Microsoft Australia partner hotline - 13 20 58

With thanks as always to Scott Adams.

Great Dilbert this week & particularly relevant to me given the number of random calls I get from partners on every topic imaginable - I guess that's bound to happen with the number of events I attend & business cards I hand out. It's all good of course, but with me being the 2nd least technical person in Microsoft I'm usually just about the last person capable of answering any question outside my miniscule circle of knowledge.

Anyway, I was chatting with a bunch of partners in Melbourne the other week when I mentioned that the way I handle these enquiries is to hand them over to the Microsoft Australia Partner Hotline. Quite a few of the guys had never heard of this & so for those of you in the same boat:

• You can email our partner team: partner@microsoft.com.au
• Call our partner hotline: 13 20 58 & follow the prompts
• Try out the self help, including online technical communities
• Or get immediate technical support for a customer in need

This last section includes the oft discussed but little used Business Critical Phone Support. This is for situations such as server down or other business-impacting events.

Cheers & I hope this helps,

Robbie

PS - quick plug for the folks at the Small Business IT Professionals Association who I met the other week. This group of committed partners have come together to create a formal alliance & are always looking for new members. So if you're in Melbourne, know your stuff & want to take your business to the next level, then check them out here.