Chapter 30. How to Get Support for Your System
As a vendor, Microsoft is responsible for providing support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It does this in a number of ways, some of which are slightly different for Online users than for On-Premises users:
Service pack updates (On-Premises only)
Hotfixes (On-Premises only)
Hands-on support from Microsoft
Referrals to Microsoft partners
This chapter covers all of these, but it is important to know and recognize that Microsoft offers support for anything on your system, provided that the following are all true:
You have not placed the system in an unsupported state.
The problem is repeatable.
The issue is localized to Dynamics CRM and not related to anything having to do with ancillary products or processes.
In the event that any of these conditions have not been met, you might be out of luck with getting support from Microsoft. Let’s look more closely at one of the most common items from the list: unsupported state.
A system is considered to be in an unsupported state when modifications have been made outside the software development kit (SDK) recommendations. The most common example that we’ve seen for this type of issue is an organization using code to do something that you can’t do with the configuration user interface provided by Microsoft and not outlined in the SDK framework; it might be as simple as having code show or hide a field or change some of the formatting (for example, the background color) of a form. Although these changes might seem minimal, they require the development and deployment of JavaScript. Even though the code may run perfectly on the current Dynamics CRM implementation, Microsoft might roll out an update that causes the form user interface to differ slightly, thus resulting in an error in the code that users see. Users may be confused by the new error, and if the original developer of the code is no longer available, users may call Microsoft for help with the strange error message. Microsoft will likely review the system and provide feedback that the code as developed is not supported and that it needs to be removed.
Note
Microsoft will probably not provide help on how to fix the unsupported code; however, you might get lucky.
Other ways that you can potentially put your system into an unsupported state might include the following:
Modification to the raw files of CRM, such as the .aspx or .html pages that reside on the server (On-Premises only)
Direct SQL interaction (on any level) (On-Premises only)
If either of these problems has happened, you need to restore any of these modifications to their original state if you want to receive official Microsoft support.
Note that it is not illegal to make such modifications (in other words, it doesn’t violate the Microsoft use rights), and sometimes circumstances require these types of changes. If the organization is aware of the risks associated with these changes and has anticipated the limitations on the support available (by having enough knowledge about the product or having retained competent partner assistance), Microsoft support is not critical.
Caution
Note that unsupported modifications are not recommended for all organizations and should only be made when/if all recommendations for unsupported code usage are heeded.
Online Support
Microsoft provides four different tiers of support for its Online customers:
Basic Subscription
Enhanced
Professional Direct
Premier for (Large Accounts Only)
An organization can select the support model that fits its business and budget when and how it likes.
Basic Subscription Support
Microsoft offers basic support for its online customers at no charge. The support covers most issues with the system (including troubleshooting the Outlook integration piece) and can be used as often as necessary (even on the same issue, if necessary). The specifics are as follows:
Cost—Included
Community forums—Included
Service dashboard—Included
Access to self-help—Included
Web incident submission—Included
Unlimited incidents—Included
Hours—Regular business hours
Response time—Typically next business day
Phone support—Unlimited callback
Training material—Self-help materials
Community Forums
You can find the community forums at https://community.dynamics.com/crm/f/117 (see Figure 30.1).
Technically, the community forums are free to pretty much anyone, and they contain a huge amount of searchable troubleshooting information provided by experts.
Note
The forums are usually monitored by a select group of people referred to as Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs), who are peers not employed by Microsoft. These MVPs often respond to questions and help users at no cost.
Service Dashboard
The Service Dashboard shows the system’s health and provides real-time feedback to users about whether the system is performing as expected (see Figure 30.2).
This information is helpful when you encounter issues related to performance and are trying to determine whether the problem is localized (a bad Internet connection, for instance) or something endemic to the system as a whole.
In-Application Help
Help is available from directly within Dynamics CRM: Just click the question mark (?) on any page. Figure 30.3 shows where to click for Help, and Figure 30.4 shows the Help screen.
Note
You can customize the Help interface (On-Premises only) to meet specific contextual requirements of your application. This is common in extended (xRM) applications.
Other Support Options
All other support options are via your access to the Office 365 administration interface, as shown in Figure 30.5. Here you can create a web incident and view all incidents.
In addition, you can access the dedicated Microsoft support page, at www.microsoft.com/dynamics/customer/en-US/assisted-support.aspx (see Figure 30.6).
At this site, you can access the following:
Self-support options
Telephone number for direct support
CustomerSource login link
Other support options, including downloads and partner referral resources
Enhanced Support
Enhanced support for CRM Online is a new offering that includes everything included with Basic but with the following added to it:
The price for this level of support is $5 per seat per month.
Response time is increased from next business day to less than 2 hours.
Training materials include additional eLearning options.
This level of support is designed primarily for businesses that require a quicker response time than the basic subscription plan delivers.
Professional Direct Support
Professional includes everything in Basic/Subscription and Enhanced options as well as the following:
The price for this level of support is $9 per seat per month.
There is a minimum purchase of 100 seats.
Response time is decreased to less than 1 hour, with priority routing.
Support time is decreased from local business hours to 24×7.
Training materials can be customized.
The organization receives priority and escalation handling.
Limited advisory support is provided.
A technical account manager (TAM) is assigned to this level of service.
The TAM is a pooled resource, which means your organization will not have a dedicated particular TAM. However, the TAM helps your organization elevate issues quickly and easily.
