IT support levels explained
IT support levels and ‘support tiers’ are used interchangeably within IT support service companies.
IT support infrastructure
We structure our IT support services around the following tiers.
| IT Support Level | Function | Types of tickets | Resource |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 0 | Self-service support | Users troubleshoot common issues and queries using self-service tools including knowledge banks, FAQs, chatbots & community forums. | Technical and marketing resources needed to create, maintain, and update information. App dev or 3rd party solutions may also be required. |
| Tier 1 | 1st line service desk | Examples of 1st Line tickets could include – Call Logging, Password resets, Account unlocks, Distribution List changes/creations, Closing sessions, Clearing print queues, User training, Basic desktop support, Basic hardware issues and Third Party Triage. | Technical personnel, trained to solve known problems and to fulfil service requests by following scripts. |
| Tier 2 | 2nd line service desk | Examples of 2nd Line tickets could include - Escalations from 1st line, Advanced desktop support, Software errors, Email Problems, Intermediate Hardware issues, Basic Group Policy Management, Intermediate Server / Infrastructure / Network support. | Technical personnel with deep knowledge of the product, service or IT environment, but not necessarily the technical architects who designed and created the product. |
| Tier 3 | 3rd line support team | Examples of 3rd Line tickets could include – Escalations from 1st/2nd Line, Advanced Server / Infrastructure / Network support, Input into IT Strategy and Risk Register and Problem Management. | Highly skilled specialists, which may include solution architects or product engineers. |
| Tier 4 | 4th line support & consultancy | Escalations beyond the organisation. This can typically include hardware and software vendors or a very specialist or advanced technical support team. | Tier 4 is handled vendors and business partners providing support and services for their solutions. It can also include professional services for IT projects. |
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Benefits of structured IT support levels
Structuring IT support around tiers or levels has many benefits. It delivers:
- A clear process for handling user requests and support tickets
- A better user experience
- Improved response and resolution times, optimising productivity and minimising downtime
- An established protocol escalating harder-to-solve issues
- Better time management
- Cost efficiencies when the right personal handle tickets aligned with their skillset
Our customers
We provide IT support services to a wide range of organisations, large and small, private and public, local and global. Here are some of our service desk customers:
Find out how much outsourcing 1st, 2nd or 3rd IT support would cost.
What IT support levels do you need?
Your users may be customers or employees or both. At times they may need technical support in order to use your products or services, or to get work done.
To decide what IT support levels they require, you should consider the cost of not having the right levels of support and the volume of support requests you have.
Reduced productivity, increased downtime and poor customer satisfaction all have an impact on the bottom line.
Also consider how responsive your IT support team needs to be. If you need a rapid response and high technological stability, 1st line – 3rd line support levels will ensure tickets are resolved effectively.
If you’re not sure what support levels would be most beneficial to your organisations, our Operations team are happy to discuss your options. Contact us here >
Why our customers choose us
Cloud Business has over 25 years experience delivering IT support services. We never stop learning and driving service desk excellence and customer satisfaction.
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