Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist.

A Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist is both the process and documentation used in soliciting bids for potential third-party Microsoft support services required by an enterprise or government agency.

The Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist document typically outlines a statement of requirements (SOR) to be met by prospective respondents wishing to make a bid to deliver Microsoft support. It will cover Microsoft products and/or services to meet the given requirements.

The Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist documentation (instant download) covers all the items an IT sourcing and Procurement team need to have covered in order to fully replace Microsoft Premier or Unified support.

You will find these highlighted Vendor Checklist criteria in the full template available for download. These key Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist criteria are also part of the full RFP for Microsoft Support Services.

CAPABILITIES

• 24/7 global Microsoft helpdesk L1-L4 supporting all MSFT products.
• At least 75% of total revenue derived from Microsoft support services.
• Provider has demonstrable feature parity with Microsoft Premier/Unified Support.
• All Microsoft support staff are domestic US persons (per ITAR 120.15)
• Willingness to support end of life Microsoft products.

EXPERIENCE

• 5+ years experience supporting Fortune 500 enterprises and Global 2000.
• Validated independent third-Party Microsoft support provider by Gartner.
• Minimum industries supported: Manufacturing, healthcare, financial, insurance, technology, government and education.

PROCUREMENT

• Simplified pricing and use model – one bucket of hours with discounting by volume.
• Flexible negotiation, contracts, and Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) billing option.
• Proof of Concept (POC) trials available to demonstrate capabilities.
• Diversified supply chain sourcing via WBE and government WOSB status.
• Ability to add hours mid-contract with no penalty.

COST OPTIMIZATION

• Minimum 50% cost reduction and avoidance over next 3 years vs MS Premier/Unified.
• 3 or 5 year contracts to lock-in rates and anchor pricing predictability.
• No additional charges for support ticket escalations to Microsoft.

PERFORMANCE

• Response time 30 min or less across all severities and MSFT SKUs.
• Percentage of tickets escalated to Microsoft is 20% or less.
• Time to resolution at least 25% faster than MS Premier/Unified.
• Service Level Agreements (SLA) for response time and Microsoft escalations.

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

• Triage team to route ticket by severity and technology.
• Technical Account Managers (TAM) used instead of less capable CSAMs.
• Single-sign on client portal with real-time visual KPI including TTR, escalation status, burn rate, ticket details, child-parent groups, POC, cloud outage notification, alerts on incident hour thresholds, hourly usage breakdown by technology and incident type, deep search on prior incident details.

The Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist template has everything you need to find the best alternative to Microsoft Premier/Unified Support.

Download the Vendor Checklist template and use the detailed selection criteria to score third-party Microsoft Support providers across their capabilities, experience and value. Use the Vendor Checklist to identify support providers and mitigate risk by identifying the most qualified provider to support your enterprise’s Microsoft technologies.

Save your procurement team hours of work. Start your due diligence and download the Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist template today.

Vendor Checklists are used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate Government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals.

Many state, local, and federal governments require Vendor Checklists or RFP bids from multiple parties. Some give preference to certified diversity vendors via set asides and diverse business participation requirements for contracting assistance programs such as the US Small Business Administration’s Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program.

The federal government’s goal is to award at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses each year.

The Contracting and Procurement teams at government organizations can download the Microsoft Support Vendor Checklist to facilitate the identification and qualification of government contractors capable of replacing Microsoft Premier or Unified Support, often at significant cost reduction and operational efficiency gain.