How VARs support applications from ISVs?

Published on: December 14, 2018

VAR Support of ISV Applications
There is a general protocol most ISVs in the channel follow when it comes to providing support to end users when resellers have facilitated the original sale and support contract. It generally looks like the following:

When an end user believes they have an issue with an ISV product/solution where they need support, the end user should try to contact the reseller first. This is because the issue they have may not be an ISV issue but possibly a general Dynamics GP issue which is not the responsibility of the ISV to support.  Further, as the reseller has sold the ISV support agreement to the end user, they take on Level 1 Help Desk Support.  In other words, they listen to the initial end user issue, determine whether its an ISV or general Dynamics-GP issue and then route the issue accordingly.
 
Support
This provides the end user with one consistent place to call and start the process [one point of contact]. If the issue is a Dynamics-GP issue, the reseller resolves the issue within their own organization or through Microsoft support.  As the end user becomes savvier as to how the products work, they may eventually go direct to the ISV as in point 3 below.

If the issue needs to be resolved through the ISV, the reseller can either start a support ticket with the ISV on behalf of the end user or have the end user send a support ticket into the ISV directly. The ISV can then either deal through the reseller or directly with the end user depending on what is the most expedient way to help the end user.
NOTE: Over time, most resellers learn particular ISV products in greater detail and can handle the simpler support/training issues of those products without the need to go back to the ISV.

Once an ISV product has been used over time by the end user, the end user can eventually discern when an issue is a general Dynamics GP issue or a deeper ISV issue. When end users are more experienced and are able to identify the issue specifically to the ISV, then the end user should establish more direct support contract with the ISV.
Conclusion
To conclude, the above are general guidelines on how most ISVs / resellers/end users handle support of ISV products in the MS Dynamics GP channel. They may vary to some degree from ISV to ISV. But as always, the end result is to provide end users with the best quality and most expedient support possible.

Subscribe
to our blog updates