What does 4 hour support mean to you? What does it mean to your vendor?

This should be such a simple answer to get, and yet in talking to customers who have purchased 4 hour support from NetApp there seems to be quite a few different interpretations.

When does the clock start ticking on the 4 hour delivery? Does it start when your autosupport of a problem goes out to NetApp? Does it start when you call NetApp to open a trouble ticket? Does it start when NetApp confirms with you a problem? I have heard all of these answers.

Does NetApp’s 4 hour support mean a NetApp engineer will deliver and install the replacement parts and get your system up and serving data again within 4 hours or just show up in 4 hours?
Some customers have told us that 24/7 & 365 days a year they will have a NetApp engineer at customer site and putting in the parts to get them running again within 4 hours. Other folks have told me that they have some delivery guy show up and drop off parts. And yet a few other folks have told me that their NetApp 4 hour support is only M-F 8AM -5PM. Outside those hours the parts will be delivered Next Business Day.

There seems to be some confusion amongst NetApp’s customers about what 4 hour support means, but there is no confusion about the cost of the 4 hour support from NetApp. Universally we hear that is is very expensive. Zerowait currently offers Next Business Day parts replacement and also a replace to an OnSite spares kit program. This provides our customers with immediate access to their critical spares requirements. Additionally we are working on our domestic parts depot program now, and it should be rolled out in the next few months. If you have thoughts on what the best practices are for a 4 hours support program please write us and let us know what interests you the most.