Leveraging Microsoft Support Credits and Partner Options for Cost Savings
Executive Summary: CIOs and CTOs are facing rising Microsoft support costs as Premier Support gives way to Unified Supportโs spend-based model.
Read our Microsoft Negotiation Guide.
To control these expenses, enterprises can leverage existing support credits, Microsoft partner resources, and even third-party support options.
By utilizing every available support credit and considering alternatives, IT leaders can negotiate more favorable terms and reduce their overall support spend without compromising critical support coverage.
Read Top 10 Tips For Negotiating Microsoft Unified Support Contracts.
The Rising Cost of Microsoft Unified Support
Microsoftโs move from Premier Support (pay-per-hour) to Unified Support (pay-as-a-percentage of annual spending) has dramatically increased costs for many enterprises.
Under Unified Support, organizations typically pay 8โ12% of their total Microsoft annual spend for support coverage, which amounts to a minimum of around $50,000 per year, even for smaller enterprises.
In real terms, a company spending $10 million on Microsoft licenses and Azure might face $800,000 โ $1,000,000 per year in Unified Support fees.
This represents a significant departure from the older Premier model, where you only paid for the support hours or incidents you used.
The result is that support costs now rise automatically in proportion to your licensing spend rather than your actual support consumption.
CIOs report frustration that, despite no increase in support tickets, costs continue to climb year over year. This budget pressure is forcing IT leaders to seek creative ways to regain control over support costs.
Read Multi-Year Discounts and EA Bundling Strategies for Microsoft Unified Support.
Support Credits and Benefits
One often-overlooked tool is the support credits included in Microsoft agreements and Software Assurance benefits. Under legacy Premier contracts, companies purchased a block of support hours or โincident credits.โ
Additionally, Software Assurance (SA) on Microsoft licenses historically provided several free support incidents or phone support hours as a benefit.
For example, an enterprise with broad SA coverage may have accumulated several support incident vouchers that can be used to resolve technical issues at no extra cost.
Microsoft has been phasing out these SA support benefits in recent years, but if your organization still has them, they are valuable currency. Microsoft transitioned these into a one-time credit toward Unified Support.
When you first move to Unified, any existing SA support incidents can be converted into a dollar credit (often equivalent to ~50% off) of your first-year Unified Support fee.
This means if your initial Unified quote was $200,000 for the year, applying your SA support vouchers could reduce it to around $100,000 for year one. Itโs a significant saving โ but only temporary.
After year one, those credits are gone, and year two costs can increase again. Nonetheless, itโs crucial to utilize all available support credits: either use them for proactive services or ensure they are fully applied to your bill.
Every dollar of support credit is leveraged to lower out-of-pocket spending on Microsoftโs support.
Read Maximizing Microsoft Unified Support Credits in Enterprise Agreements.
Leveraging Microsoft Partner Support Channels
Beyond Microsoftโs offerings, many enterprises can tap into Microsoft partner support to handle routine issues.
Microsoftโs partner ecosystem includes systems integrators, managed service providers, and Licensing Solution Partners (LSPs) who often have their support arrangements with Microsoft.
For example, suppose you purchase Azure or Microsoft 365 through a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partner. In that case, that partner is required to provide Tier-1 support and can escalate issues to Microsoft on your behalf.
In practical terms, this means that some technical problems may be resolved by your partner (often at little or no additional cost to you), thereby reducing your reliance on Microsoftโs Unified Support for everyday support needs.
Enterprises should evaluate their key vendors and integrators: Are you fully utilizing their expertise and support commitments? If a mission-critical application, such as Dynamics 365 or SharePoint, is managed by a consulting partner, ensure that the partnerโs support is your first line of defense.
By routing tickets through a partner when possible, you preserve your direct Microsoft support engagements for only the most complex and critical issues.
This approach can justify negotiating a lower-tier (and lower-cost) Microsoft support plan since your partner coverage fills the gap for standard support.
It also sends a message to Microsoft that you have alternative support paths in place โ a useful lever during negotiations.
Third-Party Support as a Negotiation Leverage
Perhaps the strongest form of leverage is demonstrating that you have an alternative to Microsoftโs support entirely.
In recent years, a third-party support market for Microsoft products has emerged. Specialized firms (recognized by Gartner and others) now offer support for Microsoft software independent of Microsoft itself.
These providers, such as US Cloud or Spinnaker Support, typically cover the full Microsoft stack (Windows, Office 365, Azure, SQL Server, etc.) with veteran engineers.
The key appeal is cost: third-party support vendors generally charge 30โ50% less than Microsoft Unified Support. For example, where Microsoft might quote $500,000 per year for support, a third-party provider might offer equivalent coverage for $250,000.
