General
BlueWorx is a product implemented by Accenture and selected Neptune partners which then becomes part of your SAP Plant Maintenance solution. Like other areas there are various levels of support required including:
- Operating Queries - Generally handled by a customer's own business support staff. Post go-live support by the implementation partners will assist in knowledge transfer.
- In general, customers should direct their product queries and bug investigation requests through implementation partner or internal support team i.e. Level 2 support. Having following that L2 process support personnel can raise non operational product queries or confirmed product bugs on this site as support tickets. To understand more please see the section below titled What support is not provided by the BlueWorx Product Team
- Enhancement Requests - Customers are welcome and encouraged to add their enhancement requests.
Typical Support Levels
The following are the typical support levels involved for BlueWorx. This can vary according to customers own support arrangements with their SAP/ BlueWorx partner and with SAP:
For more detailed information on BlueWorx SDLC see: BlueWorx Product Development - System, Standards and Processes
What support is not provided by the BlueWorx Product Team?
The BlueWorx Product Team does not provide delivery nor operational support services. Instead, it's wholly focused on maintaining and improving the BlueWorx product for the benefit of all our customers. Support services are provided by Accenture and our partners or by the customer's own SAP support team. The services and typical triggers include:
- BlueWorx Implementation and ongoing operational support. BlueWorx Products provides general online support and guidance through this support site and in helping to resolve any proven product technical bugs. It does not provide any ongoing training, nor get involved in the delivery and post go-live operational support of the BlueWorx implementation.
- Neptune Software/ SAP Support. Neptune Software and SAP are integral components of the BlueWorx solution. Technical support for these components is logically best provided by the vendor or their support partner. For clarity, and for most customers, this partner will be Accenture.
- Mobile Application Build. Each customer builds their own version of the BlueWorx application Mobile Application for each of their SAP instances. This build includes using the customer's own server address, authentication options, build software, and, as may be required, mobile-related build accounts/ credentials. The build process will be repeated over the lifecycle of the use of BlueWorx in support of such triggers as:
- Certificate renewal. Some vendors, such as Apple, have requirements around the use of build certificates which require periodic renewal and trigger the requirement for an updated mobile application
- Device specific releases. These are controlled by the mobile OS provider (for example Apple iOS releases) and by the Customer (through applying these releases)
- BlueWorx / Neptune Releases. The customers own application of support packs released by the Accenture BlueWorx Product Team or Neptune Software.
- Customer Network/ SAP security Updates. Changes to addressees, changes to authentications methods or policy, etc.
- Mobile Device Management. The implementation of or change in the use of a MDM
- SAP Performance Tuning. Each customer controls their own SAP environment. Differences in SAP releases, database types, data volumes, and system load exist. On occasion, customers have seen benefits from tuning their SAP systems to optimise performance for the BlueWorx workflow and patterns from the previous paper/ SAP GUI processes. Typically such tuning occurs at or port go-live and or role out to new business areas
- Customer SAP and BlueWorx Configuration. For example changes to parameters that BlueWorx has a configured reliance on - like classification characteristics or BlueWorx user profiles
- Customer Modifications. Where changes made by customers induce errors during or after go-live.
- SAP Upgrades/ Releases. The BlueWorx product-specific data is maintained in a separate namespace, as is the Neptune functionality. SAP can make changes, however unlikely, to the underlying technical infrastructure and objects on which the solution relies
To avoid operational issues, and as a general principle consistent with standard SAP and desktop operations, Customers should refrain from updating components without first undertaking research as to the likely impacts and testing as required.
Support Packages
Accenture's BlueWorx Product Team provide Support Packages that contain bug fixes and enhancements generally twice per annum. This will be provided in the form of SAP Transports with corresponding documentation. Details of support packs and fixes are accessible for BlueWorx customers under a software maintenance agreement are available here: Release Details Forum
Bug Fixes
Bug fixes outside of the Support Package releases are made following assessment. In general, the criteria as assessed by Accenture's BlueWorx Product Team will include:
- The ability to replicate and therefore understand cause analysis
- That the issue is related to BlueWorx standard development
- The operational impact including the number of customers and customer users
- Time until next full release
Bug Fixes, where provided, may be as manual code and application amendments, or as SAP transports. Transports may be a targeted or cumulative patch which may include a small number of functionality enhancements in addition to bug fixes. Generally, these cumulative patches are released more frequently in the period immediately after a Support Pack.
In general Bug Fixes will be provided for the last Support Pack only on the basis that there is sufficient time between releases to identify and resolve any critical issues in that release and that movement to the latest cumulative Support Pack will resolve all identified issues since the previous one. Support for new issues in prior releases is therefore on a case-by-case basis.