Four Ways to Get Faster Answers Using Next-Generation Support

In today’s digital world, people expect easy access to information. Having been conditioned by search engines and virtual assistants in their personal lives, people want fast answers to questions when using technology for work.

SAP meets this need with the Next-Generation Support approach. This approach provides real-time, “always on” customer care for software users through a variety of services and channels. The tools are included with SAP support offerings at no additional cost.

Here are four ways you can use Next-Generation Support to save time and get fast resolutions to technical and nontechnical issues.

1. Explore Self-Service Tools

Feedback from our users says that self-service is their first and fastest choice to get answers to technical questions, tapping SAP’s knowledge pool directly. Next-Generation Support offers a variety of self-service support offerings, including:

• The SAP Knowledge Base Article service allows you to access articles that relate to technical support questions specific to SAP software. You can search through a variety of repositories, including the SAP Notes tool, SAP Knowledge Base Articles, content from SAP Community, and more. They are available at SAP ONE Support Launchpad, SAP Support Portal, and through search engines such as Google and Bing.
• The automatic translation tool, based on machine learning and artificial intelligence technology, offers additional help without leaving the application and allows you to translate SAP Notes and SAP Knowledge Base Articles automatically into an increasing number of offered languages.
• The Guided Answers tool is an application which helps you troubleshoot and find solutions to your technical problems using a step-by-step guide. Experts from SAP document exact steps for analyzing issues and make the process available to you.
• The incident solution matching service helps you to find relevant answers faster. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, the service automatically displays potential solutions from SAP Notes and SAP Knowledge Base Articles ranked in order of relevance. The feature is integrated into SAP ONE Support Launchpad.
• WhatsApp messenger enables subscriptions to channels from the Product Support team so you receive specific updates for your topic of choice, including articles, content, and hot tips on only the products that apply to your needs.

2. Start a Live Chat Session

If you need immediate assistance, the Expert Chat service is a live chat function that connects you with an SAP support expert in real time. You can access Expert Chat from SAP ONE Support Launchpad (see figure), which provides access to task-driven support resources, to ask technical questions about SAP products, get access to support engineers, and share your screen to assist in problem resolution. The majority of incidents are typically resolved through Expert Chat within 30 minutes and there’s no duplication of effort. At the end of each chat, an incident is created automatically based on the case discussed in the chat – so all the information is kept for documentation or follow-up and further investigation if the issue cannot be resolved immediately.

Figure: Expert Chat offers real-time support from a member of the SAP Product Support team

3. Schedule Time with an Expert

If your question is not urgent, the Schedule an Expert service allows you to connect live with product support experts for a 30-minute call at a time that’s convenient for you. The expert works with you directly so you receive fast issue resolution and get answers when and where you need them. You can access Schedule an Expert from SAP ONE Support Launchpad. If the issue can’t be resolved immediately, the support engineer will submit a written incident report in the normal incident queue so there’s no duplication of effort for you.

4. Get Guidance on Non-Technical Queries

For issues not related to a product, the Customer Interaction Center service is happy to help. The service provides a central point of contact for nontechnical queries on topics such as SAP ONE Support Launchpad and SAP Support Portal, navigations and applications, user management, incident management, and much more. You can contact the service by telephone, e-mail, chat, and social media. Information is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Supporting the Transition to the Intelligent Enterprise

As more and more companies expand their use of technology, having instant access to information will become increasingly important. We are moving support features and access to SAP support right into the product with built-in support, available already for SAP S/4HANA Cloud. This approach eliminates the need for you to leave the business context in question to get help or request support. This digital assistant is highly intuitive and conversational, providing you with seamless support.

With Next-Generation Support, SAP helps companies make the transition to intelligent enterprises that use data and automation more readily by providing support anytime, anywhere, and from any device. In this way, SAP is delivering on its commitment to continuous innovation by accelerating problem resolution times in sync with real-time business demands.

To learn more about Next-Generation Support, visit the SAP Support Portal or download this infographic for a quick reference guide of the available tools.