Joey D’Antoni discusses the challenges with Microsoft support, particularly in relation to Azure services. While Azure has grown into a successful platform, the support for it has not kept up with the rapid expansion. Issues with outsourced support engineers, lack of communication, and passing tickets around are common complaints from customers.
The sheer size and complexity of Microsoft’s customer base and Azure platform make it challenging to hire and train enough engineers to provide adequate support. With an estimated 500,000 Azure customers creating millions of support cases annually, it’s evident that the current system is overwhelmed. While more investment in support is necessary, relying solely on human support engineers may not be feasible.
Joey believes that AI solutions could potentially alleviate the support burden by reducing the number of support requests engineers have to handle. Large Language Models (LLMs) designed for text analysis could help identify and provide solutions to common problems. While AI is not a perfect solution, improvements in AI tools could enhance the support experience for Azure users by providing relevant information and insights from backend logs.
Overall, supporting a platform as vast as Azure requires significant resources and a reevaluation of the support system. Microsoft must address the current support issues by investing in AI solutions, automation, and quality control measures. While AI can complement human support, it cannot replace the necessary investments needed to improve the overall support experience for Azure users.
Article Source
https://redmondmag.com/Articles/2024/07/03/Why-Is-Microsoft-Support-So-Bad.aspx