Do more with less. This has become a common refrain in our industry, given the state of the economy. As new technology emerges that can propel the business forward, the expectations on IT continue to grow, while IT spending continues to be constrained. In a time when acquisitions and mergers...
Tag(s): process, business of support, practices and processes
Date Published May 25, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
In many IT service and support organizations, the help desk is managed independently from the desktop support operation, contributing to inefficiencies in service provisioning. While each group spends time and energy to make their respective teams better through people, process, and technology,...
Tag(s): desktop support, people, workforce enablement
Date Published May 25, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
With the rapid adoption of the ITIL framework, a growing number of organizations are now doing the right things, the right way, when it comes to IT service delivery and support processes. If you belong to one of those organizations, you’ve probably established your service desk as the single...
Tag(s): process, business of support, framework and methodologies
Date Published May 25, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
As consumers continue to seek customer support online, there is tremendous opportunity for companies to enhance their customer service in real time. While social media as a platform for CRM takes the spotlight these days, consider the value more traditional service channels offer to connect with...
Tag(s): technology, customer service, desktop support, support channels
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
You’re considering purchasing a fabulous new driving machine, with some of the most innovative features available in automotive technology today. In order to build and deliver this mechanical marvel, the manufacturer installed an instrument panel in the center of the windshield, creating a...
Tag(s): technology, remote support tools, ITSM
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
In 2010, TECO Energy, one of the largest energy and utility companies in Florida, faced a computing infrastructure of aging hardware and obsolete software that created stability and performance problems and hindered business productivity. Most of the company’s 2,800-plus desktop and laptop...
Tag(s): technology, practices and processes, infrastructure management, change management, process management
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Over the last several years, HDI has collected information about technology use in the IT service and technical support help desk/support center. This year, for the first time, HDI has collected similar information for the desktop support industry. In this article, we will present the results...
Tag(s): technology, research, desktop support, service desk technology
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Consider this example of a type of incident that most, if not all, service desks have encountered in the past, and probably will in the future: Mary, an employee at Bank of America (BofA), locked her Dell laptop with a BIOS password, which she then forgot. Without her password, she can’t reboot...
Tag(s): process, escalation, process management
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
As today’s organizations proceed with upgrades to Windows 7 and Office 2007 or 2010, many are finding that the action plans they need are very different from the plans they used for previous upgrades, with particular regard to the migration of users to the new applications. Of course, there are...
Tag(s): technology, change management, infrastructure management, release management
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
According to the 2010 HDI Support Center Practices & Salary Report, only 19.9% of all centers are offering chat as a contact channel. With adding value and reducing costs at the front of most IT leaders’ minds, is this the right time to increase your support capacity by adding chat? And are the...
Tag(s): technology, customer service, desktop support, support channels
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016