Red Hat Speaks

Yil-Kyu Kang, Manager, Technical Account Managers

A recent CIO Insight magazine survey just named Red Hat as the number one vendor for delivering value to customers. Red Hat's Global Support Services team helps deliver that value to our customers by providing an extensive network of the most experienced, motivated, and knowledgeable Linux and open source software support engineers. This month, we interviewed Yil-Kyu Kang about of his role on the team. Next month, Red Hat Magazine will feature a more detailed look into Global Support Services with a video interview of Kate Johnson, VP of Global Client Services.

How long have you been at Red Hat, and what is your current position?

I have been in Red Hat's Global Support Services organization for 6 years. I have held many positions within Global Support Services and frankly, I cannot think of a better organization for me. Currently, I am the manager of the Technical Account Manager (TAM) team. It has been interesting and exciting to be a part of the evolution of Red Hat and Global Support Services. When I arrived 6 years ago, there was a small group of support engineers who were passionate about Red Hat Linux and open source technology. We answered hundreds of technical inquiries using only email in hopes of greater adoption. Today, we have a Worldwide Global Support Services infrastructure with various support offerings and 24x7 support. It's quite a ride and this is just the beginning.

What is a TAM?

A Technical Account Manager (TAM) is a service that can be purchased on top of your Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription. A TAM is a dedicated person who will proactively address all of your technical and business requirements. You can think of a TAM as an extension of your technical team behind the walls of Red Hat. The TAM service does not change your subscriptions but it changes the way we support your subscriptions.

How do I know if the Technical Account Management service is right for me?

Do you want a personalized level of service? Do you have any mission critical systems? Do you want to speak with someone who is intimately familiar with your environment? Do you want to build a relationship with Red Hat? Then the TAM service may be right for you.

What are the benefits of having a TAM over Red Hat's 24x7 phone support?

Red Hat is very proud of our entire services organization — training, consulting, and support. In fact, you may be aware of the CIO article which just named Red Hat as the number one vendor for delivering value. We have a variety of services to meet our customers' goals and objectives. Some of our customers prefer 24x7 while others need TAM support, it just depends on the specific customer requirements.

What is the average response time for questions submitted?

Over the past year, our average response time has been one day or less for all severity issues. Furthermore, our response time for critical issues is under one hour regardless of day or night.

What is the most bizarre question you have received from a TAM customer?

All of the interactions we have with our customers are considered confidential.[grin].

How do I sign up for a TAM?

We have a Global Sales team that will be more then happy to help with your questions on the TAM service. In the US call 1-888-REDHAT-1 or go to redhat.com for more information.

What is the one thing that gets you through the work day?

Simple — At the end of every day, I feel that I am helping to make our customers more successful.