6 Ways to Take Advantage of Cisco Automated Technical Support“Support Automation” has been a promise for some time. We’re now living the reality. So real, that we often don’t even acknowledge how ubiquitous support automation has become in our personal lives, whether it is pre-filled online forms or customized recommendations automatically pushed to us based on previously expressed interests in our personal profiles.

Think back a few years and ask yourself, How much is this support website or mobile app automatically doing today that I used to do on my own? Chances are, quite a bit, especially if you’re using Cisco smart services to help keep your network running smoothly. But are you aware of all the Cisco automation tools available to you and/or are you optimizing their full utility?Here’s a list of six of our most frequently used support automation tools and how they can help ensure network performance, even as they accelerate issue resolution. Best of all, the resources are all included standard with your Cisco support contract. Scan the list to make sure you’re taking full advantage of each. And then share them with your colleagues who might also benefit.

But what about support automation in our work lives?

Cisco is continuously enhancing the Cisco Support Website for greater personalization. The home page is designed for optimum display across all your Cisco network devices. Log in and you’ll find quick links to comprehensive support content that lets you – • View all your cases and open a new case; • See your software history and applicable new

releases and take advantage of “one-click” downloads;

• Use My Devices to retrieve support and contract information for your network devices;

• Go directly to product content you’ve frequented.

1. My Support: Your Go-To Cisco Service Resource

“Perfect! I know quickly when my equipment will be End of Support and how many are without contracts…My Devices is now my favorite tool!” ─ Philippe M., Orange, S.A., France

The My Devices feature, available using either the Support website or the Cisco Tech Support mobile app, lets you assemble both support and service contract essentials for all your Cisco network devices, and display the information graphically for easy reference.You can compile device lists by entering product serial numbers or scanning bar codes with a smartphone…or even upload a bulk list using a CSV file.

2. My Devices: All Your Support Essentials in One Place

“You just made my purchasing manager’s day.”“This has drastically reduced the time it takes for us to do our renewal.” ─ Customer reaction, Cisco Live!

Complementing the website’s My Support feature is the Tools Catalog, home to forty-five tools designed to speed-up support tasks.

The Device Coverage Checker acts as a My Devices “express” feature: It gives you an on-demand view of coverage on any device simply by entering or scanning a serial number. Using My Devices, you can have a persistent view of your complete installed base.

3. Device Coverage Checker

“Your new tools save me time and help me troubleshoot, so that I don’t have to open as many TAC cases.” ─ Online customer feedback

The Tools Catalog offers you ten new specialized tools sourced from the TAC.While applications like IP Sec Calculator and Firewall Top Talkers don’t cover the wide swath of products as the Bug Search Tool, each helps you complete key surgical tasks that TAC engineers perform frequently.For example, you can determine which users are contributing most to network slowdowns (Netdr Parser) or get to the bottom of issues like choppy audio or voice drops on a call (Voice Debug Lookup).

4. Self-Automation: Tools to Resolve Issues Faster

“Just tried the new CLI Analyzer today and it is wonderful.” ─ John W., Network Lead, Technologies Inc., USA

The Command Line Interface (CLI) Analyzer has just been expanded to include Cisco IOS and Adaptive Security Appliance, and will soon be expanded to cover other Cisco product lines. The CLI Analyzer is a Secure Shell (SSH) client that allows you to remotely connect to your device in a session and harnesses TAC knowledge scripts to automate diagnostics and troubleshooting. The Analyzer equips you to take remedial action immediately or, if the case is severe, open a case with the TAC that includes Analyzer output.

5. The Command Line Interface (CLI) Analyzer

“Works perfectly for what I need to see. Thanks Cisco for letting me take my work wherever I go.” ─ Todd S. Winder, Amazon.com review

Replete with custom features for managing support cases, checking service coverage, remediating bugs and seeing TAC solutions, the Cisco Tech Support mobile app also takes advantage of mobile virtues like portability, voice interaction, scanning and location services.For example, you can use smart phone bar code scanning and GPS to send Cisco information for a particular device. You can also opt for support and service contract notifications, and directly connect with your assigned TAC engineer regarding a support case.

6. The Cisco Technical Support Mobile Application

Your Automated Support Future: Make a WishWe are always percolating enhanced support ideas in close consultation with Cisco customers and partners, and stepping up automation across all digital channels – web, mobile, APIs, machine-to-machine, and others we are still exploring.

What’s on your wish list for a more streamlined, automated support experience? Send me your ideas. I’ll make sure our development team considers them.

Thanks for your input!Subu

Subu SubramanianVP, Platforms Automation & Customer Enablement