Basic, ProSupport, ProSupport Plus and ProSupport Flex warranty levels are invited to use the TechDirect tool.

Your company should designate an Administrator to set up your TechDirect account. This Administrator will go to www.TechDirect.com and click the Register now button to begin the enrollment process. As part of this process, the Administrator will add Technician users who will receive an email confirming their enrollment and providing log in details. Users wishing to dispatch parts must first complete the free, online certification courses available within the TechDirect online portal.

Yes, an account can have as many Administrators as you would like. The Administrator for your company will simply add a Technician user to the account and assign that Technician an Administrator profile.

The TechDirect online portal supports Microsoft® Internet Explorer (version 8 and later), Google® Chrome and Mozilla® Firefox.

The TechDirect portal is available in 11 languages including English, French (EMEA), Spanish (LATAM), Portuguese (Brazilian), German, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian and Korean.

Technicians and Administrators must be certified in order to dispatch replacement parts with TechDirect. A certification is required for each specific Dell product type training. Please visit the Self-Dispatch section of your TechDirect online portal account to review and access the certification course list.

There are no fees associated with the certification courses required for Technicians and Administrators to dispatch replacement parts. Certification must be completed before a Technician or Administrator can request a dispatch.

An annual fee of $1,500 USD is required to participate in the labor reimbursement program. If you are a Third Party Maintainer, a $1,500 USD fee applies for each customer you enroll. If you would like to enroll, the (1) TechDirect Enrollment form and the (2) Labor Reimbursement Addendum will need to be completed during the enrollment process. Full labor reimbursement details are available at the time of Administrator enrollment. Please contact your Dell representative if you would like further assistance.

Watch the How to Get Started and the How to Input System Build Details videos.

This user guide is available for details on using TechDirect's ProDeploy Client Suite features.

Connected Configuration, Data Migration and Data Wipe are only available to ProDeploy Plus for client systems customers. Post-deployment support and training credits are also features ProDeploy Plus customers enjoy.

Dell certification is industry-recognized certification that is designed to validate your skills and knowledge in deploying and managing Dell hardware. View certification exam details here.

Exams are 90 minutes.

Training is highly recommended, but not required. The recommended training courses covers many topics tested on the certification exams, however, training alone will not prepare you for the exam. Having the relevant hands-on experience is a key requirement to being successful in passing the exam, in addition to leveraging resources such as exam study guides and recommended training paths on dell.com/certification.

Skill level of exams are intermediate to advanced and individuals should have existing experience with deployment, configuration, and administration on Dell systems. View full exam details here.

• Register or sign in on dell.com/certification.
  If you are a Dell employee, please visit techdirect.dell.com/employeecertification.
• Click Schedule an exam
• Select the exam and follow instructions to schedule at a testing center

If the exam you would like to take is not listed on the exam catalog, please email Deployment_Certification@dell.com.

Yes. Certifications must be renewed every 24 months.

Skill level of exams are intermediate to advanced and individuals should have existing experience with deployment, configuration, and administration on Dell enterprise systems. Training is recommended, however, not required. Combined with real world experience, the courses will provide you with the knowledge and skills to deploy, configure, and administer Dell systems and help better prepare you for the exam. Please visit pearsonvue.com/dell for exam details.

You may re-attempt the exam after 14 days. For additional preparation, we would suggest reviewing the exam study guide located on the Dell Certification Portal and/or taking the recommended training courses in that Certification track. Information on training courses may also be found on the Certification Portal.

Use the Test Center Locator at pearsonvue.com/dell to find a center near you. Exams are also available online via Pearson VUE Online Proctoring (OP), allowing you to conveniently and easily take Dell exams in the comfort of your home or office.

The only thing you must bring to the test center on the day of your exam is the required identification. We recommend that you do not bring personal belongings to the test center.

During the admissions process, you must provide two (2) forms of original (no photo copies), valid (unexpired) IDs – one primary (government issued with name, photo, and signature) and one secondary (with name and signature).

Identification (ID) Requirements:

• The first and last name you use to register must match exactly the first and last name on the ID you present on test day.
• All IDs required must be issued by the country in which you are testing. If you do not have the qualifying ID issued from the country you are testing in, a passport from your country of citizenship is required.

Exceptions:

• Expired forms of ID are not acceptable unless accompanied by valid renewal papers.
• Any government-issued ID missing a visible signature or with an embedded signature, can be supplemented with an original (no photo copies), valid (unexpired) ID that has at least a name and signature. This is in addition to any secondary ID requirement.
• A government-issued local language ID not in Roman characters is accepted only if it was issued by the country in which you are testing.
• Any candidate exceptions to the ID policy must be pre-approved by the Pearson VUE customer service center at least three (3) business days before the scheduled exam appointment.

Primary ID:

• Passport
• Driver’s license
• Military ID (including spouse and dependents)
• Identification card (national/state/province identity card)
• Alien registration card (green card, permanent resident, visa)

Secondary ID:

• Original (no photo copies)
• Display legal name
• Signature

If you have any questions about the ID requirements, please contact Pearson VUE customer service.

