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Cisco Smart Care ServicePartner Q&A

This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution.


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Cisco Smart Care Serv ice: Partner Q&A

iiThis document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.

About Cisco Smart Care Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Availability and Localization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Partner Qualificat ion and Cer tification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Partner Registration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Training and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Quoting, Ordering, and Billing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Pricing Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Cisco Smart Care Service Pr ice to Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Ultimate Contract Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Initial Price Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Final Quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Billing and Payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Quarterly True-Ups/Annual Renewals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Contract Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Contract Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Contract Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Contract Cancellations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Access Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Partner Enablement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Role of Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Features and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Discovery and Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Device Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Marketing Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Assessments and Remote Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Network Appliance (Hardware or Software Client) . . . . . . . . . . 33

Software Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Hardware Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Customer Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

IPS Signature Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Dashboard Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Advance Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Comparison to Other Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Cisco SMARTnet Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Collaborative Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Shared Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Remote Management Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Relat ion to Other Cisco Partner Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Managed Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Table of Contents


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This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.

About Cisco Smart Care Services

General

Q. What is CiscoSmart Care Service?

A. Cisco Smart Care Service is a unique, proactive services platform

that allows Cisco Certified Partners to build upon Cisco networking

expertise, methodologies, technical tools, best practices and service

infrastructure to create new, personalized services for their customers.

Smart Care Service provides partners with the capabilities needed to

offer the network-level insight, traditional maintenance, and proactive

network services their customers require; it also helps partners grow and

differentiate their businesses in the commercial marketplace. With the

core capabilities of Cisco Smart Care Service, partners can provide their

customers with capabilities such as:

Remote monitoring and repair of Cisco devices and software

applications*

Proactive health checks and periodic assessments of Cisco

network foundation, voice, and security technologies to identify

potential issues

Technical support for all Cisco hardware and software in the

network with a single network-wide maintenance contract

Selected software updates and upgrades (see table below)

Next business day (NBD) advance replacement of Cisco devices

with an option to upgrade individual devices to 4-hour coverage

(onsite service not included)

Proactive notications to simplify the updating of Cisco devices

Assessment and preparation services to simplify the addition of

new technologies and applications over time

Disaster recovery services to back up the customers routers,

switches, and security solutions to a remote location and easily

restore the network in the event of a disaster

Offering off-the-shelf, best in class, proactive network monitoring

capabilities, backed by Cisco, as part of a service that helps provide

visibility into the customers network saves operational costs andsimplifies network-level contract management.

For the end customer, a partner offering based on Cisco Smart Care

provides a comprehensive network-wide service that can include

proactive network monitoring, health checkups, diagnostics, and

software repairs, in addition to technical support for their entire Cisco

networkin a single contract. Smart Care Service is delivered through a

local Cisco Certified Partner that works with Cisco to provide a superior

service experience.

Table 1.

ContractType Description

CCOAccessLevel

PicaAdministration

HardwareCoverage

Service LevelGroup

SoftwareCenter Access

MajorSoftwareUpdates

SoftwareMaintainence

ReleasesTAC

Access

CNL1 CNL1 ROUTR/SWTCH/SEC Partner Yes Yes 8x5xNBD Yes No Yes Yes

CNL3 CNL3 VOICE ADDED Partner Yes Yes 8x5xNBD Yes No Yes Yes

CNL4 CNL4 ADV VOICE ADDED Partner Yes Yes 8x5xNBD Yes No Yes Yes

CNLA SMARTCARE ASSESS SVC Partner Yes No SAS for client only Yes No No Yes

CNLB SMARTCARE ASSESS SVC Partner Yes No SAS for client only Yes No No Yes

CNLP SMARTCARE PREMIUM Partner Yes Yes 24x7x4 Yes No Yes Yes

*Refer to the Products section for a list of eligible devices and soft ware applications covered by Cisco Smart Care Service.

* Software upgrades do not contain entitlement for licensed upgrades. These licensed upgrades have to be purchased separately.Back to Table

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Customizable alert services to send email or text notications of

any issue in customer networks

Proactive notications of any end-of-life Cisco devices in

customer networks

Disaster recovery services to remotely back up customer

network configurations

Partner access to the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC)

for escalations (partners take all calls from the customer and are

required to address level 0 and level 1 calls)

Software updates and maintenance releases for qualied Cisco

applications

Cisco IOS Software support, including maintenance releases

and patches and access to Cisco.com and the Cisco Smart CareService portal and tools

A network-level service contract covering all qualied Cisco

devices in the customers network (See Table 1 in the Products

section for a list of eligible devices and software applications

covered by Cisco Smart Care Service.)

Q. Why should partners sell a support offering based on

Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. Cisco Smart Care Service helps partners expand their businessopportunities by providing a proactive services platform on which they can

build the next generation of personalized services that promote higher

profit margins, recurrent revenue, and long-lasting customer relationships.

The Cisco Smart Care Service platform enables partners to:

Improve protability by transitioning to a service-led model,

which can result in higher profit margins and predictable,

recurring revenue.

Dierentiate their businesses by developing personalized services

for midsize customers.

Purchasing Cisco Smart Care Service from a Cisco Certified Partner

is the way for midsize customers to verify that their network is secure,

reliable, and functioning optimally so that they can improve their

employee productivity, increase customer responsiveness, and get

the most from their technology investments. Utilizing a service based

on Cisco Smart Care gives customers greater visibility into networkperformance and greatly reduces the time and effort necessary to help

ensure that their networks are running efficiently.

Q. What is included for partners in Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. Cisco Smart Care Service includes:

Dashboard visibility into a customers network to remotely monitor

performance and correct potential problems

Periodic assessment and repair services to identify potential

network health and security issues

Single-use network health and security assessments to provide

assessments as a one-time professional service or to demonstrate

the value of the annual service to prospective customers

Assessment and preparation services to simplify the addition of

new technologies and applications over time

Voice assessment services that can be used prior to deploying

voice in the network.

Voice quality monitoring service to help ensure the audible quality

of voice

Proactive device-level diagnostics, alerts, and remediation advice

for Cisco Smart Call Home-enabled products when an issue is

detected

Single support contract for all Cisco devices in the customers

network

Next-business-day (NBD) advance hardware replacement to

the end user for the entire network, with the option to upgradeindividual devices to premium 4-hour coverage, software updates/

upgrades and ESW equivalence. (Onsite service not included)

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Q. Who is the target customer for service based on Cisco

Smart Care?

