Forum Discussion

weff's avatar
weff
Level 4
9 years ago

System Recovery License Renewal Process FAIL (long)

I will try not to rant - but I find this new Veritas Licensing Renewal process to be an exercise in futility - seemingly designed to cause end-user customers to depart the product for alternate companies that make it easy to renew software maintenance licenses online in 5 minutes.

So far, I have 3 System Recovery Desktop Edition licenses - each came with either BASIC or more recently ESSENTIAL Software Maintenance contracts.

I have been trying to renew their licenses for the past week - since I realized one contract expired early March (no notification due to Symantec/Veritas transition), one due in end-May and the last in August next year.

I am in Australia - so naturally rang the Australian Veritas Licening Renewal phone number - which just ends up going to a Voice Message system - 2 messages left and for the last week - no returned phone calls.

So yesterday I rang Veritas USA Licensing Renewals and spoke to a human finally who advises me that no I cannot renew directly over the phone - they insist that I need to speak to a Veritas Partner - whatever that is - then gives me a URL to http://veritas.force.com/public from where I am supposed to pick a Veritas partner in my Country to speak to. So what now ?

I select Australia and then pick System Recovery Desktop Edition as a product and go Search - which produces a list of 25 companies - with several duplicate entries - but the companies appear to be Developers and users of Veritas products and with one exception none of them contained any reference to Veritas part numbers for license renewals for System Recovery nor had  any retail focus that I as an end user could approach to purchase a Veritas Licensing renewal. The exception was Z1* - a Distribution partner that happens to have a licensing quote and renewal area - but then they refuse to deal with me as an end user - and when I ask for a list of retail agents they state they will mail it to me - it turned out to be the URL above to the partner locator = completely useless !!

Z1*- name changed to avoid direct association with actual company

I did however manage to find out some information as to the licensing structure - and I am apparently a Corporate user now - and as well I found from their website the list of Veritas part numbers for 3 year, 2 year and 1 year Software Maintenance Renewal  products and as well found the separate part numbers for the purchase of 3, 2 & 1 year Software Maintenance Renewal products for an expired Software Maintenance product.  However I knew Z1 will not allow me to buy any of these directly from them. But was it too hard for them to send me a list of Retailers that *would* be able to help ?

So I then googled one of the part numbers and found an Australian retail outlet B2**  and I then rang them to ask their Veritas license expert to give me advice as to which product I should buy as without any real Help Guide as to which License Product i should buy I wanted to be sure that I picked the correct item before placing an order. They were at least somewhat helpful and reluctantly confirmed any order for Veritas would be sent on to Z1 for processing. (I needed to confirm this so as to try and get some validation beforehand that what I was ordering was correct since B2 was unable to help)

B2**- name changed to avoid direct association with actual company

The problem is though that B2 (like many other computer parts sellers) have an inventory of 10,000+ different part nymbers and don't have any specialist Veritas licensing knowledge either. I then approached Z1 with the list of the 3 license products I was intending to purchase - so as to get confirmation they were correct  but they were again reluctant to provide any help - and basically fobbed me off again with very little help.

I did though manage to confirm from them that when I place the order with B2 they would submit a copy of the order to Z1 who would go back to B2 for B2 to approach me for Software License confirmation details  and B2 would then pass that back to Z1 who would then submit the order to Veritas who if the products ordered and existing license details were valid would then prepare the license documents and ship them to Z1 who would then ship them to B2 who would then ship them to me. I would then load those License renewal documents into the Veritas License Entitlement system and generate the new license keys and then load those keys into each of the computer systems needing a new license. Of course if there are any problems I would need to raise a Support case directly with Veritas to try and get it fixed - assuming that is allowed.

This whole Partner process for Licensing renewals seems incredibly inefficient if not ridiculous to the point of stupidity.

I have to order off B2 who orders from a Distributor who must then ask B2 to obtain additional information from me who then pass that back to B2 for them to pass back to Distributor who then submits the details into Veritas.

Mind you B2 is not in the Veritas Partner list at all - so following the normal process I would never have even known which part number to order yet.

Even now I have yet to see a Veritas Guide to the various Licensing products for System Recovery Desktop Edition which inform the end-user which ones are most relevant to purchase. As well, this process applies to all of the various Veritas Product licensing renewals not just System Recovery Desktop Edition but Backup Exec and Netbackup so as the renewals come due I can only hope that there is an increasing number of complaints as to not only the difficulties with trying to find what to order but also how.

