Big Changes to Microsoft Azure Enterprise Agreement Support Plans.

Your chance to purchase Microsoft Azure Standard support services under an Enterprise Agreement (EA), Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES), Server Cloud Enrollment (SCE), or Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) from a Microsoft representative have ended.

Between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, you had to sign or renew the agreement to give yourself another period of free Standard tier support along with your Azure support subscription.
Now that the grace period is over, new, existing, and prior Azure customers can no longer get this promotional EA and MCA-E offer.

Microsoft Azure support is a comprehensive set of resources and services that can help you get the most out of your Azure subscription.

Microsoft Azure support is a comprehensive set of resources and services that can help you get the most out of your Azure subscription. This includes self-support, assisted support, and proactive support, though the degree of each depends on the subscription tier you choose.

While everyone had Azure Standard support previously if they had an EA or MCA-E, which provided them faster response times for tickets and greater guidance for Azure and third-party services, now everyone is back to the Basic package.

Azure support helps you:

• Troubleshoot problems
• Get proactive support
• Optimize and configure your Azure environment

With Standard, you had 24/7 help for any problem, could submit as many tickets as you wanted, and get help with specific problems like architecture layouts. Now, everyone is back to the Basic plan unless you are willing to pay more to get what you previously had.

What is Happening to my Microsoft Azure EA Plan?

As of June 30, you can’t get the EA and MCA Support Plan Promotional Offer anymore. The offer gave customers Standard support at no additional cost.

Starting July 1, customers who had support through this offer have to purchase a support plan. Customers who already have a separate support plan like Microsoft Unified aren’t impacted by the change.

If you used this offer previously, you still have access to Basic support for subscription management and billing. If you want to maintain technical support coverage, you can purchase either with your Microsoft representative or partner or within the Azure portal.

The Azure Support Plan Offer isn’t transferable and can’t be converted to other benefits, so if you are currently using it and want to apply it to your Azure consumption or trade it for more Azure Prepayment, you’re out of luck.

Premier and Unified support customers are currently receiving a broader level of support than what is available through this EA Upgrade offer, which is why they aren’t included in the Azure Support Plan Offer. Azure technical support hours are not decremented from your Premier or Unified contract.

TL;DR: Microsoft Azure EA Changes:

• End of Promotional Offer: No more free Standard support under EA and MCA.
• Purchase Required: Must buy a support plan starting July 1.
• Basic Support Access: Previous users still get Basic support for subscription management and billing.
• Non-Transferable: The Azure Support Plan Offer cannot be transferred or converted to other benefits.
• Premier and Unified Support: These customers continue to receive broader support and are not impacted by the changes. Azure technical support hours are not deducted from their contracts.

The 4 Microsoft Azure Support Plans

Now that Azure Standard is no longer available as a free addition to your EA or MCA, you will have to choose between the existing options and pay accordingly. While you still get Basic coverage as an Azure customer, it offers limited support compared to the other tiers.

Tier 1: Azure Basic

• Billing and subscription management support
• 24/7 self-help resources
• Unlimited ticket submission
• Azure Advisor
• Azure health status and notifications

The second tier, Developer, is $29 per month and intended for trial and non-production environments. It offers everything that Basic does, with a few additions.

Tier 2: Azure Developer

• Third-party software support with inoperability and configuration guidance and troubleshooting
• 24/7 access to technical support, but only during business hours by email
• Minimal business impact (Sev C) cases with initial response time within eight business hours
• General guidance on architecture support

The third tier, Standard, was the previously mentioned “standard” support for Azure through the EA and MCA-E contracts. This plan now will cost everyone $100 per month, is intended for production workload environments, and includes everything in Basic, with a few additions.

Tier 3: Azure Standard

• Third-party software support with inoperability and configuration guidance and troubleshooting
• 24/7 access to technical support by email and phone after a support request is submitted
• Minimal business impact (Sev C) cases with initial response time of 8 business hours, moderate business impact (Sev B) within 4 hours, and critical business impact (Sev A) within 1 hour
• General architecture support guidance

Finally, while being the most expensive option, Professional Direct is the tier that offers the most. It costs $1000 per month, is intended for business-critical dependence, and offers everything Basic has with more additions.

Tier 4: Azure Professional Direct

• Third-Party Software Support: Guidance and troubleshooting for inoperability and configuration issues.
• 24/7 Technical Support: Access by email and phone after submitting a support request.
• Response Times:
  • Minimal impact (Sev C): 4 business hours.
  • Moderate impact (Sev B): 2 business hours.
  • Critical impact (Sev A): 1 hour.
• Architecture Support: Guidance from a pool of ProDirect delivery managers.
• Support API: Create and manage Azure support tickets programmatically.
• Service Reviews & Consultations: Non-transferable, for Azure ProDirect customers only.
• Webinars: Led by Azure experts.
• Proactive Guidance: From a pool of ProDirect delivery managers.

There may be four official tiers of Azure support, but there’s a fifth option you may have overlooked. US Cloud covers all your Azure support needs, plus the entire Microsoft technology stack. Instead of initial response time measured in hours, we measure in minutes.

Our financially backed SLAs guarantee that you see an initial response within 15-minutes of submitting a ticket, regardless of severity. On average, our resolution times are twice as fast as Microsoft too, and you don’t have to pay extra for it.

Microsoft is consistently cutting back on features to try and force you to conform. “This is the new normal,” is something that shouldn’t have to be said time and again.

We get it.

You should be saving money through efficient support solutions, not because you decided to cut out necessary features so you could stay within budget. If you want faster response, resolution, and 30-50% savings on your annual support costs, US Cloud has you covered.