Getting the Help You Need
Take advantage of Esri's expanded and enhanced technical support

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Beginning in 2008, Esri focused on improving its technical support with the goal of connecting Esri users with the help they need as quickly as possible. Esri significantly expanded its Technical Support Division and continues to make significant investments in people, processes, and technology to deliver a better level of service.

Not only has Esri hired more technical support staff members but also provides ongoing training for all staff. A training team in Technical Support proactively educates new employees and existing staff on all aspects of Esri's technology and is highly integrated with the development of new Esri technologies. This training program has dramatically improved the ability of Esri staff to support new and emerging technologies.

To more quickly replicate the problems that users may experience, Technical Support recently created a virtual machine repository of the top 80 configurations across all supported versions of Esri software. Support analysts use this repository, as well as various third-party troubleshooting tools, to reproduce or closely match almost any environment.

The new technical support center in Charlotte, North Carolina, opened in 2008 to better serve the needs of users living on the east coast of the United States. This has extended Technical Support's hours of operation significantly. Support analysts are now available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

With investments in more staff members, integrated training, and longer hours of operation, the level of service has improved since 2008. Now 95 percent of callers requesting technical support are directed to support specialists the first time they contact Esri. Typically, callers wait less than a minute before talking with an analyst. Esri encourages users to call Technical Support directly. For 65 percent of all technical support issues, the first contact results in resolution of the issue in an average time of 46 minutes or less. For issues not resolved with an initial contact, the average resolution time for domestic support requests is one day and for international support requests, the average resolution time is just under two days.

Requests for technical support don't have to be made by phone. Help can be requested by filling out the Web form at support.esri.com or sending free-form e-mails to support@esri.com.

Esri also has a comprehensive library of self-help resources available at support.esri.com that includes product documentation, discussion forums, and technical articles. The Customer Care Portal and Bugs Online were created as additional self-help resources that let users check on the status of software defects. The User Advocacy Group (UAG), composed of senior technical support and product development staff, meets regularly to identify, prioritize, and address software defects for inclusion in service packs and new product releases.

Customer feedback drives software innovation at Esri. Many features in new releases of Esri software come directly from user requests. Esri encourages users to submit software enhancement requests using the Web form at support.esri.com or by calling Technical Support at 1-888-377-4575.