ZenGuard is an on-demand subscription service that provides access to highly qualified SAS support professionals. These experts are assigned to a customer, are dedicated to understanding their environment and offer on-call assistance at a fraction of the cost of hiring internal resources.
Our experience has allowed us to streamline the onboarding approach to get the customer’s support up and running efficiently. A dedicated ZenGuard team learns each customer’s specific SAS environment in a timely manner, so help is available when a customer needs it.
Complete an Initial Site Review
First, the ZenGuard team establishes a line of communication. This can be done on-site or remotely in a series of meetings with customer stakeholders. The initial site review includes a deep dive into a SAS environment to see that components are functioning as expected. In this dive we explore, troubleshoot the environment, and isolate issues. If we find things that are not functioning properly, we work to uncover the root cause, build a roadmap to fix the issue and improve the overall system performance.
The initial site review is like a trip to a local mechanic. We put a system through the paces and see whether it holds up. As a mechanic works bumper to bumper checking the brakes, shocks, fluids, tires, exhaust systems, and electrical systems, ZenGuard consultants have a proprietary process and specific tools they use to evaluate servers, tiers, connections, definitions, and files, all to validate and test every unique environment.
Internal Support Setup Tasks
Once we have checked a system thoroughly — taken it for a test drive, so to speak — we evaluate the information gathered. Our aim is to capture information in a specific way so it is easily shared with multiple Zencos team members. This way, should a customer experience an issue, there is always a ZenGuard team member available who understands how a customer’s specific environment needs to function. This part of the process is all about our internal communications, our team philosophy.
Customer Environment Support Setup Tasks
There is a standard set of best practices for each and every customer environment we support. These proprietary programs and tools ensure we follow a defined process and use the same aliases across all customer environments. Consistency of approach better allows us to respond more quickly to on-demand issues and to isolate technical problems when they arise, as we control the majority of variables.
First Status Call
The First Status Call sets the tone for future calls and is also where we provide feedback via the roadmap developed in the site review sessions. It is an important touchpoint where we communicate the details of our findings and present a plan to fix the issues. For example, we may find that the SAS memory configuration is set at default, meaning it was never customized for their environment and thus the system is not using system memory as efficiently as possible.
Or we may discover that the client has SAS Enterprise Miner installed, but their license is expired. Or maybe it was initially installed but they’ve forgotten they have it because it hasn’t been used.
In this meeting, we will address these kinds of roadblocks. The call sets the groundwork for positive communications and allows us another opportunity to establish a common language and unite in an approach that best predicts success.
Summary
Our multi-step onboarding process allows us to embed a team in your SAS Environment, find issues, and build a plan. We become a part of your environment, learn your objectives and make sure an experienced ZenGuard consultant is always available to quickly fix any issues that arise.
The ZenGuard teams have developed a standard set of home-grown tools and best practices that ensure a successful onboarding process for new ZenGuard sites. It allows Zencos to set expectations, communicate more effectively and respond to customer needs and environmental issues in a proactive way that improves overall technical performance.
If you want to learn more about our onboarding process and how we tailor it to certain industries, businesses and client needs, contact Greg Rogers today. Zencos is committed to providing dedicated support at a fraction of the cost of hiring internal resources.
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