Microsoft complements the support services of your local channel partner with a variety of service plans that include corporate support. Depending on your needs, support plans from basic to advanced are available as well as 24-hour a day, everyday access to online self-support information. Find information on this page about support plans and other resources. Keep in mind that you can also purchase or upgrade a service plan through your Microsoft Certified Partner.

Software Assurance
If you are a Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM customer who purchased through Microsoft Volume Licensing, you are automatically enrolled in a service plan called Software Assurance. Your service plan benefits scale according to your product purchase.

Software Assurance is available at 25% of system list price. Plan features are determined by if you purchased from the Open, Open Value, Select, or Enterprise Agreement licensing programs.

Open or Open Value Licensing Programs
If you purchased from the Open or Open Value licensing programs, the benefits in your Software Assurance program include:

• Six Technical Support Incidents with a Three-Hour Guaranteed Response Time: This benefit is available for customers with system list prices of $3,000 (US) or more.
• Discounts on Flex Per-Incident Support and Flex 5-Pack Support Managed Newsgroups: These online forums help customers collaborate with other customers to learn about their solution and solve technical issues. If your questions aren't answered by other customers within two business days, a Microsoft Dynamics support engineer will respond.
• Unlimited Online CRM Training Benefits: These are new benefits for all customers enrolled in the Software Assurance.
• E-Learning: Classroom-equivalent online training on specific topic areas, e.g. a product module. English only.
• Training Materials: Training materials that can be used as a study tool or as a desktop reference. Available in multiple languages.
• Local Functionality Training Material Extensions: Addendums available for select training material titles. Designed to deliver content on local functionality within a given country. Available primarily in English, some in other languages.
• What’s New Training Materials: Delta training between product versions. Available in English with a few titles translated into other languages. Always available as a manual with some product versions available as E-Learning.
• Learning Plans: A training roadmap that helps individuals easily find the training they need. Outlines every training and certification option available for each module. English only.
• All Product Updates: Receive all major releases, minor updates, and tax updates for the product you currently own. You will also receive database releases, if the database was purchased from Microsoft Business Solutions.
• Investment Protection (formerly known as Transformational Assurance): Prepare for the future with Transformational Investment Protection. This benefit provides you with the ability to move to the future Microsoft Dynamics business application suite without having to repurchase the functionality you currently have licensed, as long as you remain enrolled in a Microsoft Business Solutions service plan. The Investment Protection benefit is available for all supported editions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• CustomerSource: Our secure, password-protected Web site for Microsoft Dynamics customers, CustomerSource, provides access to a searchable technical database, discussion boards, news, a subscription service, and more.
• Ability to Make Suggestions for Future Products and New Features: Many of our product improvements and new features come directly from suggestions that our customers make. Every year we send a Product Advisory Board Survey to customers enrolled in a service plan. You can also enter your suggestions directly to our Global Suggestion Database throughout the year via CustomerSource.
• Ability to Purchase Additional Products, Users, and Services
  

Select or Enterprise Agreement Licensing Programs
If you purchased from the Select or Enterprise Agreement licensing programs, your benefits reflect the commitment you have made to a certain volume of product purchases. Your Software Assurance program includes:

• Unlimited Technical Support Incidents with a One-Hour Guaranteed Response Time
• Ability to Proactively Initiate Chat and ScreenSharing on Support Requests: Chat and ScreenSharing can help you quickly access support professionals and efficiently resolve technical issues. Have a real-time chat conversation or, with your permission, hand over control of your computer to the support professional to have the technical issue resolved for you.
• Managed Newsgroups: These online forums help customers collaborate with other customers to learn about their solution and solve technical issues. If your questions aren't answered by other customers within two business days, a Microsoft Dynamics support engineer will respond.
• TechNet Plus: A TechNet subscription is the definitive resource of tools, software, and utilities that IT professionals rely on to plan, deploy, manage, and support the other Microsoft products and technologies that you use, such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange Server, or Windows® XP Professional.
• Unlimited Online Training Benefits: These are new benefits for all customers enrolled in the Enhancement Plan.
• E-Learning: Classroom-equivalent online training on specific topic areas, e.g. a product module. English only.
• Training Materials: Training materials that can be used as a study tool or as a desktop reference. Available in multiple languages.
• Local Functionality Training Material Extensions: Addendums available for select training material titles. Designed to deliver content on local functionality within a given country. Available primarily in English, some in other languages.
• What’s New Training Materials: Delta training between product versions. Available in English with a few titles translated into other languages. Always available as a manual with some product versions available as E-Learning.
• Learning Plans: A training roadmap that helps individuals easily find the training they need. Outlines every training and certification option available for each module. English only.
• All Product Updates: Receive all major releases, minor updates, and tax updates for the product you currently own. You will also receive database releases, if the database was purchased from Microsoft Business Solutions.
• Investment Protection (formerly known as Transformational Assurance): Prepare for the future with Transformational Investment Protection. This benefit provides you with the ability to move to the future Microsoft Dynamics business application suite without having to repurchase the functionality you currently have licensed, as long as you remain enrolled in a Microsoft Business Solutions service plan. The Investment Protection benefit is available for all supported editions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• CustomerSource: Our secure, password-protected website for Microsoft Dynamics customers, CustomerSource, provides access to a searchable technical database, discussion boards, news, a subscription service, and more.
• Ability to Make Suggestions for Future Products and New Features: Many of our product improvements and new features come directly from suggestions that our customers make. Every year we send a Product Advisory Board Survey to customers enrolled in a service plan. You can also enter your suggestions directly to our Global Suggestion Database throughout the year via CustomerSource.
• Ability to Purchase Additional Products, Users, and Services

For more information regarding Software Assurance, contact your local partner, visit the Software Assurance Web site, or contact mbsservo@microsoft.com.