TechStart® Basic

Cornerstone Systems, Inc. wants to ensure that when you make a purchase from us, not only will you be receiving quality hardware and software, but that every step of the installation process will go smoothly. Cornerstone's TechStart Basic Services are your companies guarantee, that you will understand and be pleased with your new equipment; beginning with your order and ending with the accepted final turnover of your system.

Cornerstone offers two levels of service, the TechStart Basic and the TechStart Custom. Most of our customers feel that the TechStart Basic provides the right level of planning, technical expertise, communication and training that they are comfortable with when purchasing or upgrading to a new system. Some customers however, need the flexibility that the TechStart Custom offers and so at the end of this brochure we will touch on some of those options, but right now we will focus on the highlights of the Cornerstone TechStart Basic Services.

Project Management
Project Management describes the organizational approach by which Cornerstone manages it's services. It also describes a Cornerstone employee who will be the Project Manager assigned to ensure that the entire job of planning, installation support and the turnover phase of your particular project is a success. So as we go on to describe the various stages of a TechStart Basic, understand that a Project Manager is involved throughout the entire process.

One can expect a Project Manager to do the following:
• Prepare and maintain the project plan
• Coordinate activities with Client Management interface
• Conduct Project Status Meetings
• Participate in the System Assurance
• Set up and maintain IBM's customizable reporting tool QuickPlace®
• Coordinate and schedule Cornerstone project resources
• Review and administer Project Change Control
• Escalate Issues to the Client or any problem areas that may cause delays

Planning
At this early stage Cornerstone(CSI) technical employees have joined the project. They will be important during the Systems Assurance Process where IBM, Cornerstone and the Client will agree on action items. During this phase you can also expect the following (partial list):

• Verify that the hardware has been ordered
• Build an Input Output Control Program (IOCP) -  CSI systems programmer builds a software program that maps the peripheral devices that you currently have and/or will be obtaining to the new machine
• Plan the installation with the Client and IBM
• Validate cable orders
• Develop an Installation Validation Plan - Project Manager assists the Client

Hotline Support

Cornerstone's Hotline is a unique offering that connects you to our phone-line support, especially effective during non-business hours when you may not be able to reach the TechStart technicians that you have been working with. You may call the Hotline 24x7, including weekends and holidays. The purpose of the Hotline is to give you access to the senior technical members of the Cornerstone team with just one phone call.


IBM's QuickPlace®

Cornerstone will provide your team access to Quickplace, a 24x7 Document Library that is maintained on the Internet by your Project Manager. It includes customized Project Plans, Status Reports, Issues and Change Control Logs, Minutes and Project Documentation. It is accessible to the entire project team with the utilization of passwords.  


Installation Support
Cornerstone's job is to ensure that your hardware and software are delivered on time and within budget. We do that by working very closely with IBM's Customer Engineer (CE) who will come to your facility and install the hardware. Our main objective is to make sure that everything is ready prior to the CE's arrival and that the installation goes quickly, smoothly and successfully. There are so many steps and procedures involved with the Installation Support that we will only mention some of them here to give you an idea of what is involved. Once you've chosen to have a TechStart Basic, your contract would give you the specific details of your project.

Examples of Installation Support:
• Work with the Client to verify Engineering Changes (EC) are on the peripheral hardware
• Provide Cient with a record of the configuration activities performed
• Assist Client in pulling the Preventive Services Planning (PSP) buckets & review for required IBM software maintenance
• Advise Client as to best practice for installing IBM software maintenance
• Validate load of Input Output Control Program (IOCP)
• Ensure the CE has installed the hardware and that it is Code 20 - "Code 20" is the term for when a machine has powered up and all diagnostics have run without error
• Define Logical Partitions (LPAR's) using Hardware Management Console (HMC)
• Setup security for Support Element (SE) & HMC
• Define Activation Profiles
• Backup SE and HMC settings to DVD
• Execute Installation Verification Plan - perform the first Initial Program Load (IPL) and verify all system hardware and peripherals are operational

Basic Skills Instruction

We at Cornerstone Systems, want to make sure that when we walk out the door or hang up the phone with you, that you are satisfied and comfortable with your purchase. We do this by providing instruction to your system's staff on configuring the Support Element (SE) and the Hardware Management Console (HMC) and we also instruct your Operations and Systems staff on using the SE and the HMC for your hardware. We will also assist your Operations and Systems staff with one IPL on your hardware.


Customized Services
Thus far we have been describing what Cornerstone can offer you for a fixed price with our TechStart Basic. Sometimes a project or installation extends beyond what our Basic Services can offer in which case we can customize our services to meet your companies specific needs. The following is a brief sampling of some TechStart Custom Services that a business might request:

• Operating System Migrations
• Network Consultation and/or Network Configuration
• ISV Software Keys Retrieval, Installation and Testing
• Extended or multiple tests required by Client
• Disaster Recovery
• Linux® LPAR setup and configuration
• Multiple host system ESS implementations
• Storage Network Consultation and/or Storage Network Configuration

IBM Premier Business Partner
As an IBM Premier Business Partner, we are recognized for the finest customer service and level of technical performance in the industry. Last year we were also honored to have been selected as the IBM PartnerWorld Beacon 2007 Award Winner in an international competition. Our category of "Best IBM System z9 and eServer® zSeries Solution", was a real working solution for a client of Cornerstone that incorporated hardware, software and our Tech Services.

Talk to your Cornerstone Account Executive about our TechStart and other Tech Services or give us a call at 1-800-510-3004 and ask for Barbara Heppner. You may also email her at bheppner@csihome.com . A pdf of this information is available  TechStart brochure. We look forward to hearing from you.