Microsoft Is Going Deeper Into Service And SupportMicrosoft Is Going Deeper Into Service And Support

Microsoft is moving more directly into the data center. It plans to launch a new program that puts it more squarely in the data-center service and support world for business customers. Until now, Microsoft has left the bulk of those duties to OEM partners such as Hewlett-Packard and Unisys.

The program is aimed at customers of Windows 2000 Datacenter Server and potential customers of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, which will represent a new level of scalability for the Windows operating system. Windows Server 2003, scheduled for availability in April, will run on up to 64 Intel processors, support eight-node clustering and 512 Gbytes of RAM, and come in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Systems running Datacenter are available only through computer manufacturers; the high-end software cannot be purchased directly from Microsoft.

As part of its new Datacenter High Availability Program, Microsoft personnel will support a 24-hour help desk, called the High Availability Resource Queue, for Datacenter customers. If an OEM is unable to solve a problem with a customer's Datacenter server within 45 minutes, the problem will be escalated to the Resource Queue. Bob Ellsworth, director of the enterprise technical team with Windows server marketing, says a more rigorous trouble-shooting process was necessary because some problems in the past had gone unsolved for days and even weeks. "We now have mandatory problem escalation," Ellsworth says.

An earlier support program was introduced in September 2000, following the introduction of Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. Under that offering, 11 OEMs provided frontline service and support, with Microsoft experts serving as backup expertise. Under the new program, Microsoft will offer frontline support directly as an option, and it's expanding the program so that systems integrators and resellers can be certified Datacenter Service Providers, in addition to OEMs.

Microsoft will also make it faster and easier to get system configurations certified when new software or hardware components are added to a Datacenter server. Under the older plan, it could take up to two weeks to get such changes certified.

Mark Feverston, VP of Enterprise Server marketing with Unisys, says changes such as the High Availability Resource Queue and faster certification should result in better service and support for businesses running top-of-the-line Windows machines. "There are some good things here," says Feverston. Unisys has sold 850 of its ES7000 servers running Windows 2000 Datacenter Server since the software was introduced.