Agilent Technologies Online Remote Customer Support Technical Note
Introduction
Various techniques and applications have been
deployed in the past two decades to provide
remote customer support for analytical laboratory
instrument and data systems. Beginning with
modem access (at 300 baud!) to enable terminal
command line entry and data file transfer, Agilent
has always lead the industry in deployment of
remote support systems, understanding that this
capability is crucial to the success of our custom-
ers. With the advent of Windows-based remote
access applications, a PC instrument controller
with the appropriate software in a customer
Online Remote Customer Support
Technical Note
Michael Zumwalt, Ph.D
Agilent Technologies
laboratory could be operated by Agilent support
personnel in a distant office. The Internet has
enabled the next-generation of remote support,
greatly simplifying access and offering powerful
tools for instrument control, diagnostics, training,
and repair—while providing a secure environment
controlled by the customer. This technical note
describes the benefits of Agilent online remote
customer e-support, with a detailed example to
demonstrate how easily and quickly the system
can be accessed and operated.
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Online Remote Customer Support
Agilent Technologies
Benefits of Agilent Online Remote Support
The effectiveness of support for instruments and
applications is critical in the success of a commerical or research laboratory. In today’s fast-paced
environment, chemists need real-time:
• Answers to questions
• Training
• Operation assistance and instruction
• Application assistance
• Results analysis
• Instrument diagnosis, troubleshooting
• Instrument repair and maintenance
recommendations
• File transfer (data, methods, macros, logs, etc.)
• Download of software patches
Access to timely and cost-effective expert advice,
support, and consulting can be essential to meet
deadlines and deliverables. With Agilent’s secure
web-based remote support, a chemist can easily
share with a support engineer exactly what the
chemist sees on his or her data system, in realtime. Trial solutions can be implemented and
results examined immediately. Expert Agilent
consulting can be requested if needed; Agilent
consultants can also view the system in real-time.
Corrective action can be taken without the time
and expense of a visit, and on-site efforts can be
more effective when problems are understood
clearly, corrective action planned, and parts
ordered before the visit. Online meetings can be
scheduled with one or many attendees, and they
can be spontaneous as the need arises. Agilent has
contracted with WebEx Communications, Inc. of
San Jose, California, a premier provider of infrastructure services and applications, to host online
remote conferencing and support.
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Online Remote Customer Support
Agilent Technologies
Meetings listed in
alphabetical order
Figure 1. WebEx Meetings in Progress
A Real-Time, Real-Life Online Support Scenario
Michael, the Agilent Response Center Engineer,
responds to a phone call from a customer named
Joe, by initiating an interactive remote support
session. Joe says he cannot see line spectra when
viewing chromatographic data from his Agilent
1100 Series LC/MSD Trap. Michael confirms that
Joe’s ChemStation controller has Internet access,
creates a remote support session, provides the
web address and password for the meeting, and
asks Joe to join him online (Figure 1).
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