Partner Support Enablement
Learn how Dispel supports our partners and enable channel success
This document defines the support structure and relationship between Dispel, our partners, and partner customers using the Dispel Zero Trust Engine and our other products (for brevity we use the term "Dispel Zero Trust Engine" and "Dispel Engine" in this document to encompass all technology Dispel makes available to partners). It establishes who is responsible for what, how to categorize the severity of customer issues, standard resolution process flows for common customer FAQs and issues, and when to escalate cases to Dispel.
When does Partner Support Enablement apply?
Resellers and distributors—e.g. Dispel partners who are sales channels for Dispel, but not service providers on the contract or whitelabeling Dispel as an OEM product—do not typically provide customer service or technical support for Dispel to their customers. Those services are contracted through the reseller/distributor by the customer to Dispel.
This contrasts with OEMs and service providers ("MSP") who wish to retain ownership of customer relationships and support interactions, while Dispel provides technical assistance where needed. This framework ensures efficient issue resolution while maintaining OEM control over customer service and platform management.
Reseller/Distributor
OEM/MSP
Supporting our Partners
Once a sale has been made, all Dispel partners receive as part of the resale agreement Basic Plan Technical Support for the platform that Dispel deployed for the partner under our Support Policy - Service Level Agreement.
Technical Support Add-Ons
Partners seeking further support may opt to purchase service hours from Dispel or retain a dedicated Technical Account Manager to support the Dispel Zero Trust Engine platform.
Basic available to all
Hourly rates as used with a minimum retainer
Available as 1 or ½ FTE
Localization options extra
Implementation, Customer Success, & Maintenance Add-Ons
Dispel offers both service hours and dedicated Customer Success Managers for partners who wish to augment their customer services with Dispel personnel. Dispel CSMs interface directly with partner customers providing implementations, customer support, and performing maintenance. CSMs can also provide training and enablement to partner teams.
Hourly rates as used with a minimum retainer
Available as 1 or ½ FTE
Localization options extra
Support for End Customers
End customers are responsible for managing Dispel Zero Trust Engine deployments and components within their own environments. Their role includes user account and access management, which encompasses configuring security settings, inviting users, onboarding and managing devices, approving access requests, and defining user roles and device access policies.
The OEM/MSP's primary responsibility is to provide customer service and success for its customers, ensuring a seamless experience on the Dispel Engine. Unless the OEM/MSP has contracted with Dispel to perform this work, OEM/MSPs serve as the sole point of contact for customer support, handling Wicket installations, Tier 1 troubleshooting, general support inquiries, and overseeing customer onboarding and training. OEM/MSPs remain responsible for direct communication with their customers, while Dispel operates as a secondary support resource for OEM/MSP personnel.
Dispel’s primary responsibility is to provide technical support and act as an escalation point for all Severity Levels issues that OEM/MSPs are unable to resolve. Dispel’s role is limited to maintaining the overall health, security, and functionality of the platform, ensuring infrastructure stability, and providing advanced troubleshooting when necessary. In addition to technical support, Dispel is responsible for providing training resources and documentation for OEM/MSPs to carry out their customer service and success roles. Dispel will be responsible for providing initial materials for training, as well as additional materials as new features, FAQs, and processes are implemented.
This structure ensures that our OEM/MSP partners retain full ownership of customer interactions while leveraging Dispel’s expertise for technical escalations. By maintaining a clear division of responsibilities, OEM/MSPs can efficiently support its customers while ensuring that Dispel remains focused on platform stability and high-level issue resolution.
Definitions
Below are definitions of terms referenced in the RACI Matrix.
Service Types Descriptions
Implementation: Tasks related to setting up, configuring, and deploying the Dispel Zero Trust Engine and associated infrastructure. This includes prepping and installing Dispel Wicket ESIs at customer sites.
Customer Success: Tasks focused on end-user onboarding, training, troubleshooting, and customer communication to ensure a smooth user experience.
Maintenance: Provide ongoing upkeep and functionality of the Dispel Zero Trust Engine platform, including making bug fixes and routine update packages available.
Technical Support: Advanced troubleshooting and issue resolution for technical escalations, as well as maintaining infrastructure health and stability.
