RICOH V8 Support Handbook Software User Guide

RICOH V8 Support Handbook Software

INTRODUCTIONS

This publication applies solely to software developed by the RICOH Graphic Communications Group, including:

• RICOH ProcessDirector™
• RICOH InfoPrint Manager™
• RICOH Supervisor™
• RICOH TotalFlow BatchBuilder™
• RICOH TotalFlow Production Manager™
• RICOH Web Enablement Solutions Suite
• RICOH InfoPrint XT

Preface

We have produced this guide with the following objectives in mind:

• Introduce you to Software Support
• Share information about our worldwide Software Support organization
• Provide information on the software support process
• Improve your experience when contacting Software Support for assistance
• Explain how you can enhance your Software Support with additional services to meet your needs

This guide contains important information on the procedures and practices followed in the service and support of your Ricoh software products or SaaS Solutions. It applies to customers with valid active maintenance agreements, running supported versions of software or other contracts in place to obtain these services. This guide does not replace or amend in any way the contractual terms and conditions under which you acquired specific Ricoh software products or services related to them. Please review it carefully. You may want to bookmark this file so you can refer to it as required to obtain the latest information.

Overview of Support

Your business is both a privilege and a responsibility. We hope to maintain that business by providing solutions to your information technology problems. It is crucial that we offer product and solution support services that complement our information system solutions to enable you to concentrate on your core business issues.

The Ricoh Software Support Commitment

The goal of Ricoh Software Support is to provide the quality software support and services you need. Our vision is to achieve a level of support excellence that exceeds your expectations and differentiates Ricoh in the marketplace by providing:

• Rapid response to your requests
• Fast relief to high-impact problems
• Timely problem resolution
• High-quality fixes and information
• Up-to-date service and installation information

We are committed to achieving the highest level of customer satisfaction in the industry, with quality-focused programs designed to provide services that enhance and maximize the use of Ricoh products and services. As your solutions partner, we are dedicated to enabling your success.

Software customer support organization

Ricoh’s software support organization is a global network of centers with expertise across our product, solutions, and services portfolios, working together to provide the software support that you require. Our worldwide centers are staffed with individuals who have the skills to help you identify the source of your problem—and in many cases, can provide that support in the primary language of the region. For complex problems, the support team has access to the experts in our Development Laboratories. Therefore, you have access to the right level of expertise when you need it — no matter where they are located. Our software support organizations are staffed by highly skilled Product Support engineers who are motivated to answer questions and resolve problems found in your Ricoh software product. Our goal is to ensure your satisfaction each time you call on us for support by:

• Responding to your calls within targeted guidelines
• Providing ongoing communication regarding your problem, from the time you first report it through problem resolution
• Outlining a defined escalation process if management assistance is needed Refer to Escalation Procedure for additional information.
• Maintaining our commitment to continuous improvement of our service processes

Preventing Problems

Ricoh recommends that you install software maintenance updates regularly, to proactively avoid problems caused by software defects already known and corrected, no matter which system platform or service you are using. This regular maintenance helps ensure that your solution will be available when you need it to get your work done.

Code Fixes and Product Updates
Maintenance packages for on-prem Ricoh software products or services installed on your network are released frequently to fix problems, resolve security vulnerabilities, and provide additional functions. Products that run in the Ricoh cloud environment are updated more frequently, during established maintenance windows. Even if you are not having any problems, we recommend that you check dl.ricohsoftware.com periodically to see if any new fixes or updates are available for your products. Several types of maintenance packages can be created. The support team traditionally provides two types of fixes. The first is a small patch or temporary fix. Patches or temporary fixes might replace a file on your system or provide a small update to overcome a specific issue. The second is an official update (sometimes called a Product Update) that permanently resolves the issue. Normally, the support team leaves a call open until the official update is available, so the temporary patch or file can be removed safely. Downloads for all types of maintenance packages are available at the product page on dl.ricohsoftware.com. To log in, use your Entitlement ID (EID). The available downloads for your product are listed.

What to Do Before Contacting Support

• When calling for support, please understand that the representative who initially answers the call is not a trained software support specialist. Please provide a brief description of the problem to the representative to help them send your information to Ricoh. Have the rest of this information ready when the software support specialist returns your call.
• To expediently resolve your software support service request, it is important that you take the following steps before contacting software support. You must gather information about the problem and have it available when discussing the situation with the software support specialist. The following sections describe examples of what is required.

