EU-based Processing of Support Cases and Related Data

Process Description

Siemens Digital Industries Software (DISW) relies on its worldwide network of support engineers to provide customers the best product technical support in the fastest way possible.

However, some customers who have higher expectations regarding the processing of their support cases, case related data (case attachments), and with that also customers' personal data in terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (Art. 4 para. 1 GDPR) prefer such processing to take place within the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) and countries which provide an essentially equivalent level of protection to that guaranteed in the EEA.

To satisfy these expectations, DISW now offers a feature allowing users to request that the handling of a given support case by DISW be limited only to the territory of the EU, UK, Switzerland, and Israel. By checking off “EU-GDPR” box in the Country-based Data Processing Restrictions field found in the support case creation form in Support Center, the user will trigger a special mechanism on DISW’s end to ensure that:

• Such flagged support case is handled only by DISW resources in the EU, UK, Switzerland, and Israel.
• Any files (case attachments) uploaded to that case via Support Center are stored only in the EU, UK, Switzerland, or Israel and are accessible only to the DISW support personnel located in the EU, UK, Switzerland, and Israel.
• No files are sent outside these countries without the customer approval.
• The user’s permission is obtained and maintained on file prior to any transfer of such case related customer files outside the EU, UK, Switzerland, and Israel, or outside the control of the DISW Support organization if such transfer is necessary to resolve that particular support case. In such a scenario, the user will receive an email from the Support Engineer requesting permission to waive the “EU‑GDPR” flag for that case.

If a support case is being opened via a method other than Support Center portal, the EU-based processing option will be turned off for that case (if available) unless explicitly requested by the customer.

Limitations

Due to unique support requirements, the following products have been excluded from the EU-based processing option:

• Opcenter RD&L
• R&D Suite
• R&D Suite Classic
• Opcenter Execution Core
• Opcenter Connect Electronics
• Camstar Electronics Suite
• Camstar Enterprise Platform (CEP)
• Camstar Intelligence
• Camstar Interoperability (CIO)
• Camstar Semiconductor Suite
• Opcenter Execution Core
• Opcenter Execution Electronics
• Opcenter Execution Medical Device and Diagnostics
• Opcenter Execution Semiconductor
• QMS CompliantPro
• QMS QSI System
• All SaaS and Hybrid SaaS products
• All EDA products

If case of a conflict between our commitments under this process and the requirements imposed on us by the applicable export control laws and regulations, the export control laws and regulations shall prevail.

Disclaimer

By flagging a support case for EU-based processing, the user understands that selecting this option may slow down DISW’s response time and limit our ability to fix the customer issue. Selecting this option means that the support case is not subject to any applicable response times or minimum availability thresholds.

Any questions regarding this process can be submitted via email to GCSS Compliance.