they claim they will pass us to the support folks at RIM with no additional cost associated with the call.

Not sure what the difference is in the tech support we receive through the vendor versus the tech support you get with paid Tsupport, but we have not found a need for it yet.

We have only had BES Deployed for a year and it is only supporting 27 users, so this may be why we have not needed the support option as of yet. I'd like to claim that I have such superior technical skills and that's the reason for no issues, but that is certainly not the case.

[BB_God]

If you do use support what Tx level(s) have you used?

[BB Junkie]

With T-Support, you will be able to receive BES upgrades (IE. 4.0 to 4.1)
Without it, you only get the service packs for your current BES version.

Hope that helps.

[BES admin]

That's an interesting point. What happens without TSupport when the upgrade comes out?

I can only assume that we will have to purchase the newer version. I forget the cost of the original server, but I assume it will be along the same lines, no?

[jibi]

you would be able to purchase a one-time upgrade, but in some cases, TSupport is cheaper.

[southwestcomm]

The upgrade from 3.6 to 4.0 was $899.99.

[BBAdmin]

Tech support is neither here nor there - most of us have a good idea of what's happening when things go wrong (or fall back to our BB forum peers for help!!!) With such infrequent chargable updates from RIM I feel it's a little pointless - you might as well use your own brain for tech support and deal with the licence fees when chargable updates are released. If there were other RIM software to buy (such as development platforms) that could be provided through a T-Support subscription (much in the way we get development copies through MSDN) I'd be more interested.

[weazbo]

We have tSupport. When we first installed the BES years ago, there was not a tSupport program - and the support was better! When tSupport came along it seems that RIM staffed it with a bunch of folks that were not experienced. It has gotten a bit better in the last year, but still not the best vendor support I've seen.
If you have a large enterprise, you must get tSupport, just as a CYA if nothing else. If not, you can do without it...

[jibi]

If you have a large enterprise, you must get tSupport, just as a CYA if nothing else. If not, you can do without it...

I think this is perhaps the biggest selling point. When/if the unthinkable happens and you have no avenue to turn to aside from a low-level importance one-time free call (everyone with a license gets this one call, in addition to the limited 6-month Tx0 support), then the failure and ignorance towards an adequate enterprise support plan will be on your shoulders, most likely. For most companies, its not that much of a fee to be concerned with.

And one other thing I learned - if you purchase a new BES license, it and any additional handhelds will be added onto your TSupport coverage for free. During renewal the next year, you will have to purchase it for that added BES though. So remember that in the future - BES purchases should be made after TSupport purchase for the first BES ... will save you a bit of money for that first year.

[juwaack68]

We have T-2 Support and I love it. I do usually come to the forums first for questions/issues (unless the BES is down, which has happened), but it's nice to have a straight line into support via RIM. I've called them for both handheld and server support.

And having upgrades included is another very nice 'perk'.

[sejinro]

Our company did not purchase T-support plan. We purchased our BES through Cingular and we get support from Cingular Business Support. If Cingular can't resolve the problem then they will forward my call to RIM at no cost. My experience with Cingular Business Support has not been so great because almost every time they can't figure out the issue and end up forwarding me to RIM. As far as RIM support, they seem to be very knowledgeable on BES and the various devices to the extent that were able to resolve all of our issues on a single call. Hope this helps.

[BrooklynzFinest]

We have Tx2 support as well and it comes in handy. I think its worth the money spent.

[misquote]

Our BES has been up for several months and we've had to call a couple times. The support personel were sharp quite knowledgeable. It is a nice safety net to fall back on (especially when a SP upgrade does not go smoothly!)

[bmlang]

We have T1 support. I am not very happy with it at all. Everytime I call, it takes forever to get someone on the phone. Also, whenever I have to call back a few times on a single issue, its always someone different and they always have different answers for me. The one time I had to use my 1 off-hour call per contract, their final solution/reason was the method that THEY had told me to upgrade to 4.0

[Grimlin]

Currently Tx2. Have been on Tx1 and Tx3. There is a big difference in hold times between Tx1 and Tx2. Tx2 to Tx3 doesn't seem to be much different. 2 is a nice place to be. As has been said, for a large enterprise, it is imperative to have someone below you to point the finger at. You can only point at the interns so many times before it starts looking suspicious.

[jrbes]

Currently Tx4, when we call in we have a DART member that takes our calls (supposed to be the better techs that they have). We are a large company and I can say that having this level of support has been very helpful at times, CYA is a big part of it!!

One of the best parts of it is having bi-weekly support calls with our Support Account Manager to cover open cases (from a named caller list), issues that we have had come up and not been handled, updates on most all RIM happenings, and yearly on-site visits (RIM to our office with a review of our system and a path to greener pastures!).

[Cottonakin]

I bought Tx2 support when I first brought up my BES for GroupWise. They have been great and I would recommend it.

B.

[Anka]

TX2 here from the beginning. Its been good for most of common problem, but when it come to complex cases, its another matter. We had quite a bit of trouble to get to the level 2 tech. Most of the solutions given to us where about wiping out the device and reactivate again. I could figure that one myself, even if i am a newbie ;)

Unfortunatly, when you are dealing with managing staff member (directors, Vice presidents and so-on), you don't always have the luxury to simply wipe out theirs Blackberry. We almost upgraded from tx2 to tx4 or tx5, but since the newest Service pack (SP3 with hotfix 2) was installed, most of our problems went away, and with it the need to upgrade to tx4 (and paying the 120 000$ bill). Phew! Upgrade your service pack before you upgrade your TX support, your boss will love you for it. Trust me.

[PacketRat]

We have been using TX2 for the last 3 years. One of our named callers is on the phone with RIM at least once a day. It should be in all med - large company budgets. so yes I would recommend.

[BES admin]

Originally Posted by PacketRat

We have been using TX2 for the last 3 years. One of our named callers is on the phone with RIM at least once a day. It should be in all med - large company budgets. so yes I would recommend.

every day?! what is the necessity in that?

It concerns me that there are a few people here that are on the line with BB support daily or regularly.

Can someone explain why? I haven't had to call for support yet and I am kinda getting nervouse that at some point my life will be consumed by resolving BES issues. I am the BES admin and so far things have been problem free pretty much.