They often use a fixed-hour or ticket-based model (similar to the old Premier), which means costs are predictable and tied to actual usage rather than a percentage of spend.
Many of these providers are also Microsoft partners, so they retain the ability to escalate truly novel issues to Microsoft if needed (youโre not completely cut off from the source).
Utilizing third-party support options can significantly strengthen your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) when negotiating with Microsoft.
Simply put, you can credibly say: โWe have an option to switch support providers and save 40%. Weโd prefer to stay with Microsoft support, but only if the terms improve.โ This kind of leverage often encourages Microsoft to offer discounts, service enhancements, or flexible terms to retain your business.
Even if you donโt ultimately switch, just having a formal quote from a third-party support firm can be a powerful bargaining chip.
Itโs important, of course, to vet these providers for quality and ensure your risk tolerance aligns (e.g., third-party support may not have direct access to Microsoftโs product source code for fixes).
Still, for many enterprise IT leaders, the mere existence of a viable alternative changes the tone of Unified Support renewal discussions from a โmust-payโ to a negotiable deal.
Comparing Support Options: Cost vs. Benefit vs. Risk
Different support strategies can drastically alter your IT support costs and risk profile.
The table below compares the primary options and their implications for a typical enterprise:
Support Option | Cost Model (Example) | Benefits | Potential Risks / Drawbacks |
---|---|---|---|
Microsoft Unified | Annual fee (~8-12% of MS spend). (E.g. $500k/year on $5M spend) | Direct vendor expertise; broad coverage of all MS products; fastest escalations for code fixes | High cost that grows with license spend; less flexibility and transparency (paying even if unused); multi-year contract commitments |
Third-Party Provider | Fixed fee or hours model (30-50% less than Unified). (E.g. $250k/year for similar scope) | Significant cost savings; predictable budget tied to actual usage; often access to seasoned ex-Microsoft engineers; flexible terms | Not โofficialโ Microsoft support (vendor might lack direct code fixes); potential need to involve Microsoft for product bugs (though many third-party providers can escalate via partner channels); internal skepticism or compliance review needed |
Partner Support | Included with vendor/partner services or add-on fee. (Often part of CSP or SI contracts) | Leverages existing vendor knowledge of your environment; may be low/no extra cost if bundled; reduces load on Microsoft support for routine issues | Scope is limited to partnerโs domain (they may not cover all products); partner ultimately may still escalate complex issues to Microsoft (potential delays); variable quality depending on partner expertise |
Pay-Per-Incident | Ad-hoc purchase of support incidents from Microsoft (approximately $500โ$1,000 per incident) or use of free SA incident vouchers | No annual commitment โ pay only when issues arise; suitable for very infrequent needs; can be used to handle one-off emergencies or niche product issues | Costs can spike if many issues occur; not practical for 24/7 critical support (each incident is limited in scope); lacks proactive or dedicated account management; Microsoft has largely deprecated this model for enterprise-grade support |
In practice, many enterprises employ a hybrid approach: maintaining a minimal Microsoft support plan for high-severity escalations and product updates while offloading day-to-day support to internal teams, partners, or a third-party vendor. The goal is to right-size what you pay for support.
You want to avoid paying a percentage of your entire license estate if only a handful of products or systems truly require unlimited, direct access to Microsoft.
By understanding these options, you can determine the level of Microsoft support you truly need and identify areas where you can safely reduce or utilize alternatives.
Negotiation Tactics for CIOs and CTOs
With support credits identified and alternatives in hand, CIOs and CTOs can approach Microsoft negotiations with confidence and data. First, time the discussion strategically: start talks well before your Unified Support agreement renewal.
Use that lead time to analyze your actual support ticket usage over the past year โ how many cases opened, for which products, and what severity. Often, this analysis reveals that only a fraction of the paid support capacity was utilized.
Bring this data to Microsoft and challenge the value gap: if youโre paying $1M and only opened 50 cases, thatโs $20k per case โ is that justified? Microsoft may respond with promises of unlimited support usage, faster response, or bundled proactive services, but you should insist on tangible concessions for the overspend.
One tactic is to request a โnot-to-exceedโ cap or flat renewal price that ignores growth in license consumption.
Another option is to seek multi-year discounts, such as a 3-year support deal that locks pricing at a lower rate or includes additional services (training days, dedicated support engineers, etc.) at no extra charge.
If you have credible third-party quotes, consider sharing (or at least alluding to) the competing offer. Microsoft representatives are aware of these alternatives and would prefer to retain your support business rather than lose it.
Leverage internal alignment as well: ensure your CFO and procurement leaders are aware of how Unified Support is priced and the risks of runaway costs.
