In a dynamic business environment, maintaining and supporting software is crucial for organizations striving to retain competitiveness and operational efficiency. Whether an organization employs software developed by its in-house programming team or utilizes software from an external provider, it faces challenges related to maintenance, updates, and security.
Challenges of Software Maintenance and Support
Numerous common challenges confront organizations in the context of software maintenance and support. These include:
- External Code Sources: Organizations often leverage software authored by other companies or development teams. In such cases, the maintenance team must grapple with code and solutions not created in-house. This can pose difficulties in understanding and maintaining the code.
- Stability and Availability: Introducing changes to software requires preserving stability and accessibility for users. However, even minor alterations can impact other parts of the system, leading to challenges in predictability and software functionality.
- Updates for External Components: Many programmers rely on different versions of components and libraries developed and maintained by other companies or communities. Updating these components can be problematic as new versions may contain errors or incompatibilities, necessitating software adjustments to meet new requirements.
- Security: As time passes, new threats and vulnerabilities in software emerge. The maintenance team tracks these threats and responds accordingly. Regular updates and security patches are essential to shield the system from attacks.
- Updating “Live” Software: Updating software already in use by users is a process that requires a meticulous approach. Thorough testing and consideration of various scenarios are necessary to avoid disruptions and ensure a seamless update.
- User Consent: Certain types of software, such as desktop or mobile applications, might require user consent for updates. It’s not uncommon for users to decline updates, potentially resulting in the loss of access to the latest features and improvements.
- Ambiguous Bug Reports: Users frequently report issues and bugs in the software, but their reports might lack precision or clarity. This complicates the understanding and resolution of problems by the maintenance team.
Q1: What types of software maintenance does Euvic offer?
To meet diverse client needs, Euvic provides various types of software maintenance. These include:
- Corrective Maintenance: This type of maintenance focuses on addressing issues that were not detected during the software development process. These are often bugs reported by users in the form of error reports. Corrective maintenance aims to swiftly identify and rectify these problems to ensure software stability and reliability. Euvic boasts an experienced team that meticulously analyzes reported issues and implements necessary fixes.
- Preventive Maintenance: In this case, our focus is on preventing potential future issues and threats. For instance, this could involve preventive actions when planned support suspension for external components might impact software operations. Our team is diligent in monitoring and analyzing the system to detect potential problems and take appropriate preventive actions.
- Perfective Maintenance: We incorporate user feedback and input to identify areas for enhancement. This could involve refining elements that weren’t polished enough, adding new features, removing unnecessary components, or implementing ideas that arose after the software release. Through a focus on improvement, we ensure the client’s software remains up-to-date and efficient, meeting evolving business requirements.
- Adaptive Maintenance: This entails adjusting the software to changing external conditions. Euvic responds to changes in external components, hosting platforms, business agreements, etc., that might affect software operations. In the face of such changes, we undertake actions like updates, modifications, or integrations to ensure the software aligns with the latest requirements and standards.
Euvic also offers helpdesk services, a crucial component of technical support for clients. Our helpdesk teams effectively communicate with clients. They address technical queries, provide functional tips, assist in issue resolution, and respond to user reports. Furnishing comprehensive technical support and customer service contributes to a positive user experience.
Helpdesk services are a pivotal part of the software maintenance and support process, enabling direct interaction with clients and real-time issue resolution. Our team is committed to building enduring client relationships through effective communication, swift response to queries, and furnishing comprehensive support throughout all stages of software utilization.
Q2: What is the process of software maintenance and technical support like at Euvic?