A. The Cisco Smart Care Service is designed to enable partners

to provide support for midsize businesses, typically between 100

and 1000 employees. Target customers primarily or exclusively use

Cisco networking devices and lack sufficient in-house resources with

networking expertise, or have qualified IT staff but choose to save time

and effort maintaining and optimizing their network to help ensure higher

network security, availability, and performance.

Q. How is Cisco Smart Care Service different from other

services?

Proactive remote monitoring for visibility into the health, security,

and availability of the network

Assessment and services

Customizable alert services

Disaster recovery capabilities

Technical support to the partner for level 2+ issues (partners take

all calls from the customer and are required to address level 0 and

level 1 calls)

NBD advance hardware replacement for Cisco devices, with the

option to upgrade individual devices to 4-hour coverage (onsite

service not included)

Simplied addition of new technologies and applications over time

with assessment and preparation services

A single contract that covers all qualied Cisco devices on

the network

Increase customer loyalty by combining the complementary service

advantages of Cisco and the partner to deliver an exceptional

service experience to customers.

Grow their service business through a collaborative go-to-market

strategy with Cisco.

Reduce contract management through a single network-wide

contract

Q. Why should customers buy a partner service based on

Cisco Smart Care?

A. A partner support offering based on Cisco Smart Care Service

provides customers the following benefits:

The opportunity to choose the level and type of network coverage

to best support the size and complexity of their business

Increased network visibility with the information partners need to

efficiently manage and continually improve customer networks

Ongoing monitoring and periodic assessments of network

health, availability, and security to protect and optimize essential

network applications, communications, and business operations

so problems can be addressed before they affect business

functionality

Enhanced business continuity through disaster recovery capabilities

that remotely back up network routing, switching, and securityconfigurations, allowing the quick restoration of the network to its

prior working order in the event of a disaster

A single service contract that covers all Cisco devices to simplify

contract management and maintenance requirements

The combined strengths of Cisco, the industry leader in

networking, with a local value-add reseller, providing midsize

customers with network care and improvement planning to help

keep the network efficient and secure

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About Cisco

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Note: The estimate of 50 to 1000 network users represents the number

of active, concurrent users on the network. In some industries, such as

manufacturing or healthcare, many employees access the network only

occasionally. The number of employees in a business could be much

higher. This could translate to up to 1000 users.

Q. Is Cisco Smart Care Service a good option for businesses

that want to add voice to their network?

A. Yes. Successfu l IP voice implementation requires more than simply

deploying an IP call processing solution and IP phones. A company

needs a network that prioritizes voice services, provides the necessary

bandwidth and processing resources, and is protected from common

networking issues that have negligible effects on other services but that

significantly impact voice quality.

Q. How does Cisco define network coverage?

A. Network coverage means that the customer covers Cisco devices**

in the network with a service level contract that includes proactive

network health checkups, remote monitoring, diagnostics, and software

repairs in addition to technical support delivered through their local Cisco

Certified Partner. The customer gets the same high level of service

across the network.

Since this service is designed to serve the needs of medium-sized

customers, coverage is limited to products that those businesses typically

purchase. The customer may not purchase Cisco Smart Care Service if

some of their network equipment is considered to be high-end enterprise

or service provider-class devices.

**Most commercial-class and some enterprise-class Cisco products are eligible to becovered by Cisco Smart Care Service. For more information about eligible products,refer to the Products section.

Q. If a customer already has another Cisco service contract on

some devices, such as Cisco SMARTnet Service or Shared

Support, can they get Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. Yes. The customer can choose to cover their entire Cisco network

with a partner plan based on Cisco Smart Care Service, even if they

currently have Cisco SMARTnet, Shared Support, or another Cisco

service. Cisco Smart Care Service will be applied to the uncovered

products, and at the renewal time for the other service contracts, they

will be converted to Cisco Smart Care Service. For more information,

see the Pricing section. As these other Cisco service contracts expire,

the devices will migrate over on the Smart Care contract and the price

will be adjusted as part of the true-up process.

Q. Is there a limit to the number of network users Cisco Smart

Care Service can support on any one network?

A. No. Since Cisco Smart Care Service is sold based on the number and

class of Cisco devices are on the network, the actual number of network

users will vary.

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Smart Care

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Next-business-day (NBD) advance hardware replacement to

the end user for the entire network, with the option to upgrade

individual devices to premium 4-hour coverage, software updates/

upgrades, and ESW equivalence (onsite service is not included)

Simplied addition of new technologies and applications over timewith assessment and preparation services

A single contract that covers all qualied Cisco devices on the

network

Q. What options does a customer have for hardware

replacement (for example, NBD, 4-hour, 2-hour)? How will

customers with current 2-hour contracts be supported until

their existing contracts expire?

A. The base-level Cisco Smart Care Service contract lets partnersprovide NBD hardware replacement. Partners also have the flexibility to

upgrade individual devices to a premium 4-hour hardware replacement

option. (Note:The 4-hour option does not include onsite service.) If

customers with an existing 2-hour contract purchase a plan based on

Cisco Smart Care Service, their existing Cisco SMARTnet contracts will

be honored for the duration of that contract. As each devices contract

expires, it will automatically be migrated to a partner offering based on

Cisco Smart Care Service and the pricing adjusted when applicable.

Therefore, a customer that has a current 2-hour Cisco SMARTnet

Service contract will still be able to get that hardware replacement level

until their current Cisco SMARTnet contract expires.

SecurityNote:For information on how your customers data is secure with Smart

Care, go to: www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/

downloads/scs_security_wp.pdf.

Q. What steps are taken to help ensure that network data sent

to Cisco is secure?

A. A network appliance or software application on the network

continuously collects data about the health of the network. This data is

With a support plan based on the Cisco Smart Care Service, a qualified

Cisco partnerbacked by extensive tools and in-depth training from

Ciscoprovides a comprehensive analysis to determine whether the

network meets these requirements before the customer invests in IP

voice technologies. The assessment tools include voice traffic injection

capabilities and detailed measurements of the delay, jitter, and loss in thecustomer network. The assessment also provides a mean opinion score

(MOS) for the customer networkthe industry-standard scoring criteria

for IP voice circuits.

Through this evaluation, the Cisco partner provides detailed information

about everything the network requires (including any devices or

links that must be replaced and any operating systems that must

be upgraded) to successfully support IP voice and helps create a

smoother, more successful implementation. According to a 2005

Cisco survey of companies with IP voice solutions, nearly 90 percent

of customers that performed a presales assessment of their networksvoice capabilities reported that they were pleased with the solution.

Alternatively,approximately 80 percent of those companies that did not

perform such assessments were dissatisfied.

