03 — Unified & Premier Contracts
Table of contents
Support Landscape Overview
Microsoft offers two broad support contract families to enterprise customers:
%%{init: {"theme":"dark"}}%%
flowchart TD
subgraph Current["Current / Active Contracts"]
MU["Microsoft Unified\n(Unified Enterprise Plan)"]
end
subgraph Legacy["Legacy / Run-off Contracts"]
PR["Premier Support\n(no longer sold new)"]
end
subgraph Self["Self-Service / Included"]
DS["Developer / Basic\n(subscription-included)"]
PRO["Professional Direct\n(Pro Direct — Azure)"]
end
PR -.->|"migration path"| MU
DS -.-> MU
⚠️ Premier Support is no longer sold as a new contract. Existing Premier customers are being migrated to Unified Support. Some organisations retain legacy Premier terms until renewal.
Microsoft Unified — Official Positioning
Microsoft’s current enterprise support offering is marketed as Microsoft Unified (also referred to as the Unified Enterprise Plan). Based on current official documentation at microsoft.com/microsoft-unified:
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official brand name | Microsoft Unified / Unified Enterprise Plan |
| Service categories | Value Acceleration Services (proactive, strategic) and Mission Critical Services (reactive break-fix, incident response) |
| Entitlement model | Individual negotiated contract — Microsoft does not publish a fixed tier breakdown publicly |
| CSAM | Included — named account manager for the customer relationship and success planning |
| Portal | Engage Center (engagecenter.microsoft.com) |
| Predecessor | Legacy Premier Support (no longer sold; migration to Unified at renewal) |
Legacy Premier Support
Premier Support was Microsoft’s previous flagship enterprise support contract. Key facts for CSAs:
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | No longer sold as new; existing contracts honoured until renewal/expiry |
| Structure | Annual contract with included Technical Account Manager (TAM) |
| Cases | Unlimited, 24/7, similar SLAs to Microsoft Unified |
| Proactive services | Premier Field Engineer (PFE) time for on-site/remote engagements |
| Migration path | Customers encouraged to migrate to Microsoft Unified at renewal |
| Portal | Services Hub (serviceshub.microsoft.com) — Engage Center access being extended |
Premier vs Unified: Key Differences
| Dimension | Premier (Legacy) | Unified (Current) |
|---|---|---|
| Sold as new | ❌ (discontinued) | ✅ |
| TAM included | ✅ (Technical Account Manager) | CSAM equivalent |
| PFE hours | ✅ (on-site capable) | DSE (primarily remote) |
| Proactive services | PFE-delivered workshops | Broader catalogue, On-Demand Assessments |
| On-Demand Assessments | Limited | ✅ (full catalogue) |
| Portal | Services Hub | Engage Center (+ Services Hub during transition) |
| Contract flexibility | Fixed annual | Negotiated per agreement |
💡 If you work with customers still on Premier, understand that their TAM is functionally equivalent to a CSAM and their PFE hours map to proactive service hours. Migration conversations should focus on continuity, not disruption.
Proactive Services Entitlements
Proactive services are non-break-fix services consumed from an annual hours pool under your contract.
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flowchart LR
CONTRACT["📄 Contract\n(Annual Hours Pool)"]
ODA["On-Demand\nAssessments"]
ADV["Advisory\nSessions"]
WORK["Workshops &\nBriefings"]
CUSTOM["Custom\nEngagements"]
CONTRACT --> ODA
CONTRACT --> ADV
CONTRACT --> WORK
CONTRACT --> CUSTOM
💡 Digital MIRP is a self-service portal tool built into Engage Center — it is not consumed from the proactive hours pool. See 04 — Digital MIRP for details.
| Service | Included in Microsoft Unified | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| On-Demand Assessments | Contract-dependent | Availability and scope defined in your agreement |
| Advisory sessions | Contract-dependent | Drawn from the annual proactive hours pool |
| Workshops & Briefings | Contract-dependent | Drawn from the annual proactive hours pool |
| Custom engagements | Contract-dependent | Bespoke services available based on agreement |
| Digital MIRP (portal tool) | Role/contract dependent | Requires appropriate Engage Center role |
💡 Hours consumed by proactive services are tracked in the Support Insights section of Engage Center. Monitor consumption against your entitlement pool — unused hours do not roll over.
Contract Administration in Engage Center
| Task | Where in Engage Center |
|---|---|
| View contract & agreement details | Customer Activity |
| View purchased services & deliveries | Customer Activity |
| View entitlement hours remaining | Customer Activity |
| View Support Insights & case analytics | Support Insights |
| Add/remove user permissions | User Management (Entra group-based) |
| Manage Microsoft Entra groups | Access Management |
| Request contract amendment | Contact your CSAM directly |
| View invoice history | Not in Engage Center — contact your Microsoft Account Executive |
⚠️ Navigation paths in Engage Center continue to evolve during the rollout. If a path has moved, refer to the Engage Center documentation or ask your CSAM.
Common CSA Scenarios
Scenario 1: Customer asks “What are we entitled to?”
Navigate to Customer Activity in Engage Center. Show the proactive hours pool and which services are available. Microsoft does not publish a fixed public entitlement breakdown — the customer’s signed contract and their CSAM are the authoritative sources. For services not visible in the catalogue, ask the CSAM to confirm what’s included in the agreement.
Scenario 2: Customer on Premier asks about migration to Unified
Key points:
- Response SLAs under Microsoft Unified are comparable to Premier — defined in the new agreement
- On-Demand Assessments in Unified are a significant new capability not available in Premier
- The portal experience improves (Engage Center > Services Hub)
- PFE-style on-site delivery shifts to primarily remote DSE — flag this if the customer values on-site presence
Scenario 3: Customer wants to understand their support response times
Initial response targets are: ≤ 1 hour (24/7) for Severity A, ≤ 2 hours (24/7) for Severity B, and ≤ 4 business hours for Severity C. For active incidents, the priority is opening the case at the correct severity in Engage Center — response time tracking starts from case creation. Proactive hours, named resources, and additional entitlements are defined per the customer’s agreement.
Official Resources
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Unified overview | microsoft.com/microsoft-unified |
| Services Hub — Unified Support docs | learn.microsoft.com/services-hub/unified |
| Customer Activity (contract details) | Services Hub Customer Activity |
| Engage Center overview | Engage Center overview |
Related Content
- 🎫 02 — Support Requests — SLA reference by severity
- 🛡️ 04 — Digital MIRP — portal tool for IR readiness
- ⚡ 06 — Cheatsheet — quick reference for URLs, SLAs, and CSA tips