Note
The ability to customize the training material is a huge benefit to organizations looking to push out a lot of material quickly and easily, as most of the work has been done by Microsoft, and the materials are frequently updated.
This type of support is reserved for organizations that typically run near-critical applications and want to ensure consistency and priority with regard to support options.
Premier Support (for Large Accounts Only)
With Premier support, organizations obtain the highest level of support from Microsoft. The cost varies depending on the organization and the type of agreement it has with Microsoft and includes all previous options in addition to the following:
Assigned TAM
Full advisory support
Onsite services
Cost (determined by Microsoft)
Note
Most large organizations have an enterprise agreement (EA), which is a bundled software pricing mechanism. This type of support is typically part of that EA agreement and includes Premier support.
You can find the Premier support and services page at www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftservices/support.aspx.
Finally, partner support (as explained later in this chapter) is always recommended. Here’s why: Although Microsoft says it will include support at no cost, it will not provide any level of support for the following:
Configurations
Customizations
Training
Integrations
Other enhancements
Therefore, establishing a partner relationship for any of these concerns will provide the necessary support mechanism for these issues.
Tip
Even if your organization does not need help with configurations, customizations, training, integrations, or other enhancements, we strongly recommend that you assign a designated partner (which Microsoft calls a partner of record [POR]) to your account. This way, you have someone to go to if a support issue is outside Microsoft’s support model.
Finding a partner is explained in the “Partner Support” section, later in this chapter.
On-Premises Support
On-Premises support differs decidedly from Online support in that it is not free. In fact, when you first purchase CRM On-Premises, you are usually given three support tickets that you can access via the CustomerSource page, as shown in Figure 30.7. To get to this page, from www.microsoft.com/dynamics/customer/en-US/assisted-support.aspx (shown in Figure 30.6), login, and navigate to the support option.
In CustomerSource, you can create, view, and manage support tickets by selecting Support to get the options shown in Figure 30.8.
If you have exhausted your support tickets, you can purchase them à la carte for approximately $250, or you can buy a bundle.
Tip
Some of the resources, such as access to the forums, can be accessed by On-Premises customers as well, for no charge.
Pros and Cons of Manual Updates
A key difference between Online and On-Premises deployments is the requirement for the organization to manually update their systems with updates and hotfixes from Microsoft. Manual updates present the following pro and con issues for organizations:
Pros:
Organizations can remediate and test updates before applying them.
Organizations are not required to update and can keep a stable version running for years if they prefer.
Organizations can run different versions, depending on their requirements.
Cons:
Updates sometimes cause system instability.
Updates can break customizations by removing deprecated functions.
Updates can be forgotten and not installed, resulting in potential security and/or functional issues.
Updates require a system administrator.
Figure 30.9 shows an example of the manual update page, with a list of available downloads that you can install.
Considerations When Installing Updates
It is extremely important that organizations understand the implication of installing updates. Some updates cumulative, and some require previous versions, and sometimes they update the system and thus result in new functions.
Most On-Premises deployments are complex and involve the following:
SQL Server
Active Directory
Federation Services (optional)
Integration with other applications
Therefore, Microsoft tends to recommend partner support with regard to On-Premises deployments.
Partner Support
Partner support is provided by value-added resellers (VARs) who are well versed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and have broad experience in managing CRM implementations.
To find a partner, follow these steps:
1. Search the Dynamics Marketplace, at https://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-us/Home/Dynamics.
2. Enter your location (in this example, the United States), and you see the marketplace specific to your country.
3. Enter keywords if you’re looking for a particular product or company. Alternatively, look for the Works with Products category and click Microsoft Dynamics to get to the page shown in Figure 30.10.
4. Navigate within the application and refine your search based on CRM version, professional services versus companies, and location. Figure 30.11 shows the results for Webfortis.
When selecting a partner, it is highly recommended that you consider the following options:
The partner’s CRM competency level (Gold, Silver, or none)
The number of customers the partner supports
The number of certifications the partner has
The number of dedicated Dynamics CRM support staff the partner has
Note
Because of the way Microsoft ranks partners within the Dynamics families, it is common for providers of Dynamics ERP (with mixed ERP and CRM practices) to have a fairly high ranking in searches for CRM partners. However, it is rarely the case that they have nearly the number of dedicated CRM staff that they indicate; they usually just lump all their Dynamics staff together (including their ERP staff) to artificially inflate their numbers, but when queried about CRM staff, it rarely is very high. So be sure to inquire about dedicated CRM staff when selecting a mixed ERP/CRM services company.
The top Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners usually have a direct interaction level with Microsoft support and usually include service tickets as part of their service offerings to customers.
Visit www.avtex.com/CRMPartner for information and benefits of partnering with Avtex, including special offers for readers of this book: Simply enter the promotion code CRM2016BOOK when prompted.
Summary
Microsoft support varies depending on the implementation, and although some support is free for some implementations (or in the case of forums, free regardless of the type of implementation), we strongly recommend that you form a partner association, no matter what your Dynamics CRM implementation.
Even if you have the help of this book, the complexities and options associated with a Dynamics CRM implementation can quickly and easily overtake a busy network admin, and even companies that have a dedicated support model for Dynamics CRM sometimes find issues that they are unable to resolve. Partners have “been there and done that” countless times and can often provide full-scale support for any organization.