Requesting changes in IBM Support Insights
Requesting contractual changes for assets can be done in IBM Support Insights in two ways:
Please note that requesting changes is only available for those assets whose maintenance contract was sold by IBM in the current version of the application. If the contract was sold by a business partner or other entity - changes cannot currently be requested for the assets.
You can find a brief video guide outlining the change request submission process at the following link
And following up are detailed explanations of each step and option in the process:
Requesting a change from the assets table
Users can submit change requests using the asset summary tables located in the application's Inventory management pages - Inventory, Coverage and Changes. Once one or more assets from the table have been selected, an additional button appears in the table's header - Request changes. When clicked, a dropdown menu opens with a list of available changes for the selected asset(s).
Please note, the Request changes button is unavailable (not visible in the application's interface) if no IBM Representative has been assigned to the specific client account. However, the button would be available if the selected one or more assets are located in the United States.
In short, the requirement for visibility of the Request changes button is to have an IBM Representative, unless the assets are located in the United States.
Additionally, you can only request changes for up to 100 assets at the same time. This limitation is in place for the purpose of safeguarding and avoiding human error in the change request submission process for too many assets, and addressing the manual processing difficulty of too many assets simultaneously in the Engage Support (IES) platform. If you select more than 100 assets - the Request changes button will not appear in the table's header.
Lastly, all selected assets, for which you wish to submit a change request - must be in the same country. If the selected assets are in different countries, the Request changes button will not be available.
For details on each of the available actions, go to the respective section.
Requesting a change from the asset's individual page
Users can submit change requests using any individual asset's details page. Once you have chosen the asset whose specifics you wish to view and have navigated to its individual page - you will see a Request changes button at the beginning of the page. When clicked, a dropdown menu opens with a list of available changes for the particular asset.
For details on each of the available actions, go to the respective section.
Note, requesting changes is available only to users with the required access role and level.
You can find details on the change requests processing flow in this documentation section.
Available change actions
Change actions can be one of the following types:
- Add to existing contract
- Change installation address
- Change level of support
- Confirm maintenance no longer required
- Terminate maintenance coverage
Please note, the actionable options in the dropdown menu depend on the specifications of the selected asset(s) - all options are displayed, but the non-functional ones are greyed out. The limitations are as follows:
- Add to existing contract - available if selected assets have maintenance Contracts not sold by Partners.
- Change installation address - available if selected assets either have maintenance Contracts sold by IBM or are located in the United States (regardless of their maintenance contracts being sold by IBM or a business partner).
- Change level of support - available if the HW coverage status of the selected assets is one of Covered by IBM contract or Covered by enhanced warranty, and all selected assets have maintenance Contracts sold by IBM.
- Confirm maintenance no longer required - available if selected assets have a Valid Warranty status within 90 days of Warranty end date, and have maintenance contracts sold by IBM.
- Terminate maintenance coverage - available if the HW coverage status of the selected assets is one of Covered by IBM contract, Covered by enhanced warranty or Uncovered with future contract, and all selected assets have maintenance Contracts sold by IBM.
Once the change request is successfully submitted - you will receive a confirmation e-mail. Mail confirmations are sent out from IBM.Support.Insights.Notify@ibm.com . As mail servers have different policies and configurations - please make sure to add the e-mail ID to your list of trusted senders, in order to assure that you will receive all necessary mails from the application.
You will also receive an e-mail from Engage Support (IES) once the processing of your change request is initiated. Please note that the IES system uses the name of the Installed at customer in its notifications, and that may not necessarily always match your client's name in the IBM SI application.
Additionally, keep in mind that requests must be processed on the IES side before the changes can be reflected in the IBM Support Insights user interface.
Add to existing contract
Using this option, users can submit a request to have the particular asset added to an already existing contract. When selected, the options opens a side dialog window containing the asset's details:
In the new dialog window you need to select the desired Service level from the dropdown. You also have an asset selection checkbox, using which you can select the asset and remove it from the list - if you have selected more than one asset and wish to remove one or more, this button accomplishes that. Once you have made your Service level selection, you click on the Next button at the end of the dialog window.
Afterwards you are taken to the Maintenance section of the dialog window, where you need to choose whether to add the asset to an existing maintenance agreement or to enter a new maintenance agreement. Depending on your choice - you will either need to select an agreement from the dropdown or enter the new contract number you wish to add the asset to. Following, is a checkbox for special requirements associated with the change request. And lastly on the current dialog page is the effective date selector, via which you choose when your requested asset changes ought to take effect. When you are finished with populating all required fields in the section, the Next button will become available.
When clicked, it will take you to the Comment section of the request, where you can leave any note you see as necessary. Comments are optional. The Submit change request button at the end of the dialog window is active on this step, and when clicked - submits the request. Afterwards, the request is visible on the Change requests page.
