| A help desk is a source of hardware and/or software | | | | actually hurt your business. |
| technical support which is staffed by people who can | | | | Consequently, it is best to consider these things before |
| either directly solve problems or direct the problem to | | | | hiring a provider: |
| the appropriate department. Help desks are usually | | | | |
| characterized by a single point of entry and often use | | | | 1. Select a provider who can work in harmony with |
| sophisticated ticketing and record-keeping | | | | your organization and has the same dedication to |
| management tools. | | | | success. |
| Many companies find it difficult to invest in call routing | | | | 2. Look for organizations which are flexible and feature |
| and incident tracking database technologies. In addition, | | | | many different skill-sets and talents. |
| trained help desk staff is often difficult to find and can | | | | 3. Ask for referrals, and when possible, get a demo of |
| put a strain on company payroll, benefit expenditures | | | | the ticketing system and support process. |
| and operating costs. For these reasons, many | | | | 4. Be very clear about your timeline, budget and |
| companies choose to outsource their IT help desk | | | | project expectations with potential providers. |
| needs. | | | | 5. Make sure the company you choose is up-to-date |
| There are several advantages to outsourcing your | | | | on current technologies and uses redundancy as |
| help desk: | | | | protection from file loss. |
| - Reduced overhead costs | | | | 6. Ease of use; be wary of companies offering costly |
| - Reduced equipment expenses | | | | or extensive training programs to use their systems. A |
| - Reduced maintenance expenditures | | | | good help desk solution will be simple and easy to use |
| - Lower costs due to increased competition in | | | | for your staff. |
| outsourcing business | | | | 7. Make sure you choose a company that is financially |
| - Access to up-to-date support tools and technologies | | | | stable. You do not want to have to switch solutions |
| - Allows your company to focus on core business | | | | and providers after only a short time because your |
| functions | | | | provider has gone out of business.Outsourcing your |
| - Better record-keeping and support statistics | | | | help desk is an excellent way to keep your overall IT |
| analysisThe scope of a help desk service can be | | | | costs low, maintain a keen focus on the core of your |
| varied. For this reason, it is important to obtain a very | | | | business, and automatically keep pace with up-to-date |
| specific Service Level Agreement (SLA) specifying | | | | support technologies. If you are willing to do a little |
| the range of services provided and not provided by | | | | work to find a good fit with a reputable company, |
| the technical support staff. | | | | outsourcing will be a tremendous advantage for your |
| Though there are several advantages to choosing help | | | | business. |
| desk outsourcing; choosing the wrong company could | | | | |