Q. How is Cisco Smart Care Service different from other

services?

A. Unlike traditional maintenance services, Cisco Smart Care Service

provides you with a proactive services platform that provides tools to

deliver both traditional maintenance and proactive services, including:

Proactive remote monitoring for visibility into the health, security,

and availability of the network

Assessment and repair services

Customizable alert services

Disaster recovery capabilities

Technical support to the partner for level 2+ issues (partners take

all calls from the customer and are required to address level 0 and

level 1 calls)Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Partners

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services
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There is no need to request exclusions for the following devices:

The Smart Care appliance

Third-party devices

Devices no longer in the Smart Care inventory

Personal computers

Q. Can a nonqualifying product on a network be covered with

another service and the rest of the network be covered with


A. Yes. Nonqualifying products on a network may be covered with

another service while the rest of the network is covered with Smart Care.

However, the smart service features and coverage offered by Smart Care

will not apply to nonqualifying products.

Q. Will older Cisco devices be supported, for example,

a Cisco 2503 Router?

A. This depends on the device. When an end-of-support notice is

issued, affected devices will no longer be covered. Talk to your Cisco

service account manager about replacement strategies.

Q. If a customer purchases a non-eligible Cisco product,

what happens to the network-level support contract?A. If a customer purchases a non-eligible Cisco product, that customer

still remains eligible for a partner support offering based on Cisco Smart

Care Service to continue to cover qualified devices on their network.

Products

Q. What products does Cisco Smart Care Service support?

A. Cisco Smart Care Service supports a broad range of products for

mid-sized business networks, which are organized into six technology

groups. This list is continually updated as Cisco introduces new products

into this market segment. For the most up-to-date product list, refer to

the Cisco Service Quote Upload and Estimates Tool, which is found on the

Smart Care Partner Central website, under Resources, then Tools section

(direct link: http://tools.cisco.com/ca/cacsp/application/index.jsp ).

Q. Why are some products excluded from Cisco Smart Care

Service?

A. Since this service is designed for midsize businesses, coverage is

limited to products that those companies typically purchase. Cisco has

included products that are commonly used by businesses of all sizes,

such as Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches. However, most enterprise-

class products are excluded from this service

Q. What devices are excluded?

A. Generally, any device detected will be added to the customers

contract, will be eligible for entitlement, and will be considered during

the quarterly pricing reviews. It is reasonable to anticipate that customers

will have devices in their networks that might need to be excluded from

the Cisco Smart Care Service contract. Reasons for the exclusions may

include, but are not limited to:

Cisco or partner-provided test, lab, or demo gear

Service provider-owned gear

The partner may request that these devices be excluded from the

Cisco Smart Care Service contract through the Service Support Center

(SSC). The request will be reviewed by a Cisco Smart Care Service

administrator, and, if approved, excluded devices will be marked on the

inventory as excluded and, if appropriate, removed from the Cisco Smart

Care Service contract.Back to Tableof Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Partners

Features

and Tools

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to Other

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8This document is Cisco Confidential. For Channel Partner use only. Not for distribution. 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates.

Partners

Partner Qualification and Certification

Q. What qualifications do partners need to sell and support


A. At a minimum, you must be a Cisco Select, Premier, Silver, or Gold

Certified Partner and must have passed the Cisco Smart Care Service

exam. If you meet these requirements, you can sell and support Cisco

Smart Care Service for networks that contain basic Cisco routing,

switching, security, and storage technology products. For networks

with basic voice technology, a Cisco Express Unified Communications

Specialization is required from the partner. For networks with advanced

voice technology products, an Advanced Unified Communications

Specialization is required. Specialization requirements may vary

depending on country and theater. Contact your Cisco representative formore information. Additionally, you must be able to provide 8x5 support

to your customers.

Q. May Global Service Alliance (GSA) and Regional Service

Alliance (RSA) partners offer Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. GSA and RSA partners can qualify to offer a plan based on Cisco

Smart Care Service if they meet the minimum partner eligibility

requirements. If a GSA or RSA partner chooses to offer a plan based on

Cisco Smart Care Service, the GSA or RSA benefits will not be applied

to Cisco Smart Care Service. Cisco Smart Care Service does not includerebates or discounts; GSA and RSA partners will not be able to apply the

strategic alliance benefits they receive to Cisco Smart Care Service.

Q. What if it says I am not qualified to register?

A. There are specific eligibility criteria that your partner company needs

to meet before registering for the Cisco Smart Care program. Visit the

program homepage (www.cisco.com/go/smartcare ) to review those

criteria. If you think that your company meets the criteria, visit the Partner

Self-Service tool at http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/

welcome.doto validate if the appropriate certifications/specializationsare in place.

It is also possible that your company does not reside in one of the

countries in which the Cisco Smart Care program is currently available.

Visit the Partner Self-Service tool to validate your companys address

information, and refer to the Theater Availability table at www.cisco.com/

web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/theater_availability.htmlfor

updates on availability.

Q. What if the portal does not recognize or show all the

certifications and specializations my company has?

A. If you have recently acquired a new certification or specialization, it

might not have been updated on your profile. To verify, visit the Partner

Self-Service tool at http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/

welcome.doto view your certifications and specializations and to report

any issues.

Q. How do increased specialization/certification levels affect

my registration with Smart Care?

A. If your company acquires one of the higher specializations that make

you eligible for a higher Cisco Smart Care access level, your Cisco Smart

Care access level will automatically be increased. This will allow you to

support and sell Cisco Smart Care for more complex customer networks.

To see the eligibility requirements for Smart Care, visit www.cisco.com/

web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/offer.html.

Q. What is meant by, In the event the partner is not recertifiedwithin the 90-day grace period, the customers Smart Care

Service contract will be supported until it expires.

A. Partners will still have access to the Smart Care Service Portal, but

will be unable to run any services. Customer networks are still covered by

the Smart Care Service contract, and partners can access support for the

customer networks.

Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
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Q. How do I become eligible to register for Cisco Smart

Care Service?

A. Each geographic region may have additional requirements, but the

following are the general steps to register for Cisco Smart Care Service:

Step 1: Review Minimum Partner Eligibility Requirements

1.Confirm theater availability for your partner location.

2.Hold a Select, Premier, Silver or Gold Cisco partner certification.

3. Agree to provide technical support (8x5 business hoursself-certify).

4.Complete live or online training (self-certify).

5.Pass the Cisco Smart Care Service online test (free to partners; one

person from partnership needs to pass).

