Choosing the right service desk software – Part 2

In the previous article – Seven Tips for Choosing the Best Software ITSM – we initially perform a comparative table of options available to IT departments, IT managers or system administrator to identify the one that corresponds to needs related to the implementation of a service desk software. We will now look at an ideal service desk software can provide benefits as a business and some good practices surrounding these aspects. See the first article here. 

Increase operational efficiency

Internal efficiency is central to all business issues. For IT support staff, customer service department or call center, this criterion is closely linked to the customer and the quality of services provided daily satisfaction. The optimization of response times, resolution times and other performance indicators through properly planned internal coordination and the proper support tools. So how to improve the efficiency of support activities and management of internal/external requests? 

How to improve the effectiveness of my resources?

• Offer a self-service portal to your customers. This is the best way to unload your resources and increase customer satisfaction. They will be able to open a ticket, monitor and find solutions by themselves.
• More sharing your support team information, it will be more productive. You will find a program offering knowledge base, easy access to the historical notes and automation for routine tasks and escalations.
• Leveraging best practices like ITIL is also a good part of the success. These best practices are the basis for process definition and automation.
• The automation must also be optimized, particularly in the creation and prioritization of tickets as well as the management of requests, because we want that resources are more efficient and they tend to focus their time on initiatives aligned on business objectives.

How to improve our service levels?

• You want to minimize and prevent service interruptions; Your tool should support you in this direction by allowing you to measure the preventive maintenance operations and enabling administrators to understand and mitigate the effects of an event on infrastructure.
• The tool should allow you to “map” and model your IT infrastructure and services related to it. So you can effectively prioritize your investments and efforts.
• You also want your tool provides visibility to your service levels and allow you to analyze and improve these metrics.

^​Optimize change management

Without having all the necessary tools, the change management team continually implements risk changes that could harm service levels. To avoid conflicts and possible downtime, your team needs an effective approval routine that your new application should be able to bring you.

Improve support service and customer experience

As previously mentioned, a portal is a major asset in managing requests. However, to increase customer satisfaction and adjust to user habits, the portal must be available on mobile devices (phones and tablets) and have a robust knowledge base enabling the user community to exchange and collaborate. Always remember that the interface should be modern, easy to use and simple to navigate.

Improve transparency

Viewing your service levels on the portal will also help you manage your customers' expectations. By collecting and measuring data, you improve the services and the quality thereof. IT is essential that your application offers dashboards and metrics that let you monitor your service levels. You’ll also need reports and alerts that allow your resources to concentrate on initiatives that impact your customers most.

Mitigate risks factors

For many reasons, you want to be able to track your licenses effectively, your automatic renewal dates and other information required on applications or equipment you acquire. At any time, your software should allow you to know your position and the relationships between different items in your inventory. You’ll be able to reduce the costs of unnecessary licenses, minimize efforts related to information retrieval for audits and reduce the financial risks associated with non-compliance.

Reduce total cost of ownership for service operations

To do this, you must make sure to eliminate custom code. Make sure the application you purchase is sufficiently configurable to meet all your needs, and you can have a unified interface to handle all your queries and service requests.

Now more than ever, business performance depends on IT performance, which is why the ITSM capabilities of an organization are increasingly important. With the right type of platform service desk, IT organizations can leverage a solution that can improve service levels and user productivity, streamlining operations, using resources and maximizing the support for achieving critical goals for the company.