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Pricing FAQ
The following FAQ provides additional details to standard pricing information. Please do not hesitate to call us at 650 363 8270 or send an e-mail to if you still have questions. You say the first 3 simultaneous users are free, but what if I only need three users?
-top- How much do you charge for support of the free installations? Nothing. You can upgrade the installation yourself at any time by simply downloading the latest software from our Web site. However, we do not provide support to the free users - be prepared to read the manual or go through our staff and admin tutorials if you have questions. To obtain support, you will need to purchase a license for the number of users you need and then purchase the support contract. -top- What does it mean on the pricing page when it says pricing is for a single knowledgebase?
A SupportWizard installation may have one or more knowledgebases (projects, in SupportWizard terminology). Each knowledgebase has its own user table, administrator accounts, look and feel customizations, tickets, escalation rules, workflow rules, etc. Logically, each knowledgebase is entirely separate.
Typically, a single company, even if it is selling multiple products, will only need one SupportWizard knowledgebase. After all, the information that is needed on each trouble ticket, such as operating system, severity etc is the same and it is easy to add a choice field so the end user can specify what product the ticket refers to. However, some large companies support totally separate product lines with separate support staff, administrators etc. It is then simpler to use separate SupportWizard knowledgebases for each product line. In addition, some companies may want to use SupportWizard to track completely different things - one knowledgebase may be used to track product development and support, another to track a completely different company project, another to manage job applications and resumes, another to manage all sales prospects, etc. Note: Even when the information collected for each product line is very different, it is still possible to use a single SupportWizard project. The different user groups can be given access to only a subset of tickets and to certain fields in the ticket through the Admin/Customization/Groups menu so that each group would only see the information that was relevant to it. But we don't recommend this; it is simpler and cleaner to keep the data totally separate by using two knowledgebases. -top- How much does it cost to use multiple SupportWizard knowledgebases, with Unlimited User pricing? There is a 10% discount for each additional knowledgebase over the single knowledgebase price for unlimited users. I.e., the 2nd knowledgebase is discounted by 10%, the 3rd is discounted by 20%, the 4th is discounted by 30%, the 5th is discounted by 40%, and the 6th and following are discounted by 50%.
-top- How many computers can I install the SupportWizard license on? When you purchase a single or multi-knowledgebase
license it is for use on just one computer. However, if you want to
configure a backup system solely for testing purposes or use in case
of hardware failure, we will issue an additional license for that
machine.
Please contact your salesperson for pricing details on site licenses (multiple machines at a given site) or corporate license (multiple machines at multiple sites) -top- Can you deliver Support Wizard on a CD or is distribution only done electronically? Yes. We can deliver on a CD, but the product may then become subject to sales tax, which would result in an increase in your costs.
-top- Does the price include the database? Yes. It includes a fully licensed copy of MySQL, one of the fastest and most reliable commercial SQL databases available.
-top- Is MySQL support included in your standard maintenance agreement? Yes and No. Let me explain further.
Yes. We do support MySQL from the perspective of standard SupportWizard use. For example, we will answer questions such as "how do I install the database?" "What do I do after a disk crash if the database does not restart?" or "how may I use the SupportWizard Perl API to extract data from the database". Such issues are all covered in standard support agreement. However, we do not support MySQL from the perspective of custom MySQL development. For example, we do not answer questions such as "Which forms of the SELECT statement does MySQL support?" or "Do you recommend that I use the ODBC drivers or native MySQL drivers when writing custom applications?" These questions have nothing directly to do with SupportWizard, but are questions that a MySQL developer might want to ask. A good rule of thumb for deciding whether a question lies in the first category or the second is to ask whether the answer is pretty independent of which database SupportWizard is using as a backend. Questions that are database independant are SupportWizard questions. Note: If you purchase MySQL support from us, we will work with TcX (the suppliers of MySQL) to resolve any issues where it is not clear whether the problem lies with SupportWizard or MySQL. We charge the same as MySQL for the support contract and recommend the Extended email Support or Login Support contract at a price of 1,000 or 2,000 Euro if (about $800 or $1,600 pa) if you want to do mysql related development. Whether you buy MySQL support from us or TcX, you will receive exactly the same contract and the right to contact TcX directly. See the MySQL site for more details. -top- Can I use the database for other purposes than SupportWizard? Yes. It is a fully licensed copy with no restrictions on use. However, if you are writing programs to access the database directly, or using the native MySQL client, we recommend that you purchase a $200 or $1,000 support package for MySQL from ISC with your SupportWizard maintenance (you can also purchase support directly from TcX). Both packages entitle you to e-mail support directly from TcX, the supplier of MySQL. The difference between them is that your questions get a higher priority with the more expensive package.
-top- Must a support agreement be purchased when Support Wizard is purchased or can it be purchased within the 90-day window of support provided with the purchase?
-top- Do you offer on-site training for staff and administrators? We do offer on-site training, but a more cost-effective (free) solution is available through our tutorials for end-users, staff, and administrators. The online manual is also written in tutorial form so that a system admin can become familiar with the product in a day or two.
-top- Does ISC perform any customization work? Yes. If your needs are very clearly defined, we can offer a fixed price contract. For example, if you gave us a set of clearly defined requirements for screen displays, table formats, escalation rules, and validation scripts that you wanted implemented, we could do it on a fixed price contract basis.
We also offer custom development services at our standard (off-site) consulting rates. Note: A few consulting hours are included with each purchase and you may want to buy some extra hours to assist in a rapid deployment, but SupportWizard is designed to make this kind of work a matter of point-and-click. After a couple of days of practice, any one of your staff should be able to do it. -top- How does an organization qualify for the "open-source" discount? In regard to our offer of a free license to open source organizations, the
definition we use for an open source organization is: A company or
organization whose primary business is to produce and/or maintain open
source software. If over 50% of the people in the organization (excluding
administrative/sales/marketing personnel) are devoted to
producing/supporting open source software, then that qualifies the
organization for our open source 100% discount. A company that produces
open source software but whose primary business is something else does not
qualify. For instance, a hardware manufacturer that releases its device
drivers as open source does not qualify, while a software company in which
30% of the development staff work on commercial software and 70% work on
open source software does qualify.
-top- What is the open source discount? 100%. Open source organizations receive SupportWizard for free.
If they want support, we charge for it, but the purchase of a support contract is entirely optional.
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