The process of software maintenance and technical support at Euvic is a carefully constructed and comprehensive system designed to provide professional assistance for various solutions, such as the eHurt system, the BRIDGE platform for Pernod Ricard, and other client projects. This process consists of three main levels, each playing a crucial role in ensuring the smooth and reliable operation of the system:
Help Desk – First Line of Support:
- Receiving support requests
- Gathering information regarding the requests
- Initial diagnostics
- Escalating requests to the second line of support
- Monitoring request statuses
- Periodically reporting service statistics based on ITSM system information
Second Line of Support:
- Monitoring requests introduced by the first line of support
- Further analysis of the request and issue resolution
- Troubleshooting or escalating to the third line of support dedicated to addressing issues with the eHurt system
- Updating request statuses
- Proactively monitoring the system (log reviews, performance, etc.)
- Updating the knowledge base
- Internal training based on identified and resolved issues
Third Line of Support:
- In-depth analysis and identification of the source of the incident
- Defining the solution for the incident
- Preparing code changes and conducting internal tests or preparing temporary solutions if needed
- Defining a problem if required due to the nature or frequency of the incident, along with designing a solution
In the software maintenance process, we rely on IT Service Management (ITIL) best practices as well as DevOps practices. This allows for effective resource management and flexibility in responding to changing needs.
Furthermore, we also implement proactive actions in the realm of system maintenance. We regularly conduct “Health Checks” – periodic reports (monthly or quarterly) containing the system’s state and recommendations regarding performance, security, and solution stability. Through this approach, we not only ensure reactive issue handling but also their prevention and continuous system improvement.
Q3: How does Euvic ensure the security of clients’ software during maintenance and technical support?
Euvic places significant emphasis on ensuring the security of clients’ software during the maintenance and technical support process. We follow best practices in software development to ensure a high standard of security.
One key aspect of security assurance involves tracking information about potential vulnerabilities in external components. Our team actively monitors the network to obtain up-to-date information about potential threats and implements appropriate solutions. This ensures that clients receive support that aligns with the latest security standards.
We conduct internal security audits and analyses of the supported software. We regularly assess the infrastructure, processes, and procedures to ensure they meet security requirements. This allows us to focus on eliminating potential vulnerabilities and raising software security standards.
Effective inter-team communication facilitates the exchange of security knowledge and insights into potential issues. Specialists from different teams share information and experiences, promoting effective responses to threats and providing optimal security solutions.
It’s also worth noting that at Euvic, we employ the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) as a tool to fulfill legal requirements regarding personal data protection and system security, including data storage. Euvic’s SDL policy, based on Microsoft SDL, defines different levels of secure software development tailored to client expectations and project requirements. By implementing SDL practices, we focus on detecting and addressing vulnerabilities in the early project stages, reducing risks, and ensuring compliance with data security regulations.
Q4: How does Euvic handle software updates and upgrades? What does this process look like?
Euvic focuses on effectively managing the process of software updates and upgrades, minimizing disruptions to application operations, and ensuring user simplicity. We employ best practices and solutions to deliver high quality and stability.
This process varies based on the type of application, but it always starts with identifying an issue or the need for an update. The solution is carefully prepared, tested, and deployed, ensuring smooth and effective changes.
Collaboration with clients plays a vital role in the software update and upgrade process. We provide regular communication, informing clients about planned updates and sharing necessary information. Our team is available to provide support and answer questions, enabling clients to use the software efficiently and seamlessly.
Thorough testing of changes and processes is also a crucial element to ensure that introduced updates are stable and do not negatively impact the application. We place significant importance on the quality and accuracy of testing.
Q5: How does Euvic communicate with clients during the software maintenance and technical support process?
Euvic places a significant emphasis on effective client communication. We maintain constant contact, respond to requests and queries, discuss solutions, and address potential issues. Our communication is transparent and clear, describing and explaining matters in an understandable manner. We are open to questions and client feedback to better understand their needs and tailor our actions accordingly. We offer the following communication channels:
- A dedicated phone number for reporting incidents and errors and for communication throughout the incident resolution process.
- All incidents and errors should be reported by phone initially, and then also via an email message sent to a dedicated address.
- A dedicated email address for reporting issues, conveying information about incidents and errors reported by phone, and for communication throughout the resolution process for any type of anomaly.
