Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
Selling Adobe Acrobat Support Solutions
Playbook For Partners & Channels
Q1FY09
Worldwide Customer Care
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [2] For Internal Use Only
Contents Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Why Buy Acrobat Support? ............................................................................................................. 5 Why Sell Acrobat Support?.............................................................................................................. 6 Common Customer Scenarios ......................................................................................................... 7
Customer Is Seeking Acrobat Deployment Advice ...................................................................... 7
Customer Requires General “How To” Support .......................................................................... 7
Customer Is Maintaining Acrobat In A Production Environment ................................................ 7
Customer Is A Designer/Developer/Internal Solution Provider That Needs Acrobat Support ... 8
After Years of Having Acrobat Deployed In A Production Environment, The Customer Needs To Purchase Support ................................................................................................................... 8
Positioning and Pricing .................................................................................................................... 9 Finding The Optimal Support Plan ............................................................................................... 9
Acrobat Support Pricing ............................................................................................................ 10
Typical Ordering Scenarios ............................................................................................................ 10 Scenario 1: Consumers and At-work Users ................................................................................ 10
Scenario 2: Workgroups and Professionals ............................................................................... 10
Scenario 3: Large Organizations and Corporate Deployments ................................................. 11
Scenario 4: Enterprise Relationships with M&S Requirements ................................................. 11
Platinum M&S Consolidation Details ......................................................................................... 11
General Guidelines for the Ordering Scenarios ......................................................................... 12
New customer: ....................................................................................................................... 12
Existing customer with upgrades and additional license purchase: ...................................... 12
Existing customer with upgrade plan: ................................................................................... 12
Existing customer with license holdings from multiple sources and purchase dates: ........... 13
Acrobat Support Solutions Frequently Asked Questions .............................................................. 14 Q: Why should my customer buy an Acrobat support program? ......................................... 14
Q: Why should I sell the Acrobat support program? ............................................................. 14
Q: What Support Programs are available for Acrobat customers? ....................................... 14
Q: What are the primary considerations when recommending a Support program? .......... 15
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [3] For Internal Use Only
Q: What is the best way to position the Silver, Gold and Platinum Support programs? ...... 15
Q: How does a customer purchase Silver, Gold Support and Platinum Support? ................ 15
Q: What policy changes have been made to rationalize the ordering process/options for Acrobat support? ................................................................................................................... 16
Q: Are there restrictions on the timing of a support program (start and end date), similar to Upgrade Plan on CLP? ........................................................................................................... 16
Q: My customer is already on a CLP Upgrade Plan – can they add a technical support program to that? ................................................................................................................... 16
Q: My customer is on a CLP Upgrade Plan, and would like to get on Platinum M&S, which includes Upgrade entitlements. Do we make allowances in the pricing for this? ................ 16
Appendix: Tools, Resources, and Contacts ................................................................................... 17 Customer Care Business Development Contacts ...................................................................... 17
Acrobat Support Customer Facing Sales Tools .......................................................................... 17
Acrobat Support Internal Sales Tools ........................................................................................ 17
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [4] For Internal Use Only
Overview This document provides extensive information and help for positioning and selling support solutions for Adobe Acrobat, including: Why Buy An Acrobat Support Plan? Why Sell Acrobat Support? Common Customer Scenarios Positioning and Pricing Acrobat Support Solutions Frequently Asked Questions Appendix: Tools, Resources, and Contacts
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [5] For Internal Use Only
Why Buy Acrobat Support?
Why a customer needs to buy an Acrobat support solution. Get the most from your investment in Acrobat. Lifecycle support for design, development, deployment, maintenance, everyday use. Keep your Acrobat investment working as your infrastructure evolves. Reduce downtime. Customer-centric, flexible Acrobat service solutions.
Faster Deployment Minimize Downtime Maximize Productivity World-class Acrobat
expertise at your disposal. Help with design,
development, deployment, maintenance, everyday use. “How to” support leverages
Acrobat product capabilities to meet your business objectives.