Define the problem
If you can describe the problem and symptoms before contacting software support, you can expedite the problem-solving process. It is very important to be as specific as possible when explaining a problem or question to our software support specialists. Our specialists want to give you the right solution, so the better they understand your specific problem the faster they can resolve it.

Gather background information
To solve problems effectively, the software support specialist needs to have all the relevant information about the problem. Define your technical question in specific terms and provide the version and release level of the product(s). In the case of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, provide the URL that is being accessed.
Having answers to these questions will help us solve your software problem:

• What levels of software were you running when the problem occurred? Include all relevant products; for example, operating systems and related products, such as browsers and versions.
• Note any 3rd party applications that could be involved and how they fit into the solution.
• Has the problem happened before, or is this an isolated problem?
• What steps led to the failure? What steps were taken after the failure? Were you able to recover the system or is it still impacted? At what point was the diagnostic data collected?
• Can the problem be recreated? If so, what steps are required?
• Have any changes been made to the system in the last few days or weeks, such as hardware, network, or software updates?
• Were any messages or other diagnostic information produced? If yes, what were they? What were their numbers?

Gather relevant diagnostic information (if possible)
For software product issues, our software support specialists must often analyze specific diagnostic information, such as logs, storage dumps, and traces, to resolve your problem. Gathering this information is often the most critical step in resolving your problem.
Most of our software products come with their own data collection tool; when experiencing a problem, use that tool (PD capture, air capture, etc.) as soon as possible and have that data ready to be provided to the support specialist as soon as the ticket is opened. Product-specific diagnostic documentation can be very helpful in identifying what information is typically required to resolve problems. You can always contact software support for assistance in gathering the needed diagnostic information.

Determine the Priority level
Priority levels are determined during a mutual discussion by the client and software support specialist, based on the business impact of the issue. If you designate a problem as a Priority 1/Production System Down, software support will work on it 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, provided you are also available to work during those hours. You can change the Priority level of a problem to match current business impact conditions if circumstances change from when it was first entered. The following table describes Priority levels and provides some examples. The priority can be increased or decreased accordingly.

Priority Level Definitions and Examples

Level| Definition| Examples
Priority 1 – Urgent 7×24 Response| Critical Impact/Production System Down: A business-critical software component is inoperable, or a critical interface has failed. This usually applies to a production environment and indicates you are unable to use the program resulting in a critical

impact on operations. This condition requires an immediate

| The server or Solution is down, and users are unable to connect, or no printing can occur.
Priority 2 – High

Normal Business Hours

| Significant business impact: Use of a software component is severely restricted, or you are in jeopardy of missing business deadlines.| Problem printing one type of data or one specific print job.
---|---|---
Priority 3 – Normal

Normal Business Hours

| Some business impact: The program is usable because less significant features that are not critical to operations are

unavailable.

| A configurable transform is not

working correctly.

Priority 4 – Low

Normal Business Hours

| Very minor issue with little to no impact.| The cosmetic issue in the user interface.

When speaking with a software support specialist, also mention the following items if they apply to your situation:

• You are under business deadline pressure.
• Your availability to work with Ricoh Software Support.
• Alternate ways to reach you, such as other phone numbers and email addresses.
• You can designate a knowledgeable alternate contact.
• You have other open problem tickets with Ricoh related to this service request.
• You have researched this situation prior to calling and have detailed information or documentation to help diagnose the problem.

Contacting Software Support

There are two ways to open incidents with the US support team. The first is to call our support center and the second is to use the MyRicoh portal. For support requests outside of the US, follow the procedures for your region as procedures vary by region. Calling the support center (1-877-318-8968 option 2) When calling or submitting a problem to Ricoh Software Support, please have the following information ready:

• Account name
• Contact name
• Preferred means of contact (voice or email)
• Telephone number and/or email address where you can be reached
• Related product and version information or SaaS URL
• Related operating system information
• Detailed description of the issue
• Priority of the issue as it impacts on your business needs

Voice Access

Software voice support is available for all software products supported by Ricoh and to all current support contract holders through a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) telephone number in your country (where available). You will be required to provide your Account Name for validation of the support service to which you are entitled, as well as the product about which you are calling.

Opening tickets through the MyRicoh portal

• Register to open software incidents at https://my.ricoh-usa.com
• For any problem registering for MyRicoh, use the live CHAT feature on the bottom right of the MyRicoh site or call 888-456-6457 Option 6.

