With the growth in Internet-based applications and solutions, you may wonder how effective tech support delivered from a remote help desk service would be for your business.
In fact, there are many options available for small to medium size businesses when it comes to remote-based IT support. Depending on the support model you currently use, you may be able to increase responsiveness and lower your costs.
On the other hand, if you’re not careful you can run into inconsistent service that wastes time and fails to resolve critical issues.
IT help desk services offer real-time help from live computer engineers. Remote-in technology allows help desk engineers to access your computer via an Internet connection. They are able to take over your computer and assist as if they where sitting there with you.
When it’s done right, this is an efficient service—but there is give and take. Here are some pros and cons to consider if you’re looking to outsource everyday tech support to a remote help desk.
Pros:
Reduced Costs: If you currently have in-house IT staff, you should be able to access remote help desk support for a lower-cost to cover an equivalent number of users. Many help desk services function on a flat-rate that allows users unlimited service requests, and the price should be lower than a full-time network administrator salary. Also, you don’t have to pay for benefits, vacations, or sick days.
Availability: A properly staffed IT help desk has fast response times as part of their service level agreement. Instead of just a few in-house people, the help-desk can be staffed with a team of engineers that can be called or emailed on the spot. Requests can be made to take care of immediate problems or general system maintenance. Also, many help desks have 24x7x365 availability, so anytime users are working, they have access to tech support.
Remote Access: Because this type of support is Internet based, users can access an engineer anywhere they can get online. Traveling sales people, telecommuters, staff presenting in a client’s office—they can all call on tech support should a problem arise. IT support follows the users.
Cons:
Personal Touch: You lose personal touch when you outsource. It’s generally a trade-off for cost reduction. You’ll get to know some names of your local team, but you don’t get the attention equal to an in-house engineer. You will do better in this regard if your service provider is regional.
Communication: Be careful about this one. If you outsource help desk support abroad, you may end up with a talented engineering team nobody can understand. The problem of thick accents is amplified by the fact that communication takes place on the phone. This can be frustrating for users and will discourage them from using the system. Also, get references to ensure that the help desk staff is trained to communicate well with lay users. It will not be the cheapest option, but insure that you have tech support that communicates clearly and can explain the process to the end user.
Internet Access: If you lose Internet access you lose your tech support. Insure you have a reliable system with adequate bandwidth. Also, not all problems can be solved via remote Internet access. If you have a hardware problem, you’ll need on-site help. Again, if you use a regional provider they can include service levels to stipulate that if the problem cannot be resolved from the help desk, they will send and engineer on-site.
If your organization’s productivity is closely tied to network conductivity and computer users, remote help desk support can have some real value. In general, you will get a high level of service from engineers using sophisticated tools, and for many business networks the cost savings will be attractive. This is an excellent area to do a cost comparison with your current tech support methods.
Also, remote help desk support can enhance rather than replace in-house tech staff, depending on your needs. You can delegate first-tier resolutions and support for mobile staff to the help desk, and have in-house people handle higher-level projects and proprietary software.
Written By: Scott Yoder