Best practices for individuals, workgroups, and the enterprise. Advice for handling major
updates and upgrades with minimal disruption. Access to pre-release
information and lesser-known features.
Accelerate Acrobat adoption in your organization. Keep your Acrobat
investment working as your infrastructure evolves. Makes you, your business or
your workgroup more productive.
Adobe support maximizes your customer’s investment in Acrobat solutions. We find a solution quickly, saving you the time and effort. Global support available 24x7x365. Not just break/fix support. We also offer:
o “How To” advice and best practices o Alternative approaches o Solutions that fit your specific requirements o Full lifecycle support
Fast, courteous service: o Multiple channels of support (phone, web, community, self-help) o For individuals or teams, beginner or expert o Acrobat expertise at the first level of contact o Professional case management stays on top of the issue until resolved o Receive the right answers for any level of difficulty
Get the latest fixes, often before they are made available through self help. Information and support for little-known and rarely used features. A managed service underpinned by the engineering teams that develop and maintain Acrobat.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [6] For Internal Use Only
Why Sell Acrobat Support? 1) Selling Acrobat support is an opportunity to increase the depth and value of Acrobat
solutions. 2) Differentiate the Adobe approach with a comprehensive, global, support service that
helps customers with faster deployment, increased productivity, and maximized return on their Acrobat investment.
3) Send support issues to Customer Care where they belong.
Differentiate the Adobe Solution
Easy To Sell Value For You and For Your
Customer A cost-effective approach no
matter what level of expertise is required. Address the needs of
Acrobat users at all levels: Enterprise, Workgroup, Individual, Designer, or Developer. Part of an Enterprise
Support model embracing LiveCycle, PDF-Generator and Reader in the mix. TAM service available for
business and mission-critical installations with proactive, customized support needs.
Acrobat Support ordering options have been revised and rationalized. Qualification policy is
simplified, removing complicated conditions for purchase. Numerous tools available to
assist with finding the best program options, pricing, and ordering. New customer-facing
resources now available on InField and at adobe.com.
Incremental revenue opportunity – in the initial transaction and throughout the product lifecycle. Strong value proposition. Deepen the trust with the
customer through on-going relationship and assured product adoption. A positive support
experience builds trust with the account and reveals cross-sell and up-sell opportunity.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [7] For Internal Use Only
Common Customer Scenarios
Customer Is Seeking Acrobat Deployment Advice Scenario: We can advise customers on how to plan a deployment of Acrobat in small, medium, or large installations. We offer tips on how to install, configure, and customize Acrobat in their environment. Also, insight on security issues, supported versions, and integration with third party software are also available. Why to Buy: Get the most from your investment in Acrobat. “How to” advice and best practices. Lifecycle support for design, development, deployment, maintenance, everyday use. Keep your Acrobat investment working as your infrastructure evolves. Reduce downtime. Accelerate Acrobat adoption in your organization.
Customer Requires General “How To” Support Scenario: Sometimes customers are unsure how to best leverage features of Acrobat to meet their business objectives. Adobe Customer Care can help with “how to” questions such as how to use the new PDF Portfolios feature, and for established capabilities such as the popular Comment/Review. Why to Buy: Acrobat expertise found nowhere else. Get the most from your investment in Acrobat. We find a solution quickly, saving you the time and effort. Not just break/fix support. “How to” advice and best practices.
