As is often the case at the start of a new fiscal year, Microsoft is making some changes to its sales and support organizations. Over the past few days, word has spread about some of the changes that will affect those who work with their “Customer Success” unit, their technical account managers and other support staff.
Microsoft’s goal with its latest changes is to try to improve customer use and engagement of various Microsoft products and services, my contacts say. Microsoft officials are seeking clarity on the support role and an improvement in the “right size” of customer support plans with these latest moves.
I don’t hear Microsoft going to make big layoffs as part of the changes. (There could be some separate, smaller layoffs, but these are due to regular rotation, not the firing of a large number of people associated with a given team, as I understand it.)
Exactly three years ago, on July 6, 2017, Microsoft announced layoffs of “thousands” of employees, primarily in its sales organization. Last March, Microsoft removed about 200 of its commercial vendors, including the then head of its Customer Success unit. Mark Souza, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform, took over as head of customer success for Microsoft’s cloud platform at the time.
As it has been doing with many of its products and services lately, Microsoft will also change various titles and roles of its employees as part of the latest sales moves. The Technical Account Managers (TAM) will be renamed to “CSAM” or “Customer Success Account Managers” and will report to the Customer Success Unit. Premier field engineers will now be known as “customer engineers”.
I am very curious about the new independent Microsoft Consulting organization that the company is establishing as of fiscal year 21. I asked Microsoft for a comment on its size and importance, but received no comment. Microsoft already does a lot of consulting as part of its business, to the dissatisfaction of some of its reseller partners. Microsoft’s annual Inspire Partner Conference is scheduled for later this month as a virtual event.
Microsoft’s 2021 fiscal year began on July 1, 2020.
