Is Microsoft Support Included in Office 365?.

Standard support is included with all Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) plans. Businesses can pay extra for Premium (Business Assist or Pro Direct) support plans while enterprises are encouraged to upgrade to Unified or seek an alternative such as US Cloud for faster and more personalized assistance.

Microsoft 365 includes standard support as part of all business subscriptions. The key features of standard support for Microsoft 365 are:

• Support for Microsoft 365 cloud services
• Billing and subscription management support
• Basic installation, setup, and general technical usage assistance
• 24/7 support for critical (Severity A) issues
• Web and phone incident submission
• Access to self-help resources like the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Some additional details about standard support:

• Phone support is typically available in English from 9 AM-5 PM local time, Monday through Friday in most countries/regions. Local language support may vary.
• Technical support is provided in English 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and sometimes in local languages.
• Admins can submit service requests online through the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• The fastest response time for critical incidents is less than one hour.

Community forums and a service dashboard are available.

Based on the past 12 months of Google search results, the 10 most common issues addressed by Microsoft 365’s included standard support are:

• Login and sign-in problems – Issues with entering correct credentials or accessing accounts.
• Installation and update issues – Problems with installing Office 365 or applying updates.
• Activation errors – “Office is not licensed” or activation failure messages.
• Synchronization issues – Problems syncing data across devices, especially with OneDrive and Outlook.
• Email and calendar access issues – Difficulties accessing or using Outlook features.
• Performance problems – Slow performance or applications not responding.
• File sharing and storage problems – Issues with OneDrive, SharePoint, etc.
• Security concerns – Assistance with security settings and features.
• Recovery of deleted files – Help retrieving accidentally deleted data.
• Storage limit issues – Guidance on managing storage quotas.

Common support challenges faced by Microsoft 365 users

Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive suite of productivity tools used by millions of individuals and organizations worldwide. To ensure users can make the most of these services and overcome any challenges they may face, Microsoft offers a range of support options.

Whether you’re an individual user or an IT administrator, there are multiple channels available to help you resolve issues and optimize your Microsoft 365 experience.

Microsoft 365 support typically offers assistance through various channels including:

• Online self-help resources and documentation
• Community forums
• Phone and email support
• Admin center help for IT administrators
• Automated troubleshooting tools like the Support and Recovery Assistant

The level and type of support can vary depending on the subscription plan, with more comprehensive support options available for business and enterprise customers compared to personal users.

Support Scope Limitations

Standard support primarily covers “break-fix” issues. It does not include:

• Customer proposals for product features
• Onsite support
• Root cause analysis
• Third-party compatibility assistance
• Data recovery
• Code writing, reviewing, or debugging
• Developer support for Office add-ins, VBA, Access, or Publisher
• Extensive performance or crash troubleshooting

Business Plan Limitations

• User limit: 300 users maximum
• Limited storage for emails and files
• Fewer advanced features compared to Enterprise plans

General Limitations

• Service throttling during high demand periods
• Internet dependency for many features
• Limited customization options

Technical Limitations

• File size restrictions – 2GB max for uploads to OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint Online
• Email archiving limitations for complex regulatory compliance needs

Data and Privacy Concerns

• Data hosted in Microsoft data centers
• Reliance on Microsoft’s data handling and privacy practices
• Potential concerns for organizations with strict data control requirements

Service Availability

• Potential throttling of services like OneNote, SharePoint, and Stream during high demand
• Productivity impact from internet service interruptions

Pro Tip:  Enterprise plans offer more storage, advanced features, and higher user limits. For more comprehensive support, consider Professional Direct Support or Unified Support options

There are several additional support options available for enterprise users of Microsoft 365:

Microsoft Unified Support:

• Provides personalized support for all Microsoft products
• Includes assigned service delivery management
• Offers on-demand risk assessment tools
• Provides service update management
• Includes access to on-demand videos, interactive labs, and webcasts
• Offers expert-led, scenario-specific support services
• Pricing is variable based on product spend, with a minimum of $50,000 or 8-10% of product spend

Professional Direct Support for Microsoft 365:

• Costs $9 per user/month
• Provides faster response times with priority routing
• Offers engineering-led support
• Includes escalation management
• Provides adoption guidance
• Gives access to live and on-demand sessions
• Includes customer health reviews and pooled service delivery management

Microsoft Enterprise Support by US Cloud:

• Provides personalized support for all Microsoft products
• Includes assigned Technical Account Manager (TAM)
• Triage and service delivery by U.S. domestic teams
• Provides service update management
• 15 minutes response time for all ticket severities
• Offers expert-led, scenario-specific support services
• Buy only the hours needed with minimum of $20,000 per year

Enhanced Solutions (part of Microsoft Unified Support):

• Offers a full catalog of advanced support options
• May include services like Designated Support Engineering, Azure Rapid Response, Azure Event Management, and Office 365 Engineering Direct

Proactive Services:

• Available in full catalog with Microsoft Unified Support and US Cloud
• Includes expert-led, solution-specific engagements
• Designed to help customers onboard and optimize key solutions
• Services may cover areas like Well-Architected, Server Migration, Security, Microsoft Teams, Power Apps, Analytics, and more

On-site Services:

• Available with Microsoft Unified Support and US Cloud

Remote Diagnostics and Reporting:

• Available with Microsoft Unified Support and US Cloud

These enterprise-level support options provide more comprehensive, personalized, and proactive assistance compared to standard support. They are designed to meet the complex needs of large organizations, offering faster response times, dedicated support personnel, and advanced technical expertise across the entire Microsoft product portfolio.