Customer Is Maintaining Acrobat In A Production Environment Scenario: Managing multiple versions of Acrobat in a production environment takes some planning. Internal or third party application dependencies can require that more than one version of Acrobat be available. Adobe can share tips and tricks on the best to go about managing this and other advanced technical issues, such as migration to a new version, integrating Acrobat with other products, and performance tuning with minimal disruption. Why to Buy: World-class Acrobat expertise at your disposal. “How to” advice and best practices. Help with planning, deploying, and maintaining Acrobat in your environment. Reduce downtime. Keep your Acrobat investment working as your infrastructure evolves.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [8] For Internal Use Only
Customer Is A Designer/Developer/Internal Solution Provider That Needs Acrobat Support Scenario: Developers, designers, and other solution providers must make a number of technology and design decisions when using Acrobat. How and when to use forms, the challenges of working with security and rights management, performing operations on a PDF, product interoperability, APIs (e.g., JavaScript, 3D JavaScript) and managing workflows are examples of questions they face. An Acrobat support plan gives them access to the Adobe service professionals that can answer a whole host of issues faced by the developer/designer/ solution-provider community. Why to Buy: World-class Acrobat expertise at your disposal. Lifecycle support for design, development, deployment, maintenance, everyday use. “How to” advice and best practices. Keep your Acrobat investment working as your infrastructure evolves. A managed service underpinned by the engineering teams that develop and maintain Acrobat. Multiple channels of support through phone, web, community, and self-help.
After Years of Having Acrobat Deployed In A Production Environment, The Customer Needs To Purchase Support Scenario: Often customers will decide that the time has come to get on board and purchase a support plan. After years of relying on self-help and/or “busting down the doors” to receive complimentary support, customers can come to this realization after having reached a new level of sophistication/investment or requiring more pressing support needs. They will often welcome being able to get the “inside track” on how best to install, configure, deploy, use, and maintain Acrobat that can only be obtained through Adobe Customer Care. Why to Buy: World-class Acrobat expertise at your disposal. Lifecycle support for design, development, deployment, maintenance, everyday use. “How to” advice and best practices. Get the latest fixes, often before they are made available through self help. Information and support for little-known and rarely used features. Multiple channels of support through phone, web, community, and self-help.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [9] For Internal Use Only
Positioning and Pricing
Finding The Optimal Support Plan
Acrobat Support Plans for Enterprises
Platinum
Maintenance & Support Gold Support
Contract period One year One year
# of incidents Unlimited Unlimited
Support channels
• Phone support • Knowledgebase • Customer support portal • Remote access
• Phone support • Knowledgebase • Customer support portal • Remote access
Authorized contacts
4 4
Target response time
One hour for Priority 1 issues One hour for Priority 1 issues
Hours of coverage
24x7x365 24x7x365
Bundled maintenance
Yes No
Service Enhancements
• Additional contacts • Technical Account Manager
• Additional contacts • Technical Account Manager • Upgrade plan
Acrobat Support Plans for Workgroups
Gold Support Silver Support
Contract period One year One year
# of incidents Unlimited Unlimited
Support channels
• Phone support • Knowledgebase • Customer support portal • Remote access
• Phone support • Knowledgebase • Customer support portal
Authorized contacts
4 2
Target response time
One hour for Priority 1 issues Four hours
Hours of coverage
24x7x365 Standard business hours
Bundled maintenance
No No
Service Enhancements
• Additional contacts • Technical Account Manager • Upgrade plan
• Additional contacts
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [10] For Internal Use Only
Acrobat Support Pricing
Bronze (1 Incident)
Bronze (5 Incidents)
Silver (Annual)
Gold (Annual)
Professional Support
$39 $175 $1,200 Per license (see below)
Enterprise M&S N/A N/A N/A N/A
Sales Channel CS CS
Store TLP
CS Store TLP CLP
TLP CLP
Gold Support Pricing
Fixed Minimum
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Fixed Maximum
(Pricing is capped at the following SRP)
Professional Single
Minimum $3,500
$18 Per Lic QTY: Up to 999
$15 Per Lic QTY 1,000 – 1,999
$14 Per Lic QTY: 2000+
Maximum $110k
Typical Ordering Scenarios
Scenario 1: Consumers and At-work Users Individual Acrobat users working at home or in a small office often do not invest in support pro-actively but may find that an issue arises that requires a quick resolution. A vast majority of these users will seek assistance through the on-line tools available in the support section of Adobe.com, while others will require person-to-person assistance where they can “get support now” from an experienced expert. Consumer can purchase single incidents as needed through Adobe Customer Service or pre-purchase a 5 pack of incidents through Customer Service or the Adobe Store with a credit card.
