Tips for SAS® Customer Intelligence 360 customers when contacting SAS Technical Support


First and foremost, SAS Technical Support is here to help!  

At SAS, Technical Support understands that timely and effective support is crucial for your success. SAS Technical Support’s goal is to ensure that you have the best possible experience when using SAS Customer Intelligence 360. SAS Technical Support is committed to providing you with the assistance that you need, when you need it.  

This SAS KB article outlines best practices for contacting SAS Technical Support, helping you navigate the process smoothly and efficiently. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your issues are addressed appropriately, enabling you to focus on what matters most—your business and customers! 

Table of Contents

Tip #1: Check for Known Issues on the Status Page 

See the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 Status page before contacting Technical Support. This page is your “one-stop shop” for SAS Customer Intelligence 360. This page serves as your comprehensive resource for updates on software issues, operational updates, and planned maintenance. 

As a best practice, please subscribe to the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 status notifications (either via email or by using the related RSS feed). The Subscribe button is located at the top of the status.360.sas.com page. 

The Subscribe button is located at the top of the status.360.sas.com page.

The Status page also contains a history in the event that you need to search for a past issue. These resources enable you to do a quick search in one place. 

History is located at the bottom of the page next to Status and Report Issue.

Tip #2: The Best Way to Open a Case for SAS Customer Intelligence 360  

For critical issues, report problems by phone and obtain a case number. 

The preferred method for opening a case is through the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 user interface (UI).  

This method pre-populates necessary information, enabling you to add descriptions, screenshots, and other details efficiently. For additional information, see How to open a Technical Support case within SAS Customer Intelligence (SAS Communities). 

 In the UI, click "Contact technical support" and information is added to an email to support@sas.com.

Alternatively, you can open a case through the SAS Customer Service Portal. SAS KB0036554, “Register, login, and maintain profile information in the SAS Customer Service Portal” explains how to register, login, and manage your profile within the SAS Customer Service Portal.  

Tip #3: Handling Operational Issues   

Operational issues are issues that affect the entire environment or multiple users, such as the following: 

  • login issues
  • performance Issues
  • certain functionality in the UI that does not work  

For these types of issues, complete the following steps: 

  1. Check the status page. Check the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 Status page to determine whether the issue is already known. If your issues are not listed, proceed to the next step.
  2. Report critical problems by phone.  
  3. Replicate the issue. If you are able to replicate the operational issue, add the following option to the end of your URL once you log on (if it is not a login issue): ?user-tracking=true.  
    • Here are some examples:
      • https://design-euw.ci360.sas.com/SASWebMarketing/?user-tracking=true 
      • https://design-use.ci360.sas.com/SASWebMarketing/?user-tracking=true
        Note: The first part of your URL might be different depending on your region. The first part of your URL might be different depending on your region. 
  4. Capture and provide information. 
    1. Once you append the ?user-tracking=true option to the URL, click your initial in the upper right corner and select About:.
    2. Capture a screenshot.
    3. In addition, copy and paste the client session information so that you can add that information to the case that you opened. It is important to also provide the email address that you were logged on with to recreate the issue. This information will expedite the investigation process. 
      Click your initial in the upper right corner and select "About:" to capture information.
  5. Recreate the issue. Go through the steps that you normally do to recreate the issue. This information will enable SAS Technical Support to replicate the steps that you took. Once you exit SAS Customer Intelligence 360, the settings revert to their original state. 

Addressing Login Issues 

Login issues can be complex and require detailed information for accurate diagnosis. Please provide the following information:  

  • The direct link that you are using to log on with.
  • Is this link where the issue occurs, or does the issue occur when you enter in your login credentials? 
  • Is single sign-on (SSO) being used? 
    • Not being prompted for a password is typically a sign that SSO is NOT being used. 
    • If the page redirects you to a custom login page, then the user IS federated with SSO. 
  •  Where does the slowness occur?
  • Try logging off and then log back on. Do not clear your cache at this point.  
    • Note whether the login is now quicker and any additional details about what you expect to see. 
    • If the login still appears slow, press the F5 key to refresh the window. Note whether this step makes a difference and whether the page now behaves as expected. 
  • If issues still occur when you try logging on, send in a HAR file based on the browser that you use. See SAS KB0036430, “Using the web browser developer tools to investigate issues in SAS® Web Applications” for instructions. In addition, provide the time stamp that you tested this login and what browser you used.  
  • Is this issue isolated to one user or all users? If this issue occurs for multiple users, what browser do they use? Have you tried different browsers, and was the behavior the same?  
  • When did this start to occur? Provide a date or time and a time zone.