Step 2: Get Trained and Take the Online Test:

The Cisco Smart Care Service e-learning contains several role-based

training paths (including owner/manager, account manager, systems

engineer, and sales operations/administrative). It is available to you at no

cost. To view the entire range of training offered, view the training map:

www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/

training_map.html.

Partner eligibility to participate in the Cisco Smart Care Service program

requires a partner sales or systems engineer, or equivalent, to pass the

Cisco Smart Care Service online eligibility test. This test is focused on

the installation, configuration, and use of the Cisco Smart Care Service

delivery tools. Only one member of your partner organization is required

to pass the test to meet eligibility. The test must be passed before your

organization can successfully register for the Cisco Smart Care Service

program. You can access the Smart Care tests through the registration

tab in the e-learning course.

Partner Registration

Q. How can I familiarize myself with Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. Go to www.cisco.com/go/smartcare for details on Cisco Smart Care

Service. This site includes data sheets; at-a-glance documents; a demo

overview of the program and all of the tools; overviews of the network

health, security, and voice assessments; and much more.

Q. Where should I go when deciding to offer Cisco Smart

Care Service?

A. The Offer the Service section on the Smart Care website

(www.cisco.com/go/smartcare ) will take you through a five-phase

decision-making process. The five phases are:

Understanding the Smart Care value proposition

Building your business case

Building your services oering

Incorporating into your business model

Selling and delivering a plan based on Cisco Smart Care Service

Included in these five phases are the relevant documentation and tools to

guide you through the decision-making stage.

Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
http://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.htmlhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/training_map.html


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Q. Why does it say my Cisco.com user ID is no longer

associated with the partner company?

A. Your Cisco.com user ID might no longer be associated with the

company with which you were originally registered for Cisco Smart Care

Service. If you have switched companies recently or if you believe this

message has been received in error, visit the Partner Self-Service tool

at http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.doto correct

the information.

Q. Does everyone from the partner organization need to sign up

and create a separate Cisco Smart Care account?

A. Every user should have a separate Cisco.com user ID and should be

registered on the Cisco Smart Care portal by the designated Smart Care

administrator at your company.

Q. If I am already registered, how do I become a registered

user for my company?

A. You will need to contact the designated Smart Care administrator at

you company to get access.

Q. Does everyone from the partner organization have to com-

plete the Cisco Smart Care registration click-to-accept

terms?

A. No, only the person authorized to accept the Cisco terms and

conditions will be required to sign at the time of registration.

Q. When registering, it says I need to self-certify that I am

capable of providing 8x5 business hours technical support.

What does this mean?

A. This is a requirement to sell Cisco Smart Care Service. You should

check this box only if you are able to provide technical support during

business hours (8 hours a day, 5 days a week) to customers.

There are two different tests associated with the systems engineering

training path modules. The systems engineer or equivalent needs to pass

only the test that matches the partner organizations service level. (See

notes following each test title.) The tests are:

Cisco Smart Care Base + Voice:Pass this test to sell level 3 and

level 4 of Smart Care (unified communications).

Cisco Smart Care Base:Pass this test to sell level 1 and level 2 of

Smart Care (foundation technology and security).

Step 3: Register to Begin Offering a Support Plan Based on Cisco Smart

Care Service

When your systems engineer has passed the online test and you meet

the other eligibility requirements described in step 1, you may register

to offer a plan based on Cisco Smart Care by filling out a simple

registration form.

Step 4: Begin Selling a Plan Based on Cisco Smart Care

Now that you are officially registered to start offering a support plan

based on Cisco Smart Care Service, you can begin using all of the online

marketing, selling, and delivery tools through the Cisco Smart Care

control panel.

Q. What is the URL to register for Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. The URL is https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare. All requirements must

be met before you can register.

Q. What if I cannot get to the Cisco Smart Care portal page?

A. Visithttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.do to verify that you

have a valid Cisco.com user ID for logging into the portal.

Q. What if my Cisco.com user ID is not working?

A. It might not exist, in which case you will need to create one at

http://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.do . Or you might need to

reset the password by sending an email to [email protected] to Tableof Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttps://tools.cisco.com/smartcarehttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttps://tools.cisco.com/smartcarehttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.do


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Training and Testing

Q. Where do I go to get training for Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. For internal sales and business training on Smart Care and Ciscos

portfolio of technical services visit Accelerate, www.cisco.com/go/

accelerate, Ciscos partner portal dedicated to services training and

education. For all the tools and resources required to help you position

and sell Smart Care to your customers, visit www.cisco.com/go/

smartcare.

To gain a more technical experience of Cisco Smart Care Service, the

Partner Education Connection e-learning resources are available at

www.cisco.com/go/pec .

Q. Is there a fee for accessing the online training?

A. No. The online training is free to all Cisco partners.

Q. How do I complete the Cisco Smart Care training? Is it web

based? In person? Do I have to pass a written test?

A. You may access training in two ways: (1) Complete the training

online at your own pace. (2) There may be live trainings offered by the

Cisco channel sales team. The training should be completed to prepare

for the required online test to become a Cisco Smart Care Service

registered partner.

Q. What type of web-based training is available to me?

A. There are four role-based learning paths available for partners.

They are as follows:

For Owner/Managers:30 Minutes

Lesson 1:Cisco Smart Care Service Overview: 20 minutes

Lesson 2:Partner Registration: 10 minutes

Q. If I acquire new certifications or specializations, when

should I expect to get an email regarding my change of

access level?

A. After a partners prole has been updated with the newly acquired

specialization in the Partner Self-Service tool at http://tools.cisco.com/

wwchannels/getlog/welcome.do , the next time someone from your

company logs into the Cisco Smart Care portal, the access level will

be automatically increased. You will receive an email notifying you of

this change.

Q. Why would I have trouble registering for Cisco Smart Care

Service if I meet the minimum eligibility?

A. The majority of issues with registration involve partner certifications

levels per the Partner Self-Service tool. You can verify that you have the

right certification or specialization level to qualify by visiting http://tools.

cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.do .

Q. How many employees need to pass the Smart Care Exam

to register the program?

A. One employee needs to pass COLT.

Q. Does an employee who will take the Smart Care Exam

need to hold any kind of Cisco certification, such as a

Cisco CCNA?

A. No.

Q. What languages are available for the Smart Care Exam?

A. English only.

Q. If my companys attorney has questions about a certain

clause in the terms and conditions, to whom should these

questions be directed?

A. For questions regarding the terms and conditions for Cisco , contact

the SSC by sending an email to: [email protected] or open

a case at www.cisco.com/go/ssc.

Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
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Q. There are two different Cisco Smart Care Service tests.