Scenario 2: Workgroups and Professionals Workgroups and professionals working with Acrobat in a small to mid size business are concerned with meeting deadlines and need the peace of mind that comes with adding annual product support coverage to their investment. These customers may acquire Acrobat licenses from different sources and want the flexibility of multiple user support. Silver Support is available through Customer Service and the Adobe Store if paid for by credit card. Professionals who require pre-paid support to be purchased with a PO can contact any Adobe Authorized reseller or Adobe Licensing Center who can transact TLP or CLP sales. Silver Support is sold based on the number of users that need support. The program includes support for two users and additional users can be purchased at time of sale or added to the plan later.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [11] For Internal Use Only
Scenario 3: Large Organizations and Corporate Deployments IT managers using Acrobat as a key element in their “tool box” require direct access to skilled technicians while planning, testing and deploying point releases that have an impact across multiple functional organizations. While the decision to purchase support can be made or influenced by the IT organization, the purchasing department or line of business manager is typically negotiating a companywide license and support agreement. Gold Support is an annual plan which can be sold in one year or two year terms based on a per license fee. Gold Support is only sold through the TLP or CLP volume licensing programs. Gold Support has a few pricing rules noted here:
• Support sold per license
• All license holdings must be covered
• Minimum program buy-in is $3,500
• There are discounts for high volumes of covered licensees
• An annual program sold in one or two year terms
• Available on the TLP or CLP WW
• Compliments but does not include upgrade plan
Scenario 4: Enterprise Relationships with M&S Requirements If a customer is not seeking an enterprise relationship, they should continue to purchase upgrade plan and Gold Support separately from the CLP or TLP licensing programs. For customers seeking to establish an enterprise relationship and have significant license holdings, the following options may be available:
• ELA agreement with Gold Support and Upgrade Plan bundled together (Gold M&S)
• Platinum M&S Consolidation Deal Both options require transactions to be made in the FLP program. Please consult a Business Development manager in the Customer Care organizations to assist with the best option and to help determine if your customer meets eligibility requirements established by Finance, Customer Care, Business Units and Licensing Operations.
Platinum M&S Consolidation Details For Enterprise customers who do not qualify for an ELA: Customers who are looking for an Enterprise relationship with Adobe and have a significant amount of Acrobat licenses, but do not qualify for an ELA, can transition to an M&S model sold as a percent of license. All M&S sold as a percent of license must be transacted on the FLP. New licenses and upgrades must be acquired outside of the FLP.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [12] For Internal Use Only
General Guidelines for the Ordering Scenarios • These scenarios generally meet BU, Finance and Customer Care requirements for
transactions of M&S sold as a percent of license.
• However, the BU and Customer Care need to be consulted at the outset to help ensure that the business justification for the transaction is approved.
• All Acrobat licenses must be at the current version.
• The agreement must clearly establish a fixed New License fee for the Acrobat products to be covered by M&S as a percent of license.
• The fixed new license fee is based on the published CLP price within the volume licensing tier for which the customer qualifies.
New customer: Acrobat licenses must be purchased from the CLP and Platinum M&S must be purchased from the FLP at 20% of net license for all licenses. Any additional license acquired after the initial term must include a monthly pro-rated purchase of Platinum M&S to co-terminate with the original agreement. For example:
• Customer holds 10,000 licenses.
• Customer is in first annual term of M&S, during which the annual fee is $24 per license.
• Renewal uplift is set to 6% annually
• After 8 months, customer purchases 1,000 Additional Licenses a. Initial M&S fee for the 1,000 Additional Licenses = (1,000 X $24 X 4/12) = $8000 b. Renewal fee for all 11,000 licenses = (11,000 X $24 X 106%) = $279,840
• For purchases of M&S after the initial term, it is the annual renewal fee for the then-current term that is the basis for the pro-rated calculation of fees.
