Mainframe Support : BCI Support Center
Baer Consulting (BCI) is a premier enterprise systems services provider that offers a suite of Mainframe support services to leverage or supplement existing staff:
Basic Service
- Call Center
- Q&A Support
- Problem Management - Reporting
Features
- Incident Resolution
- Usage Reporting / Graphs
- Software Upgrades
- Business Recovery / Disaster Recovery
- Remote Monitoring
Call Center
BCI offers 2 call center options: 8x5 M-F or 24x7x365 availability. BCI reviews diagnostic information and provides assistance to identify the cause of problems. Multi-vendor, product support, and fault-isolation services are included. Choices include the ability to route incident calls to BCI or selectively route the incident based on severity.
Q&A Support
Information concerning the use, functionality, and documentation of both IBM and OEM software products can be requested through the call center or submitted via e-mail. Using BCI expertise may significantly reduce implementation effort and enhance user functionality.
Problem Management - Reporting
Server-based problem/change tracking systems allow BCI to offer call tracking and problem escalation. Weekly and monthly reports provide information on the impact the enterprise system related incidents have to business availability.
Unique Features of BCI's Mainframe Support Services
- Incident Resolution - Application of corrective maintenance or routine table/parameter updates of production systems can be scheduled using BCI services. Exception fixes or enhancements resulting from user incidents can be dispatched to BCI for resolution.
- Software Upgrades - BCI maintains release information for IBM operating systems, program products, and OEM software levels to provide planning for continual upgrade management. BCI's experience with multi-vendor upgrades can provide an estimate of the effort required for specific software upgrades. Issues relating to product-specific database changes, as well as any operational enhancements, are included in the upgrade report.
- Usage Reporting / Graphs - By using DATA reduction tools, a set of simple-to-use charts are produced to convey the "health" of clients' enterprise computing environment. Depending on the amount and source of reporting/collection software, BCI can produce charts for the processor, storage, and network.
- Business Recovery / Disaster Recovery - Key to every enterprise is the ability to recover in the unlikely event of a disaster. However, data integrity is more often compromised by daily activities. Backup and recovery procedures need to be adequately established and consistently exercised. BCI is positioned to assist with every aspect from software/methodology selection to implementation and monitoring. For full-service customers, a quarterly system recovery walkthrough is performed to reasonably insure "disaster" recoverability of the operating system environment.
- Remote Monitoring - BCI offers complete systems management services including off-hour configuration updates. Continual on-shift system monitoring is available commensurable to the availability level of the communication links.
- Planning - Monthly report cards are produced to reflect the ongoing dialog of BCI services matched with clients' specific mainframe support needs. Successes and issues from the past month are combined with the plans for the upcoming month, as well as items deemed part of "future projects".
- Account Team - Mainframe support clients are served by an account team consisting of one or more technical representatives and an account manager, providing personal attention to clients' enterprise environment.
- Pricing - Mainframe support services are custom configured to meet each client's needs. The basic service includes a monthly retainer fee, and coverage is for a minimum of 6 months. Features can be added to the basic service in either fixed-fee or time-and-materials agreements.
