User support
Your Microsoft Managed Desktop users can get support either from your organization ("customer-led" support) or from a selected partner ("partner-led" support).
We aim to provide a consistent experience for users while keeping devices secure with both support options. No matter which option you choose, these same principles apply:
- Flexible integration of Microsoft Managed Desktop devices with your existing support processes.
- Clear roles and responsibilities between the support provider, IT admins, and Microsoft Managed Desktop.
- Defined escalation paths.
- Documentation provided by Microsoft Managed Desktop, along with a portal, where you can request elevated device access and escalation to our support staff, if needed.
- Threat monitoring and mitigation provided by Microsoft Managed Desktop all day every day.
Roles and responsibilities
To ensure the quality of service without compromising security, the support provider, IT admins, and Microsoft Managed Desktop have different roles and responsibilities.
| Role | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Support provider | Whoever provides support (either you for customer-led support or a partner for partner-led) is responsible for these items:
|
| IT admin | Your IT admin is responsible for these items:
|
| Microsoft Managed Desktop | As the service provider, we're responsible for these items:
|
Workflow for support providers
Whether support is customer-led or partner-led, the flow of activity for a user support request follows this path:
Integrating your existing processes with this workflow for Microsoft Managed Desktop devices is flexible, so the details could be different. Typically, the support provider follows an existing tier-based or handoff approach. The support provider designates specific users, who have the ability to elevate permissions or escalate issues, to Microsoft Managed Desktop Operations. It's best to keep this group smaller than the broader support team.
If an issue must be escalated to Microsoft Managed Desktop, it's helpful to identify which team the issue should be directed to. We can transfer cases appropriately, but it saves time to route them to the right place from the start.
| Problem | Contact this team |
|---|---|
| Problems specific to Microsoft Managed Desktop | For example, a policy or setting that's deployed by the service itself. Escalate directly to the Operations team by creating a new support request. For more information, see Get user support. |
| Hardware problems | Direct to your hardware supplier or vendor. |
| Other problems | Escalate through existing support channels, whether that's a Unified or Premier subscription. |
Provided support framework
Elevation portal
Since Microsoft Managed Desktop devices run on standard user by default, some tasks require elevation of privileges. For more information about user account control, see User account control. In order for support staff to be able to perform tasks while troubleshooting issues for users, we provide "just-in-time" access to an admin account. This password is accessed securely by only users you designate, and rotates every couple of hours.
For steps on how to set up users for access to this portal, see Turn on user support features.
For steps on submitting an elevation request, see Elevation requests.
Escalation portal
If an issue requires escalation to the Microsoft Managed Desktop Operations team, designated support staff might direct similar to an IT admin support request.
Note
Only Sev C support requests can be filed in this manner. For an issue matching the description of other severities, it's recommended to contact the appropriate IT admin to file. For more info, see Support request severity definitions.
For steps on how to set up users for access to this portal, see Turn on user support features.
For steps on submitting an escalation request, see Escalation requests.