Resolving SAS Customer Intelligence 360 UI Performance Issues 

When you report the issue, try to explain whether the issue is isolated to a specific page or object. Details are the key! 

Isolate the Issues: Specify whether the issue is isolated to a particular page or object. 

Replication: If you can replicate the issue, use the ?user-tracking=true option and provide screenshots, HAR files, or recordings.  

Details: Share as many details as possible, such as the following: 

  • When did this issue start? Has it resolved? If so, when? 
  • Does this issue occur every day or at only specific times of the day?
  • If multiple users are affected, are the same browsers being used? Have you tried different browsers, and was the behavior the same? 
  • Is the issue repeatable? If so, provide the exact steps to replicate it. During this process, create a HAR and console file for SAS Technical Support to review. (See SAS KB0036430.) 
  • Does this issue affect all actions or only specific ones? Include detailed descriptions or recordings of the steps. 
  • If the issue persists, try refreshing the window (press the F5 key) and note whether improvements occur. Does the UI now behave as expected? If not, provide additional details. 
  • Log out and log back on without clearing the cache and/or cookies. This process should help improve performance. If it does not, please provide additional details. 

Providing comprehensive details will greatly assist SAS Technical Support in diagnosing and resolving the issue more effectively. Be specific and include information such as the following: 

  • This issue occurs when I open the list of tasks or the list of segments. 
  • This issue occurs when I open any task or this specific task (name). 
  • This issue occurs when I publish any task or this specific task (name).
  • This issue occurs when I navigate from tab to tab in a task or other object (name the object or task).
  • This issue occurs when I select this object (name the object). 

No detail is too small. Details are the key! 

Tip #4: SAS® 360 Engage: Direct On-premises Issues

For execution issues with SAS 360 Engage: Direct, you need to create a case with SAS Technical Support. SAS Technical Support needs the onprem_direct.log file for further investigation. There are two ways to share the onprem_direct.log, which is located in the <DM-Agent-Install-Directory>/logs directory.  

  1. Ask SAS Technical Support to authorize upload to the SASTSDrive via the case, enabling you to share the onprem_direct.log. Using SASTSDrive ensures that your logs are securely uploaded to a server that SAS Technical Support can access, facilitating a thorough investigation. 
  2. If you have access to SAS Customer Intelligence 360, log on and navigate to General Settings ► Access Point ► (name) of Direct Access point ► Upload Logs. Specify the Case ID and select the log file to upload in the log file Date field. For more information, see Upload an Agent Log File to SAS Support. 

    Note: Inform SAS Technical Support when you upload the log.

    Provide your case number and the Log file date

In addition, when working with Direct Marketing Agents, issues unrelated to SAS Customer Intelligence 360 might occur. SAS KB0040542, “IT Administrator resources to ensure that your SAS® 360 Direct environment runs smoothly” contains several articles on the SAS Communities page that help address these issues.  

If, after reviewing the articles, you still have issues, do as follows: open a case ► provide details about your troubleshooting steps ► and upload the relevant logs. 

Note: For validating the SAS® 9.4 platform, see SAS KB0040788, “Validating the SAS® 9.4 platform when you encounter issues with SAS® 360 Direct.” 

Tip #5: Execution Errors or Slow Publish Times  

The following information will help SAS Technical Support identify why publish times might have increased or why errors occur:

  • What are the names of the tasks where slow publish times occur? Provide a screenshot of the task and the execution details. (Note: This information is located under Orchestration ► Execution ► Show Details.)
  • When did this behavior first occur?  
    • Include approximate timestamps or time zones. 
    • Do any errors occur? Provide a screenshot and the text that is displayed. 
    • What is the expected wait time that typically occurs? 
  • Is SAS 360 Engage: Direct involved? If so, provide the onprem_direct.log file.  

    For example: <DM-Agent-Install-Directory>/logs/onprem-direct.log. 

