Help Desk Support is Loaded With Benefits
Posted by Cheryl Balassone on Tue, Dec 27, 2011 @ 10:58 AM
Help desk support can provide numerous benefits to any organization, including:
- Reduced service desk costs
- Improved communication with users
- Increased control over network and systems
- Process standards, like ITIL
- Audit trail and reporting
The cost of maintaining computer resources can be a large part of any company's IT budget. Keeping a help desk staffed with trained personnel to answer questions and provide users with assistance is an expensive proposition. By outsourcing help desk tasks and improving the tools available to provide service to end users, overall costs of system maintenance are reduced.
One of the most important aspects of remote help desk systems is the ability to "take over" the user's system and change settings or install software remotely. This cuts down on the need for in-person service calls and repeat visits to solve individual problems. Despite the fact that the user is receiving help remotely, seeing the results of the help desk activity as it is taking place actually improves the communication between the service desk and the end user.
Using the remote control capabilities of remote help desk also makes network analysis and control faster and more reliable. In some cases, the entire IT infrastructure can be controlled and maintained remotely. Instead of traveling from desktop to desktop with a DVD to install software, remote help desk analysts can make these changes from a single location over an entire network. Licensing and access can be controlled and documented from a central location, thereby increasing control and stability of these systems.
For organizations that want to implement a standard for service and infrastructure management, such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), remote help desk makes this possible using expert application of the standards from the ground up. Instead of designing a network and hiring consultants to implement the standard, you can outsource the service and infrastructure management tasks to a vendor that provides all of these capabilities.
Outsourcing the service desk also makes tracking of changes and network service simpler. Using one service provider for all systems, each service call or maintenance change is tracked and reported. This can be important for regulatory compliance or financial audit requirements.
Remote help desk support cuts costs, improves communication with users, establishes audit and reporting tools, and increases centralized control over network and infrastructure management. These benefits provide a clear advantage over traditional help desk and service desk solutions.