Understanding Microsoft's Worldwide Support Organization

Comprising a significant portion of the overall company, Microsoft’s support organization works with partners to form a worldwide support network that complements the company’s primary mission of selling software. Microsoft provides customers and partners with an array of support services, ranging from free Web-based help to direct interaction with product development groups. By understanding Microsoft Support’s mission, organizational structure, and support capabilities, customers and partners can make better purchase decisions when faced with the plethora of support options and programs.

Mission and Goals

Microsoft support’s primary mission is not to be a profit center but rather to be a “product enabler” for Microsoft’s customers and partners; that is, the support organization provides both proactive and reactive services that help ensure that Microsoft’s large portfolio of products can be successfully deployed and work as intended when used by customers. Its secondary mission is to be a major conduit for feeding customer problems back to product groups so that Microsoft developers can build better products. Wherever possible, it promotes problem prevention by transferring knowledge to customers and partners through a variety of means.