14 DAY TRIAL // On January 23rd, Microsoft released its Microsoft Small Business +. This is a suite of free, personalized online resources and technical support offerings. The offers include a 45-day free trial of unlimited advanced technical support options that customers can choose to purchase. According to the software giant, this software is designed to help small businesses succeed in applying technology in their businesses. Microsoft wants to continue delivering solutions and resources designed for small businesses and Small Business + is how it aims to do just that.
Ray Boggs, vice president for small and medium business research at IDC says, "It can be tempting to just throw new technology at small businesses, but that's not the way to succeed? " After all, the majority of firms with under 50 employees don't have full-time IT staff, and can get very frustrated very quickly when things don't work as planned. Microsoft Small Business + provides a lifeline for when problems develop and, just as important, it will build greater customer confidence in using new technology -- and also in turning to Microsoft for answers even before questions come up."
Companies only need to complete a registration to receive free access to offers which are personalized to their professional needs, based on their registration information. Small Business + can be accessed in the United States at http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness. It will also be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Microsoft Small Business + offers the following resources:
- Small Business Help Desk provides self-help and assisted support offerings. This includes a single place for customers to quickly find answers to common support questions, find the latest service packs for their products or watch webcasts delivered by Microsoft support experts.
- Small Business Quick Advice is a dedicated support resource for customers available in real time using live-chat technology to answer a broad range of questions from basic troubleshooting to how-to-use questions.
- Small Business Expert Help provides more advanced technical issue problem-solving such as networking or server problems and can be addressed through one of several steeply discounted support packages offered exclusively as part of Small Business +. The counted offerings provide significant savings off other available options from Microsoft and include combinations of both live chat and phone-based support. New members receive a 45-day free trial of the unlimited live-chat advanced support offerings available for purchase.