Aug 18th, 2009
Outlook is not bright
Filed under: SoftwareOne reader is locked out of a brand-new copy of Microsoft Office. Will the folks in Redmond help him?
Microsoft wants its customers to believe that installing software is as simple as loading a disc into the CD drive and clicking okay. Sometimes it’s that easy, and sometimes it’s not. When it’s not that easy, what are customers supposed to do?
As outlined in this article by Christina Tynan-Wood, Microsoft is probably the wrong place to go for support. http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/outlook-not-bright-811?source=IFWNLE_nlt_blogs_2009-07-20
Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of the article. A remote user needs to upgrade from Office 2003 to Office 2007. His IT department ships him the Office 2007 disk and a licensing key. The user is instructed to put the disc into the CD drive, enter the licensing key, and cross his fingers. The installation doesn’t go the way that it’s supposed to, and he needs help. The end user calls Microsoft and gets the runaround.
Microsoft is in the business of developing software. They offer support, but that’s not one of the businesses that they make money on. Instead, Microsoft works through an immense network of partners to provide support. EndSight for example, is a Microsoft Gold certified partner that specializes in, among other Microsoft titles, Microsoft Office 2007.
The EndSight team knows software like office 2007 inside and out and that experience allows the us to sidestep known issues in a deployment. But on the off chance that we get stumped, we know how to navigate the Microsoft support apparatus. As a result, our clients experienced smooth deployments that are frustration free.
At EndSight, we make it our responsibility to manage our clients licensing. This includes the requirements planning that determines the necessity of the new software in the first place, the purchase & life cycle management of a particular software title and the organizational deployment of that software.
There’s rarely such a thing as a flawless deployment. Computers are temperamental and there’s always going to be problems that creep up. To address that issue, Endsight builds ample time into the deployment plan to assure the resources are there to help users, the day after the deployment is completed.
“This kind of problem would never happen to one of our clients. We would take ownership and work it all the way through.” Says, Will Lee, Endsight’s Response Center Team Lead.
Will joined Endsight in 2005 after graduating from the University of California San Luis Obispo. A Microsoft Certified System Engineer, Will is in charge of the day to day operation of the EndSight Response Center.
Endsight’s Response Center is fully staffed from 7-7 Monday - Friday and supplemented by off hour pager support. This allows Endsight to provide their clients 24×7 reactive support. Each team member works out of the firms Berkeley office, has a four year college degree, and maintains various Microsoft Professional Certifications.
Originally from the great state of Ohio Jason Clause relocated to the Bay Area to work in high-tech. A veteran of the dot com boom and bust, Jason has more than 10 years experience helping small businesses apply information technology to improve business process and increase revenue. Jason lives in Dublin, California with his wife Jennifer and enjoys hiking, cooking and quiet time at home. His hobbies include golf, snowboarding, creative writing and performing amateur stand up comedy.