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David Briant from Guelph Canada writes:

Hi Andrea,

My question relates to Mircosoft training for businesses. What do they offer onsite and what are the costs, generally? Here's the reason why I ask. For the past 3 weeks I've been dealling with an Internet marketing company that offered me predesigned web sites for particular businesses as an affiliate. I paid to register the accounts and was told to log onto their server to get the domain names. I was not able to login and sent an email to tech support. They sent back the message I had to change my Back Office server. For 3 weeks I could not get through to them the problem was at their end as they own that server not me. Finally, on Wednesday I sent pictures of where their suggested server was supposed to be but in reality was somewhere else. Either that server or router had a problem and no one had noticed it and refused to acknowldge it. I have worked with computers, large networks, and Microsoft products for years so I gave them a lesson on what a Back Office server was and how networks work.

I was finally able to log into the designated server and get information. Their prices are twice the price of others but it took 3 weeks to find that out.

Overall I found their tech support uninformed, ill trained, rude, narrow minded, anonymous, and clueless. Can Microsoft offer businesses such as these a basic course on how Microsoft servers work and networks in general?

Andrea writes:

Hi David,

Thanks for your questions! Often times Small Businesses don't have technical expertise on site, so training becomes crucial. When I have talked to customers about training, they know it is important, but time and money often get in the way of updating their knowledge and skill. For that reason online training is ideal for most small businesses. To address this need, Microsoft offers much of our learning resources for free and accessible anytime online.

First, for a better overall understanding of server technology, www.microsoft.ca/readySBS provides information on what a server is, networking basics, a purchasing guide and helpful tips on finding the right technology partner for your business.

In terms of specific Microsoft training offerings, there are actually a few options for small business owners. Microsoft recently launched Small Business+ ( www.microsoft.ca/SBplus ) a free web site that delivers business training, Microsoft software training, and technical support as well as Canadian technology and business market research. The Self-Help Technical Support function provides quick answers to common support questions like how to schedule updates on Windows Server 2003 as well as "how to" articles to help troubleshoot common problems. Small Business+ also provides access to webcasts delivered by Microsoft support experts to help improve your understanding of various applications as well as a Newsgroup that allows you to search discussions to find solutions to common software issues.

Also, check out the Microsoft Learning site www.microsoft.ca/learning where you will find a number of resources for both e-Learning and classroom training delivered by Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning. The website allows you to search for training on specific Microsoft products offered both on line or in-classroom. A number of the online courses have a 90-day free trial or can be purchased on a subscription basis.

For instructor led training, Microsoft offers a three-day technical course called "Designing, Deploying, and Managing a Network Solution for the Small- and Medium-sized Business." The goal of the course is to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to select, deploy, and manage a Microsoft networking solution for small and medium-sized businesses. There are courses happening over the summer and the cost is approximately $2, 000 for a full three day session.