How do I know which test to take?

A. When you go to the URL to take the test, you will have two choices,

either Smart Care Base or Smart Care Base + Voice. If your company

has a Cisco Express or Advanced Unified Communications Specialization

and can support level 3 and 4 Smart Care contracts, you will have access

to the voice tools and should take the Base + Voice test.

Q. Is there a fee for taking the test?

A. No. The Cisco Smart Care Service online test is free to partners.

Only one partner, sales or systems engineer, or equivalent needs to

pass the exam.

Q. How long does the test take?

A. The test should take no more than 60 minutes to complete. The testwill time out and score the test at 60 minutes.

Q. What score do I need to get to pass the test?

A. The passing score for the Cisco Smart Care Service online test is

70 percent correct.

Q. How long before I can retake the test if I do not pass it on

the first try?

A. You may retake the test within minutes of receiving your email pass/fail notification. There is no limit on the number of times you can take

the test.

Q. How often do I have to take the test to remain eligible

(for example, once, annually)?

A. You or your sales or systems engineer (or equivalent) need to take

the test only one time.

For Account Managers:1 Hour 15 Minutes


Lesson 3:Quoting and Ordering: 34 minutes

Lesson 5:Using the Cisco Smart Care Service Tools: 17 minutes

For Systems Engineers:2 Hours 36 Minutes




Lesson 4:Managing Cisco Smart Care Service Contracts:

14 minutes


Lesson 6:Cisco Smart Care Service Support Model: 7 minutes

Administrators/Operations:2 Hours




Lesson 4:Managing Cisco Smart Care Service Contracts: 14 minutes


Lesson 6:Cisco Smart Care Service Support Model: 7 minutes

Q. Do I need to take the partner test before or after signing up

for Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. Before you can register to offer Smart Care, one person from your

staff needs to take and pass the appropriate online test. The online

test is based on the sales or systems engineer learning path content

(see above).Back to Tableof Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners


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Quoting, Ordering, and Billing

General

Q. What is the quoting and ordering process through

distribution?

A. The quoting and ordering process is the same for Cisco 2-Tier and

1-Tier Partners. All partners use the Cisco Smart Care Service network

appliance and portal to discover the devices on the customer network.

They request the initial quote through the Smart Care portal, and their

selected distributor will contact the partner once the quote is ready. The

partner may check the status of the quote at every step of the process

through the Cisco Smart Care Service portal.

Q. What processes exist for checking currently uncovered

equipment?

A. The Cisco Smart Care Service inventory process detects all the

devices on the network, including those of other manufacturers.

Uncovered Cisco equipment will be discovered. All devices will be sent

through a scrubbing process to validate and make sure all Cisco devices

are included for entitlement and billing purposes.

Q. If a Smart Care partner found a device that is covered by

another partners active service contract in the discovery

and inventory process, what information on that contract will

be shown on the control panel? Can the Smart Care partner

see the information, such as service contract type, owner of

that contract, and when it expires?

A. No. If a non-Smart Care partner currently provides the support for the

customer, the Smart Care partner will not get the contract information on

those devices.

Q. Does everyone who accesses Cisco Smart Care and delivers

the service need to pass the test, or just one person: the

sales or systems engineer (or equivalent)?

A. Only one person at a given partner company is required to pass the

appropriate Cisco Smart Care test.

Q. How long does it take between the time I take the Smart

Care Service eligibility test and when I can register for

Cisco Smart Care?

A. You may start the Cisco Smart Care registration process immediately.

Q. I am having a problem launching the e-learning. What could

the problem be?

A. You may need to turn off the pop-up blocker in the browser. For

example, in Internet Explorer go to tools > Pop-up Blockers > Turn off

Pop-up Blockers. Also, if you have a toolbar for Yahoo or Google, you will

need to disable the pop-up blocker in there as well. After you have done

this, try launching the e-learning again.

Q. I am having a problem going through the e-learning. What

should I do?

A. Use the following link to find help: http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/

peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=

CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0. If you are

unable to find the answer, open a case using the link on the bottom of

the page.

Q. The exam is not available. What can I do?

A. Send an email to: [email protected] or open a case at

www.cisco.com/go/ssc.

Q. What if I do not pass the test? How often can I take it?

A. If you do not pass the test the first time, you may retake the test

immediately. There is no limit to the number of retakes.Back to Tableof Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0mailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/go/sschttp://www.cisco.com/go/sscmailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0http://cisco.partnerelearning.com/peclms/lang-en/management/LMS_TheaterContent.aspx?PageName=%20CiscoOnlineSupport.html&PageType=Jump&ShowSideBar=0


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Q. If a customer already has another Cisco service contract,

such as Cisco SMARTnet or Shared Support, on some

devices, can they purchase a partner plan based on Cisco

Smart Care Service? Or do they have to wait until their

current service contract expires?

A. Customers can choose to cover their entire Cisco network with a plan

based on Cisco Smart Care Service, even if they currently have Cisco

SMARTnet, Shared Support, or another Cisco service. Devices already

covered by another service are excluded from the Cisco Smart Care

Service price charged to the partner until their service plan expires. The

initial customer quote includes up-front prorated costs for devices that

will be covered by Cisco Smart Care later in the contract term.

Then when the other service contracts expire, those devices would

automatically migrate over to the Cisco Smart Care Service contract, and

the price to the partner for the Smart Care Service would be adjusted at

that time. It is anticipated that the partner would adjust their price to the

customer as well.

Q. How is the Cisco Smart Care Service priced relative to Cisco

SMARTnet Service?

A. The Cisco Smart Care Service and Cisco SMARTnet Service are very

different offers and share only some elements in common. Cisco expects

the types of services that a partner ultimately wraps around Cisco Smart

Care Service to make it a dramatically different offer that encompasses

more consultative services. Cisco Smart Care Service assumes the

partner is providing engineers to manage the tools platform, plus non-

maintenance services such as assessments and monitoring. Therefore,

the total costs considered as well as the value delivered are very different

and make it very difficult to make a comparison. Cisco Smart Care

Service pricing is based on the number of devices on the network and

the types of technologies and applications on the network. Considering

those two factors will determine the network-wide service price to be in

one of 60 different total price points.

Pricing Framework

Q. How is Cisco Smart Care Service priced?

A. Cost is determined by two factors: (1) the number of devices on the

network (categorized across 10 fixed pricing bands) and (2) the typesof applications and devices that reside on the network. The number

of devices on the network is a combination of those automatically

discovered and inventoried along with any manual additions made by you.

