14 DAY TRIAL // Concomitantly with the end of support for Windows Vista RTM, Microsoft also announced changes to its Service Pack Support policy, on April 13th, 2010. Jared Proudfoot, group program manager, Microsoft Support Lifecycle, explains that customers still running Microsoft products with unsupported service packs versions will be able to enjoy limited troubleshooting from now on. In contrast with the new Service Pack Support policy, the old policy meant that the end of support for a service pack was equal to customers no longer accessing troubleshooting help from Microsoft Customer Service and Support.
The Redmond company required all customers to upgrade their products to a supported service pack release before allowing them to take advantage of assisted telephone support, security updates, and non-security hotfixes. Proudfoot notes that the software giant revised the Service Pack Support policy in accordance with feedback from customers. In this context, Microsoft support professionals will now be able to offer limited break/fix troubleshooting to customers even on unsupported service packs.
“The new Service Pack Support policy enables customers to obtain support as follows: break/fix support incidents will be provided through Microsoft Customer Service and Support; and through Microsoft’s managed support offerings (such as Premier Support). There will be no option to engage Microsoft’s product development resources, and technical workarounds may be limited or not available. If the support incident requires escalation to development for further guidance, requires a hotfix, or requires a security update, customers will be asked to upgrade to a supported service pack,” Proudfoot reveals.
However, also per the new policy, limited troubleshooting will only be provided for unsupported service packs, but only as long as the product that the service pack upgraded in the past continues to be supported, either in the Mainstream Support or Extended Support stages. Proudfoot makes it clear that Microsoft overhauled the Service Pack Support policy only to accommodate request from customers. Along with limited support, the company is also ready to provide migration assistance for the unsupported service pack to a supported release.
“Customers are highly encouraged to stay on a supported service pack to ensure they are on the latest and most secure version of their product. This is especially important for those customers running business critical applications. Staying on a supported service pack is the only way to ensure that you get continued access to security updates and the ability to escalate your support issues within Microsoft,” Proudfoot adds.