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The Benefits of National Instruments Standard Service Program (SSP) and Request Support

Primary Software:
Primary Software Version: N/A
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: N/A
Hardware:

Problem: What are the benefits of the Standard Service Program (SSP) and the Request Support website? How do I use Request Support?

Solution: National Instruments offers three service levels of support to meet our customer's needs. They are outlined in the table below.

Service Level	Software Upgrades	Access to Support Resources
Basic (free)	Must be purchased separately	Support by NI Applications Engineers, R&D Engineers, partners, and community members through NI Discussion Forums Access to KnowledgeBase, example code, troubleshooting wizards, solutions, and white papers
Standard (SSP)	Automatic upgrades included	All the benefits of Basic Service Support by NI Applications Engineers through direct phone or e-mail access Free, unlimited on-demand online training Note: SSP is included with most software products
Premier* (PSP)	Automatic upgrades included	All the benefits of Standard Service Support by Senior NI Applications Engineers through direct phone or e-mail access with extended hours of operation
*You can migrate other service programs to PSP.

For pricing information, or to purchase SSP or PSP now, please visit our Online Product Catalog. If you are already an SSP or PSP subscriber and would like to transfer your subscription to another user, please fill out this form (57 KB PDF) and either fax or mail it to NI. The fax number and address are on the form.

Request Support
Request Support is the starting point for all of your service needs regardless of your service level. Request Support allows you to contact National Instruments for technical support in one of three communication methods: Discussion Forum, Phone NI or E-Mail NI.

Discussion Forum
Each major product line has its own forum in the NI Discussion Forums, where your questions may be answered by NI engineers, partners, or users worldwide. All support questions in the discussion forums are typically answered within 24 hours. You may subscribe to receive an instant e-mail notification when your question is answered.

Phone NI
You can initiate your request for phone support online and receive direct, priority access to NI engineers during normal business hours. You will bypass our non-technical customer service representatives and speak with an NI engineer directly. If there is a wait in the phone queue, you will spend less time in the queue because your call will receive priority over any calls that were not initiated online. The Request Support web application can also call you instantly once you submit your support request.

E-Mail NI
You must initiate any request for e-mail support online. Our Request Support system will prompt you for details that will minimize the number of back-and-forth e-mails that sometimes occur during requests for e-mail support.

General Benefits of Request Support
In addition to the specific benefits of each contact method mentioned above, Request Support provides an intelligent search of our online technical support resources, based on the NI products you are using and the type of question you have. The possible solutions presented by this search may answer your question, eliminating the need to contact NI for technical support, and thus saving you time.

Using Request Support

1. Go to http://www.ni.com/ask and select your desired communication method.
   
2. Fill out the initial form with the appropriate information and click Solutions.
   
3. Based on the initial information you entered, Request Support will show you a list of possible solutions. Browse through these solutions to see if one of them addresses your problem. If none of them do, click Post Message, Call NI, or Email NI.
   
4. You will be prompted to login to your ni.com profile, which requires a valid e-mail address and password. If you do not have an ni.com profile, you may register for one free. An ni.com profile has many benefits, including access to our free software downloads and the ability to generate service requests online.
   
5. This next step depends on your chosen communication method and service level.
   
   • If you chose Discussion Forums, you will be prompted to post your question in the NI Discussion Forums.
     
   • If you chose Phone NI, you will receive a Service Request number and the phone number to contact NI for technical support. You can also have NI call you with the "Call Me Now" option.
     
   • If you chose E-mail NI, you will be prompted to enter a detailed description of your question, and then you will receive a confirmation e-mail from our automated response system (an e-mail response from an NI engineer may take 24 to 72 hours).

Related Links:
NI Discussion Forums
Request Support
Products and Services: Standard Service Program (SSP)
Products and Services: Premier Service Program (PSP)
Create or Modify your NI User Profile
NI SSP Subscription Transfer Form

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Report Date: 06/06/2002
Last Updated: 05/22/2007
Document ID: 2M5HCJQU

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