Office 365's Weakest Link: Small Business Phone Support?

January 5, 2012

2 Min Read
Office 365's Weakest Link: Small Business Phone Support?

By samdizzy

CustomerSupport_1

It’s the classic question: How can partners hope to maintain customer control as Microsoft promotes Office 365 cloud applications into small business accounts? The simple answer VARs, MSPs and cloud integrators should give to their customers: “Have you ever tried calling Microsoft’s small business phone support for Office 365?”

Fact is, such phone support doesn’t exist. For a price premium, Microsoft offers technical phone support to midsize and enterprise customers, notes ars technica. But Office 365’s small business customers are relegated to online support forums for help.

Microsoft Office and Office 365 Senior Director Tom Rizzo told ars technica:

“We’ve been in the support business now for 25 to 30 years. The feedback we’ve heard [from small businesses] is that they’re happy with support today. We haven’t heard that picking up the phone is the most critical piece. The most critical piece is solving their problems in a fast, reliable manner, regardless of how they’re communicating with us. The experience is pretty similar except you’re just not talking to a voice.”

Say What?

I respectfully disagree with Rizzo. As a former small business co-owner, I depended on reliable phone support from cloud services providers. Our company embraced the Rackspace Cloud because of Rackspace’s fanatical support — including phone support. We abandoned a few cloud service providers that lacked responsive, informed phone support personnel.

In the age of cloud services, many small business owners feel helpless and lost on support forums. Perhaps that’s why Google Apps added phone support for all business customers — of all sizes — in November 2011. Ars technica pointed out lingering support problems in the Google Apps support ecosystem about a month ago. Google certainly isn’t perfect. But phone support was a step in the right direction.

Partnering and Competing with Microsoft

For VARs and MSPs that partner — or compete — with Microsoft, the message from Talkin’ Cloud is consistent.

  • When helping your customers to embrace Office 365, point out that your expertise can’t be replaced because ultimately you offer the local, responsive support that Microsoft can’t match.

  • When selling your own services or third-party services against Office 365, ask the customer what number the plan to dial for phone support? Chances are, you’ll remain the only number they have…

Bottom line: Even as Office 365’s installed base potentially grows, you — and your help desk — can maintain account control.

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