Task Category Descriptions
User Account Management: This category involves managing user accounts on the Dispel Zero Trust Engine. It includes creating, modifying, and deleting user accounts, ensuring proper authentication methods, and managing role-levels for individual users.
User Access Management: Focuses on controlling and configuring user access permissions. This includes granting or revoking access to specific devices or resources, setting user roles, and enforcing security protocols to ensure proper authorization.
Partner Customer Communication: Encompasses direct communication with partner customers regarding inquiries, updates, and troubleshooting. This includes ensuring partner customers are informed and supported during their use of the Dispel Zero Trust Engine.
Wicket Deployment and Installation: Covers the information collection and installation of Wickets, ensuring installations result in successful Wicket connections to Dispel Regions as well as to downstream devices.
End-User Support: Addresses assistance provided to partner customers for operational or usage-related questions about the Dispel Zero Trust Engine. This includes guiding them through platform functionalities, providing troubleshooting steps, and resolving non-technical queries. If a user issue cannot be categorized under the defined Severity Levels because there is no performance impact of the software, such as a user requesting an MFA reset because they have changed their authenticator, the issue would be categorized under this task.
Training and Onboarding: Includes guiding partner customers through the initial setup and familiarization process for the Dispel Zero Trust Engine. This involves user training, walkthroughs, and ensuring a smooth onboarding experience for end-users.
Virtual Desktop Stack Management: Involves overseeing the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) stack for accessing partner customer networks. Partner's role includes identifying when additional VDIs are needed, ensuring the appropriate stakeholders are informed to adjust contract and stack sizes, and updating stack Golden Images as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and end-user accessibility.
Network Connectivity: Covers the establishment and maintenance of network connections between Wickets, customer devices, and Dispel Regions. This includes troubleshooting connectivity issues and ensuring data transmission is secure and uninterrupted.
Dispel Zero Trust Engine Bugs: Refers to identifying, reporting, and resolving software bugs or glitches within the Dispel Zero Trust Engine. This ensures continued usability, reliability, and security of the platform for partner customers.
Infrastructure Maintenance: Encompasses the ongoing upkeep of the Dispel Zero Trust Engine’s infrastructure. This includes applying updates, monitoring system health, and ensuring optimal performance for Wickets and Cloud infrastructure across all environments.
Critical Infrastructure Outages: Involves addressing major disruptions to the Dispel Zero Trust Engine’s functionality or infrastructure. These incidents require immediate resolution to restore platform availability and maintain critical services.
Role Descriptions
Primary: The party with primary responsibility is accountable for completing the task or addressing the issue. This includes performing the required actions, ensuring resolution, and communicating outcomes to relevant stakeholders. A primary responsibility indicates ownership of the process from start to finish.
Secondary: The party with secondary responsibility provides support or escalation assistance when the issue cannot be resolved by the primary party. This may involve advanced troubleshooting, offering guidance, or taking over specific tasks beyond the primary party’s capabilities. Secondary responsibility does not involve direct ownership but ensures availability for support when needed.
Documentation and Training: The party with documentation and training responsibility will provide materials necessary for Primary parties to efficiently fulfill their role. These materials may include training webinars, diagrams, white papers, and certification programs. Documentation and Training responsibility does not involve direct ownership or intervention, but rather ensures availability of training resources for knowledge to be shared at-scale.
RACI Matrix
The matrix below outlines responsibilities across common support scenarios, ensuring partners and Dispel can collaborate effectively. Escalation to Dispel is based on the communicated severity and partner’s ability to resolve the issue internally. Severity Levels 1 and 2 are prioritized for Dispel’s intervention.
User Account management
Implementation
Primary
Documentation and Training
User Access Management
Implementation
Primary
Documentation and Training
Communication with Partner
Customer Success
Primary
Documentation and Training
End-User Support
Customer Success
Primary
Documentation and Training
Wicket Deployment & Installation
Implementation
Primary
Documentation and Training
Training & Onboarding
Customer Success
Primary
Documentation and Training
Virtual Desktop Stack Management
Customer Success
Primary
Documentation and Training
Network Connectivity
Implementation
Primary
Applying Wicket ESI patches & updates
Maintenance
Primary
Dispel Zero Trust Engine bugs
Maintenance
Primary
Dispel Zero Trust Engine security patches
Maintenance
Primary
Critical Infrastructure Outages
Technical Support
Primary
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