Most businesses claim to use their customer service organizations as key differentiators in creating competitive advantage in the marketplace, but this claim does not withstand closer analysis. The service the vast majority of these companies provide is actually the same as their competitors, so...
Tag(s): customer service, people, process, business of support, practices and processes
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
If there’s one thing service desks are good at, it is collecting information and reporting on it. If there is one thing they are terrible at, it is being able to focus on the few instead of the many. But one way to find out if anyone is actually reading the reports you spend so much time...
Tag(s): metrics and measurements, people, workforce enablement, process, business of support
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Once upon a time, customers relied on advertising to shape their perception of an organization. Certainly, some money was poured into customer service, but only enough to keep things moving. If customers had problems, their complaints were usually isolated to a strongly worded letter to the company.
Tag(s): people, customer service, process, business of support
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Call it the cloud. Call it converged infrastructure. Call it hybrid delivery, or whatever the marketers come up with next. The fact is, the world of IT has changed. It’s the “new IT.” But let’s be honest: it’s not altogether new, and it’s not altogether IT. So what is it, and how is it going to...
Tag(s): process, business of support, framework and methodologies
Date Published May 23, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
When Apple announced the launch of the Apple Stores in 2001, it was met with widespread skepticism. There was concern over the impact the stores would have on Apple’s existing retail channels, the fact that Apple had no experience in retail, and that the mere existence of retail stores would do...
Tag(s): process, business of support, people, customer service
Date Published May 22, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
As organizations multisource their IT services, push services to the cloud, and consolidate services into enterprise-shared services to reduce costs, their success increasingly depends on relationship management rather than the deep systems expertise that has traditionally been their core...
Tag(s): process, business of support, customer service, practices and processes
Date Published May 22, 2012 - Last Updated May 11, 2016
Because of the nature of business today, IT management has shifted from a set of tactical tasks to some of the most strategic initiatives within an organization. The mere fact that IT management is now part and parcel of the overall executive management team is a testament to the significant...
Tag(s): white paper, practices and processes, ITIL, IT-business alignment, IT service management, business of support, best practice, framework, framework and methodologies, business alignment
Date Published - Last Updated April 30, 2015
There are many reasons to monitor quality in the support center, and many ways to do it. This white paper, based on recent research, reveals the current state of quality assurance in technical support centers.
Tag(s): quality assurance, white paper, trends, research
Date Published - Last Updated September 30, 2015
A well-designed, highly automated reporting framework that utilizes a balanced approach, effective graphics, clear targets, and real-time and periodic reporting, along with analysis and recommendations, is absolutely essential for IT service management to be effective in delivering quality...
Tag(s): white paper, productivity, practices and processes, metrics and measurements, best practice
Date Published - Last Updated December 30, 2014
Most IT departments can tell you how much they spend on support, but few can quantify the economic impact of support. The result is that many technical service and support organizations are on the defensive when it comes to budgeting and spending, and often struggle to get the funding needed to...
Tag(s): business of support, business value, costs, cost models, industry
Date Published - Last Updated April 29, 2015