Veritas needs to add additional categories for their Partner list and Search functions to have useful information so as to point to specific companies from which end users are able to purchase Licensing renewals as well as pass on the knowledge of the various licensing options and costs. Right now the Partner List Advanced Search Function Business Needs is wholly incomplete - "I need to renew my Veritas Software Maintenance Contract" should be a key need as this so-called Partner list is meant to direct end-users and System Managers who may look after multiple systems all equipped with Veritas Software Maintenance licenses who have been ripped away from their previous Symantec Online ordering facility to this new environment of complete confusion.

While I don't mind needing to work out which Veritas Product I need to order - the least I expect is for Veritas to have readily available an Online Licensing Guide - listing at least the part numbers of Veritas Licensing products which apply to each product and system type.

Failing that I expect Veritas to have a readily available list of Specialist Veritas Licensing Partners that both companies and end-users can approach to purchase the needed licenses.

Right now they have neither.

At this stage all I have managed to achieve is to place an order for 3 different Veritas System Recovery Desktop Edition License products with B2 - 11479-M3819 (2 year renewal System Recovery Desktop Edition Win 1 device Expired maintenance contract), 13880-M1-24 (2 year renewal System Recovery Desktop Edition Win 1 device current maintenance contract) and 13880-M1-23 (1 year renewal System Recovery Desktop Edition Win 1 device current maintenance contract). Over the next few days I hope this order progresses through the system properly to Veritas and that I eventually receive the new license renewal details.

I will keep this thread updated as the order progresses (hopefully) to completion.

I have also lodged a Customer Support Case against the Partner Search system as it is not listing relevant information to assist in finding Licensing Renewal Retail sellers for end-users - one of its primary functions. I have tried different combinations of selection - none of which produce a list containing Partners with any retail presence. I tried primarily in Australia and a few times in the USA with similar non-helpful results. Australian provides were my focus though.

So far the initial response to my Case complaining that the Partner list is not returning retail License renewal providers is to be told not to deal with a Distributor (I had mentioned that Z1 was the only entry with Veritas Product details but as a distributor would not deal with me) - and instead I should go to the Partner list and search for a partner !!

I have replied back that I already have and it returns no useful entries of end retail License renewal providers - and that was what I had written in the initial lengthy Case. If I am using the Partner list in the wrong way - tell me how to use it to obtain useful information.

 

The Case remains under Investigation.

 

Geoff

 

Backup and Recovery
System Recovery
  • weff's avatar
    weff
    Level 4
    9 years ago

    Update

    By chance I had managed to find a retail outlet that had the veritas available online to purchase.

    I purchased the needed 3 license renewals and they were provisioned over a period of 2 weeks.

    Subsequent to that, that Retail outlet have now removed Veritas as a company with which they will do business with.

     

    Since then I have been looking for alternate suppliers - with virtually all the Companies listed in the Veritas Partnet list for Australia being MidRange Commercial Companies - minimum order 200 seats , Distributors (will not touch end-users ) and Technology Partners like HP and IBM who don't sell Veritas licenses at all.

    By chance I may have found a Sydney Company that will support end-users - though whether they are able to supply the bundled new license product I need (so as to install System Recovery Desktop Edition on a new Windows PC with 2 years Essential Support with a new License seat) Veritas 11479-M0020 - so may be able to purchase additional new license from them as well as their renewals when they come due.

    As well, one of the companies in the Partner list might be able to obtain the Retail product for me - will likely find out next week.

    The alternative to this will be that I will be forced to purchase offshore - from a UK supplier http://www.span.com/product/Veritas-System-Recovery-11479-M0020-Desktop-Edition-Product-Initial-Bundle-+-inc-2-year-Essential-Maintenance-Corporate-Standard-License-~54180 who does offer new license and will sell world wide.

    Since Veritas Partnet List currently includes no retail outlets in Australia selling System Recovery Desktop Edition - how are we as end-users expected to be able to purchase license renewals and new licenses ?

    The conclusion I have come to is that Veritas no longer wishes to support individual end-users - those people that have loyally used Ghost through all its versions only to then be forced to migrate across to System Recovery Desktop Edition and then be sold off to Veritas who have targetted their support at 200 Seat and above Commercial Installations.

    End users are directed to a "Partner list" that is aimed at large environments - not a small number of PC's.

    I also had a call from Veritas Support last Monday night from the USA - and we went through the issues. 

    Veritas Support were also of the opinion that the Partner list contained companies that *would* sell to end-users - but I have also since proven him incorrect. All of the entries are classified a Mid-Market Backup and Recovery - there are 17 entries of which a number are for the same company and I have so far reduced that list to 10  possible entries of which 4 are either Technology partners, Distributors or won't sell to individual users.

    At this stage I plan to check each of the remaining possibilities - and should that fail I intend making a case to Veritas that Australian End Users should be permitted to deal directly with Veritas for Veritas Product in Australia as is the case with USA users since the Partner list, as it stands contains no retail agents.

     

    Geoff