Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Origina commits to a contractually obligated Service Level Agreement (SLA) with all customers. The SLA ensures a response and resolution time based on the priority level of the ticket.

Our IBM software support SLA for incidents and tickets is as follows:

Priority 1

• Business Critical component is inoperable or critical interface has failed. This indicates you are unable to use the program resulting in a critical impact on operations.
• SLA Response: Initial response within 30 minutes.
• Target Resolution: Within 6 hours.

Priority 2

• The program or hardware is usable but is severely limited.
• SLA Response: Initial response is 2 business hours.
• Target Resolution: Within 1 business day.

Priority 3

• The program or hardware is usable but with less significant components unavailable (not critical to operations).
• SLA Response: Initial response is 4 business hours.
• Target Resolution: Within 5 business days.

Priority 4

• The problem causes little or no impact on operations or that a reasonable circumvention to the problem has been implemented.
• SLA Response: Initial response is within 1 business day.
• Target Resolution: Response time will be on agreement between both parties.

The terms software support and software maintenance are often used interchangeably. At Origina, the two represent categories which are used to differentiate between traditional vendor support and the next generation of software support.

Origina views software support as a service which keeps applications running at peak performance through regular identification and resolution of incidents. This is what IBM customers have come to know and expect when the term software support is used.

Software maintenance is the next evolution of software support. Origina’s independent Global IBM® Experts take a proactive approach to maximizing the performance, stability, security and value of customers’ IBM software through a value-rich service offering. These services are an extension to our core service – traditional software support – and can help companies discover the true return on investment their IBM products can hold.

The value-rich service offering isn’t hidden behind lock and key. Customer technical teams can take advantage of these services through the quarterly Meet-the-Experts sessions, which give them a chance to seek advice and consultation from IBM product experts. These sessions amplify the value of a true software support partner and enables Origina to assist customers in executing on their IT roadmap.

To learn more about Origina’s software support, click here.

To learn more about Origina’s software maintenance, click here.

Origina supports over 800 IBM® Passport Advantage products. Specifically, Origina supports IBM software which customers hold perpetual licenses for.

You can view a list of some of the IBM products Origina supports here.

Origina provides independent software support for IBM products which are perpetually licensed. Even after not renewing IBM® Subscription and Support (S&S), companies may continue to use these software applications. Ownership and usage extends to include usage of all versions, Fix Packs and security fixes that were released up to the point that S&S ended.

Because of this, Origina supports the longevity of IBM products – rather than just their uptime. Origina helps customers apply Fix Packs and upgrade to newer versions that they’re entitled to.

Learn more about Origina’s software support service here.

Origina provides a binding Service Level Agreement with detailed response and resolution times based on ticket severity, dedicated customer support and an extensive value-add service offering. IBM doesn’t offer any of the aforementioned.

Origina’s Service Level Agreement mandates customer support response time based on an agreed upon schedule between the customer. For priority one incidents, which may incur system downtime as a result, Origina responds in as quickly as 30-minutes – often sooner – and aims to resolve the incident within six hours.

IBM does not offer a Service Level Agreement, but instead offers response goals. Incidents that IBM terms ‘severity level one’ have a response goal time of two hours. That time is not binding.

Origina’s software support is designed around dedicated customer support. A team of individual product experts – known as Origina’s independent Global IBM® Experts – are assigned to each customer from the point of onboarding. By working with the customer’s technical team from the day they switch software support providers, Origina’s Global IBM® Experts are able to maintain an intimate knowledge of the digital estate. In doing so, they’re able to resolve incidents much quicker and mitigate threats where the core issue may not lie directly with IBM software. Origina always seeks to identity and remediate the root issue, regardless of whether the product causing it is an IBM product.

IBM doesn’t offer dedicated customer support. If a technical team calls IBM for assistance three times through the course of a ticket’s lifetime, they would likely speak to three different customer support specialists. This can cause frustration and cost time, as the issue must be explained in each instance.

Origina’s extensive value-add service offering delivers the next generation of software support. Through an extensive array of capabilities and a dedication to supporting all software versions, Origina is able to work as an IT partner and go beyond simply resolving break/fix incidents to provide true return on investment for customers. IBM offers standard software support, so long as the customer has a supported software version.

Find more information about Origina’s software support here.

Find more information about Origina’s software maintenance here.

Third-party software support is an independent alternative to vendor-provided software support.

Origina provides software support for over 800 IBM® Passport Advantage products independent of IBM® Subscription & Support (S&S), and without IBM influence on the business or service model. Origina is able to provide support for IBM software after a customer stops its S&S if the software is perpetually licensed – as most under the Passport Advantage plan are.

At Origina, software support represents the traditional break/fix service model. Customers that suffer an incident can log a ticket and receive support from independent Global IBM® Experts to resolve it. Origina’s software support service is bound by a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which dictates the response and resolution time for a ticket depending on its priority level. IBM does not offer customers a SLA.

Third-party software support vastly reduces the fixed cost of annual software support. Origina’s customers save 50 percent off their annual S&S with IBM by switching. In moving to a third-party software support provider, companies receive a greater level of service than is provided by IBM.

Learn more about third-party IBM support here.