Reap the Benefits of a Managed IT Help Desk

Anything that allows a business to be better organised, more efficient and on the ball when it comes to managing technical issues can only be a good thing. And, if you can work with an IT service provider to create a help desk solution that works on your terms, the question is not so much why, but why not? Here are some of the key benefits businesses can expect with a team of experts taking care of IT help desk needs.

1. Increased organisation

Systems are designed to manage high volumes, so no matter how busy it gets, things never get messy, confused or lost.

With an efficient ticket management system, tasks can be sorted and requested any number of ways including by date, time, customer name, importance and category. Updates can be added and tracked, so it’s easy to see how the resolution is progressing and what’s still to be done.

2. Greater efficiency

The more organised you are, the more efficient you’re likely to be and that will come through in:

Response times
Resolve times and
Reduced complications and errors

3. Faster turnaround of issues

Speed counts in business and for some issues, minutes rather than days, is the only acceptable turnaround time. With a managed help desk, businesses can ensure issues are prioritised and given the attention they deserve, in order.

4. Better prioritisation

The ability to rank issues is crucial. Whether it’s a serious cyber health and safety issue or a red flag because the problem concerns one of your high net worth clients, the ability to look at issues in a sensible order is key. By doing this, you can prioritise, for example, the threat of malware or even a full-scale tech disaster over less crucial issues such as fixing the copier.

5. Useful data and analytics

Individual tickets might not tell you too much about a business, but there’s a huge amount of benefit in the collective data.

By documenting information such as ticket importance, resolve time and frequency, you can gain valuable insights, and dashboards will help identify how IT resources and budget are being spent and whether your IT support is performing well.

If the system is being used to manage internal IT issues, you can see where recurring issues are happening, system upgrades are required or where additional employee training might reduce the number of tickets raised.

If it’s tracking customer-facing issues, you can see where complaints and compliments are logged against sales staff, which products or services customers are struggling to use and geographical trends or hotspots for increased sales or call volumes.

6. Clear issue allocation and ownership

There’s no telling what kind of issues will be raised by employees or customers, but there’s a good chance most things will have come up before and been resolved successfully.

Managed help desks can use that historical information and even assign specific tickets to people with particular skill sets or experience in dealing with known issues.

From a company perspective, it helps get the ticket through the system quickly, and from a customer perspective, they get help from the person best placed to resolve their issue quickly.

7. Positive brand experience

Being able to get the right support when you need it is a huge part of a good brand experience. You only have to look to social media to see how little patience consumers have when things go wrong.

By having a managed system that allows customers to talk to someone about the issues they’re facing and reassuring them it’s getting the attention it deserves, a business can actually improve its brand value on the back of an issue.

By owning the problem, making it their responsibility and managing the process in a professional way, customers are much more likely to stay loyal and become advocates.

8. Process automation

Some systems provide triggered updates that keep employees and customers in the loop with progress reports and target resolution dates. By sharing that information as it’s available, you can reduce the number of follow-up calls and emails (all of which need to be resourced) and reassure customers in the process.

9. Clearer lines of communication

Knowing whether you’re dealing with a customer who’s logged ten other problems this month or a glowing review last year is vital when it comes to customer care and brand management.

Customers don’t want to have to repeat themselves or provide the same information over and over. A managed help desk allows you to record and track all communication, ensures general information is captured first time round and makes everything available to administrators each time a request or issue is logged on that person’s behalf.

10. Allow employees to perform their key function

Tech issues can leave employees unable to do their job and tie your IT up in a constant ‘break-fix’ cycle, distracting them from more important future-proofing work that can help drive the business forward.

The benefits of an efficient IT service desk are clear, and availing of one from an expert provider who can act as a virtual CIO will not just help you save money and time in the long run, it will also help your business grow.

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