Support for Cloud Services

SSCC members have access to many "cloud services," including UW-sanctioned services like Office 365 and Box, widely-used services like Google Mail and Google Calendar, and many, many special purpose tools. We recognize that SSCC members depend on these services to carry out University business as well as in their personal lives.

On the other hand, cloud services are difficult for SSCC staff to support. We do not have administrator-level access to these services, which limits what we can do. The number of services available and their scope makes it impossible for SSCC staff to become experts on everything our members use. Support for cloud services must be balanced against supporting, maintaining, and improving the services SSCC provides. SSCC's top priority is always our core research computing mission.

This policy describes the cloud services SSCC staff support and the level of support provided. Descriptions of the service levels are included below.

Service Support Level
Office 365 Email Full
Office 365 Calendaring Limited
Microsoft OneDrive Limited
Microsoft Office Online Limited
Box Limited
WiscList Limited
Google Mail Minimal
Google Calendar Minimal
Google Docs Minimal
Doodle Minimal
Qualtrics Minimal

 

The service levels used here similar to those defined in the SSCC's Software Support Policy. Problems with the service itself or problems which can only be solved by someone who has administrator access to the service (for example, missing mail in Office 365) will always be referred to the service provider. DoIT's Help Desk supports cloud services licensed by the University, such as Office 365, Box, and some Google Apps, and may be able to answer questions SSCC staff cannot.

Full support

SSCC staff will explore all known resources in attempting to provide users with answers to questions they may have about the service or to fix a problem that occurs when using it. The search for an answer will have a high priority although there can be no assurance that a solution will always be found.

Limited support

SSCC staff will make reasonable efforts to answer questions or resolve problems with the service. However, if more extensive research proves necessary, it will take on a secondary priority.

Minimal support

SSCC staff will answer questions about basic usage and share whatever expertise they have. If problems arise or there are questions which cannot be resolved immediately, they will not attempt to research solutions.

SSCC staff may be able to answer some questions about some services not listed here, but make no guarantees.

This list will be modified as usage patterns change and we note that particular services become more or less important to the work of SSCC members.