Creating a well-structured support request is one of the most effective ways to speed up investigation and reduce back-and-forth communication. This article explains what to include when opening a case in the Service Management Portal, and how to give our engineers the information they need from the start.
When you’re ready to submit a case, follow the steps in How to Create a Support Case, but use the tips below to write a high-quality request.
1. Describe the issue clearly
Tell us what is happening, where, and for whom.
Avoid vague descriptions.
Good examples:
“Users cannot access Teams. Error: ‘AADSTS50020: User account not found.’”
“Server VM-APP01 unreachable since 08:45 CET. Ping timeout.”
“Backup job (ID 2193) has failed for three consecutive days.”
Less helpful examples:
“Teams broken.”
“Server down?”
“Backup failing.”
2. Explain the business impact
Impact determines how quickly a case must be handled. Including this information helps us route your case correctly.
Be specific about:
How many people or systems are affected
Whether work is fully blocked or partially blocked
Whether a workaround exists
How urgent the situation is for your operations
Whether customers or external users are affected
Examples:
“22 users in Finance cannot access SharePoint and cannot process invoices.”
“Only one user affected, but they are unable to perform their main tasks.”
“Performance is degraded, but work continues.”
3. Share when the problem started
Timing helps the Arxus Group engineers correlate your issue with monitoring alerts, logs, platform events, or recent changes.
Provide details like:
Exact or approximate start time
Whether it is continuous or intermittent
Whether it started after an update, change, or deployment
Whether the issue is becoming more frequent
Examples:
“Started today at 08:45 CET. Constant since then.”
“Occurred three times this week, mostly in the morning.”
“Started right after yesterday’s update.”
4. Tell us what you already tried
This prevents duplicated steps and saves time by showing what has already been ruled out.
Useful examples include:
Restarted the application or device
Tried from another browser, network, or device
Validated that the affected user has the correct license or permissions
Cleared cache or reinstalled the application
Confirmed that other users have the same issue
Checked your own internal status pages or configurations
Brief descriptions are enough:
“Restarted Teams and device; no improvement.”
“Tested from two different networks; same result.”
5. Add visual evidence: screenshots or a screen recording
Visual details make it much easier and faster for engineers to understand the issue.
How to take a screenshot
Windows
Full screen: PrtScn
Active window only: Alt + PrtScn
Snipping Tool: Windows + Shift + S
Mac
Select area: Command + Shift + 4
Full screen: Command + Shift + 3
Advanced options (timers, window capture): Command + Shift + 5
How to record your screen
Screen recordings are extremely helpful for issues that are intermittent or difficult to describe.
Windows
Quick recording (Game Bar): Windows + Alt + R
Mac
Screen recording tool:
Command + Shift + 5 → Select “Record Entire Screen” or “Record Selected Portion”
Uploading files
You can upload files directly in the Add attachments section when creating your case.
This can include:
Screenshots
Screen recordings
Log files
CSV or report exports
Configuration snippets
Error details from your browser dev tools
Email headers (for Microsoft 365 mail issues)
The more accurate the visual evidence, the faster we can reproduce the issue.
6. Identify the affected item
If applicable, include the exact item involved so the Arxus Group can route your case to the correct specialist team.
Examples:
VM or server name
Domain or hostname
Application or service name
Subscription or tenant
A specific device
Impacted user email addresses
This eliminates guesswork and ensures fast assignment.
7. Include your internal reference number (optional)
If your organization uses internal tracking, you can add your reference number in the dedicated field.
This helps align your internal processes with the case in the Support Portal.
8. Minimize shared PII Data
Try to only include non PII Data or anonymize it where possible
Get Help
If you need more help, contact your Customer Success Manager, reach out to our Service Desk support, or type your question in the chat to our support team. They will be ready to assist you.