They can reinforce the message to Microsoft that the current cost model is unsustainable and that a solution (discount, scope adjustment, credits) is needed. Finally, remember to be willing to walk away or downgrade. I
If Microsoft wonโt budge and you have an alternative lined up (even if just temporarily), being ready to execute that option is the ultimate leverage.
Many organizations see Microsoft improve their offer at the 11th hour when a customer is truly prepared to cancel or reduce their support package.
Read Multi-Year Discounts and EA Bundling Strategies for Microsoft Unified Support.
Recommendations
- Audit and Use Your Credits: Identify all Software Assurance support incidents, training vouchers, or unused Premier hours. Use them or convert them into monetary credits on your Microsoft support quote โ especially for year-one savings.
- Benchmark Support Usage: Analyze the past yearโs support case volume and types. Use this data to argue for a lower price or tailored support package that fits your actual needs instead of a one-size (expensive) Unified plan.
- Engage Partner Support: Before logging a ticket with Microsoft, leverage your strategic vendors and Microsoft partners for support. Make partner support your first line for routine issues to reduce reliance on Microsoft โ and use this fact to negotiate a smaller Microsoft support scope.
- Obtain Third-Party Quotes: Even if youโre inclined to stay with Microsoft, get a formal quote from a third-party support provider. The pricing and service details can be invaluable negotiation leverage to secure concessions from Microsoft (or serve as a Plan B if needed).
- Negotiate Caps and Discounts: Donโt accept the standard Unified Support terms without question. Push for a cap on annual cost increases (e.g., no more than X% rise per year) or a fixed fee not tied strictly to your license spend. Multi-year agreements should come with escalating discounts or added value, not just escalating costs.
- Consider Scope Segmentation: If only certain systems require 24/7 Microsoft support, explore options to limit the paid support to those systems. For other products, use pay-per-incident or third-party support. Customizing the scope can trim unnecessary costs.
- Plan an Exit Strategy: In negotiations, have a clear alternative ready (such as switching to a third party for support or using internal resources temporarily). Communicate that plan internally and be ready to follow through โ this resolve often pushes the vendor to make a better offer to retain your business.
FAQ
Q1: How can I reduce our Microsoft Unified Support costs without losing coverage?
A1: Start by analyzing how much support you use. Leverage any Software Assurance support vouchers to lower costs, and ask Microsoft for a tailored plan if your usage is low. You can also consider a third-party support firm for a portion (or all) of your support needs โ many companies save 30โ50% by doing so. Finally, negotiate with Microsoft for multi-year discounts or a cap on cost growth in the contract.
Q2: What exactly are โMicrosoft support credits,โ and how do I use them?
A2: These refer to support hours or incident tickets youโre entitled to through programs like Premier Support or Software Assurance. For instance, Software Assurance is used to provide a certain number of free support calls. You can redeem these credits to get support from Microsoft at no charge or convert them into a dollar-value discount on your first year of Unified Support. Make sure Microsoft applies any available credits to reduce your bill โ itโs basically โfreeโ money youโve earned through your license investments.
Q3: Are third-party support providers for Microsoft software reliable and safe?
A3: Third-party support for Microsoft has become a valid option, with firms (e.g., US Cloud, Spinnaker) even recognized by industry analysts. They employ experienced engineers (often former Microsoft support staff) and offer support for the same products. Many enterprises use them to save money. The key is to do due diligence: ensure the provider covers the products you need, understand how they escalate issues to Microsoft if a bug or critical fix is required, and check references from other clients. With a solid contract in place, third-party support can be as reliable as Microsoftโs but at a lower cost.
Q4: Our company works with a Microsoft partner for deployments โ can that partner help us with support?
A4: Yes. Many Microsoft partners offer ongoing support and will handle troubleshooting for the solutions they implement. If youโre in a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) arrangement, your partner is already responsible for primary support. Even outside of CSP, system integrators often include some support in their contracts. Use this to your advantage: let the partner field the first call on issues in their domain. This can reduce the frequency of your need to involve Microsoft. Just be sure to clarify the support SLAs with your partner and how they coordinate with Microsoft for any issues they canโt resolve.
Q5: What are the risks of dropping Microsoftโs support or choosing a cheaper plan?
A5: The main risk is that if a severe issue arises (such as a widespread outage or a critical security incident), having less direct access to Microsoftโs engineers could slow down the resolution. Unified Support includes quick escalations for high-severity cases and direct fixes or patches from Microsoft. If you opt for a smaller plan or third-party support, ensure that you still have a path to reach Microsoft for truly urgent matters (either by maintaining a minimal support contract or via your third-party partner channels). Itโs about balance โ you want to cut unnecessary costs without leaving the business exposed. Mitigate the risk by clearly understanding what any alternative support covers, and consider keeping a basic Microsoft support agreement for โpriority 1โ emergencies if needed.
Read about our Microsoft Negotiation Service.