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Microsoft To Funnel Intune Premier Support Requests Toward Azure Portal

Microsoft will soon begin shifting Intune support requests toward the Azure Portal for organizations with Microsoft Premier support accounts, the company announced this week.

On Dec. 3, 2018, customers will only be able to issue Microsoft Premier support requests for the Intune mobile management service via the Azure Portal (portal.azure.com). On that same date, Microsoft will stop the ability of IT pros to create Intune support requests using the Microsoft Premier Online Portal, which is the current approach.

Microsoft really wants IT pros to use the Azure Portal for such requests. Supposedly, using that portal will enable "faster resolution for support requests."

Microsoft has been encouraging IT pros to go this route since May, when it added a pop-up box in the Microsoft Premier Online Portal. The pop-up box prompts IT pros to use the Azure Portal to make their Intune Premier support requests. Currently, the pop-up box can be dismissed, but after Dec. 3, IT pros will just get redirected to the Azure Portal.

Azure Portal users can submit an Intune Premier support request by clicking on the "Help and Support" menu item in any "blade" of the "Intune on Azure Portal." Alternatively, they can click on the "?" icon in the upper right hand side of the portal. Using this latter option will show all recent support requests.

When Microsoft makes this switch on Dec. 3, IT pros will need to be assigned to the "Service Support Administrator role in Active Directory" in order to access the Azure Portal to make Intune Premier support requests. This role grants "read-only access to the Azure portal." Microsoft explained that "the Service Support Administrator role is analogous to the Service Administrator role," as described in this document.

Microsoft Premier is a support service program for large organizations that provides access to Microsoft technology specialists. Microsoft Premier is getting replaced by a Microsoft Unified Support program, as announced by Microsoft last year. The switch to Microsoft Unified Support has already happened in North America and other countries earlier this year, but it will be a gradual replacement worldwide.

Microsoft Unified Support program has three support levels. According to a description by U.S. Cloud, an enterprise services provider, the Core, Advanced and Performance plans under the Microsoft Unified Support program cost $25,000, $50,000 and $175,000 per year, respectively, at the minimum.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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