At SL COMPANIES Technical Support, our mission is to “help our customers make the best use of our software products through effective and responsive support, active advocacy, and a broad and flexible range of self-help resources.” In support of this mission, the following services and policies set the expectations for your relationship with SL COMPANIES Technical Support.
Support Eligibility
Technical support is available to all customers who have an annual license of Datagram360™ or Datagram360™ Pro software. Technical support is available to customers who have a single user license as described in Support Levels for Single User Licensed Datagram360™ Software Releases table on the Support Services page. However, you are encouraged to engage your designated off-site SL COMPANIES support personnel as your first support contact. If the off-site SL support personnel cannot resolve your issue, have them contact SL COMPANIES Technical Support to report your problem. When you contact SL COMPANIES Technical Support, you might be required to provide information, such as your Datagram360™ site number, Datagram360™ serial number, company name, e-mail address, and phone number that identifies you as a licensed Datagram360™ software customer. Failure to provide this information might preclude SL COMPANIES Technical Support from taking action on your issue.
Support Cost
For most SL COMPANIES software, there is no additional charge for technical support. Support of our software is considered a part of the license agreement. However, the exact terms for technical support services are specified in your license agreement.
If you need a third party to do any of the following, your request will be routed to an appropriate fee-based resource.
- Write custom code
- Design a custom menu
- Select an appropriate statistical methodology
- Design experiments
- Debug a complex application
- Create custom tests or contrasts
You can visit the SL COMPANIES Mentoring web site to learn more about the consulting services that are offered by SL COMPANIES. Your Account Representative can also assist you in engaging the appropriate professional services.
Support Hours
For Customers in North America during Normal Support Hours:
Support is provided from our corporate headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Support hours for new questions are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Limited support for new questions is available Monday through Friday 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Support hours for questions with an assigned tracking number are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.
For Customers Outside of North America:
Local-language technical support is provided through the local office in your country. If you are outside of North America, contact your local SL office for specific support hours.
For Critical Problems after Normal Support Hours:
Calls to Technical Support for critical problems after normal support hours are directed to one of our world-wide support centers in North America, Europe, or Asia/Pacific, thus providing 24-hour “follow the sun” support.
Note: After-hours support is available only in English and is limited to critical problems.
In addition, you can access the SL COMPANIES Customer Support Web site and e-mail support services 24 hours a day.
Problem Response Time
For Problems Reported by Phone
All problems reported to Technical Support are initially handled by a consultant who works with you to identify and (in many cases) solve your reported problem. If the problem is not resolved during the primary contact, the consultant assigns a tracking number to the problem and does additional research or might pass it to a specialist.
The following table displays the targets for initial follow-up and frequency of updates for problems with different severities and conditions. The goals for initial follow-up after a problem with production software is first reported are based on the nature and severity of the problem. The Technical Support consultant makes every attempt to contact the customer who reported the problem within the response time goals described below.
| Severity Level | Condition | Initial Follow-up* | Frequency of Updates |
| 1 | A critical SL COMPANIES production system is down or does not function at all, and there is no circumvention for the problem; a significant number of customers are affected, and a production business system is inoperable. | 2 hours | Every business day |
| 2 | A component of SL COMPANIES is not performing, creating a significant operational impact. | 4 business hours | Every 2 business days |
| 3 | A component of SL COMPANIES is not performing as documented; there are unexpected results; problems are circumventable; there is moderate or minor operational impact. | 24 hours** | Every 3 business days |
| 4 | Questions pertain to usage questions or clarification of documentation. | 24 hours** | Every 10 business days |
| 5 | Customer offers suggestions or requests for new product features and enhancements. | 24 hours** | Every 30 business days |
*For problems that are assigned to a Technical Support consultant, “initial follow-up” is defined as the time between when the problem is initially reported and the specialist contacts the customer. For problems that require further research by the consultant who initially received the problem, “initial follow-up” is defined as the time between the initial contact with the consultant and a follow-up call.
**Does not include weekend or other non-business days For Problems Reported Electronically
Priorities are assigned to problems reported via the Web or e-mail, based on the guidelines above. All problems reported electronically receive an immediate automated e-mail confirmation and a problem tracking number. A Technical Support consultant will respond to the customer who reported the problem by phone or e-mail within 24 hours, with the exception of problems that are reported on weekends and holidays. Because SL COMPANIES cannot guarantee less than 24-hour response on problems tracked electronically, you should report Severity 1 or 2 problems by phone.
Escalating Problems
If the normal support process does not produce the desired results, or if the problem has changed in priority, the problem can be escalated as follows:
Sites that are served by Grensboro Headquarters
- First contact the consultant who is working on your problem and request that the priority of the problem is escalated.
- You may request to speak with a Technical Support manager if additional escalation is required.
- You may request to speak with the Vice President of Technical Support if continued escalation is required.
Sites that are served by International offices
- First contact the Technical Support staff who are working on your problem and request that the priority of the problem is escalated.
- You may request to speak with the Professional Services Director if additional escalation is required.
- You may request to speak with the Country Manager if continued escalation is required.
Resolving Problems
Due to the complex nature of software development and operating environments, SL COMPANIES cannot guarantee the time that it will take to resolve a problem. We make our best effort to resolve problems as expeditiously as possible.
Archiving Problems
A problem is archived upon mutual agreement between the consultant that is responsible for the problem and the customer who reported the problem. In cases where the consultant is awaiting further information from the customer, the consultant makes at least one attempt either by phone or e-mail to contact the customer within a few business days. During this contact, the consultant communicates a timeline for archiving the problem if further information is not provided.
Information is not lost when a problem is archived. If for any reason in the future you need to discuss the specific problem that is documented in an archived track, a new problem will be opened with a new tracking number, and all information will be carried forward into the new tracking entry.