How to Buy Microsoft Unified Support.
HOW TO BUY MICROSOFT UNIFIED SUPPORT
See how to buy Microsoft Unified Support. Enterprises can buy one of three MS Unified Support plans or save 30-50% with US Cloud.
Public sector can buy Microsoft Unified Support
Public sector Microsoft Premier Support clients can renew Premier until July 1, 2024 or buy Unified now.
- Beginning July 1, 2023, Microsoft will no longer enter into Premier Support agreements for new public sector customers or multi-year deals.
- Existing public sector customers who have not yet transitioned to Unified can renew their Premier Support agreement prior to July 1, 2024.
Public sector customers include National, Federal, State and Local Government (SLG), State-owned Enterprises (SOE), and Education (EDU).
Microsoft Unified Support for pubic sector incudes the following services:
Support Account Management from an assigned Microsoft resource (“Services Resource”) helps to build and maintain relationships with your management and service delivery staff and helps you arrange each element of the Unified Support to meet your business requirements.
Workshops help you to prevent problems, increase system availability and assist with creating MS products and solutions based on Microsoft technologies.
Problem Resolution Support provides assistance for problems with specific symptoms encountered while using MS Products, where there is a reasonable expectation that the problem is caused by MS Products.
Support Assistance provides short-term advice and guidance for problems not covered with Problem Resolution Support as well as requests for consultative assistance for design, development and deployment issues.
Information Services provide your staff with the latest knowledge on Microsoft technologies to enhance your in-house support capabilities.
Commercial enterprises can buy Microsoft Unified Support
Commercial Microsoft Premier Support clients cannot renew Premier agreements as of July 1, 2022.
- Beginning July 1, 2022, Microsoft no longer renews Premier Support agreements for commercial support customers.
- Former commercial Premier clients may choose Unified (3 plans), Unified Enterprise or third-party support.
Microsoft Unified Support for commercial enterprises included the following services:
Support Account Management from an assigned Microsoft resource (“Services Resource”) helps to build and maintain relationships with your management and service delivery staff and helps you arrange each element of the Unified Support to meet your business requirements.
Workshops help you to prevent problems, increase system availability and assist with creating MS products and solutions based on Microsoft technologies.
Problem Resolution Support provides assistance for problems with specific symptoms encountered while using MS Products, where there is a reasonable expectation that the problem is caused by MS Products.
Support Assistance provides short-term advice and guidance for problems not covered with Problem Resolution Support as well as requests for consultative assistance for design, development and deployment issues.
Information Services provide your staff with the latest knowledge on Microsoft technologies to enhance your in-house support capabilities.
How procurement teams can buy Microsoft Unified Support
To purchase Microsoft Unified Support, you can follow these general steps:
- Visit the Microsoft Unified Support website: Go to the official Microsoft website and navigate to the “Support” section. Look for information related to Unified Support.
- Contact Microsoft Sales: Reach out to Microsoft sales representatives by phone or email. They will provide you with detailed information about Unified Support, including pricing, features, and available options.
- Understand your requirements: Before contacting Microsoft, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of your organization’s support needs. Consider factors such as the number of users, products you require support for, desired response times, and specific service-level agreements (SLAs).
- Discuss your needs with Microsoft: When you speak with a Microsoft sales representative, explain your requirements, including the level of support you need and any specific customization you might require. They will guide you through the available Unified Support plans and help you select the most suitable one.
- Negotiate pricing and contract terms: Once you’ve identified the appropriate Unified Support plan, negotiate pricing and contract terms with the Microsoft sales representative. Be prepared to discuss the duration of the support agreement, payment terms, and any additional services or features you may require.
- Finalize the purchase: Once you’ve agreed on the terms, Microsoft will provide you with the necessary paperwork, including a contract or agreement. Review it carefully, make any necessary adjustments, and proceed with the purchase. Ensure you have a clear understanding of the support services, response times, escalation processes, and any limitations or exclusions outlined in the agreement.
- Provide payment and sign the contract: Arrange the payment method specified by Microsoft and sign the contract or agreement. Ensure you keep a copy of all relevant documents for future reference.
It’s important to note that the availability and specific process for purchasing Unified Support may vary depending on your location and the products/services you require support for. The aforementioned steps provide a general guideline, but it’s recommended to reach out to Microsoft directly for the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding Unified Support purchase options.
How to buy Microsoft Unified Support and save 30-50%
According to former Premier Support clients who have transitioned to Unified, the real value of Premier was being able to buy only the support hours they needed.
Microsoft Premier Support was expensive but at least enterprise CIOs could reliably predict future support costs and satisfy their CFO. With the new Unified Support model, enterprises are forced to spend for supporting Microsoft technologies they don’t use or in some cases, that they’re already paying for.
Here are the biggest detractors for Unified:
- Unified Sticker Shock – For some enterprises, Microsoft Unified Support is a good fit. Careful licensing strategy and aggressive Microsoft negotiations can yield relatively affordable OEM support on par with past Premier Support contracts. But for those enterprises on the wrong side of Microsoft’s Unified pricing formula, 30%, 50%, even 300%+ increases are not uncommon with the forced transition from Premier to Unified.
- Pricing Predictability at Risk – Microsoft Unified Support is a risk to enterprise technology budgets. CTOs must be able to accurately forecast Microsoft cloud consumption while avoiding significant future Unified cost increases. Unified Support’s unlimited Microsoft product support initially looks attractive but often results in significant cost increases for enterprises over time.
- Falling Support Quality – According to research by a leading Microsoft industry analyst, the transition to Unified Support has been a customer satisfaction disaster. Based on interviews with Microsoft Premier and Unified Support enterprise clients over the last five years, the percentage of Fortune 500 reporting falling Microsoft Enterprise Support quality went from 17% in 2018 to a whopping 68% in 2023.
Savvy enterprises are switching from Microsoft Unified to US Cloud and saving 30-50%.
Enterprises are able to buy the Microsoft support hours they need from US Cloud, so there’s no wasted IT budget dollars. In addition, most are reporting improved support quality to Gartner along with faster response times, time to resolution, and financially backed SLAs.
Once again, CIOs are able to reliably predict their future Microsoft Enterprise Support services costs while reducing compliance risk with US Cloud’s all domestic US based engineering teams.
Additionally, US Cloud Microsoft Enterprise Support clients are able to extend the life of their Microsoft assets by avoiding Microsoft-dictated upgrades and migrations just to stay fully supported.
If you’re smart you’ll contact US Cloud to start improving support and saving now.
