Identifying Scope of Support

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to identify support issues

Scope of Support

Customer support can assist with most issues that arise. However, some issues fall outside the scope of customer support. These issues are consulting issues.

Before opening a support case, you must understand the difference between 'support' and 'consulting'.

What is Support?

Which cases support handles depends on the type of solution.

For:Support handles cases where:
On-premise solutions
  • Errors or defects in the software
  • Subsequent issues resulting from existing software defects
  • Problems encountered when applying SAP correction instructions
  • Incorrect or misleading documentation of standard functions
Cloud solutions
  • Errors in the software, SAP Best Practices configuration, or customer-specific configuration implemented by SAP
  • Subsequent issues caused by initial errors in the software or SAP Best Practices configuration
  • Incorrect or missing documentation for standard product functions

What is Consulting?

All other cases are considered a consulting request.

This includes the following types of inquiries:

  • Advice or assistance relating to configuration, business process analysis, or implementation specific to the customer’s unique environment or already documented in product guides.
  • "How-to" questions seeking assistance with documented features.
  • Assistance with customization of the core product, core functionality, or problems or errors caused by customization that has been implemented or completed by customers or partners.
Unless otherwise specified in your maintenance contract, consulting requests are priced separately, at the discretion of SAP.

Where Should You Start?

What should be your first step if you have a how-to question, configuration question, or any other issue that falls outside the scope of support?

SAP offers a wide range of free resources to assist you, including SAP Support Portal, SAP Help Portal, and SAP Community network. These are gateways to thousands of SAP Knowledge Base Articles and connect you with SAP software experts, including SAP engineers, consultants, and experienced users from our extensive ecosystem. This is often the fastest and easiest way to solve most user experience-related problems.

With your SAP cloud subscription, you also have access to additional expert guidance through SAP Enterprise Support. This includes the SAP Enterprise Support Academy, which offers a wide range of learning resources to help you build key skills, and SAP Enterprise Support value maps, which provide step-by-step recommendations and personalized support. These resources are designed to accelerate innovation, improve operations, and support your digital transformation journey. Get started today:

https://pages.community.sap.com/topics/enterprise-support

To access these resources, visit:

Relevant Links

  • SAP Knowledge Base Article 83020 – What is Support – What is Consulting: On-Premise Solutions
  • SAP Knowledge Base Article 2706322 – What is Support – What is Consulting: Cloud Solution

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