Response objectives
When you contact software support to report a problem or update/get the status of a problem, your request will be routed to a software support specialist. Ricoh’s goal is to return your call within two business hours during a prime shift and within two hours during off-shift hours for critical problems.

• Not a misprint. The response goal is two hours on all severities

Our initial response may resolve your request, or it will form the basis for determining what additional actions may be required to achieve the technical resolution of your request.

Off shift support
Normal country business hours are defined by your time zone and the prevailing business hours within your country; for example, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in North America or 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in some parts of Asia and Europe, Monday through Friday, except national holidays. Off-shift hours are defined as all other hours outside of normal country business hours. An appropriately skilled technical person from your site must be available to work with Ricoh’s technical support staff during the entire time we are performing support services outside of normal country business hours.

How your call is handled by Software Support

You must submit your request for assistance by telephone or through MyRicoh (in US and Canada). The phone number varies by country; review the Software Support information located on your country’s Ricoh website for additional information. When you contact Ricoh to have an incident opened, a unique problem ticket is created for the reported problem. Make note of the ticket number and use it in any future communication with the support center on this issue. Your ticket is then routed to a resolution team for handling. Your problem ticket will be placed in a queue for call back. At the resolution team level, your call is researched, resolved, or escalated as appropriate. Due to the level of specialization required to maintain superior technical expertise at the team level, it is sometimes necessary to involve more than one support team to resolve a particular software problem. This is easily handled, as our support teams are networked together and work as one to resolve whatever problems or issues arise. To investigate the issue, software support may need to access information on your system, or they may need to recreate the failure to obtain additional information. If the problem is configuration-related, you may need to recreate the problem to obtain the required information. Our software support specialists may request that you send in the problem information or test cases or that they be able to view it with you electronically. See Exchanging data with Ricoh later in this handbook for more information on the options available.

How a code defect is handled by support
The software support team determines which category your issue falls into, and proceeds accordingly:

Known defect-related issue

If the resolution team determines that the issue is the result of a software defect that has previously been reported, the following actions may be taken:

• A fix or workaround is provided to circumvent or correct the issue.
• If no workaround is available and it is determined that one is required, the resolution team works with you to find the best feasible workaround.
• The resolution team advises you when the software defect is resolved, provides guidance in the fix implementation, and updates your problem ticket accordingly.

New defect

• If the resolution team determines that the issue is the result of a software defect that has never been reported, we will work with you to gather the appropriate information regarding the defect, and then work with the appropriate development team to resolve the problem.
• The development team will determine how to address the defect. One of several fix-related activities may result:
• If the defect is determined to be of high impact, a code fix is created and delivered to you.
• If the defect is determined to be of lower impact that does not require an immediate fix, we may defer the fix for a future release.

Non-defect related issue

If the resolution team determines that the issue is not a software defect in supported code but instead is a change that you require, we will continue to work the problem to resolution only at your request and with your concurrence, under a separate services agreement.

SaaS solution issue

• If the resolution team determines that the issue is the result of a software defect, we will work with you to gather the appropriate information regarding the defect.
• The development team will determine how to address the defect. One of several SaaS-related activities may result:
• If the defect is determined to be of high impact, a fix is applied to the cloud environment.
• If the defect is determined to be of lower impact, a fix might be deferred to a later deployment to the cloud environment.

After you have received a fix or have been told a fix has been applied to the SaaS environment, we will follow up with you to confirm resolution of your problem. If you have verified the fix, contact the support center so that your problem ticket can be closed. If the problem is not resolved, or you are dissatisfied with the solution, your problem record will remain open while support personnel continue to work on the problem. The problem ticket will not be closed until the problem has been resolved to your satisfaction.

How-to questions are handled by support
Technical question support allows you to obtain assistance from Ricoh for product-specific, task-oriented questions regarding the installation and operation of currently supported software. While providing answers to your technical questions, we may refer you to product documentation, publications, or Advanced Solutions Practice team members. We may be able to provide a direct answer to assist you in the following areas:

Short duration problems involving

• Specific installation or upgrade questions or failures
• Usage (how-to)
• Specific usage/installation questions for documented functions
• Product compatibility and interoperability questions
• Technical references to publications, such as manuals
• Assistance with interpreting publications
• Providing available configuration samples
• Planning information for software fixes
• Ricoh database searche

The Ricoh Software Support process is not structured to address everything — the following areas are some examples that are beyond the scope of Ricoh Software Support.

