Please find below the most frequently asked GSS 3.0 sales/purchasing questions:
Q: Do you have a link to a document describing differences between Altiris 7.x & GSS 3? A: We don’t have a published document yet but the best way to think about the difference is that 7.6 is scalable, distributed and fully integrated into our other products (also Mac imaging is natively supported). GSS 3.0 is real time, focused and is best of breed in terms of imaging (also includes thin client support). Q: Is GSS 3.0 going to be included in CMS/ITMS going forward or will we effectively be losing DS 6.x with this change? A: We are not including GSS in the suites at this point but we are keen to make the transition as painless as possible. Please see this FAQ for more details: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/sites/default/files/GSS%20Licensing%20FAQ%20v4.pdf Q: In terms of licensing, will the license and support for GSS 3.0 be bundled together (like BE and SEP)? A: Yes, with the exception of the single use license types that are primarily used by OEM's. Q: Will 7.6 and GSS be offered as a suite? A: No, not at this time. However, we may revisit this if it makes sense to make a change. Q: Will GSS customer recieve Bomgar for remote control? A: No, Bomgar licenses are not included with GSS 3.0. ITMS, CMS, and DS 7.x customers who are current on maintenance will receive 2 free licenses of Bomgar. To learn more about this, please visit https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/pcanywhere-solution-and-bomgar-changes-itms-76 or http://www.bomgar.com/pcanywhere/ Q: As a current GSS 2.5 shop with current maintenance, how do we get GSS 3.0 and licensing? A: We will have sent an email to the contact email we have on file with the new license. If you don't have that you can call into our Customer Care and they will get it sent out. You will definitely have access to 3.0 at no cost if you have current maintenance. Customer Care in the US can be reached at 1 (800) 721 3934 or you can visit this link to get numbers for other countries: https://support.symantec.com/en_US/contact-us.html Q: We would love to give feed back, is there a email or posts that we should be looking at? A: The Ghost Solution Suite forum on Symantec connect (https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/endpoint-m...) is a good place to start and we also have the ideas portal for enhancement requests. Posting feedback there helps other customers to see it and we can all share the response. Q: I currently have DS 6.9 under current maintenance. Is licensing for GSS 3.0 not covered under the ITMS 7.6 maintenance? A: Not automatically. However, for your next ITMS renewal, you can buy Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 and renew your IT Management Suite licenses together at the combined total cost of just your renewal for IT Management Suite. Q: What if we have DS 7 now, but want to use GSS 3.0? A: You can buy GSS 3.0 licenses at the same cost as your DS 7 renewal, when your renewal comes around (or before if you want). Just contact your sales contact and we can make that happen. Q: Are there any special offers for DS 6.9 users that have expired licenses? A: Yes. You can purchase Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 at the renewal price for Deployment Solution instead of the higher version upgrade price effectively trading over your licenses to Ghost Solution Suite 3.0. Your sales rep will handle this through pre-approved discounting. Q: We're currently using using GSS 2.5.1, but with several different licensing files with various contacts. Is there a way to unify our licensing for GSS 3.0? A: We should be able to combine these purchases together. If you put in a call to our sales team they can take care of it for you. Q: Will a retail package be available for GSS 3.0 once hotfix 1 or 2 has been released? A: GSS 3.0 will be provided by electronic means only. Q: Where can I download the new GSS3 release?? A: Ghost.com is the best place to start, the required links are there. Q: If we're licensed for DS 7.5, are we eligible to use GSS3? A: You can buy GSS licenses at the same cost as your DS renewal, effectively trading over your licenses. The only issue with this is that in theory you would need to wait until renewal time for this to be 100% cost effective. If you have a lot of maintenance left on your DS 7 licenses then contact your sales contact and we'll try and do something to help. Q: Can you explain if we are going to pay more for GSS 3.0 if we are a current 6.9 customer? A: You can buy Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 licenses at the same cost as your Deployment Solution renewal, effectively trading over your Deployment Solution licenses to Ghost Solution Suite. The only issue with this is that you would need to wait until your Deployment Solution renewal is up for this to be 100% cost effective. If you have a lot of maintenance left on your Deployment Solution licenses but want to begin using Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 right away, please contact your sales rep to see if we can help. Q: We are familiar with Ghost but not DS. What is DS? A: Deployment Solution has two products, version 6.9 and 7.x. Some technology DS 6.9 has been incorporated into GSS 3.0 and this will the platform we will move forwards with. It’s definitely a learning curve for existing GSS customers and you may want to stay with 2.5 while you learn the new product. 3.1 will have several improvements that will help the transition.