Once a Dynamics 365 CE implementation or upgrade is done, the post-go-live support phase starts. Every Dynamics 365 CE implementation partner company provides post-go-live support for a period of between 2 to 6 months. Sometimes, post-go-live support plays a critical role in selecting a Dynamics 365 CE implementation partner. Normally, while discussing the project plan, the project's go-live support duration is also included in the project timelines. As part of the post-go-live support, the project implementation team addresses any implementation issues instead of making new changes.

A post-go-live support contract can be implemented using different models. Sometimes, post-go-live support is handled by new vendors. These support vendors can be partnered with the implementation team or the customer directly. Customers can receive support from their partners for all the technologies they are using, based on their contract. 

Before looking into post-go-live support options, let's first consider why we need post-go-live support. The following diagram details the common reasons for post-go-live support being required:

Let's discuss these topics one by one in detail, as follows:

• Unskilled Staff: The first, and most common, reason for post-go-live support being required is unskilled staff. Not all customers have an in-house team to handle their day-to-day change requests or quick queries about how to perform a specific task in Dynamics 365 CE. Even though the implementation team provides training for both end users and admin users, not all employees will remember what they have learned during Dynamics 365 CE training. As such, the customer requires someone who can support them after go-live.
• Additional Training: Sometimes, the training classes provided during the implementation of Dynamics 365 CE are not sufficient for all users or specific users. This can decrease user productivity, and if they don't have time to go through the user manuals provided to them, the customer may require some additional training for their teams. During these training sessions, users can learn about some more detailed content that is not covered in standard user training sessions, as well as getting answers to any questions they may have after using the new system.
• Fixing Issues: At times, we may face issues in the application sometime after the go-live date. These issues may or may not be showstoppers, but if they are, it is critical to fix them as soon as possible. These issues can be specific to the code development done for the application or can be related to new updates released by Microsoft. In cases where the issue is introduced by code development, we need the help of technical resources to fix the issue. Sometimes, the issue is related to bugs in Dynamics 365 CE, in which case we need to report the issue to Microsoft to fix it.
• Application Enhancement: Sometime after application go-live, the user becomes familiar with the new system, and they start suggesting enhancements to the application. These enhancements can be related to the application design, navigation changes, screen changes, or—perhaps—enhancing reports. Customers may need post-go-live support to enhance the application. These suggestions could be small or could require a good deal of development effort. Customers can decide whether they want to make these changes as an enhancement, or whether they want to include these changes in the next phase of the implementation project. They can include these new enhancements in their implementation roadmap plan.

• Next Phase Planning: Sometimes, customers also need support for planning their next phase. They need help to set up the roadmap for their Dynamics 365 CE journey. They may want to integrate Dynamics 365 CE with more applications. Sometimes, they want to make a small proof of concept (PoC) before including a solution in their roadmap. They may need the help of technical resources to understand the feasibility of the solution.
• For Maintenance: We also need IT resources for maintenance purposes. If we don't have IT resources in-house who can work on maintenance activities, we may need to get support from outside of the organization.

Now we have an understanding of the common reasons why we need post-go-live support, let's discuss the possible options for getting that support, as follows:

• Support from the implementation team: We can get post-go-live support from the implementation team who implemented Dynamics 365 CE for us. While discussing the project initially, we can discuss post-go-live support with the implementation team. We can check details such as what the duration of the post-go-live support will be; whether there is any limit for the post-go-live support, such as a case per day or per month; in what timeframe we can expect the resolution of the issue reported; and what the terms and conditions of the post-go-live support are. Getting post-go-live support directly from the implementation team is always helpful as they know the system very well and can take less time to resolve any issues, compared to new vendors.
• Using a new vendor: If the implementation team doesn't provide post-go-live support, we can look for another vendor to provide that support for us. We can find this vendor from the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN), but initially, this process can take time as they will need to first understand the system before providing any support. When selecting a different vendor, we should consider whether they have Dynamics 365 CE capabilities.
• Microsoft support: Microsoft support especially comes into the picture when we are facing an issue specific to Microsoft. We can raise a support ticket with Microsoft from the Office 365 portal and provide details of the issue we are facing. You can get more details on Microsoft support at https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-in/support/.
• Hiring contract resources: Another option we have is to hire Dynamics 365 CE contract resources for the duration of the support. We can hire skilled resources who have good experience in Dynamics 365 CE as well as experience in providing Dynamics 365 CE support.

• Using Dynamics 365 community forums: Getting support from Dynamics 365 community forums is also very common, but this support option can only work when we have skilled technical resources if any new extensions are required. But if we want to extend the capability of Dynamics 365 CE and we don't have any technical resources, then community forum support is not very helpful. Functional consultants can also get support from the community regarding any issues related to functionality or customization.

• Dynamics 365 CE community blogs: If we have in-house technical and functional resources, Dynamics 365 CE community blogs can be very helpful for resolving day-to-day issues. Dynamics 365 CE has a huge list of blogs where we can find very useful information. If required, you can contact the blog writers to get more details.

• Dynamics 365 documentation: Dynamics 365 documentation has very useful information. I did not see this much documentation available for earlier Dynamics Customer Relationship Management (CRM) versions, before Dynamics 365 CE. Now, we have documentation available for all the apps available in Dynamics 365.

All of this documentation is tailor-made based on levels, roles, and so on. In the following screenshot, you can see the learning options available for the Dynamics 365 CE Field Service app:

Now, we know how to provide post-go-live support to our customers after Dynamics 365 CE implementation. Another activity that is very important in Dynamics 365 CE is maintenance. In the next section, we are going to discuss maintenance activities. We will learn about maintenance activities we may need to do for Dynamics 365 CE.