Seven Ways That a Remote Service Desk Is Better at IT

Fueled by economy, health and wellness, and overall technological vastness, businesses are switching from in-house support teams to remote services – and with good, immediate bottom line results. Virtual workforces are becoming the norm.

Evolutions within technology continue, taking the composition and structure of IT service desks with them. Remote IT offers a positive shift in the way businesses approach their technology presence.

Evolving from an Old-Fashioned Approach

IT directives and responsibilities are more profound than in years past. The simple days of having a technician physically sit and work on an issue at your desk, or seeing them in the hall and asking for advice are fading. Businesses require remedies immediately, thoroughly, and with minimal to zero interruptions. Solutions for issues with downtime, infrastructure, and security have increased in complexity. Assuring that your business has the additional resources it needs to support its IT alignment is critical.

In positioning IT for your business, it is important that other vital functions such as licensure updates, equipment maintenance, and metrics are included in the process. Service Desk techs have their hands full addressing the day-to-day tasks required by end-users. Maintaining these additional responsibilities often goes to the wayside in order to address the immediate needs.

The hours of operation that a service desk adopts need to be open and flexible. Remaining within the constraints of an 8a-5p work day is limiting. The trend of varying work schedules and work locations makes it essential to have 24/7/365 support. Your end-users need to be able to be productive whenever or wherever they are working.

Seven Reasons to Be Out with the Old and in with the New

1. The availability of an IT team that serves multiple time zones and can be available up to 24/7/365, without scheduling issues or the impact of being short-staffed.
2. Remote service desks can multi-task by managing multiple user issues at once, making for support that is more productive and thus, less expensive.
3. End-users feel more involved and empowered with remote services. Watching on their monitors as the technician is working, they can ask questions about the resolution with potential for understanding what steps to take if a simple issue happens again.
4. Utilizing metrics, your remote service desk of talented (and affordable) personnel can drill into root cause analysis and take the time to look for patterns within the system. They have the potential of identifying issues before a breach or down time can occur.
5. Your business will utilize resources effectively and efficiently. For example, having the tier system that remote IT offers, you aren’t employing a seasoned professional to work on a basic task.
6. The need to have data storage, programs, licensure, etc. in-house is often removed. A remote team will manage these things as part of the SLA.
7. Remote work encourages the balance of work, life, and health.

Moving Forward

Methodologies of the past, although effective at the time, are proving inadequate in meeting the needs and goals of today’s professionals. Capitalizing on advancements in technology while continuing to respect and promote healthy environments has required many to rethink their staffing approach. Outsourced service desks are available to assist your business in utilizing highly skilled technicians who are consistently available to help you and your end-users maintain and evolve. IT is transitioning the old service desk approach to a new one - one that works from a distance while still remaining close at hand.