A Beginners Guide: How to Buy Microsoft Unified Support.

While it may seem obvious, there have been multiple changes over the past few years around which Microsoft support services are available and which are getting phased out. If you include price adjustments and new Microsoft products affecting pricing, it’s tough keeping up with the changes. Buying Unified is still relatively simple, but there are more options for you to choose from now.

Microsoft Premier Support ended on July 1, 2022.

Commercial and Public Sector Unified Support

Microsoft Premier Support for commercial enterprises ended on July 1, 2022. While there may be a few stragglers left on the Premier model, most enterprises are in Unified now.

Public sector enterprises recently lost Premier entirely, like what happened with commercial. As of July 1, 2024, Premier Support renewal agreements are no longer offered.

Any businesses still on Premier Support can continue using it until their renewal, at which point they will have to use Unified. Public sector customers include National, Federal, State and Local Government (SLG), State-owned Enterprises (SOE), and Education.

Microsoft Unified Support for commercial enterprises and the public sector provides you with:

• Information Services: Stay updated on the latest Microsoft technologies and products.
• Problem Resolution Support: Assistance for issues with specific Microsoft products when the problem is confirmed to be product-related.
• Support Account Management: Helps build and maintain relationships with management and service delivery staff, arranging aspects of Unified to meet your needs.
• Support Assistance: Provides reactive support and guidance on issues with Microsoft products and services, including consultative help with design, development, and deployment.
• Workshops: Learn about systems, products, and technologies in the Microsoft space to prevent problems.

SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are a key factor in negotiations.

Buying Microsoft Unified Support is relatively simple and straightforward, though it requires planning and preparation on your end.

Before you even begin the buying process

Make sure you have a clear understanding of what type and how much support your business needs from Microsoft. Determine how many users you have, the products you need to support, how quickly you need responses, and service-level agreements (SLAs)

Once you have a good understanding of your needs, see how Microsoft stacks up.

Start the buying process

Visit the Microsoft Unified Support webpage. The official Microsoft website has a support section with more information on Unified.

Take your time researching through third-party analysts and Microsoft’s own information before taking the further steps, as Unified Support isn’t the best choice for every enterprise.

Contact Microsoft sales

If you’ve decided to pursue Unified Support further, get started by contacting Microsoft sales through phone or email. They will provide you with more detailed information on Unified Support, pricing, features, and options available to you.

Speak to a Microsoft sales representative

Go over the requirements of your enterprise based on your self-assessment from the first point, along with any customization you would like. The representative will guide you through the different plans and which would be the best choice for your enterprise.

Negotiate pricing and contract terms

Once you’ve determined what the ideal Unified Support plan is, you can negotiate pricing and contract terms with your sales representative. Be prepared to touch on the duration of your support agreement, payment terms, and any additional services or features you may need.

Review the paperwork

Microsoft will give you the necessary paperwork, including contracts or agreements, once you’ve agreed on the laid-out terms. Go over this with a fine-toothed comb and make any necessary adjustments before moving forward with the purchase.

Make sure you have a clear understanding of the support services, response times, escalation processes, and any limitations or exclusions from the agreement.

Arrange payment and sign the contract

Arrange the payment method specified by Microsoft and sign the contract or agreement. Keep a copy of all relevant documents for yourself as future reference material and begin your journey with Unified Support.

While the steps above are a decent general guideline, they are by no means the only path to purchase. The availability and process for purchasing Unified Support depends on your location and the products or services you need support for.

You should reach out to Microsoft directly for the most accurate and updated information around Unified and it’s purchase options.

Switching from Premier to Unified comes as a shock to many since the main value add of Premier was the ability to buy the support hours you needed. Premier Support was expensive, but it gave you full control over your support spend.

You could budget based on projected projects, product use, and set up a reliable financial plan based on what was coming down the pipeline. Premier also enabled you to purchase these support hours for the products you used.

This may sound obvious, but Unified works a bit differently. You are buying a wide range support option with Unified, so some products you don’t use will be part of that Unified payment. You don’t get a discount just because you aren’t using support hours towards those products or services either.

The main pain points around Unified are:

The Price:

While Unified Support may be a good fit, it’s pricing may not match up with your expectations. Each year, the price of Unified goes up as more products are added to Microsoft’s roster. Enterprises shifting from Premier or just getting started in Unified can expect at least a 30% increase in their support costs.

Those already working with Unified Support can attest to a steady price increase of at least 10% per year, with renewals often being a painful event that forces you to reconsider what you are willing to spend on support.

The Predictability:

Microsoft Unified Support is constantly in flux. The costs are rising, but you can’t always be certain of how much they will change.

In some cases, such as if your business is located overseas, you may see pricing changes hit a few times a year. You must accurately forecast your Microsoft cloud consumption to avoid incurring higher costs. International businesses need to prepare for random price adjustments based on economic shifts.

The unlimited Microsoft product support tag is enticing but comes at a significant cost.

The Quality:

Support quality is dropping each year. To save on costs and keep up with the rising number of tickets, Microsoft has outsourced many of the lower severity tickets overseas to third-party businesses like Wipro and Mindtree.

Not only does this mean you aren’t directly dealing with Microsoft anymore, but your data is no longer protected by compliance since it’s outside the country. Under Unified, you don’t have a TAM either.

That role has been moved up the chain of command and been replaced with a CSAM. The quality isn’t improving, but you’re still expected to pay more.

US Cloud provides financially backed SLAs.

If this is all a little daunting, know that you aren’t trapped. Unified isn’t the only Microsoft support option anymore. US Cloud offers third-party Microsoft support that saves you 30-50% on your annual support costs.

US Cloud provides financially backed SLAs that guarantee you get a response to tickets of all severities within 15-minutes of submission. We also have on average, resolution times that are twice as fast as Microsoft.

Our proactive support is tailored to your needs. You buy a bucket of hours and put that towards any services you need assistance with. We also dive in and see how we can help you get out ahead of potential problems. If the need arises, we can escalate on your behalf straight to Microsoft.

All of our engineers are US-based as well, so your data is always safe with us.

Your journey to purchase Microsoft Unified Support doesn’t have to end with Microsoft. For faster Microsoft support for less, US Cloud can help.