This may increase over time because of the weekly discovery process.

Q. Can an end customer purchase directly from Cisco?

A. No

Q. Can 1-Tier partners buy Smart Care?

A. Yes, but exclusively through Cisco authorized Smart Care distributors.

Q. Does Cisco set the customer price for partner plans based

on Cisco Smart Care Service?

A. No. You establish the price to each customer, depending on the level

and type of services the customer and you agree on.

Q. How is the Cisco Smart Care Service price to the

customer determined?

A. You pay Cisco a price for using this proactive services platform, based

on the devices and applications in the customers entire network. You then

establish the price to the customer, taking into account each customers

unique requirements and the value-added services you are providing.

For instance, the price to the customer may take into account not only

Cisco devices and applications on the customers network, but also the

frequency of assessments and additional services that you provide.

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About Cisco

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Features

and Tools

Comparison

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Services

Partners


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To help ensure that Cisco Smart Care Service is priced fairly, the device

counts for these complex devices are weighted using a device multiplier.

Q. How are the Cisco Smart Care network client and the

Cisco Smart Care network appliance priced? Can they be

purchased as standalone products?

A. The Cisco Smart Care network client and the Cisco Smart Care

network appliance are part of the service offering and are not available for

a standalone purchase. The cost of either the software client or hardware

appliance is built into the price of the annually renewable contract.

Q. Do Cisco IP phones count as devices?

A. No. Phones are covered, but are not counted in the number of

devices. One goal of the Cisco Smart Care Service is to simplify network-

level pricing. By eliminating the number of phones and the number ofusers, Cisco makes it easy for you to determine your cost for each

network you support.

Q. What percentage of Cisco commercial products is covered?

What are the major products that are excluded from Cisco

Smart Care Service?

A. More than 95 percent of commercial class products are eligible for

Cisco Smart Care Service coverage. In some cases, there may be a time

lag between when a new commercial product is launched and when it is

available for the full suite of service in Cisco Smart Care Service.

Q. Is there a separate cost for the hardware appliance? Why

isnt the service less expensive if the partner takes the

software client?

A. The hardware appliance is included in the price of the service. A core

design criterion for this service is simplicity. By including the appliance

in the cost of the service, you need to perform only one transaction.

Further, the choice of a software or hardware network appliance is not

intended to be a core differentiator for this service.

Cisco SMARTnet, in contrast, has a discrete service price for each

individual device and application on the network. The price of Cisco

SMARTnet is based on the sum of the prices for each covered device

and application on the network. Since the required coverage model and

the pricing calculation are so different, Cisco Smart Care Service pricing

does not have a direct correlation to Cisco SMARTnet Service pricing.

Cisco Smart Care Service Price to Partner

Q. How is the Cisco Smart Care Service price to the partner

determined?

A. The price to you is determined by two factors: the number of devices

on the network and the types of applications and devices that reside on

the network. You can simply and quickly determine what their cost will

be by asking a few questions and running the Cisco Smart Care Service

discovery tool on the customers network. The discovery tool will locatemost of the devices on the network and automatically add them to the

service contract, reducing the operational costs associated with contract

ordering and administration.

To simplify pricing, there are 20 pricing bands that cover eligible

networks, which can have as many as 200 Cisco device counts (IP

phones are covered, but do not count as devices). Plus, there are three

technology price levels. This means that the partners price changes

only when the number of devices in the customers network crosses

into a new price band or a new type of technology is added. So most

minor additions to a network will not result in a price increase, unless thenumber of devices crosses into the next band of pricing. The following

link shows the Smart Care pricing framework: http://www.cisco.com/

web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_

Pricing_QRG.pdf.

Q. What is device count weighting? Why do some devices

count as more than one device?

A. Many complex, high-value devices can replace multiple,

simpler devices.

Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
http://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_Pricing_QRG.pdfhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_Pricing_QRG.pdfhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_Pricing_QRG.pdfhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_Pricing_QRG.pdfhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_Pricing_QRG.pdfhttp://www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/smartcare_Pricing_QRG.pdf


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Q. I did a manual quote. Now when I run the discovery it shows

New devices found even though these devices are already

covered under the contract. What should I do?

A. First you need to add the automatically-discovered devices to the

inventory then run inventory. Next, exclude the manually added devices

and click on Save and continue.

Q. I have manually added a device to the inventory. How

long does it take for the contract to be updated with the

device SN?

A. 48 hours.

Q. How do I get access to the SC portal for the employee of the

SC registered partner company?

A. Access can be given by the CCO ID of the employee who registered

to SC. Advise the caller to refer to the partner company administrator. If

the requestor is the partner company administrator and needs to know

how to add new users, the requestor needs to sign into the portal,

Administration > Users > Add new.

Ultimate Contract Value

Q. Release 1.7 of Cisco Smart Care Service now includes

Ultimate Contract Value (UCV), where upfront prorated

service costs are included for devices that will be coveredby Cisco Smart Care later in the contract term. Do partners

need to re-install QUE to take advantage of this feature?

A. No, this feature is included as part of the Smart Care Service

application update 1.7.

Q. If devices are covered under a pre-existing Cisco SMARTnet

contract, how are terms and renewal handled upon

expiration? Are customers forced to renew their Cisco

SMARTnet contracts for a limited time? Do they know what

the price will be ahead of time?

A. If there is a preexisting contract, the product will be marked as do

not renew in the contract management system, and its pro-rated service

cost will be included as part of the initial Cisco Smart Care Service quote.

When the device is up for renewal, it will be discovered during the Cisco

Smart Care true-up process, and the product will be covered for the

remaining period of the Cisco Smart Care Service contract.

Q. What happens to the price if the customer retires some

Cisco equipment during the year and has fewer devices?

A. The price will be adjusted downward at the time of the annualrenewal.

Q. How do renewals work?

A. The Cisco Smart Care Service automatically generates a new quote

through distribution. However, Cisco Smart Care Service does not

provide automatic renewals or automatic invoicing. You may work with

your distributor to purchase a renewal within 90 days of receipt of the

quote.

Q. Are multiyear contracts and discounts available?

A. Smart Care allows for terms of 1, 2, or 3 years. The corresponding

discount will apply.

Q. If the customer reduces the number of devices on their

network, does Cisco adjust the price of their service

midyear or mid-contract?

A. At present, Cisco Smart Care Service contracts are not renegotiated

for a device count decrease until the annual renewal period. Cisco does

not accommodate midyear or midcontract true-downs.Back to Tableof Contents

About Cisco

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Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

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Partners


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Final Quote

Q. Does the pricing on the estimate or quote reflect what I am

supposed to charge customers or what I am being charged

by Cisco?

