Side-by-side. Cost model, response times, staffing, SLA accountability, escalation ownership, and rollover. Every dimension that matters when you are making this decision.
Let Us Run the Comparison for Your EnvironmentMicrosoft Unified Support is priced as a percentage of your total Microsoft spend. That means every time Microsoft raises a price, adds a product, or your organization grows, your support cost rises automatically. You did not negotiate a support increase. It just happened.
The 2025 and 2026 Microsoft price cascade affected EA agreements across the market. Organizations that did not change their Microsoft footprint still saw their Unified Support invoices increase significantly because the percentage model tied their support cost to licensing prices they could not control.
The Onshore alternative: A fixed annual package. Your support cost does not change because Microsoft changed a price. You know exactly what you are paying on day one and on day 365.
Your Unified Support cost is calculated as a percentage of your total Microsoft licensing spend at contract time.
Microsoft increases the list price of Azure, M365, or another product in your EA. You may not have purchased more. The price just went up.
Your total EA spend figure rises to reflect the new pricing. The calculation Microsoft uses for Unified Support is now based on a higher number.
At your next billing cycle, your Unified Support invoice reflects the increased percentage. You did nothing differently. But you are paying more.
| Dimension | Onshore Unified Support | Microsoft Unified Support |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Fixed annual package. No spend tie. Advantage | % of total Microsoft EA spend. Rises with every price increase. |
| Estimated Savings | 50% or more vs. comparable Microsoft tier. Advantage | Baseline. Often increases at renewal without change to scope. |
| P1 Response Time | 15 minutes. Financially backed. Advantage | 1 hour (Unified). Varies by tier. Not financially backed. |
| SLA Financial Backing | Every tier. Invoice credit applied when missed. No claim form. Advantage | No automatic credit. Dispute process required. |
| Engineer Location | 100% US-based. Rural delivery centers. No offshore. Advantage | Mixed global delivery. Offshore escalations common. |
| Resolution Model | Hands-on. Engineers work directly in your environment. Advantage | Ticket brokering. Often routes to partner or delays resolution. |
| Named TAM | Named TAM on every tier, including entry-level. Advantage | Named TAM only on higher-cost tiers. |
| Microsoft Escalation | Onshore opens and manages Microsoft cases on your behalf. Advantage | You manage your own Microsoft escalation tickets. |
| Hour Rollover | Smart-Flex: 50% of unused hours roll forward annually. Advantage | No rollover. Use-it-or-lose-it model. |
| Minimum Spend Requirement | None. No minimum Microsoft licensing spend to qualify. Advantage | Minimum EA spend threshold. Many mid-market orgs do not qualify. |
| Ticket Resolution | Every ticket reaches one of five documented outcomes. Advantage | No formal definitive resolution standard. Tickets can stall. |
Response times and pricing matter. These three structural differences are what determine whether a support contract actually improves your operations.
Microsoft Unified Support brokers tickets to engineers. Your issue enters a queue, gets routed, re-routed, and ownership shifts as the ticket ages. Onshore engineers work directly in your environment. They troubleshoot, configure, deploy, and resolve. The ticket does not move. The engineer does.
Your environment gets fixed. Not just documented.
Microsoft’s percentage-of-spend model means your support cost is a variable tied to pricing you do not control. When Microsoft raises prices, your support invoice rises automatically. Onshore’s fixed annual packages break that link permanently. You budget with certainty, not with a variable you cannot control.
Most organizations save 50% or more vs. a comparable Microsoft tier.
Microsoft Unified Support provides SLA targets. Missing them triggers a review, not a credit. Onshore’s SLAs are financially backed. If we miss a response window, a credit is applied to your next invoice. No forms, no dispute process. Guarantees without consequences are not guarantees.
Invoice credit applied. No claims process. No forms to fill out.
Generic comparisons tell you the model. An environment-specific comparison tells you the number. Share your Microsoft footprint and current support spend. We will produce a direct cost comparison against your actual Microsoft Unified Support contract, and identify where you would save.