Why Your Organization Needs A Managed IT Help Desk Provider

As your organization inevitably continues to move to a more hybrid way of working, its business users need the reassurance that their IT help desk support needs are always taken care of. Is your internal IT help desk in a position to provide such support, particularly as many of its team will be working remotely, too?

If the answer is anything but a resounding “yes”, then maybe partnering with a Managed Help Desk provider is a choice you should investigate.

What Is A Managed IT Help Desk?

When an organization’s business users encounter a problem with their IT equipment, their first port of call is (or at least should be) the firm’s IT help desk. This single point of contact for everything IT-related is designed to answer calls and emails, ask questions about the nature of the issue, and create tickets in a system so that further investigations can be conducted – either by other internal IT teams or third-party vendors.

Traditionally, many organizations had their own internal IT help desks. The people working on them were employees of the business, which meant the people they were supporting were actually their colleagues.

Nowadays, though, many organizations are outsourcing their IT help desk functions to an external managed IT services provider. These managed IT help desks, as they’re known, are staffed and fully managed by the external provider. 

However, because Managed IT Help Desks are so professionally implemented and the people working on them are so experienced, an organization’s business users are likely to only feel a positive impact should their company switch from in-house to externally managed.

How Can Businesses Benefit From A Managed IT Help Desk?

By partnering with a managed help desk services provider, organizations can afford a number of benefits, including:

• Reliable 24x7x365 support – With a managed IT help desk, your organization benefits from around the clock support. This is particularly useful if you have a hybrid workforce across different regions as there will always be someone available to field their queries.
• Agreed SLAs – When you partner with a managed help desk provider, you will inevitably create various service level agreements (SLAs) that are designed to outline the level of service you can expect e.g. how long it will take certain issues to be investigated and resolved. This provides peace of mind and leaves neither party in the dark.
• Cost predictability & savings – Managed IT help desks come with predictable costs i.e. you know how much you will pay each month and any extras will be clearly outlined. This allows for easier budgeting. Furthermore, by outsourcing your help desk function, you can benefit from reduced costs. There is no longer the need to pay for equipment, office space, training, and more. Help desk staff recruitment and retention costs are also negated when you partner with a managed services provider.
• Experience and expertise – Managed help desk providers spend time and money ensuring their staff are always up to date with the latest technological advancements and hold the latest industry accreditations. This means you can rest assured your business users are getting the best service possible from a team of highly trained individuals.
• Flexible scalability – Many organizations experience business peaks and troughs throughout the year. For these companies, ramping up IT help desk support at certain times to deal with an influx of calls is crucial. With a managed help desk provider, this can be achieved quickly and cost effectively. The service can then be scaled down once the peak has passed.
• Improved business continuity – Should a major event, like a natural disaster or serious cyberattack, impact your business, your in-house help desk staff is likely to be affected. By outsourcing this element of your IT help desk support, you can benefit from improved business continuity and your business users can enjoy the same level of service in the face of such events.
• Insightful reporting – As part of your agreement, your managed help desk partner will send detailed reports containing insights into your help desk function. These can be used to come up with future changes that seek to resolve repeat problems and improve overall user experience.
• Free up your IT team for value-add projects – Finally, with a managed help desk service, your internal IT teams are inevitably freed up. This allows them to work on projects that really add value to your business and its users, rather than spending their time putting out fires.

The Role Of A Managed IT Help Desk In The New Hybrid Working Environment

The hybrid working environment – which sees business users splitting their time between being on-premises and remote – is here to stay. Indeed, according to PwC’s latest US Remote Work Survey, “Over half of employees (55%) would prefer to be remote at least three days a week once pandemic concerns recede.” 

However, hybrid working presents a number of IT challenges for organizations. 

First and foremost, no matter where they are physically located for the day, your business users expect the same level of connectivity, performance, and accessibility. As a result, should any degradations in service or connectivity issues occur, they need to be resolved as soon as possible.

Then there is the need to enable in-house help desk staff to work remotely, too. After all, there’s a strong chance the rest of your IT team will be, so it stands to reason that your help desk staff also should. But making all the necessary software tools and communication means available to facilitate such a reality represents a significant investment in both time and money for organizations.

By partnering with a managed IT Help desk provider, organizations can ensure their business users are always fully supported – regardless of their location – without the need to accommodate their help desk staff working remotely.

Discover how our Managed IT Help Desk services can benefit your organization. Contact Us and talk to one of our specialists to find out more.