Escalated Accounts

By the time a customer is in a situation that Microsoft refers to as 'Escalated Accounts', there is usually a lot of tension between the customer, their partner and sometimes even Microsoft. In this situation, having an independent consultant on your team can be a very good idea.

Establishing fault or otherwise assigning blame is the most counterproductive activity in an escalated account. People can be more involved in trying to escape blame or other political manouvering, and they lose sight of the most important goal, which is to get the customer implemented successfully. I am not interested in who is responsible, that can always be established later. What I am interested in is to determine what needs to be done to get the implementation online, and to make it happen, with the customer and the partner.

I have been involved in a number of escalated accounts, and have helped most of them get right back on track. The most important part in my experience has been to reset expectations on both sides to a level that is acceptable to all parties. As soon as that is established the next thing is to get everyone on the team 100% committed to the success of the project.

We offer the independent look at both partners and end users, and as a rule we will want both parties to know about the relationship.