May 3, 1999 Web posted at: 4:29 p.m. EDT (2029 GMT) by Bob Trott

From...

(IDG) -- Microsoft is hoping a reshuffled support program, which will see the software giant get more personally involved in customers' problems, will quiet complaints that it offers less-than-stellar support.

The support offerings have been reshaped from three product-specific categories to four levels, each with a focus on a specific customer group. Also, Microsoft's current staff level of 7,500 in its product support services group will be increased by 20 percent.

The changes include no significant support price

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
InfoWorld home page
InfoWorld forums home page
InfoWorld Internet commerce section
Get Media Grok and The Industry Standard Intelligencer delivered for free
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
IDG.net's personal news page
Year 2000 World
Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for IT leaders
Search IDG.net in 12 languages
News Radio
	Fusion audio primers
	Computerworld Minute

hikes, according to Kevin Johnson, Microsoft's vice president of product support services. Johnson said the reason behind the revamp was the same one that drove the company to reorganize in March -- in President Steve Ballmer's words, "customer delight."

"It's all part of our reinventing Microsoft and putting the customer at the center of everything we do," Johnson said. "Our commitment is to being No. 1 in the industry in customer satisfaction. 'Satisfaction guaranteed' is our view."

Of greatest interest to large corporate customers is the Alliance Support program, which is aimed at customers running mission-critical Microsoft applications. A related program, called Alliance High Availability, will let customers extend their support plans to include what Johnson called "guaranteed uptime" and other services from partners such as Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Data General, Unisys, Wang, and NCR.

"That's where they're stepping up to the plate and saying, 'We at Microsoft are going to get more involved in the top-end, mission-critical [support] available from partners, be it HP or whoever," said Dwight Davis, a Kirkland, Wash.-based analyst with Summit Strategies.

"They're taking a more intimate role, and not depending solely on partners to give that support," Davis said. "It is a response to backlash from customers who wanted Microsoft to have more of a role there, to stand as the ultimate backstop for support."

Under the Alliance Support for Enterprise Systems arm of Alliance Support, customers will benefit from dedicated Microsoft Technical Account Managers and support professionals.

The Alliance Support for High Availability segment engages Microsoft Certified Support Center high-availability providers to offer service-level commitments based on system availability.

However, Johnson was quick to point out that Microsoft's increased role does not mean that its support partners will suffer, in what has been a highly lucrative field for them.

"This complements the great work we're doing with those partners and it provides a very powerful set of services from Microsoft as well," Johnson said. "We will engage them and help them accomplish their business objectives."

But if customers feel better about Microsoft's increased role, its support partners are not all so optimistic.

"Depending on how this plays out, it could be mutually beneficial for us and [Microsoft], or it could be not so beneficial," said an official at a company that offers Windows NT support, who requested anonymity.

Companies that aren't appropriate for the high-end support won't enjoy the same level of attention from Microsoft that big companies will, one analyst said.

"They want the enterprise to have excellent Windows NT support, but they don't necessarily want to be the ones to provide it," said Michael Silver, senior research analyst with the Gartner Group, in Stamford, Conn. "Microsoft does want that involvement and to have more account control over their larger enterprise customers."

The next tier of support, the Premier Support level, is aimed at enterprise customers who want a "managed support relationship," Johnson said. It has specific segments for IT shops, Microsoft Certified Solution Providers, developers, and OEMs.

"The perception among a lot of customers is that nobody understands Microsoft products like Microsoft," Davis said. "Many of them want the security of that direct relationship with Microsoft."

That security is what attracted Marq Youngblood, data processing administrator for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, which recently relied on Premier Support services to roll out Internet Explorer 4.0 and Outlook across 6,300 desktops.

"Premier gives me a direct connection to highly skilled [Microsoft] technicians," Youngblood said. "I think I have the most expeditious problem determination and resolution. Also, since it's Microsoft themselves and this is their product, I feel like I get the most knowledgeable people at my disposal."

The third level, Professional Support, offers incident resolution and technical resources to resellers, consultants, OEMs, and developers, Johnson said. That program, along with the Personal Support program for consumers, will be available July 1 in the United States and worldwide by the end of 1999.