• Performance analysis
• Operating system specific questions
• System backup and/or recovery
• DataStream design, creation, implementation, or performance tuning.
• System integration design
• Writing, troubleshooting, or customizing client’s code
• Providing step-by-step assistance with upgrades and installations
• Extensive configuration questions; for example, workflow configuration
• Recovering a database or data recovery
• Consulting

Ricoh may be able to assist in most of these types of situations via other non-product support groups including our Professional Services and Managed Services teams. For further information about these services, ask your Ricoh Representative to direct you to resources who can discuss your needs. If you already have a Professional Services Architect or Project Manager, you can also engage them to discuss your needs.

Problem-handling best practices
We have found that the following practices help us provide the most timely resolution to your question or problem:

• Staying current on Product Release levels.
• Providing timely feedback on recommendations and closing the problem ticket when you agree that the problem has been resolved.
• Keeping each issue separate (one problem per ticket).
• Selecting the appropriate Priority and letting us know the business impact.
• Keeping the software support team informed of Major Upgrades/Implementations.

Your responsibilities

• Our remote software support is available to provide assistance and guidance. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that the contact person(s) have unrestricted administrator access to the system, information about your environment / the failing component, and the ability to make changes, perform diagnostics as directed by support. Opening a ticket without these capabilities in place may delay diagnosis and problem resolution.
• This information includes capturing diagnostic information at the time of a failure, applying a debug patch to your system, possibly formatting the output from the trace, and sending documentation or trace information, in softcopy, to the remote support center. You are also responsible for obtaining fixes (by downloading them or receiving those that have been shipped to you on media), applying the fixes to your systems, and testing the fixes to ensure they meet your needs. Occasionally, removal of installed fixes may be necessary while isolating problems. And sometimes fixing a problem will require installing a later release of the software, as some fixes will not work with earlier releases.
• There may also be times when the support team requests a web conference through a tool like Webex or Microsoft Teams. These meetings are intended to expedite the debug process. These are not intended to perform customer functions for them.
• You need to be aware of your responsibilities when working with the support center. If you do not have the required skill, you can engage a services provider such as a Ricoh SSE (Senior Solutions Engineer), FTSS, Advanced Solutions Practice team member, Ricoh Managed
• Services contact, or a business partner to assist you. These services require an additional fee.
• If you have a services engagement in which a third party is designing and implementing an application for you, make sure that the statement of work is very clear regarding whose responsibility it is to work suspected code defect issues with Ricoh, to ensure proper entitlement for remote support.

Escalation procedure
If at any point in the service process, you feel we are not meeting our commitments to you (as outlined in this handbook), you may call our attention to this problem by doing one or more of the following:

1. Request a response back from the software support specialist by calling the software support phone number and providing your existing ticket number.
2. Raise the Priority Level of the problem.
3. Ask to speak to the person’s manager. Escalations to a Ricoh manager will receive prompt attention and management focus.
4. Ask for a Duty Manager. The Duty Manager will work with our software support specialists to ensure your request is being handled appropriately. Do this by calling the support line that you used to open the problem and providing your existing ticket number.
5. After you have performed steps 1-4, if you believe we are still not meeting our commitments to you, escalate by opening a Complaint or nominate as a Critical Situation or (“Crit Sit”), if warranted. Contact your SSE/FTSS or Sales Representative to start this process.

Exchanging data with Ricoh

• Our software support specialists may request that you send problem information, systems data or test cases, and so on, or that our support specialists be able to view it with you electronically. To accomplish this, you may be offered several options by the support specialist.
• Under the terms and conditions of the applicable support agreements, this information will be non-confidential.
• Confidential information, including account information, HIPAA/ePHI data, and any personally identifiable information, should not be transmitted to Ricoh unless special arrangements are made.
• Ricoh may use its global resources, including but not limited to, Ricoh Affiliates and personnel located in various countries, for the delivery of service and services. By sending us problem information, you warrant that none of the Customer Data exported to, or otherwise accessible by, Ricoh is controlled as a defense article under the U. S. International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) or under any other countries’ laws or regulations and that none of your data contains Sensitive Personal Information or Business Personal Information.