A. The pricing on the quote reflects the price of the Smart Care Service.

The price the reseller would be charged is negotiated between reseller

and distributor.

Q. How can I make changes to a pending quote?

A. Changes cannot be made to quotes once submitted. However, you

may request additional quotes by making changes in the Inventory or

Request for Quote pages and resubmitting your quote request to your

Cisco authorized distributor.

Q. Once I submit the request for a quote, how long will it take

to get revised quotes?

A. You should receive responses within 24 to 48 hours.

Q. What difference is there between the NBD and the 4-hour

contract price?

A. NBD is next-business-day delivery in areas where there is no

coverage for part replacements. Four-hour coverage is available in

available in select areas.

Q. Do partners need to recalculate estimates created by the

previous version of QUE, to create a UCV price?

A. Smart Care Service release 1.7 will migrate existing estimates, and all

existing/original estimates ultimate price will be converted to a Provisional

Estimated Price (UCV price).

For quote requests that are created before 1.7 release, partners can

order these quotes (without the UCV price), and the DWC devices will be

true-up and invoice at the quarter when the device rolls into Smart Care.

Or they can resubmit a quote request to create a new quote that will

include the UCV price.

Q. Do partners still need to include at least one DNC device on

their quote request?

A. Yes, this rule still applies.

Initial Price Estimate

Q. What is the difference between an estimate and a quote?

A. The price estimate was put in place to allow partners to quickly get

a price to the customer while selling the program. After you and your

customer have agreed to move forward with purchasing the service, then

you will need to request a final quote. The customer data is then sent to

Cisco for further data scrubbing and validations. The final quote that is

received may differ from the initial estimate. Some examples might be

that a given device is at its end of support and will not be included withinthe Smart Care customer network or if a customer has existing contracts

covering a specific device.

Q. Do I need to complete the onscreen questionnaire and

update the estimate before I can request a quote?

A. Yes, you should review the questionnaire and answer any relevant

questions on your customers network. This will help ensure that the

correct network complexity is being detected and your customer receives

the right level of support.

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Features

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Q. What happens to the appliance when the contract is

terminated?

A. Following a termination, the Cisco Smart Care appliance is the

property of Cisco and remains the property of Cisco even after

installed at the customers site. The return policy is 10 days post

contract termination

Q. How do I return the appliance?

A. To return the appliance, send an email with the subject line:

SMART CARE RETURN-ONLY ORDER [Partner Name] Contract # to

[email protected] you will be informed of the

information to include with the return.

Contract Management

Q. What happens if customers do not have a physical location?

For example, they may be currently in the process of moving

or setting up their offices. What can partners do to create

Smart Care quotes for them?

A. A valid physical address (street, city, and zip code) is needed in order

to add a customer to Smart Care. Partners may use any valid address

(we suggest entering the customer owners home address). Then once

the customer office is established, partners may change the address

to the new address. All devices will be moved to this new location. The

changes would be made in the background through the move process.

Please note: if the addresses are not in the same zip code and the

new address is outside a depot sites range, = premium requests may

become invalid.

Ordering

Q. I requested a quote a while ago and am ready to execute the

purchase. However, when I log into Smart Care, the quote is

not found. What happened to the quote?

A. If this email notification has not yet been received by the distributor,

it is possible that the device data is causing an error. Log into the Cisco

Smart Care portal to see if any devices still have an issue. If the quote

was generated more than 60 days ago, it might not be visible because it

has expired.

Billing and Payment

Q. What if there is an error on my invoice? Whom should I

contact?

A. For any invoicing questions, contact your distributor.

Q. We are having trouble collecting payments from our

customer. Are we still obligated to make our payments?

A. Yes. You are still obligated to provide payments on time per your

agreed upon contract with your distributor.

Quarterly True-Ups/Annual Renewals

Q. How are we notified when a payment is due?

A. You will receive a notification that the end of the quarter is coming

up. This will be an indication to expect an invoice from your distributor in

response to your order or if a price band or technology level has been

crossed during that quarter.

Q. How do annual renewals work?

A. The Cisco Smart Care Service automatically generates a

renewal quote 30 days prior to the contract end-date unless the

customer cancels.

Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
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Q. Can I order more than one Smart Care Service for the same

customer network?

A. Each customers network can have dierent service levels (next

business day (NBD) and premium 4-hour service), which results in

separate contracts. However, they are part of a single Smart Care Service.

Contract Updates

Q. How can a new device get added to an existing Smart Care

contract?

A. After a new device has been plugged into the network, you have two

options. The first option is that you may run the discovery and inventory

services manually in order to add the device onto the Cisco Smart Care

Service contract. The other option is that the automatic weekly discovery

will detect the device after it is plugged in and send an alert. You should

log in to run the inventory service and provide the device passwords.

After this is completed, the devices will be added to the Cisco Smart

Care Services contract.

Q. How do I enable SNMP on Cisco devices?

A. Information on enabling SNMP on Cisco devices can be found at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk648/tk362/technologies_tech_

note09186a0080094aa4.shtml#snmpcommstrings.

Q. What happens if customers upgrade from lower-end devicesto higher-end devices?

A. When customers upgrade to higher-end devices, the service contract

will need to be upgraded to a higher contract level. Partners will be

notified when their contracts have been upgraded and when they have

access to more services in the Smart Care control panel. At the end of

the contract quarter, partners need to submit a quote to their distributors,

negotiating the price of the true-up quote. They will then receive an

invoice from their distributor for this technology level change and for any

device weight band changes that were made during the quarter.

Q. What is PICA and why is it important for customers

who have purchased a plan based on Cisco Smart Care

Services?

A. Partner-Initiated Customer Access (PICA) is a global program that

allows qualified Cisco partners to selectively entitle their customers to

have registered use of Cisco.com, where they are able to download

software and review support cases logged against their contracts.

Customers will need to be sponsored in advance in order to register on

Cisco.com. To learn more about the Partner-Initiated Customer Access

tool, go to www.cisco.com/ web/applicat/picaadmn/applications_

overview_partner.html.

Q. Does PICA work with Smart Care Service contracts?

A. Yes.

Q. Can partners get credit for the one-time assessment

services applied to a one-year Smart Care Service contract?

A. No, not at this time.

Contract Creation

Q. Why do I have to fill out a customer network questionnaire?

What is it for?

A. The customer network questionnaire is used to further refine the

customer network complexity that has been discovered by the CiscoSmart Care appliance. The results of the questionnaire will help you to

modify the contract type that is appropriate for your customer.

