BEA Systems is expanding and enhancing its product support policy, BEA Customer First.

BEA customers will have unlimited 24/7 access to BEA support professionals either by phone or BEA eSupport, under terms of the revised program, as well as access to updates and upgrades for as long as their business demands. BEA Customer First is also designed to help minimize the risk and streamline the upgrade process with bi-annual maintenance-only packs, smart update tools, and migration assistance.

“Customers want a service and support program that can comprehensively address the long-term needs of their organizations,” said Terry Clearkin, senior vice president, Worldwide Support Services, BEA Systems, Inc. “By further enhancing the Customer First support policy, we can help our customers to have more control over their upgrade schedules and providing comprehensive support can help ensure quality service over the life of their applications.”

BEA Customer First offers customizable, multi-stage support that is designed to match customer needs as their applications mature. The updated BEA Customer First program is designed to give buyers greater control for long-term service and support, and to help them protect their investments.

The specific support enhancements include:
• Sustaining Support now delivers 24/7 ongoing phone and web support – to allow customers to speak directly to support engineers for new major platform releases of WebLogic, AquaLogic and Tuxedo products. It also includes migration assistance, training and the ability to upgrade to the latest BEA software at no additional cost. BEA customers renewing their existing support and maintenance contracts will be entered into the update Customer First program.

• Maintenance-only Packs are designed to help simplify the update process. Targeted at simplifying the delivery of patches and fixes, these fully tested and certified packs are separate from feature enhancements that are designed to change the production environment.

• Smart Update is a complementary tool that is designed to allow users to download, apply and manage updates, including maintenance-only packs. Smart Update can assist customers in resolving issues and better manage the update process.

• Migration Assistance is designed to put customers in control of their migration schedules, which can allow customers the flexibility to migrate based on the changing needs of their organizations. When a customer is ready to migrate, Customer First can help ease this transition by allowing customers to apply a portion of the Support uplift fees toward the purchase of professional services or training for migration purposes.