Check Point support and enterprise agreements are the commercial arrangements that sit on top of Check Point product licences. Four matter most to a software asset manager: the support programs, the hardware warranty, the Check Point User Center where licences and contracts are recorded, and the enterprise agreements that bundle the portfolio. Support is never included in a licence by default. The Software License Agreement says Check Point has no obligation to provide support, upgrades or new releases under it, and that buying services is governed by the applicable service level agreement.[2] The Cloud Terms say that, unless the Service Order says otherwise, a Service subscription does not pay for the corresponding Support Service.[3] Catalog: Support is not included in the licence. For product metrics see Check Point licensing.
Editions
Support programs
Check Point sells two families of support programs.[1]
- Direct Enterprise Support is described as “a single comprehensive contract” protecting all Check Point products.[1] It has three base levels. Standard gives unlimited phone and email support, advanced knowledge-base access and online service through SecureTrak. Premium adds real-time 24/7 mission-critical support. Elite adds expert access to support-centre resources and on-demand on-site care.[1] Diamond and Diamond Plus extend Premium or Elite with personalised support, a designated engineer and consulting.[1]
- Collaborative Enterprise Support is delivered by local partners backed by Check Point, at Co-Standard, Co-Premium and Co-Elite levels plus Diamond.[1] Under both the appliance and cloud terms, Check Point is not responsible for the acts or omissions of the support partner.[2][3]
| Feature | Standard | Premium | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service window | 5 x 9 business day | 7 x 24 | 7 x 24 |
| Severity 1 committed response | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Severity 2 committed response | 4 hours | 2 hours | 30 minutes |
| Check Point engineer on site for critical requests | No | No | Yes |
| Designated support contacts per account (Direct) | 5 | 10 | 10 |
Source for the table: the Check Point Support Programs page.[1] The 30-minute response requires a real-time channel such as chat or phone. Onsite RMA delivery (5 x 8 next business day, or 7 x 24 x 4 hours) must be bought in addition to the program SLA.[1] In Collaborative programs, the partner rather than Check Point’s TAC determines hardware RMAs.[1] Catalog: Direct Enterprise Support covers all products in one contract.
Enterprise agreements
- Check Point Platform Agreement. Check Point describes Platform Agreements as access to its full set of solutions, services and support programs within a simple procurement framework.[4] The structures it lists range from pre-defined multi-year contracts to shorter-term, flexible allowance agreements. They include all-inclusive multi-year programs, annual agreements for specific solutions, upfront or over-time payment, fixed pricing, and partner- or Check Point-provided managed services.[4] The stated benefits are discounts that increase with the commitment level, budget certainty, fixed support and licensing fees during the term, licence usage monitoring and customer success management.[4]
- Infinity Enterprise License Agreement. Check Point presents the ELA as “a simple all-inclusive, per-user, per-year, subscription offering” for all products and solutions in its security architecture, with the associated services.[5] A 2022 brochure says the ELA is an annual subscription that includes hardware, software, subscriptions and 24/7 support, with a single procurement and predictable spend.[6] Catalog metric: ELA user per year.
Metrics
The support programs and enterprise agreements have no metric of their own. Support is attached to the licences and appliances it covers. In SmartConsole each licence shows a “Support Level” and the date its support contract expires.[11] The ELA is priced per user per year.[5] For Portal services under PAYG contracts, billing follows daily unique billable units.[7] Catalog: Check Point Portal billable unit.
Counting / floors
User Center as the system of record. Full use of Check Point Portal services needs a software licence bought through a Check Point User Center account.[9] Licences appear in the User Center after purchase and are issued there, for example as a Central licence for the IP address of a management server.[10] A licence can be moved between the customer’s own User Center accounts.[10] For appliance software, licences from the User Center are added to the Licenses & Contracts Repository on the management server, either directly from the account, from a licence file or by pasting the licence details.[12] A licence manager reconciling Check Point entitlements should start from the User Center product list and the Portal “Services & Contracts” page. The licence status in SmartConsole and the Portal is not a substitute.
Support follows the hardware. After the one-year hardware Warranty Period, RMA services are available only under a purchased and active support agreement.[2] An appliance whose support has lapsed therefore loses hardware replacement as well as software updates. The hardware warranty applies only to Hardware Products bought for the customer’s own use and not for resale.[2] Catalog: Hardware warranty runs one year from activation.
Virtualization & partitioning
Not applicable to support and enterprise agreements. Virtual gateway licensing is covered in Check Point Quantum and Cloud Firewall licensing.
Cloud / BYOL
Cloud Services carry their own service levels. Check Point SASE access services target 99.999% monthly availability under a recommended configuration. Cloud Firewall-as-a-Service, Mobile Security and Endpoint Security target 99.99%. The Check Point Portal, Smart-1 Cloud and Email Security target 99.9%.[3] If availability falls short, the customer may request 3 or 10 days of Service Credits, up to one month per year of Service. The request must be made within ten business days of the end of the month. Credits are non-refundable and can only extend the current Service Term.[3] Catalog: Service Credits only extend the Service Term.
Programs
Limited Hardware Warranty. Hardware components are warranted for one year from activation, or 15 months from shipment if the appliance is never activated.[2] A unit that fails within 30 days of activation, and no more than 120 days after shipment, is replaced with a new unit within two business days of confirmation.[2] Customers should register hardware in their User Center account, or be ready to show proof of purchase.[2]
Managed Service Provider licensing. The Software License Agreement treats a customer as a Managed Service Provider if it manages the Product for a fee for entities that are not its Affiliates, or if it said in its order that it would use the Products for Service Customers. Where applicable it must also have bought the managed service provider package.[2] An MSP may use the Products only for Service Customers who made a valid purchase, and is responsible for their compliance.[2] Under the Cloud Terms an MSP must also obtain each customer’s consent to the Terms and keep evidence of that consent.[3] Catalog: Managed Service Providers may use Products only for their Service Customers.
Check Point Portal Pay-As-You-Go. In the Check Point Portal, billing is based on actual usage of services and contracts. Contracts are of type trial, evaluation or annual subscription.[7] Distributors decide, through authorization profiles, which PAYG services each MSSP may resell to its customers. Reselling Portal services needs Check Point’s permission.[8]
Evaluation and trial licences. An appliance evaluation licence is valid only for the designated period. If no licensing transaction follows, the rights end and copies must be returned or destroyed.[2] Check Point may end a cloud trial at any time.[3]
Out of scope
- The text of the Direct and Collaborative support SLAs and the Diamond amendments. These PDFs are linked from the Support Programs page but could not be retrieved during research.
- Negotiated discounts, true-up mechanics and user definitions in individual Platform Agreements and ELAs.
- Professional services, training and incident response retainers.