Q. Is there a boilerplate Smart Care contract that I can use as

a template for building my own Smart Care proposal for

the customer?

A. Yes, the Smart Care Proposal Template can be found at http://www.

cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/downloads/

smart_care_proposal_template.doc.

Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
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Q. My customer called and said they want to switch to another

partner. What happens to the Cisco Smart Care Service

contract the customer has through us? Do I need to go

remove the appliance?

A. In order to process switching partners on an existing Cisco Smart

Care Service contract, contact the SSC by sending an email to: ask-

[email protected] or open a case at www.cisco.com/go/

ssc. The SSC will work with the appropriate Cisco Smart Care Service

contacts to initiate the cancellation of the original contract. Customers will

need to provide documentation of the change in partners and work with

their new partner to complete a discovery and inventory and the creation

of a new contract. New partners should not request a final Cisco Smart

Care Service quote until the old contract is canceled, or the system will

find that there is existing coverage on customer devices.

Q. My customer has removed a device from the network. How

do we remove this from the service contract so they will not

be billed for it?

A. You will either need to run the Cisco Smart Care discovery service

proactively, or the Cisco mandated discovery service will run weekly

to detect that the device has been unplugged. Once this has been

detected, the device will show up as Missing on the device inventory

page. You must confirm that the device should really be removed from

the contract by selecting that device and using the delete function. Then

click the Submit Changes button so that the device will be removed

from the Cisco Smart Care Service contract.

Q. I want to make changes to one of my customers Cisco

Smart Care Service contracts. How do I get into the contract

to make changes?

A. In order to make contract changes, you need to log into the Cisco

Smart Care portal at https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare. Select the

customer for which you want to make changes and search for what

you want to change. Location changes, device additions, and device

terminations can all be managed from the Cisco Smart Care portal.

Q. When changes are made to an existing contract, when will

billing be affected?

A. Dates of when devices are added onto existing Cisco Smart Care

Service contracts are tracked. This information will be used during thequarterly true-ups. If changes have occurred during a particular quarter,

this information will be gathered and used to calculate if any price bands

have been crossed. If price bands have been crossed, partners will be

expected to purchase the true-up quote that will have been generated

by the end of the contract quarter.

Back to Table

of Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
mailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=mailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/go/sschttp://www.cisco.com/go/sschttps://tools.cisco.com/smartcarehttps://tools.cisco.com/smartcarehttp://www.cisco.com/go/sschttp://www.cisco.com/go/sscmailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=mailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=


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Q. My Cisco certification/specialization has lapsed, and I no

longer have access to certain Cisco Smart Care Service

capabilities. What should I do? How will this affect my ability

to service my existing contracts?

A. You need to renew your Cisco certification/special ization to regain

access to those capabilities. Temporary exceptions can be requested

for continuity.

If your Cisco certification expires, you will be given 90 days to regain the

certification. If it is not renewed in those 90 days, you will lose the ability

to sell any new Cisco Smart Care Service contracts for new customers.

You will still be able to support the existing customer contracts, but the

contracts will not auto-renew at the respective anniversary dates.

If your Cisco specializations expire, you will also be given 90 days to

regain them. If the necessary specializations are not renewed, you will be

downgraded in access level and will not be able to sell the contract typesthat were associated with the higher specialization. If you have existing

contracts at the higher level, you will continue to be able to support them,

but the contracts will not auto-renew at the end of the year.

Q. How do I assign administrative rights to another user at

my company?

A. First, if you have administrative privileges, log in to the Cisco Smart

Care portal at https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare. After you log in, in the

left column, find the Administration section and then select User. Next,

select the user who needs more administrative rights and then click Edit.

Change the access type on the profile page of that user.

Q. We have just increased our specialization and should have

access to sell voice (CNL3 or CNL4 contracts). How long will

it take before these tools are turned on for us?

A. When you log into the Cisco Smart Care portal, if the specialization

has been associated with your partner profile, it will automatically

increase your access level. You should receive an email notification letting

you know that this has happened within 24 hours. If you do not receive

Contract Cancellations

Q. How do I cancel a contract?

A. If canceling a Cisco Smart Care Service contract is warranted,

contact the SSC by sending an email to: [email protected]

or open a case at www.cisco.com/go/ssc.

Access Management

Q. What if I cannot get to the Cisco Smart Care portal page?

What login and password should I be using?

A. A user must have a Cisco.com user ID and password in order to

access the Cisco Smart Care portal. Verify that you have a valid Cisco.

com user ID. If you do not, obtain one by visiting http://tools.cisco.com/

RPF/register/register.do . In addition, the user needs to be linked to the

partner account in the Partner Self-Service tool. Verify this by visitinghttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.do.

Q. I cannot remember my Cisco Smart Care Service login or

password, or my Cisco.com user ID is not working. What

should I do?

A. First you need to verify that you have a valid Cisco.com user ID. If you

do not, obtain one by visiting http://tools.cisco.com/ RPF/register/register.

do. If you are sure you have a valid Cisco.com user ID, you might need to

reset your password by sending an email to [email protected].

If you are still experiencing issues with your Cisco.com account, go towww.cisco.com/msgs/sorry-pw.html and follow the instructions on the

bottom of the page.

Q. I do not have access to the correct tools in the Cisco Smart

Care portal. What could be the problem?

A. If your company does not have the appropriate certifications/

specializations, you will not be able to access the respective services. If

you are sure your company has the correct certifications/specializations,

visit http://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.do to make sure

they show up in your partner profile.Back to Tableof Contents

About Cisco

Smart Care

Services

Features

and Tools

Comparison

to Other

Services

Partners
https://tools.cisco.com/smartcaremailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/go/sschttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.domailto:cco-locksmith%40cisco.com?subject=http://www.cisco.com/msgs/sorry-pw.htmlhttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/wwchannels/getlog/welcome.dohttp://www.cisco.com/msgs/sorry-pw.htmlmailto:cco-locksmith%40cisco.com?subject=http://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/%20RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/GETLOG/welcome.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.dohttp://www.cisco.com/go/sscmailto:ask-smart-services%40cisco.com?subject=https://tools.cisco.com/smartcare


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Financial Modeling Tool creates customizable scenarios that

provide a snapshot of the financial business benefits a partner

might experience by offering Cisco Smart Care Services. It can be

found on the Smart Care page of Partner Central on the Tools tab

under Resources.

LabOps demonstrates common Cisco Smart Care Service tasks

partne

smartcare qa

Documents