"Ultimate" Support from Microsoft

Microsoft Services Premier Support family has grown with the introduction of the new "Ultimate" Support offering. According to the Redmond company, Premier Ultimate is designed to illustrate strong support offered to customers with the end purpose of guaranteeing a healthy IT environment. Microsoft Services Premier Ultimate is available worldwide as of August 18, 2008, for a fixed price, undisclosed by the software giant, as each contract will be negotiated individually. But what makes Premier Ultimate "stand out from the crowd" is the fact that Microsoft is focusing on making available proactive support, rather than assistance for already existing problems.

"Customers told us they wanted risk reduction, support planning simplification and easy administration in an increasingly complex IT environment," explained Luca Barone, general manager, Support and Health Offerings for Microsoft Services. The new proactive support strategy is aimed at Microsoft's largest customers willing to make an investment into an entirely new way of collaborating with the Redmond company.

"By adding Premier Ultimate to our existing Premier Support portfolio, we are investing alongside our customers to plot an individualized road map to a mature and healthy IT infrastructure, while sharing the risks and responsibilities of optimizing their software investments," Barone stated.

Microsoft made it clear that Premier Ultimate is more than just a support offering. In this regard, customers will benefit from what the company referred to as a "road map to IT health." In this scenario, Microsoft is gearing up to make available pre-agreed proactive services, on top of standard assistance. As far as on-site support is concerned, customers will benefit from an unlimited (although some restrictions are possible) 24/7 offering, along with account management and health assessments.

"IDC recommends that vendors provide preventive and proactive support services to help customers minimize downtime and to ensure consistent availability of their business-critical processes. Microsoft is doing just that with Premier Ultimate, highlighting the industry shift toward deeper, more collaborative support relationships with customers," added Elaina Stergiades, senior research analyst, IDC.