IBM Security Systems - Technical Support Live Chat Pilot Program

IBM Security Systems - Technical Support Live Chat Pilot Program

IBM Security Systems is excited to announce a pilot program for a new support contact method for IBM Security Systems customers. We are currently piloting a live chat communication model in which customers can initiate a technical support live chat from the IBM Service Request Tool found on www.ibm.com that will connect customers directly to an IBM technical support engineer.

We are still working on developing functionality around Live Chat so it works best for you. Any suggestions you have would be appreciated, and can be submitted in a form that is presented at the end of a chat session. As we are currently in a pilot phase, we have restricted the Technical Support Live Chat offering to:

· US Customers
· 9:00am - 4:00pm (EST)
· English Language
· PMRs for the following IBM Security Systems Products:

o IBM Proventia Management SiteProtector System
o IBM Proventia Network Intrusion Prevention System (G/GX Series)

*Please check back on this page for any updates*


How Do I Try Technical Support Live Chat?

To initiate a Technical Support Live chat, you must use the IBM Service Request Tool found on www.ibm.com. This means that you will first need to create a www.ibm.com account and have that account properly associated to your company’s IBM Customer Number (ICN), if you have not done so already.

To learn more about how to properly setup and configure the Service Request Tool on www.ibm.com, please visit:

https://www-946.ibm.com/support/servicerequest/help/srHelp.action

After you have properly configured your IBM Service Request Tool you will be able to open new PMRs (Problem Management Records) from the web tool and view/update existing PMRs that you may have created. *If you open a PMR by phone, you will have to search for the PMR in the tool in order to be able to see it. It will not automatically populate into a list*

If the PMR qualifies for live chat, you will see a small speech bubble next to the PMR in your list of PMRs. If you click the speech bubble, you will initiate a live chat session. Please see the screenshot below for an example.



You can also initiate a live chat session after creating a new PMR or updating a PMR on in the Service Request Tool. The following image shows how to start the chat in this scenario.



After you initiate the chat with one of the methods above, a form will be presented that must be filled out. After submitting the form, the chat will be routed to an available IBM technical support engineer. The screenshot below shows the form that must be filled out. If your browser prevents pop-ups, this must be disabled for the pop-up form to present itself.



After you fill out the form and click submit, a new window will pop up which is a browser integrated web chat session powered by IBM Sametime. While it tries to connect to an available engineer, you will be notified that it is trying to find an engineer.



When the chat is delivered to an available IBM technical support engineer, you will be able to chat about your issue.

"Please note that to ensure the most efficient troubleshooting, an engineer may request an Assist On Site session, or to change the communication method to phone to discuss the issue at any point during the chat.*

Once the chat is complete and you close the chat window, you will be presented with the option to email a copy of the chat transcript to the email address of your choice (see screenshot below)



After you close the Email chat transcript window, you will be presented with a survey to get your opinion on the live chat contact method. We appreciate your feedback!