A real-world insight into what you need to know about Managed Service Desk solutions.
IT Managed Services have been around in some form or another since businesses first adopted digital information systems. So too have internal IT departments. In fact, modern IT departments are more diverse than ever before. From first line support, through to systems architects, cloud technology specialists, and app developers, the range of skills and experience in the technology sector is broad, and growing. However, with ever-growing technology changes and requirements comes cost, limitations, and most importantly, risk.
To explain, let’s break down the basic functions within a typical IT department, for example:
1st Line Service Desk – A function to provide basic administration and troubleshooting to maintain productivity. Great 1st Line Service Desk employees have a broad knowledge of IT, good customer communication skills, and can triage or escalate advanced issues to relevant specialist teams.
2nd Line Service Desk – A function to provide an advanced level of technical ability, often with specialist knowledge; for example, many businesses will employ teams or individuals to manage specific end-user hardware or products such as Exchange, SharePoint, security, or cloud services. These specialists typically have an in-depth knowledge of solutions, supplemented by an awareness and basic understanding of the broader IT arena.
Specialist teams – Not only do specialist teams provide 2nd and 3rd line support in their fields, but they undertake projects to improve services and solutions. Working with the wider IT team, they bring key knowledge and data to IT projects to ensure that the services they are responsible for are optimised, and do not hinder progress. These can often include:
There are more IT functions of course, and the configuration will differ per the organisation’s requirements, but the principle remains the same. Each of these individual teams are fed 2nd and 3rd line issues by the 1st line service desk by way of triage. The challenge comes into play when the business wants, or needs, to scale up or down in size, at pace.
In 2020, we saw a worldwide pandemic which forced businesses to adapt and shift. Resourcing became a serious concern for organisations both negatively and positively. It was the 1st line desk functions that, as the name suggests, bore the brunt of the shift in workloads.
By under-resourcing a service desk, the implications of major changes can affect all employees, just as over-resourcing can have a negative effect on budgets and utilisation. The 1st line service desk is unique in this way. Specialist teams may see their workloads shift when the business needs to adapt, but not as visibly as those on the front line.
This is where the Managed Service Desk comes into play in a strategic IT Director’s game plan. A Managed Service Desk solution empowers IT decision makers to adopt a flexible front line. This elasticity means a business can grow in headcount or reduce with minimal impact, and more importantly, businesses can change quickly. In today’s world, the faster a business can adapt to market changes, the greater its chance of success.
A true Managed Service Desk will not only field calls to specialist teams, but they will have the capability to manage IT tickets from end-to-end, even incorporating agreed third parties into the mix. This triage is fundamental to the consistent flow of information and communication and allows your teams to focus on what they do best.
For IT decision-makers looking to add resilience to their team, a Managed Service Desk is one of the first areas to focus on. For more information about what to look for when seeking the right provider, download our Managed Services Guide. For more tips and pieces of advice follow this link.
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In an upcoming blog we’ll be discussing the future of End User Compute, and why adopting a Managed EUC service could open doors to new ways of working – stay tuned or subscribe to our blog updates today, and understand why Core has been recognised as one of the top 30 Managed Service Providers by DesignRush.