Existing customer with upgrades and additional license purchase: Customer has 10,000 licenses of which 50% are current. In addition, the customer is adding 5,000 new licenses at $100 each for a total holding of 15,000. The customer must purchase 5,000 upgrade licenses to bring the entire holding current. M&S is calculated from the full published list price of the qualifying discount tier. M&S is never calculated based on upgrade pricing. In this scenario, the first annual M&S fee is calculated as: (10,000+5,000) X $100 X 20% = $300,000
Existing customer with upgrade plan: If customer is up to date on upgrade plan for all licenses, then they are considered current. If upgrade plan has only been purchased for a portion of the licenses, the customer is required to purchase upgrades for the remaining licenses to bring the entire license holding current. As above, M&S is calculated based on full published list price of the qualifying discount tier.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [13] For Internal Use Only
Existing customer with license holdings from multiple sources and purchase dates: The agreement must clearly establish a fixed new license fee for the Acrobat products to be covered by M&S. This is assessed by either a) the deal includes new licenses, and clear license fees are set forth in the agreement for these licenses and or b) the agreement sets forth fees that will be charged for future purchases under the agreement, if there are no or few new full licenses being purchased as part of the initial transaction. These license fees are based on the qualifying volume licensing program tier for which the customer would otherwise had qualified for when consolidating all licenses into the agreement. NOTE: New customers who are not seeking an Enterprise relationship and are purchasing a limited number of Acrobat licenses are required to purchase M&S separately through the TLP or CLP licensing programs. Under these programs:
• An upgrade plan + Gold support sold separately makes up the M&S purchase.
• Gold support must be sold for all licenses in annual increments and upgrade plan must be purchased within six months of license purchase.
• The upgrade plan and Gold support are sold on a per unit basis with published pricing.
• Gold Support is available for the current major shipping version plus one major version back.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [14] For Internal Use Only
Acrobat Support Solutions Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why should my customer buy an Acrobat support program? A: Adobe support helps customers maximize the value of their investment in Acrobat family products with faster deployment, reduced downtime, and accelerated product adoption. For complete customer messaging and use-case scenarios, please see the section of this documented titled Why Buy An Acrobat Support Plan?
Q: Why should I sell the Acrobat support program? A: Adobe support programs increase the depth and value of Acrobat Solutions. Differentiate the Adobe solution with a comprehensive, global, support service that helps customers with investment protection, faster deployment, and increased productivity from their investment in Acrobat. See the Why Sell Acrobat Support? section of this document.
Q: What Support Programs are available for Acrobat customers? A: Adobe offers flexible support programs to meet the needs and budgets of our customers. Annual support plans available to Acrobat enterprise customers:
• Platinum Maintenance and Support: For larger corporate or government deployments and customers with significant investments or business reliance on Acrobat products, for whom the features and benefits of Platinum M&S are a requirement. Bundled maintenance includes Acrobat product upgrade releases.
• Gold Support: For larger corporate deployments and customers with significant investments or business reliance on Acrobat products. Gold support does not include Acrobat product updates.
Annual support plans available for Acrobat workgroup customers:
• Gold Support: For larger deployments and customers with significant investments or business reliance on Acrobat products. Gold support does not include Acrobat product updates.
• Silver Support: For departmental-level Acrobat investments. Silver support does not include Acrobat product updates.
A comprehensive comparison of the Adobe Support Programs features and positioning can be found in this document under Positioning and Pricing.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [15] For Internal Use Only
Q: What are the primary considerations when recommending a Support program? A: Primary considerations when recommending a Support program are: What is the customer’s level of expertise? What is the size and scope of the deployment? What is the nature of the computing infrastructure? Do they have an internal Help Desk? Is support required during core business hours or for extended hours (i.e., business hours
plus evenings, weekends, and holidays)? What is the required response time? Within one hour or within one business day?
