What is a Service Maintenance Agreement?

GFI FaxMaker and GFI Archiver include maintenance through the term of the main license because our customers have told us that maintenance is an insurance policy for their success. There are FOUR major reasons why GFI provide a maintenance agreement.

1. Access to new features, updates, enhancements and fixes

Revisions and updates to our products are made throughout the year. They are made because:

Updates are required from time to time to address compatibility and or/third party software changes, e.g., monthly Microsoft Windows updates, and in order to continue to operate we need to update our code or They are made to enhance features to our current versions of the software; or They are made because there are issues with our software running in your environment (we cannot test all environments or configurations).

When you have a maintenance agreement, you will get automatic and instant access to the latest product versions, updates, enhancements and fixes.

In addition, GFI MailEssentials maintenance now includes anti-spam or antivirus protection with frequent updates in real time. Without maintenance you are not protected against the threats that initially made you decide to license the product.

2. Complete support protection

Benefit from email, web chat and phone support. GFI offers  global support to ensure you face minimal downtime and your problems are addressed as soon as possible by qualified and experienced support representatives. We want our customers to succeed and we are aware that the introduction of new technology is difficult. Therefore, GFI support has teams at our distribution partners and internally available not only for support-related questions, but also to solve implementation questions that assure customers enjoy a smooth and successful introduction to new technologies. Some companies’ support only includes phone or email contact and an additional charge for upgrades. GFI maintenance encompasses, through our channel,  phone and email support, code fixes, new versions (including new features) and new releases (addressing minor issues). A GFI support agreement is a small insurance policy to pay for protecting your company’s data and/or infrastructure.

Some companies’ support only includes phone or email contact and an additional charge for upgrades. GFI maintenance is an all inclusive cost: from phone support, webchat and email to code fixes, new versions (which will include new features) and new releases (which address minor issues). A GFI Support Agreement is a small insurance policy to pay to protect your company’s data and or infrastructure.

3. Protect your investment and your assets: Know that your systems are current

The best way to leverage your initial investment is to ensure that your maintenance agreement is current. It is the least expensive way to keep your software product up-to-date. GFI’s product suite is constantly being updated to address ever-changing security threats and to continue working optimally in their environment. With maintenance you are not only protecting your investment but also your network and organization. You get expert problem resolution. We are the ones who developed and maintain the product: let us be your insurance policy to a more secure and protected IT infrastructure.

4. Compliance concerns

Compliance and systems integrity is a driving force to having current maintenance on software. Sarbanes Oxley, PCI DSS, eDiscovery and myriad regulations and laws are a growing concern for management and systems administrators. You need to show that your systems are secure, that your data’s integrity has not been compromised and that you have redundancy measures in place.

Without a maintenance agreement, the risk that your systems may not have the latest patches or security updates greatly increases. So does the risk that an audit will discover flaws in the network that could have easily been addressed with regular software updates – something that could be done with relative ease if you had a maintenance program.

The cost of failing an audit or suffering a security breach is many times higher than the cost of a year of maintenance. That thought alone should justify the investment in a maintenance program.