Additionally, we optionally provide access or integration with tools preferred by the client, such as Jira, Azure DevOps, Remedy Force, or our proprietary platform Atmosfera (Atmo Light). This enables us to update incident information by Euvic staff in the most convenient and client-preferred manner.
Q6: What successful software maintenance and support projects has Euvic completed so far?
We have successfully completed numerous software maintenance and support projects. Some of them include:
- Gdansk Contact Center: We developed an advanced Call Center system that serves residents and tourists in Gdańsk, enabling authorities to provide essential city information, receive reports, conduct public consultations, and effectively manage resident inquiries.
- e-muzyka: We optimized a sophisticated IT environment using the BizTalk Server platform, resulting in not only a more than tenfold increase in the system’s capabilities but also improved performance and scalability.
- Pernod Ricard: We provided support and development for the BRIDGE integration platform based on BizTalk Server and Azure Integration Services. This advanced platform facilitates document exchange between the company’s branches and its global partners, enhancing operational efficiency and harmony.
- Swedbank: We undertook the maintenance of three critical applications crucial for their operations, successfully migrating them from an old framework to the current .NET version. Throughout this project, we meticulously adapted the software to new requirements, ensuring a smooth migration and continued reliable operation of key banking systems.
These projects underscore our ability to effectively maintain and support software, meeting the unique needs of various industries and achieving successful outcomes for our clients.
Q7: How does Euvic measure the success of its software maintenance and technical support services?
The success is determined by the level of customer satisfaction with our services. Key indicators for us are long-lasting partnerships and a high customer retention rate. In addition, we continuously monitor and analyze various metrics related to technical support. In this context, we consider factors such as response time to requests, problem resolution time, average repair time, unresolved case rate, and service availability. These metrics allow us to accurately assess the quality of our services, identify areas for improvement, and strive for continuous process enhancement.
Customer feedback, satisfaction surveys, and internal audits are also essential sources of information that help us evaluate the quality of our services and better understand customer expectations. In conjunction with the mentioned metrics, they provide a comprehensive picture of the efficiency and effectiveness of our technical support.
Q8: What benefits can companies gain from collaborating with Euvic for software maintenance and support?
First and foremost, we offer a fast and flexible process for repairing, optimizing, and monitoring applications, tailored to the individual needs of the client and the nature of the application. Regardless of the type of application – whether cloud-based, mobile, web, or desktop – we provide a wide range of maintenance services.
One of our core values is a high standard of security. We operate in accordance with industry best practices, track information about potential vulnerabilities in external components, and implement appropriate solutions to protect our clients’ software. We conduct internal security audits and analyses, organize webinars and training for our specialists to continuously enhance our competencies in this field. Euvic also prioritizes security by adhering to a set of 12 Security Development Lifecycle practices developed based on Microsoft’s recommendations.
Collaborating with us also gives clients the assurance of receiving comprehensive technical support. We not only fix errors but also offer functional enhancements, anticipate and respond to environmental changes, and maintain constant communication to ensure a smooth process.
Q9: What are the next steps for companies interested in collaborating with Euvic for software maintenance and support? How does the collaboration initiation process with Euvic in terms of software maintenance and technical support look like, and how long does it usually take to start the collaboration?
Companies interested in collaborating with Euvic for software maintenance and technical support should begin by preparing their support requirements and defining the scope of work to be covered by the agreement. Essential information such as the technologies used, their versions, application release date, current infrastructure status, and user count will be necessary to conduct an analysis of the support complexity for the specific application.
The next step involves preparing a contract that outlines the details of the scope of work and support for the application. After the contract is signed, we proceed to build the team. The timing for starting the collaboration can vary depending on individual agreements and project specifics. Following the contract signing, Euvic is ready to commence the software maintenance and support process practically right away.
We aim for a smooth initiation of collaboration, allowing the client to benefit from professional support as quickly as possible.