You can expect to see your results reflected on the Dell Certification portal within 5 days after the completion of your test. If you do not see your score reflected, please send an email to Dell at Deployment_Certification@dell.com. If you are a Dell employee, please send an email to Employee_Certification@dell.com.

Dell certification is a requirement for the Deployment Services Competency. Deployment Services Competency enables partners to deploy Dell hardware with greater expertise, accuracy and efficiency.

Partners with certified individuals gain access to exclusive Dell tools, best practices, and the latest critical technical updates for richer deployment capabilities. This allows partners to expand reach, grow deployment opportunities and increase revenue. Deployment Services Competency also allows partners to opt-out of mandatory deployments for SC Series Storage and is the first step to being eligible to co-deliver ProDeploy deployment services.

• A partner must be Preferred or Premier with the corresponding hardware competency.
• Register company on dell.com/certification and accept program terms.
• Employ at least two certified technicians in one or more product area(s).

Example: A Preferred partner who holds a networking hardware competency has two Networking Certified Professionals on staff. They should complete the competency application for approval, as they are eligible for the Deployment Services Competency for Networking.

• Register your company at the Dell Certification Portal. All additional actions will be performed by logging into this portal and navigating from there.
• Have your certified technician register at the portal as well. You will be able to track their progress on this site and they will be able to access the trainings, study guides and exams from this site.
• After meeting the requirements, submit a Deployment Competency Application. After the application is approved you will have access to the program tools and resources through the portal.
• Visit PartnerDirect or email Deployment_Services@dell.com for additional information.

Software code and instructions that provide a framework for your team to create interfaces into Dell’s support systems from your own help desk, whether it is off-the-shelf or home-grown. Your staff time and resources will be needed in order to integrate the APIs. Integration will require knowledge of SOAP, REST and WSDL technologies.

Timelines are dependent on the availability of your integration staff and resources.

Yes, the TechDirect APIs are built on standard protocols to make deployment easier.

Industry standard security capabilities are leveraged, including HTTPS and unique API keys.

The software development kit is provided to your team in English; however, data entry fields can support other languages.

As an IT user managing your organization's PCs and tablets, all of your SupportAssist alerts will flow into your TechDirect account for convenient, centralized management. You can choose to auto-forward these alerts to Dell. Or, alerts can be individually managed within TechDirect's SupportAssist Alerts section. More details are available in the Deployment Guide and video resources are below.

• Using TechDirect to manage SupportAssist alerts video
• Installing SupportAssist for PCs & tablets video
• Creating an Active Directory template video
• Deploying using Active Directory video
• Creating an Answer File video
• Deploying using an Answer File video

SupportAssist is now factory installed on Dell Windows 10 systems. If you are unsure if your system has SupportAssist, please visit the Dell folder in the Windows menu. You can also visit dell.com/SupportAssist to download.

You will need ProSupport, ProSupport Plus or ProSupport Flex on your system in order to receive SupportAssist alerts within TechDirect.

You can learn more at dell.com/SupportAssist or ask questions on the SupportAssist Forum or via email at SupportAssist@Dell.com.

The TechDirect app is available for iOS and Android devices at no additional charge. You can download the app at the Google play store or the Apple App Store.

The app is available globally in English in the Apple App Store and the Android Google Play Store.

SupportAssist alerts are only available within the TechDirect portal. They are not available in the TechDirect mobile app or TechDirect APIs.

The data sent from you to Dell is encrypted with 128 bit encryption and transferred securely using SSL protocol. The data is stored in compliance with the Dell Privacy Policy.

Dell hosts TechDirect—including the application, systems, network and security components—in a US-based data center designed to maintain high levels of availability and security. Dell protects your data by using a wide variety of measures, including physical security.

Features include, but are not limited to:

• Staff – On-premise security guards are at the data center.
• Security – Rigorous exterior building security including cameras, false entrances, vehicle blockades, specialized parking lot design, bulletproof glass and walls, and the use of an unmarked building is provided.
• Cameras – Interior pan/tilt/zoom security cameras with digital recorders.
• Network security — All monitoring components are located behind a firewall and are managed by a security team. We tightly control all network traffic, requiring all inbound traffic to be transmitted via specific ports and sent only to appropriate destination network addresses.
• Server and database security — Servers and OS components reside on standard images that have undergone security review. We regularly review security updates used by the application, including those published by Microsoft and vendors of other software. When critical security updates are issued, we test them first on non-production images and generally apply them to live servers within 48 hours.
• Procedural security — Dell groups who have access to Dell TechDirect components (such as the database administration group and the operational support team) are assigned separate duties and access rights. All updates to the production environment go through a defined change control process that incorporates checks and balances.
• Auditing — Dell retains monitoring hosting device logs. These logs record all attempts to log into or access to the systems.

TechDirect collected data is accessible by technical support agents who use it for troubleshooting hardware issues reported by TechDirect. The data is not shared for sales or promotional purposes.

For questions about TechDirect, please email Dell_TechDirect@Dell.com.