When Support Costs Rise Automatically, Infrastructure Teams Lose Control

For most organizations, Unified Support renewal is a black box:

Cost is based on Microsoft software and cloud spend, not actual support usage. 

Uplifts and add-ons are rolled into broad, vague line items. 

There’s no clear Microsoft support cost reduction path without cutting capability. 

There’s no reliable way to compare Unified against another vendor on ROI enterprise support. 

12-month locked contracts limit your ability to adjust to changing demand. 

No SLA-backed credits and no clear accountability for performance. 

You can’t optimize what you can’t measure, and Unified wasn’t designed for measurement. 

Submit Your Most Outstanding Ticket 

Did a ticket drag on for days?
Did you struggle to get ownership?
Did you get a closure note instead of a root cause?

Share a redacted version,
and we’ll show you:

  • How our quick intake moves your issue to the right engineer 
  • How our continuous, consistent engineering works for you 
  • How we’d collaborate with you on the right severity level (you stay in control)
  • Commit to root-cause analysis 

Service Model Comparison:
DCG vs Unified vs 3rd-Party Providers

Evaluate SLA reliability, pricing logic, engineering access, vendor accountability, and long-term continuity across all three standard support models.

Direct-to-Senior
Engineer Support

You Pay for Resolution, Not Entitlements 

No more automatic annual cost increases. No consumption-based inflation. No forced bundles. No more “use it or lose it” entitlements. Quarterly right-sizing options. Clear engineering logs for audit trails 

You get costs you can justify and performance you can measure.

<15 min

Critical Response

<1 hr.

Standard Response

Verified

Measured, Reported

92% tickets

Solved Inhouse

<10%

Microsoft Escalation

24/7

Global Support

70m USD

in Client Savings

1M

Users Supported

43%

Average Customer

ROI

Post Go-Live

The 12-Month Payback Calculator
See when your investment breaks even and by how much.  

Compare a 12-month financial view of: 
  • Unified Support cost vs DCG’s engineering-based model 
  • Ticket load vs cost per incident 
  • SLA-driven downtime reduction 
  • Cloud growth vs support cost growth 
  • Time-to-value and break-even period 
  • Total cost avoidance + year-over-year predictability 

Are You Paying for What You Don’t Use?

Quick self-test for infrastructure, platform
and vendor management:

  • Is ticket volume stable or declining while Unified costs rise?
  • Are you using all the entitlements you’re paying for?
  • Are there overlapping support capabilities with internal teams or other vendors?
  • Are you locked into uplift charges tied to cloud growth?

Severity Level

Severity A (SEV/A) - Tier 1

Severity B (SEV/B) - Tier 2

Severity C (SEV/C) - Tier 3

Business Impact

Critical

Moderate

Minimal

Response SLA Detailed

< 15 Minutes

< 4 Minutes

< 8 Minutes

What DCG Changes For Your Organization

From Spend-Based Support to Transparent, Controllable Support

Predictable Budgeting 

A support model that behaves financially, not erratically. 

Commercial Flexibility

Quarterly adjustments, not annual lock-ins. 

Measurable Performance

SLAs that are verified, reported, and tied to engineering time.

Vendor Leverage 

Receive competitive, customized proposals that reflect your true requirements. 

Reduced Total Cost of Support

Less downtime, faster resolution, and no spend-based inflation. 

Complete Transparency 

You can finally see what you’re paying for and why. 

By working with DCG for support of their Microsoft products and services, FHI has experienced a dramatic improvement in the quality and responsiveness of their Microsoft Support. This has driven additional business units within FHI to begin utilizing DCG’s Advanced Support for their Microsoft products and services.

Tom Maloney
Director Infrastructure & Operations, FHI 

Share your renewal cycle, Unified tier, and current spend.

We’ll map the financial impact and provide
a contract-level comparison.