Using third party service to support Hosted Exchange

[Pants]

It was suggested to me to use Appriver to get clients setup with Hosted Exchange or Exchange Online and/or provide support for either, since I don't have experience supporting either one.

How would this work? Client asks me for support, then I call Appriver to help me, and pay Appriver at least SOME of what I get from client?


But doesn't Hosted Exchange or Exchange Online automatically come with support from Microsoft, that I could utilize on behalf of customer?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

It was suggested to me to use Appriver to get clients setup with Hosted Exchange or Exchange Online and/or provide support for either, since I don't have experience supporting either one.

How would this work? Client asks me for support, then I call Appriver to help me, and pay Appriver at least SOME of what I get from client?


But doesn't Hosted Exchange or Exchange Online automatically come with support from Microsoft, that I could utilize on behalf of customer?

Microsofts support for Office 365....its....painful, brutally painful. Usually support is not needed...but if you ever do...prepare yourself for an absolutely insane amount of wasted time talking to Quatar or Habu or Achmed from India. You'll rather pull your fingernails and toenails out with a pair of pliers than go through that experience again. And that phone support is only for the mid 'n higher packages of O365...the more entry level packages is e-mail and forum support...at best.

Appriver...what they do, is resell O365...by charging $2 per mailbox per month on top of the regular price. This covers their support. They become the middle-man. It's the same Office 365 package...just...they resell it for $2/mailbox more to cover cost of their support. Your client pays them..they bill the client. You get your 7% or whatever cut in the form of a check each year from Appriver. It's about the same % that you'd get from Microsoft if you were just reselling O365 yourself.

Apprivers support is great. Your client can contact you...and you support the product...and you reach out to Appriver support if you need it. Or...your client can call Appriver direct themselves for support...and you don't need to do anything. Appriver even remotes in to your clients desktop if needed. This is what I generally let happen. I don't need to spend time if I don't have to.

 

[pceinc]

Stonecat's response is spot on. I will add that you can now resell O365 via Appriver. Appriver bills you, you bill your client for whatever you want. Let's you make a few bucks more per user since our volumes are much lower than their volumes.

Appriver support is fantastic. Having a team of people you can call, in the USA, is worth the extra $2/user you are paying by using them as a middle man.

 

[Pants]

but if you ever do...prepare yourself for an absolutely insane amount of wasted time talking to Quatar or Habu or Achmed from India.

LOL

So generally, the quality of support for O365 just depends on the vendor that sells it?

I don't want to go through what you described, and I don't have time (at least right now) to learn O365, so if the support for the product is poor, I guess the only option would be to either bite the bullet and sit on phone with the lousy support, or refer the job to another tech?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I don't want to go through what you described, and I don't have time (at least right now) to learn O365, so if the support for the product is poor, I guess the only option would be to either bite the bullet and sit on phone with the lousy support, or refer the job to another tech?

Or...resell through Appriver...which provides the support for you as mentioned above.

 

[Pants]

Or...resell through Appriver...which provides the support for you as mentioned above.

Since O365 is subscription based, you're suggesting to drop their current vendor who is providing the subscription, and get them on Appriver?

I hadn't planned on being a reseller of any software, but eMail is such a huge deal in SMB I don't think I can dodge this. I sounds like reselling the Appriver version is definitely the best way to go.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Since O365 is subscription based, you're suggesting to drop their current vendor who is providing the subscription, and get them on Appriver?

I hadn't planned on being a reseller of any software, but eMail is such a huge deal in SMB I don't think I can dodge this. I sounds like reselling the Appriver version is definitely the best way to go.

I was assuming you were asking this question "ahead of time"...before signing up clients (based on all your other posts). So I'm suggesting that clients you get down the road when you open...you'd sign up THROUGH Appriver to be on O365.

If you're coming across a client already on O365 direct from MS....I do not know if you can "transfer" an existing account to something like being under Appriver....never came across that situation.