Q: What is the best way to position the Silver, Gold and Platinum Support programs? A: The best way to differentiate Silver, Gold, and Platinum support is by considering the following factors: Size and scale of the deployment: The larger the scale and the more heavily Acrobat is used within a company, the greater the support coverage should be. Distribution of Technology in the Organization: Similarly, a company with a wide distribution of Acrobat throughout its organization will have a greater support need than a smaller department using Adobe products in a more isolated context. Complexity of Everyday Functions, Nature of Processes and Applications: If an organization uses Acrobat for very complex functions, or uses it in a critical application, it is likely that they require the Gold or Platinum level support. Level of in-house expertise: For organizations with strong in-house support, Silver support may not be sufficient for the customer's needs. Gold or Platinum support may be required for the level of questions that will potentially be submitted.
Q: How does a customer purchase Silver, Gold Support and Platinum Support? A: In most cases, Silver and Gold Support are ordered from the customer’s CLP or TLP licensing reseller. Where an ELA or large/complex licensing deal is being discussed directly with the customer, you may consult with a Customer Care Business Development manager on options for purchasing Support. Platinum Maintenance and Support is available through FLP purchasing channels.
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [16] For Internal Use Only
Q: What policy changes have been made to rationalize the ordering process/options for Acrobat support? A: All Acrobat customers now have access to all annual M&S and Support plans available for Acrobat, regardless of the channel used to purchase the Acrobat licenses. This includes Platinum M&S, Gold Support and Silver Support. Customers who are acquiring Acrobat Licenses through a volume licensing program may now also purchase Platinum Maintenance and Support via the FLP program. Contact a Customer Care Business Development manager for assistance.
Q: Are there restrictions on the timing of a support program (start and end date), similar to Upgrade Plan on CLP? A: For ‘Support Only’ plans such as Gold and Silver support there are no restrictions. Support may be purchased at any time and will provide cover for the entire term purchased – regardless of whether a CLP agreement expires in the interim. For Platinum Maintenance and Support, which includes an Upgrade Entitlement as well as support, customers are required to commence cover at the same time as the license or upgrade purchase. They may also commence cover upon the expiration of a valid Upgrade Plan. Purchasing Platinum M&S at other times may have an impact on how pricing is determined. Consult a Customer Care Business Development Manager if you require assistance (Appendix: Tools, Resources, and Contacts).
Q: My customer is already on a CLP Upgrade Plan – can they add a technical support program to that? A: Yes. The easiest option is to purchase Gold or Silver Support from their regular reseller.
Q: My customer is on a CLP Upgrade Plan, and would like to get on Platinum M&S, which includes Upgrade entitlements. Do we make allowances in the pricing for this? A: In most cases, yes. We aim to fairly account for any unused term of Upgrade Plan for customers wishing to migrate to Platinum M&S. Consult with your Customer Care Business Development manager for deal-specific guidance (see Appendix: Tools, Resources, and Contacts).
Acrobat Support Playbook Rev. 2.1
Worldwide Customer Care [17] For Internal Use Only
Appendix: Tools, Resources, and Contacts
Customer Care Business Development Contacts • North America: [email protected] • EMEA: [email protected] • APAC: [email protected]
Acrobat Support Customer Facing Sales Tools • Acrobat Support Overview:
http://partnerdownload.adobe.com/p/AcrobatSupportOverview.pdf
• Acrobat Support Overview slides/presentation module (InField): http://partnerdownload.adobe.com/p/AcrobatSupportValueProp.ppt
• Adobe Support Overview slides/presentation module: http://partnerdownload.adobe.com/p/WWCC_support_overview_Channel_Q1FY09.ppt
• Adobe Support Programs details at adobe.com: www.adobe.com/support/programs/
Acrobat Support Internal Sales Tools • Selling Acrobat Support Playbook:
http://partnerdownload.adobe.com/p/AcrobatSupportPlaybookPartners.pdf • Selling Adobe Support Sales Guide:
http://partnerdownload.adobe.com/p/SellingSupportPartnerSalesGuide_Q1FY09.pdf
• Support Program/Product Alignment spreadsheet: http://partnerdownload.adobe.com/p/ProductAlignmentMaster_Infield_120808.xls
• Support Pricing Tool: http://partnerdownload.adobe.com/p/SupportPricingToolforCLP_TLPJan09.xlsx
