Definitely. I can't tell you how many times I've gone back to PTC and asked them to resend me something I've uploaded to a case. Lately I've taken to creating local folders with copies of everything I sent to PTC. Now if I can just remember to do this every time...
I try to keep all files I upload in a single folder, each file named with case number and a description and then moved to a year folder at the beginning of each year. Yes, there are times when I just upload something quickly.
If PTC's data policy won't allow this specifically because they have to delete customer data at some interval after a case is closed, then why not allow the files to be viewed/downloaded as long as the case is open and then allow a complete (or selective) download of all case files as an option for the user prior to case closure and customer data destruction.
Being able to view/download the uploaded files is a convenience and allows you to confirm what you have sent to PTC to date (particularly if file naming is an issue or you haven't been diligent about keeping case folders for yourself). And a mass download before closure allows you to generate those file folders on the tail end, if you so desire.
Thank you for all your inputs on this idea so far.
The policies and functionality in place today are based on current infrastructure, and enable PTC to safeguard customers' data privacy.
As the infrastructure, and in particular, PTC's Smart and Connected capabilities evolve, we aim to continually improve the convenience around exchanging data with Support, and we're frequently re-evaluating available options.
I'd like to bring Pierre Maraninchi, who heads up Online Services, into this discussion. He will be very interested to share, and hear more viewpoints on this topic.
I might be rethinking my vote. How many times have we seen where companies accidentally exposed information on their website? I'm not sure I want to chance it. I'm not saying it WILL happen with PTC but it is a possibility. I guess you could say it might happen now? Although I doubt it since it is not an option currently. Thoughts?
I can understand that concern Steve, but when submitting a case you have 2 additional options available that are intended to protect your sensitive data. One is for ITAR and the other is for proprietary data requiring an NDA. Both of these options mean that you will be using other more secure means to transmit data to the TSE. So for me if I opt-out of either of those, I would not be too concerned about a few data files here or there that could possibly be compromised by a security breach at PTC. And further I would not expect to be able to download that data from PTC at all and would expect their data destruction policy to apply as soon as the case is closed.
I would suggest (and maybe this is already possible) that after a case is opened, you have the ability to opt-in to ITAR or NDA if you realize that the data that you need to share, or perhaps have already shared, should be covered by these alternate methods of handling.
Thanks for sharing your feedback on this request. As Peter and Caitlin mentioned, we want to be cautious with the customer data we expose on the web but we also want to make our electronic services as enjoyable as possible for you.
From the information collected in the thread, here is my understanding of the requirements
It should be an opt-in feature (each company can decide if this is a feature they want to enable for their users or not).
Files uploaded should be available for download
Only for the case owner (other users from the same company cannot download data from a case they do not own)
Only while the case is still active
Only if data is not flagged as ITAR/NDA
If this matches your expectations, I’ll look into this with the appropriate PTC resources and will check if this is something we can implement.
I think company web account supervisors should either be able to download everything or transfer case ownership. This will prevent data from becoming inaccessible in the situation where the original case creator is no longer with the company.
It would be nice to have the downloads available for a certain period of time after a case is closed (say one year). If they become unavailable as soon as each case is closed, I might end up having to reopen cases just so I can get to the files again.
I think company web account supervisors should either be able to download everything or transfer case ownership. This will prevent data from becoming inaccessible in the situation where the original case creator is no longer with the company.
It would be nice to have the downloads available for a certain period of time after a case is closed (say one year). If they become unavailable as soon as each case is closed, I might end up having to reopen cases just so I can get to the files again.
Very good points.
Elaborating more on point 2. "Case Closed" in PTC's eyes frequently means fixed in build Mxxx or the next release which are still "vaporware" to me the customer. So having these files available to me the customer after I actually have acquired the updates is necessary. In my case I always verify that the new build/release actually fixes the problem. If I have lost my copies of the upload then I would need to download it after "Case Closed" in most situations.
Thanks Pierre for responding. I could live with a solution as you describe...but as others are stating, I think a better solution for timing on terminating access would be after 2 years or a designated time for which most customers can validate the fix.
So two years later and this is still an issue. You'd have thought this could have been fixed in the recent transfer of the Web pages to the new system.
Other companies that support tools can do this - so why can't PTC?
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