01 — Navigation & Features
Table of contents
Portal Layout Overview
Engage Center follows a left-nav + main content layout, consistent with other Microsoft portals (Azure Portal, M365 Admin Center).
%%{init: {"theme":"dark"}}%%
flowchart TD
subgraph Shell["Browser Window"]
TOP["🔝 Top Bar — Search | Notifications | Profile | Help"]
subgraph Content["Main Area"]
LEFT["◀ Left Navigation\nCollapsible sidebar\nSection links"]
MAIN["Main Content Pane\nDashboard / Section view"]
end
end
TOP --> Content
LEFT --> MAIN
Top Bar
| Element | Function |
|---|---|
| Search bar | Global full-text search across cases, services, learning, and contacts |
| Notifications bell | Alerts for case updates, scheduled services, and system messages |
| Profile/account | Switch tenant, view profile, sign out |
| Help (?) | Contextual documentation, support for the portal itself |
| Microsoft logo | Returns to Home dashboard |
Left Navigation Sections
The primary left-nav sections (as of 2025 GA rollout):
| Section | Icon | What You Do Here |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 🏠 | Dashboard — activity feed, quick links, health highlights |
| Support | 🎫 | Create and manage support requests (cases) |
| Services | 📋 | Proactive services — schedule, view, consume assessments and advisory |
| Learning | 🎓 | Microsoft-curated learning paths, events, and content |
| People & Contacts | 👤 | Account team contacts (CSAM, DSE, TAM), manage your org’s users |
| Account | 🏢 | Contract details, entitlements summary, organisation info |
| Analytics | 📊 | Reports on support consumption, service health, case trends |
| Settings | ⚙️ | Notification preferences, portal personalisation |
💡 The left nav can be collapsed to icon-only mode — useful on smaller screens or when you want maximum content width.
Home Dashboard
The Home dashboard is your entry point after login. It is personalised based on your role and recent activity.
Dashboard Widgets
| Widget | Content |
|---|---|
| Active Support Requests | Open cases with status indicators |
| Upcoming Services | Scheduled proactive services (assessments, reviews) |
| Recent Activity | Latest updates across cases and services |
| Quick Actions | One-click shortcuts: New Case, Request Service, etc. |
| Service Health | Azure / M365 health status summary (linked to Azure Status) |
| Learning Highlights | Recommended content based on your workloads |
Support Section
The Support section is where you manage reactive break-fix cases. See 02 — Support Requests for full detail.
Key views:
- All Requests — filterable list of all open and closed cases
- My Requests — cases you personally created or are watching
- Create New — guided case creation wizard
- Escalations — cases flagged for management attention
Services Section
The Services section exposes proactive services included with your Unified Support contract.
Service Types Available
| Service Type | Description |
|---|---|
| On-Demand Assessments | Automated or guided health checks (Azure Well-Architected, Security, Identity, etc.) |
| Advisory Services | Scheduled technical advisory sessions with a DSE or CSA |
| Workshops & Briefings | Microsoft-delivered education sessions |
| MIRP | Microsoft Incident Response Planning — see 04 — Digital MIRP |
| Rapid Response | Accelerated resolution for critical proactive engagements |
| Custom Engagements | Contract-specific services negotiated with your CSAM |
Consuming a Service
%%{init: {"theme":"dark"}}%%
flowchart LR
BROWSE["Browse available\nservices catalogue"]
SELECT["Select service\n& desired dates"]
CSAM["CSAM reviews\n& confirms"]
SCHEDULE["Service scheduled\n& appears on calendar"]
DELIVER["Service delivered\n(remote or on-site)"]
REPORT["Report/findings\npublished in portal"]
BROWSE --> SELECT --> CSAM --> SCHEDULE --> DELIVER --> REPORT
⚠️ Service availability depends on your agreement and remaining hours pool. Your CSAM can advise on what’s included in your contract.
Learning Section
The Learning section provides:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Learning Paths | Curated, role-based learning sequences |
| Microsoft Learn integration | Deep links to Microsoft Learn modules |
| Events | Upcoming Microsoft webinars, workshops, and conferences |
| Content Library | Whitepapers, best practices guides, and reference architectures |
| Personalised Recommendations | Based on your workloads, role, and past activity |
People & Contacts
Manage your relationship with your Microsoft account team and your organisation’s users.
| Contact Type | Role | How to Reach |
|---|---|---|
| CSAM | Primary relationship manager, success planning | Shown in portal; email / Teams |
| DSE | Deep technical resource for escalations | Availability defined per agreement |
| CSA | Cloud architecture advisory | Engaged through proactive services |
| Premier Field Engineer (PFE) | Legacy title (some still active) | As per existing contract |
| Account Executive / AE | Commercial relationship | Not in Engage Center directly |
💡 Use the People section to confirm who your current CSAM is if your account team has changed. Account team rotations are common.
Analytics & Reporting
The Analytics section provides visibility into your support consumption and service health.
Available Reports
| Report | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Volume Trend | Number of support cases over time, by severity |
| Resolution Time | Average time to resolution by severity and product |
| Service Consumption | Hours consumed vs entitlement, by service type |
| Top Issue Areas | Most common product/workload areas for your org |
| CSA Activity | Advisory and proactive service engagement summary |
💡 Export to CSV or PDF is available for most reports — useful for internal reporting or QBR preparation.
Search
The global search bar supports:
- Case numbers — direct lookup (
SR123456789) - Keywords — searches across case titles, service names, and learning content
- Contact names — find team members or Microsoft contacts
- Knowledge Base — Microsoft support KB articles relevant to your search
Search Tips
| Tip | Example |
|---|---|
| Use case reference numbers for direct lookup | SR123456789 or 119123456789 |
| Quote phrases for exact match | "Azure Kubernetes" |
| Filter by section | Use the filter pill after searching |
Notifications & Alerts
Configure notifications in Settings → Notifications:
| Notification Type | Channel | Configurable? |
|---|---|---|
| Case status update | Email + in-portal | Yes |
| New case comment | Email + in-portal | Yes |
| Scheduled service reminder | Email + in-portal | Yes |
| Contract expiry warning | Yes | |
| Service health alert | In-portal | Yes (linked to Azure subscription) |
Account Settings
Navigate to Settings (gear icon) or your profile avatar → Settings:
| Setting | Detail |
|---|---|
| Notification preferences | Control per-event email/in-portal alerts |
| Preferred language | Portal UI language |
| Time zone | Affects case and service timestamps |
| MFA / security | Managed via Entra ID — redirects to AAD portal |
| Organisation profile | Managed by IT Admin — read-only for standard users |
Productivity Tips for CSAs
| Tip | How |
|---|---|
| Bookmark frequently used sections | Browser bookmarks for /support, /services, /analytics |
| Use search for fast case lookup | Faster than navigating to Support → All Requests |
| Pin the home dashboard widgets | Customise order and which widgets are visible |
| Export analytics before QBRs | Pull 90-day case and service reports for prep |
| Check People section after account team changes | Confirm new CSAM details quickly |
| Services catalogue as a conversation starter | Use it with customers to show what’s available under their contract |
Known Limitations (as of 2025)
| Limitation | Notes |
|---|---|
| Not all Services Hub features migrated | Some proactive service types still require Services Hub |
| Bulk case management limited | Mass-update / bulk close not yet available |
| API access | No public API yet for programmatic case creation (unlike Azure support API) |
| Mobile app | No dedicated mobile app; responsive web only |
| Legacy case history | Cases from before migration may have limited data in Engage Center |
These limitations are expected to be resolved as the platform matures. Check the Microsoft roadmap for updates.