Change installation address
Using this option, users can submit a request to have the particular asset's installation address modified. When selected from the dropdown menu, the action opens a side dialog window containing the asset's details:
In the dialog window, you may view and verify the details of the particular asset, or you can remove an asset from the change request selection (using the selection checkbox next to the asset's name). Once you are ready, you can click on the Next button at the end of the dialog window.
That will then take you to the next section of the window, the Installation address section, where you can choose from a list of existing installation addresses. Existing addresses are populated as a list in the dialog window - you can search for the desired location using the provided search bar and select the desired option. Or directly select the desired option if it is readily visible in the list. Only one address can be selected.
You may also choose an effective date for the requested change to take effect using the date selector at the start of the page.
You may also upload a supporting file to the change request, if you wish, using the respective file upload section, located at the end of the page. You can either drag-and-drop the file from your local device to the page area, or you can click on the area and manually select the file from your local device in a pop-up window. You may upload up to 5 files, and they may be uploaded simultaneously.
When you are ready with choosing the desired new installation address for the asset, you click on the Next button again (it becomes active once an address is chosen).
Then you are taken to the Comment section of the request, where you can leave any note you see as necessary. Comments are optional. The Submit change request button at the end of the dialog window is active on this step, and when clicked - submits the request. Afterwards, the request is visible on the Change requests page.
Change level of support
Using this option, users can submit change requests to have the support level of assets modified. When selected from the dropdown menu, the action opens a side dialog window containing the asset's details:
In the dialog window, you see the asset details and a
Service level dropdown menu. From the dropdown menu, you
need to make a selection of your desired service level for the
particular asset. Additionally, you can also remove assets from the
list by ticking the checkbox next to their name and then the
Remove button that appears in the table's header.
When you have chosen the desired new service level for all
selected assets, the Next button becomes active and
when clicked - takes you to the Support level
changes section of the dialog window. Here it is only
mandatory to select the effective date, on which you would like the
service level for the assets to be modified. The additional needs
checkbox and comment field are entirely optional. When you have
selected a date - the Next button becomes active
again.
The last section of the dialog window is the
Comment section, where you can leave any note you
see as necessary. Comments are optional. The Submit change
request button at the end of the dialog window is active on
this step, and when clicked - submits the request. Afterwards, the
request is visible on the Change
requests page.
Confirm maintenance no longer required
Using this option, users can submit requests to have the asset(s) warranty agreement terminated. When selected from the dropdown menu, the action opens a side dialog window containing the asset's details:
In the dialog window, you may view the details of the particular
asset, or set of assets. You can also remove an asset from the
selected list (using the selection checkbox next to the asset's
name). Once you have reviewed the contents of this section of the
dialog window, you can click on the Next button at the
end of the window.
Then you will be taken to the next section of the dialog window - the Termination reason section, where you need to select a termination reason (from a list of available options in a dropdown menu) as well as an effective date, when you wish the warranty of the asset(s) to be terminated. Additionally, the section contains a termination disclaimer along with an I agree confirmation checkbox, which is mandatory.
When you have made your selection and agreed to the disclaimer,
the Next button becomes active, and when clicked -
will take you to the Comment section of the dialog
window. Here you can leave any free-form note you deem as necessary
- comments are optional. The Submit change request
button at the end of the dialog window is active on this step, and
when clicked - submits the request. Afterwards, the request is
visible on the Change requests
page.
Terminate maintenance coverage
Using this option, users can submit change requests to have the asset(s) maintenance terminated. When selected from the dropdown menu, the action opens a side dialog window containing the asset's details:
In the dialog window, you may view and verify the details of the
particular asset, or you can remove an asset from the change
request selection (using the selection checkbox next to the asset's
name). Once you are ready, you can click on the Next
button at the end of the dialog window.
Then you are taken to the next section of the dialog window, the Termination reason section. Here, you need to select the termination reason using a dropdown of available options, followed by a termination option regarding any software the asset has (using dropdown options), and a date on which the requested change needs to come into effect. Additionally, the section contains a termination disclaimer along with an I agree confirmation checkbox, which is mandatory.
You may also upload a supporting file to the change request, if you wish, using the respective file upload section, located at the end of the page. You can either drag-and-drop the file from your local device to the page area, or you can click on the area and manually select the file from your local device in a pop-up window. You may upload up to 5 files, and they may be uploaded simultaneously.
Once all required fields are populated in the section, the
Next button becomes available. When clicked, it takes
you to the Comment section of the request, where
you can leave any note you see as necessary. Comments are optional.
The Submit change request button at the end of the
dialog window is active on this step, and when clicked - submits
the request. Afterwards, the request is visible on the Change requests page.