Microsoft created Software Assurance (SA) in 2002, to provide access to new versions of software products at no additional cost to customers that already have software licenses, as well as additional benefits for deploying and managing Microsoft products. They have added and removed benefits over the years to stay on top with IT needs and trends.
In 2019, Microsoft announced changes for the Software Assurance 24×7 Problem Resolution Support benefit, however, this is changing again.
Microsoft’s original plan was to retire this benefit to later replace it with as-needed 24/7 support for customers with SA that spend more than 250K USD. Now, they will instead fully retire the 24×7 Problem Resolution Support benefit from SA for all customers, starting February 1st, 2023.
Why?
Microsoft is adapting their support offerings to the increasing cloud adoption and digital transformation. Unified Support has become the predominant way customers are covering their Microsoft portfolio; as it offers a comprehensive and flexible foundation for Microsoft solutions.
With an Enterprise Support contract, customers have one contract to meet all their support needs. This includes cloud services that the SA benefit doesn’t cover.
What does the Software Assurance 24×7 Problem Resolution Support retirement means for my organization?
- New incidents won’t be allocated, effective February 1st, 2023
- Your current incidents can be used or transferred to a Microsoft Support contract before February 1st, 2023.
*Note: Unused incidents will not be available starting February 1st, 2023.
Not sure how this will affect your organization? Contact one of our Microsoft licensing experts today, we are happy to help.