When you purchase Microsoft 365 through a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), the following support is typically included:

First-line support from the CSP partner:

• CSP partners are expected to be the first point of contact for customer support.
• They should receive incoming support requests, diagnose issues, and resolve problems within the scope of baseline support boundaries.

Billing and subscription management support:

• CSP partners handle billing inquiries and subscription management for their customers.

Basic installation, setup, and general technical usage assistance:

• Partners are expected to help with basic setup and usage questions.

24/7 support for critical (Severity A) issues:

• For high-priority problems affecting service availability.

Access to self-help resources:

• Customers can access the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for self-service tasks and information.
• Customers can view service health information and in-product communications through the Message Center.

Product resources:

• Customers can access product documentation and support resources on Microsoft’s support websites.

Service configuration and admin tasks:

• Customers can perform most service configuration and administrative tasks through the Microsoft 365 admin center or Azure portal.

It’s important to note that direct support from Microsoft is generally not included when purchasing through a CSP. Instead, the CSP partner is expected to provide support and escalate to Microsoft only when necessary.

Consequently, customers cannot create support requests directly with Microsoft; they must go through their CSP partner. This arrangement places the CSP as the primary point of contact for all support-related matters.

The specific level of support may vary depending on the CSP partner, as they may offer different support packages or additional paid support options. This variability allows for some flexibility but also means that support experiences can differ between CSPs.

For organizations requiring more comprehensive assistance, customers or partners may need to purchase additional support plans. Options include Business Assist for Microsoft 365, Professional Direct Support, or US Cloud Microsoft Support. These plans offer enhanced support capabilities beyond what is typically provided through a CSP.

Here are the key differences between the indirect and direct-bill models in terms of support for Microsoft 365:

Hundreds of Reddit posts ^1-4 from Microsoft 365 customers and former U.S. based M365 support staff ⁵ seem to indicate that direct M365 support from Microsoft has been entirely outsourced overseas. Triage and 1^st line support is being provided by foreign outsourcing BPO providers Concentrix and Teleperformance. 2^nd line support is mostly India based with Tech Mahindra’s Allyis India leading the charge, as well as some service delivery by global outsourcers Tata and Wipro.

Microsoft 365 outsourced support services.

The quality of support engineers and custom satisfaction scores are all trending down while resolution times are on the rise. Microsoft has jettisoned support services in favor of higher-margin software licensing (which is their core service). Domestic CSPs now bare the weight of front-line support demands while Microsoft direct support has been outsourced to the latest lowest bidder (good luck Tech Mahindra) trying to gain Microsoft’s favor and work up the tech stack in value and billable rates like Tata and Wipro have demonstrated.

With the decision to completely outsource Microsoft 365 support and not own the service delivery with Microsoft FTEs, M365 support now means cheap support, delivered by technology neophytes who are overloaded with cases. Offshored and outsourced 365 support personnel are not measured for success by ticket resolution but by tickets worked. Anything less than a 5-star review on a ticket is grounds for termination. This results in rampant delay and support agents focused on ticket reviews, not resolution.

Pro tip: If you are stuck in the outsourced overseas Microsoft 365 support vortex, check your support ticket email for a manager’s email towards the signature and include them for visibility. You may want to also consider raising the severity of ticket. If unable to raise the severity, consider closing the ticket and reopening the ticket with a higher severity which may increase visibility of your issue.

Reddit Posts – Microsoft 365 Support

¹Reddit Thread – Microsoft 365 support is absolutely shockingly terrible.. starting to question its viability

²Reddit Thread – Has Microsoft 365 support gone downhill massively…

³Reddit Thread – Does anyone else think that 365 Support has really fallen off the cliff over the past couple of months?

⁴Reddit Thread – Microsoft Business Support is total garbage

⁵Reddit Posts – Former Support Agent

Former support agent, and can confirm that 99.9% of what the first line support does is copy/paste. MS relies heavily on 3rd party contractors to complete the bulk of its work, because the average MS FTE support agent makes about $135k/year vs a 3rd party contractor (US based) is about $60k/year. Additionally, they lean heavily on overseas contractors that they can pay about $12,480k/year ($6/hour).

The 3rd party agents (most of whom have no formal IT/O365 experience) are expected to have no more than 15 open cases assigned to them at any given time, while closing at least 10-12 cases a day and meeting all SLAs for their assignments. Agents are also under heavy pressure to receive 5-star reviews from customers on all of their work, and anything that isn’t a 5-star is treated punitively. If an agent’s score falls too low or if they don’t get their required number of 5-star reviews in a month, they’re terminated.

On top of this, processes/procedures frequently change, with new (and often not fully functional) tools added to the list of things agents are required to do/use. With the waves of layoffs in the last few months, it was also super common for processes to completely change, with workloads suddenly shifted from FTEs to under-trained 3rd parties, and no changes to the internal documentation because the people responsible for the documentation get let go.

The result is a mix of agents with wildly varying backgrounds and language skills, stuck in a rat race against one another to see who can get the most 5-stars. Agents heavily rely on canned responses that they share internally between one another, often not understanding what they’re being asked or even saying.

The goal isn’t to solve customer problems, or even to do an actual good job, it is to keep the positive reviews high because that is the only thing that the MBAs running the show know/understand. MS doesn’t really care about having a functioning support system, they care about being able to tick the box of saying they have a support system, and they bank on being able to pressure contractors into insane workloads to compensate for the decreased quality through sheer volume.

– Reddit User overworkedpnw