New Focus on Proactive Support

Premier Ultimate, a new support offering from Microsoft, gives customers unlimited problem resolution at a fixed price if they commit to proactive services and in-depth training on their Microsoft products. Although Premier Ultimate is likely to be costly—prices depend on the customer’s requirements and environment—it shifts the balance from reacting to problems to preventing them from occurring in the first place, and it could be particularly valuable for customers who are willing to pay a premium for high availability and service levels. The program can also make support costs more predictable and reduce administration costs.

Premier Ultimate Overview

Premier Ultimate joins three other Premier Support programs offered by Microsoft: Premier Foundation, Premier Standard, and Premier Plus.

All offer a combination of the following services:

• Reactive support, used to resolve specific problems with Microsoft software, such as server crashes
• Proactive services, such as risk assessments