IBM Support

IBM Enterprise Support and Preferred Care options for On-premises Software

IBM Enterprise Support and Preferred Care options for On-premises Software

The IBM on-premises software portfolio is comprehensive, designed to solve your most challenging business needs – large and small, across all industries, worldwide. Our software support offerings mirror those needs, to help you spend less time talking to us, and more time concentrating on your business.

Enterprise Support Preferred Care

Our Enterprise Support offering for on-premises software (purchased via Passport Advantage ) includes:

  1. Subscription: preventive care from product fixes, security patches, and updates
  2. Support: aggressive problem resolution via direct access to our deeply skilled, industry leading technical support professionals

Our Preferred Care offering for on-premises software is provided by the Accelerated Value Program (AVP) or Expertise Connect (EC) – these programs are designed to:

  1. Anticipate your needs
  2. Advise you on solutions, and
  3. Proactively focus on your business success

The Accelerated Value Program and Expertise Connect provides prioritized handling for your issues and secures a dedicated partnership between you and assigned support professionals. These support professionals become trusted advisors who can help you improve system performance, minimize the risk of downtime, and escalate support issues as needed.

Here is a summary of our support offerings for IBM Passport Advantage software products:

Enterprise Support

Enterprise Support options Client need Features Case Severity Response Goal † Fee
Subscription and Support Strong business protection, for production workloads
  • Fixes and upgrades
  • IBM Support Community
  • Embedded Watson features
  • 24x7 support access
  • Case severity assignment
  • Severity 1: 2 hours (24x7)
  • Severity 2: 2 business hours
  • Severity 3: 2 business hours
  • Severity 4: 2 business hours
 1st year included with software license

Preferred Care

Preferred Care options
 Client need Features Case Severity Response Goal † Fee
Enterprise Connect
 Ultimate proactive business protection, for mission critical workloads
  • Fixes and upgrades
  • IBM Support Community
  • Embedded Watson features
  • 24x7 mission-critical response
  • Case severity assignment
  • Prioritized case handling
  • Assigned account managers
  • Assigned technical specialist
  • Targeted enablement
 Prioritized
  • Severity 1: 2 hours (24x7)
  • Severity 2: 2 business hours
  • Severity 3: 2 business hours
  • Severity 4: 2 business hours
 Custom pricing

† Review the Severity Descriptions guidelines for business impact associated to each severity level. Response Goals are intended to describe IBM's goals only, and do not represent a guarantee of performance.

Renew your Subscription and Support with Passport Advantage Online .

Additional references:

  • If you are a client in the United States looking for tighter security with your support interactions, review our US Secure Support page.
  • If you require a support solution across multiple vendors, review our Multivendor Support page.
  • If you are a developer looking for help to code your applications, see IBM Support for Developers for available options.

Page Feedback