Struggle with Getting Technical Support

Question

Struggle with Getting Technical Support

Sabyasachi Bose 30

Pro Direct Support may be listed as a benefit for startups, but in practice it’s outsourced and nearly impossible to get meaningful help.

Even for Sev-A issues, it takes days before anyone understands the problem. Instead of diagnosing, they collect irrelevant information and send generic and at times misleading instructions that have nothing to do with the issue.
They struggle to reach or escalate to the right internal teams. The usual update is: “We’ve forwarded the details and are waiting for a response.”
Worse, they often escalate to the wrong teams entirely.
Escalating two or three levels up doesn’t help either — you’re still inside the outsourced org, and the quality of communication stays the same.

We rarely open support cases because it is more painful to get help than dealing with the problem.

What’s the most effective path to getting real technical support on Azure?

Jilakara Hemalatha 5,970 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-04T08:44:16.4733333+00:00
Hi Sabyasachi Bose

Thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback — I completely understand how frustrating it is when a support case doesn’t progress as expected, especially for high-severity issues. The experience you described is not what we want customers to face, and your points around escalations and case handling are absolutely valid.

To help you get more effective and timely technical support on Azure, here are a few approaches that typically make a significant difference:

Open cases through the Azure Portal with the correct severity Clearly outlining the business impact and selecting the appropriate severity (A/B/C) ensures the case is routed to the correct technical queue.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-portal/supportability/how-to-create-azure-support-request

2.Ensure You Have the Right Support Plan: Double-check that you have a paid technical support plan that suits your needs. Support for Azure technical issues can be significantly better with the right plan in place.

3.Provide comprehensive details when submitting a case Including logs, error messages, timestamps, and reproduction steps helps reduce back-and-forth and allows engineers to diagnose the issue more accurately.

4.Use Microsoft Q&A for additional technical insights The Microsoft Q&A platform is monitored by engineers and product teams and can provide faster guidance for specific scenarios.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/

5.Leverage Microsoft for Startups resources If you’re part of the Microsoft for Startups program, you can engage an Azure Advisor through the portal for tailored technical guidance. Microsoft for Startups: https://www.microsoft.com/startups

6.Explore community channels for quick insights Communities such as Stack Overflow and Azure technical forums can sometimes offer rapid troubleshooting guidance from experienced users and MVPs.

Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any queries.
Sabyasachi Bose 30 Reputation points

2025-12-04T22:27:20.1266667+00:00
This answer exactly reflects the problem I highlighted.

You have just sent a generic reply. This is what technical support also does. Apply generic troubleshooting steps followed by generic replies.

I already mentioned Sev-A cases.

My message starts by mentioning Pro Direct support plan - the highest plan that SMB can use.

The cases do include details information such as logs, errors and timestamps. All information sought are promptly sent.
4, 5, 6 - Do not make sense. Please explain why do I need to write to community forums to get technical support when I already have support plan.

A better answer could have been to ask for case numbers to understand what exactly is the problem that I am referring to.

1 answer

Your answer

Sabyasachi Bose 30 Reputation points

2025-12-04T22:27:20.1266667+00:00

This answer exactly reflects the problem I highlighted.

You have just sent a generic reply. This is what technical support also does. Apply generic troubleshooting steps followed by generic replies.

I already mentioned Sev-A cases.

My message starts by mentioning Pro Direct support plan - the highest plan that SMB can use.

The cases do include details information such as logs, errors and timestamps. All information sought are promptly sent.
4, 5, 6 - Do not make sense. Please explain why do I need to write to community forums to get technical support when I already have support plan.

A better answer could have been to ask for case numbers to understand what exactly is the problem that I am referring to.

Answer 1

To effectively get technical support on Azure, especially for startups, consider the following steps:

Use the Appropriate Severity: When opening a support case, ensure that you accurately reflect the impact of the problem. For critical issues (Sev-A), make sure to specify that it is a complete block to a user or service.
Provide a Meaningful Title and Description: Clearly describe the issue in the title and provide a detailed problem description along with reproduction steps. This helps Microsoft understand and replicate the issue more efficiently.
Leverage Azure Community Support: Utilize the Azure community support forums where you can ask questions and potentially get quicker responses from other users and Azure engineers.
Consider Upgrading Your Support Plan: If you frequently encounter issues, it might be beneficial to look into upgrading to a higher support plan that provides more direct access to Microsoft support teams.
Escalate When Necessary: If you find that your issues are not being addressed adequately, escalate the case through the proper channels. Ensure that you are escalating to the right teams by providing clear context about your issue.
Utilize Microsoft Q&A: Use Microsoft Q&A to find answers to your Azure-related questions. This platform can provide insights from both the community and Azure engineers.

By following these steps, you can improve your chances of receiving effective technical support on Azure.

Share via

Struggle with Getting Technical Support

1 answer

Your answer