Note
If you and the support specialist agree, you may decide to send your problem information or test cases to Ricoh. There are several approved methods and tools that can be used. The support specialist working the ticket will discuss these options with you and help you set up the transfer.

Practices

Ricoh Software Support Lifecycle policy

• The Ricoh Software Support Lifecycle policy specifies the length of time support will be available for Ricoh software, from when the product is available for purchase to the time the product is no longer supported.
• Most Ricoh Software Products conform to the Standard Support Lifecycle policy, which describes the normal support period for a product, typically a total of 2 years. After the withdrawal of support is announced, Service and support will be available for 12 months. After this time, the software will no longer be supported.
• To obtain the most accurate lifecycle information for your product, contact support or your SSE/FTSS.
• Note: Some Ricoh products may not adhere to this standard policy, including but not limited to Ricoh Software that is sold “as is”, products supported by third party directly, or products recently acquired by Ricoh, which may still adhere to their own legacy lifecycle agreements.
• Ricoh may modify the Lifecycle policy at any time and will communicate the modification and any exceptions via a product announcement letter, or in a general policy announcement.

Support Extensions
Support Extensions are accommodations for Customers who are unable to migrate to a supported software product release within the time provided. To request an extension for your software product, contact your Ricoh Sales Representative.

Ricoh Software Support on unsupported operating systems
Ricoh Software Support will provide support for Ricoh products while the product is still within its support period, even if the operating system is no longer supported. This support will last only until the back-level operating system is identified as the probable cause or a contributing factor of the problem. If this is the case, you will be asked to recreate the problem on a supported level of the operating system.

Third party software and Open-Source software

• Third party software or code may be included or bundled with some of our Ricoh offerings. This code is included for your convenience but is not considered part of the Ricoh program.
• Ricoh tests the third-party products bundled with our offerings to ensure that they function appropriately and work as expected with Ricoh programs. Ricoh Software Support will diagnose customer reported problems using the knowledge of how our offerings work with the third-party software, based on this testing. If we conclude that the Ricoh program is working correctly, but the issue still exists, Ricoh product support may refer you to the third-party vendor for further diagnosis and support.
• Ricoh provides these non-Ricoh programs without any warranties or representation, including but not limited to, the warranty of non-infringement and the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances will Ricoh be liable for any direct or indirect damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings, or any incidental, special, or other economic consequential damages, even if Ricoh is informed of their possibility. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above exclusion or limitation may not apply to you.
• Ricoh does not possess the in-depth technical skills to diagnose third-party software problems. We must refer our customers to those third-party software vendors for technical support when we determine that the problem is not with Ricoh software.
• A special case of the above is open source software that may be included as part of the solutions Ricoh provides. Because this code is owned by the open source community and not by Ricoh, it will be identified in the license materials or in an attachment to the license materials as “unwarranted.” Because the code is not Ricoh’s, there are no expressed or implied warranties or indemnification. However, like the third-party software described above, Ricoh performs testing so that we are comfortable our programs will work with the Open Source software and function as they were intended. As in the case of the third-party software, Ricoh Software Support will attempt to diagnose suspected defects using our knowledge of the interaction of Ricoh code and the open source software. In some cases, we may even have the source code and may be able to provide work-arounds for reported problems; however, the final arbiter over whether a supported fix can be provided may belong to the open source community.

Submitting software requirements

• The best way to communicate your software requirements or design change suggestion to Ricoh software development is to use the “feedback” button in the GUI of the product you are using.
• This leads to a tool in which ideas can be voted upon by other users and prioritized by marketing.
• Another way is to attend Output Industry conferences and trade shows where you can discuss requirements directly with our product experts or work directly with your Ricoh SSE/FTSS or Sales Representative to document the requirements.
• They can then enter the requirement into a requirements database for evaluation and prioritization.
• Those accepted may be included in a future product release or update.

Vulnerability response times
Ricoh policy provides for the following response times to address vulnerabilities:

exception requested within 120 days
P3

(Medium)

| Medium severity vulnerabilities should be remediated or have an exception requested within 60 days
P2 (High)| High severity vulnerabilities should be remediated or have an exception requested within 45 days
P1

(Critical)

| Critical severity vulnerabilities should be remediated or have an exception requested within 30 days

Ricoh Software Support Handbook.

References

• Ricoh Global Production Print Software
• Ricoh Global Production Print Software
• E-Business Suite Home Page Redirect
• E-Business Suite Home Page Redirect

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