Tip #6: API Invocation Questions and Issues  

SAS Help Center: REST APIs contains information about calling REST APIs. 

If issues occur, provide the following information when opening a case: 

  • Send the code and the log that displays the error. This information is usually custom written code. Therefore, it is important that the issue is isolated to show only the essential part.  
  • Inform SAS Technical Support which API you use. 
  • Have you tested the REST API endpoint in Postman? 
  • Has this REST API worked before, or is this the first time you are using this REST API? 
  • Has anything changed recently with the API? 
  • Is the REST API endpoint for a Connector?  
  • If the REST API is for a Connector, does the endpoint use a General Agent? 

Tip #7: Mobile SDK Errors

The following information will help SAS Technical Support identity the issue with Mobile SDK: 

  • What is the Mobile SDK version?  
  • What is the app name and application ID? 
  • What is the task name of the In-App message? 
  • What is the device ID? 
  • What is the version of the mobile SDK? 
  • Provide the logs for Enable SDK Internal Logging for Android or enable SDK Internal Logging for iOS. 
  • Is this an Android issue, an iOS issue, or both? 

Tip #8: Standard Example Questions for Generic Troubleshooting in SAS Customer Intelligence 360  

Consider the following questions:

  • What is the issue? 
  • What object does the issue affect? 
  • What objects does the issue not affect? 
  • What is the name of the object? 
  • When did the issue first occur? 
  • Is the issue reproducible? 
  • Does this issue affect one user or multiple users? 
  • Have you made any changes from your side that could explain the issue?  
  • What have you done to try to solve the issue? 

Example Responses 1 

  • “We get an error when executing.” 
  • “This issue occurs when executing a Task.” 
  • “This issue does not occur in other Tasks or Segment Maps.” 
  • “The task name is ‘holiday offer’.” 
  • “The issue first occurred yesterday.” 
  • “This issue occurs each time we execute.” 
  • “This issue occurs with all users.” 
  • “The task was last modified three weeks ago.” 
  • “We created a similar Task, which executes fine.” 

Example Responses 2 

  • “The UI is slow.” 
  • “This issue occurs when opening the Task list.” 
  • “The issue has not occurred with other pages.” 
  • “None available.” 
  • “The issue occurred at 12:30 (CET) the first time.” 
  • “The issue occurs every time that I navigate to the page.” 
  • “I do not know whether my colleagues have the same problem. I will contact them and ask.” 
  • “None available.” 
  • “I tried another browser, but the same issue occurs.” 

Tip #9: Ensuring Read-Only Access for SAS Technical Support   

A Permissions role is available that an admin can enable from the UI to allow SAS Technical Support to have temporary Read-Only access to view object configurations in your tenant. This permission enables SAS Technical Support to troubleshoot quicker. For new customers, this permission is turned on by default. 

To enable this setting, navigate to General Settings ► Default Permissions from User Management ► locate the Access for SAS Support Personnel tab ► and toggle the Read–Only Access for SAS Support Personnel option to On. 

For additional information, see the Manage Access to Your Tenant section in the SAS® Customer Intelligence 360 Administration Guide.

Takeaways 

  • Craft a detailed problem description.  The clarity and detail of your problem description are crucial. Taking the time to provide a comprehensive description of the issue and your expectations significantly enhances the likelihood of a timely resolution. Clearly state what the problem is and what you anticipate as the outcome. 
  • Provide supporting materials.  Whenever possible, include screenshots, recordings, and/or use the ?user-tracking=true option. In addition, logs and HAR/console files are invaluable in helping SAS Technical Support understand and diagnose the issue. These materials provide context and detail that can expedite the troubleshooting process. 
  • Check the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 Status page.  Before contacting SAS Technical Support, check the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 Status page. This page is regularly updated with information about known issues, operational updates, and planned maintenance. The page provides immediate insights into whether your issue is already being addressed. 
  • Use SAS Communities and SAS Knowledge Base articles. Do not forget to leverage the wealth of information available in SAS Communities and the SAS Support knowledge base. Searching for terms like "SAS 360" and "360 Direct" can yield helpful resources and solutions that might address your concerns. 

SAS Technical Support is here to help!

Documentation References