We distribute program updates from time to time from our website. When we place an update on our server, we also send an email to customers announcing it's availability, with any special instructions regarding the changes.
With the purchase of H2OS, you will receive a permanent product activation code and a one year enrollment in the H2OS maintenance and support plan. A month prior to the end of this term we will notify you and ask for your re-enrollment.
Continuous enrollment is the most affordable method because your installation will be kept continuously in sync with our ongoing product development activities. If this cycle is interrupted, re-joining the plan may require (billable) technical support or a complete reinstallation and data migration.
This plan requires a high speed Internet connection to your workstation or, for LAN installations, the LAN server.
The optional H2OS Software maintenance plan consists of:
All H2OS customers receive the 1st year's enrollment in the plan free of charge. See H2OS prices for pricing information.
After the initial installation of H2OS, ongoing software maintenance releases are distributed in the form of revised executable programs via our website. When downloaded and installed (single command on the Downloads page), revisions take effect when H2OS is started after the installation. If anything goes wrong, a fallback procedure can be used to revert to the previous release.
The computer running H2OS (standalone workstation or LAN server) must have an Internet connection to use these features. If you do not have an Internet connection, please contact us about our CD option
The intent of software support is to provide you with quality software, support and services. Our vision is to achieve a level of support excellence that exceeds your expectations and differentiates H2OS in the marketplace.
The Software Maintenance plan is our vehicle for delivering ongoing customer support, including new and improved features and documentation.
The rationale, the need for the software maintenance plan, is that database management systems, of all software products, tend to grow over time due to seemingly unlimited opportunities.
New features
Enhanced features
While the H2OS Software Maintenance Plan is in effect:
For the greatest efficiency, we prefer to handle support issues via email and the H2OS Support Forum. It's to our mutual benefit that we write-up questions, problems and responses, and we do our best to promulgate this information to all concerned. On occasion our technical staff may determine that a telephone call and/or a remote console connection over the Internet is needed, and will initiate by asking for an agreeable time to conduct the call/session.
The H2OS Software Maintenance Plan does not provide for:
Basic Windows and computer usage instructions
Assistance with hardware, networking and non-H2OS
software products
Expenses related to suggested solutions, when
applicable
H2OS Support does not include assistance for problems caused by software other then the H2OS program
H2OS may request a remote console session to properly diagnose a problem. You may wish to sit and monitor such sessions, and if helpful, participate in a telephone conversation related to the analysis.
From time to time we may request your permission to test new or enhanced features using a (restored) backup copy of your H2OS database.
Participation is entirely optional. Your data will be kept secure and confidential at all times, and it will be completely erased when testing is completed.
Testing with your database is helpful to us because different databases have different characteristics and data, and testing with variations can lead to improvements in performance, user interface, ease of use, documentation, etc. And our software testing tools can sometime be helpful in spotting actual or potential problems with your database. An example might be a given operator's habit of entering non-standard data into your database which can result in operational and reporting problems.
Customers on the maintenance plan agree to install new "maintenance builds" of the product from time to time as they are made available, which are used to introduce new features, enhancements and fixes to reported problems. This is especially important when reporting a problem which may be corrected in the current release (and, if not, will be distributed as part of a new maintenance build). Use the DOWNLOADS page to download and install maintenance releases. The process is fully automatic and usually completes (depending on connection speed) within a few minutes.
Annual maintenance plan renewal notices are sent by email prior to the anniversary of your first year installation, or last renewal expiration date, payable the last day of your current support period. We offer a discounted rate for customers re-enrolling in the maintenance plan without 30 days of expiration. The added cost after an enrollment lapse is necessary because out of plan installations require an evaluation to determine what is needed to update the installation to install the then-current maintenance release of the software.
For customers electing not to enroll in our software maintenance plan, technical support is available on request, subject to manpower availability, at the rate shown in the Technical Support topic of our currently published prices schedule
If you experience a problem with H2OS and are not satisfied with the
handling of the problem by our Customer Support, you can escalate the
problem to LIOS management's attention by submitting
a problem report (using the menu, select Help -> report a problem)
with an explanation of the problem, options, and acceptable resolutions.