Moving to a new IT service desk provider is not something many CTOs want to do on a regular basis. However, if your current IT support is not delivering the service you require, the sooner you on board a new provider the sooner you’ll get the service you need.

Below are the steps we take to seamlessly transition new customers from their incumbent service desk to our IT support. Use these to benchmark prospective providers and ensure they have robust on boarding processes in place.

How much will outsourcing your IT service desk cost? Use our cost calculator to find out >

The on boarding process for a successful service launch

Step 1: Select an on boarding team

Depending on our customers’ requirements we first select a team to manage the on boarding process. It will include your account manager who will be with you throughout the transition and beyond, as well as service management; technical specialists and engineers who will coordinate the switch over from one service desk to another.

We may also assign a dedicated project manager to oversee the on boarding process, especially for those organisations with a large IT estate, multiple locations and high volumes of tickets.

Step 2: IT audit

We’ll work with you, key stakeholders, users and 3^rd party suppliers to get a detailed picture of your organisation’s IT environment. Covering everything from hardware, applications & servers, users, groups and access, licensing, risks and vulnerabilities, this audit ensures we have all the information required to deliver the service you need.

Step 3: Analysis

Using the information from the audit we can now make a plan for transitioning to your new IT service desk. We are able to identify the ITSM tools needed, the best approach (for example a staged migration), what checks need to be in place and agree timescales for a successful service launch. At this point we will also look at ways to drive efficiencies and make recommendations to improve the service, so they can form part of the implementation plan.

Step 4: Implementation

We build your service desk adding users and assets, creating process documentation and providing training to your team. We set up service desk communication channels, establish VPN connectivity and test back up procedures. When everything is in place we communicate new support processes to all users ready to switch on the service.

Step 5: Assessment

This is the start of our continual review of the service delivered. We’ll review the implementation process, test the service against SLAs and measure performance. Regular contact with all parties will help us drive efficiencies and make further recommendations to optimise the service.

Step 6: Service launch

At this point the service is launched and we transition to on going account management processes. Regular meetings, reports and reviews are part of this process to ensure that the service is meeting expectations, and also to respond to changing needs within the organisation.

If you would like to find out more about our IT service desk, please get in touch. We’re here to help you find the most efficient way of managing your users’ IT support, while delivering a flexible and high quality service.

We’ve explored the benefits of outsourcing your IT service desk throughout this blog; the flexibility it offers, the scalability, the cost savings, and the 24/7/365 availability of expert technical support. This is one IT function that generally offers excellent ROI when outsourced, freeing up your IT team to focus on their core competencies that help your organisation fulfil its’ business goals.

However, not all IT service desk providers are the same! There are those that are small teams or one-man bands, and larger providers like ourselves. There are providers who focus solely on the service desk function, and others that offer a range of IT support and consultancy services. And there are onshore and offshore IT service desk providers.

Find out how much outsourcing your IT support could cost here >

In this post I’m going to look at pros and cons of onshore vs. offshore IT service desk outsourcing. What benefits does each model bring to businesses, and what are their failings?

Pros & cons of onshore & offshore IT service desk providers?

Cost savings: Both IT outsourcing models can save organisations money compared to running an in-house IT service desk. This is especially true if you need to operate your service desk outside of local business hours, for example if you have offices in different time zones, and if your organisation has a high demand for IT support – due to the economies of scale and lower staffing costs.

If cost savings are a significant priority for your organisation, the offshore model offers additional savings. These service providers operate in countries with lower salaries, such as Asia and Eastern Europe, and this is perhaps their biggest USP.

Company knowledge: IT service providers will have any number of customers for whom they provide service desk support. Here at Cloud Business we know that this can be disconcerting if the user calls and the service desk team do not have your company information at their fingertips. To have confidence in the service, customers need to know that the service desk analyst understands the business, and can support their users knowledgeably. They don’t want to feel like they’re just a number. While offshore providers may keep background information on their customers, generally onshore service providers are in a much better position to embed themselves within an organisation and get a unique insight into the business. With regular customer meetings and perceptive reporting, this is a factor where onshore providers beat offshore hands down.

Staff turnover: The ability to become part of an organisation’s extended IT team is another differentiator between onshore and offshore. Many companies want a single point of contact for all their IT issues and requests, someone who is knowledgeable about their business and understands instantly how their IT issues impact on this. In countries offering lower wages staff turnover rates can be high, as a small increase in salary with a different employer can make a significant difference to the individual. This means that it becomes difficult for the offshore service provider to maintain a consistent level of service in terms of single point of contact, and knowledgeable customer-centric staff.

Compliance: Another key area that must be addressed when weighing up the pros and cons of onshore or offshore. Those organisations operating in highly regulated sectors may find that offshore is not an option at all. Even if your organisation has no geographic restrictions on where you can outsource IT services, you may find your customers do – many regulated organisations need the companies they work with to be compliant too, otherwise they can’t do business with them.

Cultural differences: While service desk analysts working for offshore providers are highly trained, educated, have excellent English – often having had elocution lessons – there can still be a disconnect culturally. This may result in misunderstandings when a user asks for specific support and the analyst delivers that support off script rather than truly understanding what the user needs. However, if the support needed is predictable and rarely deviants from typical requests and issues, offshore can provide this in a cost effective way. Dialect can also be an issue if the user finds it difficult to understand the service desk analyst, or is unsure if they have made themselves clear. This is not an issue unique to offshore providers; regional dialects within the UK can also be a challenge!

While onshore appears to be the winner in this particular analysis, offshore does have its’ place. Cost is obviously the most significant factor, and if this is the most important consideration for your business the offshore model can help you make these savings. However, when it comes to value adding factors such as customer satisfaction, the ability to support more customer-specific IT issues, and working with a provider who becomes an integral part of your IT team, onshore delivers on all these fronts.

Organisations everywhere are reliant on technology and software. Businesses couldn’t function without a robust stack of apps and IT services that support operational areas.

Behind these systems is the IT service desk, which could be an in-house or an outsourced provider. It supports everyone in an organisation and in many cases customers too. What is a service desk? Basically it’s the people you call when you need technical help.

To find out how much outsourcing your service desk could cost, click here >

Service desks manage everything from incidents to implementation requests. Typical IT service desks evolve around the needs of an organisation: monitoring and maintaining the technology that makes work possible. As companies grow, the IT services they need to operate become more complex. More can go wrong, and looking after a wide range of technology involves multiple updates and upgrades that require the most effective service desks to take a proactive approach.

Why do companies need IT service desks?

In the 1990s, during the first technology boom, service desks started to make an appearance. It was a specialised area, focused on the software and hardware, not the end-user. Service desks were needed to fix and maintain the systems and computers companies started using as technology adoption became commonplace in workplaces around the world.

Back then, service desks didn’t operate with timescales to resolve problems. The user, or customer experience, wasn’t a high priority.

Over time, as the sector evolved, service desks started to put the user first. IT went from reactive to proactive. It is no longer just about troubleshooting. The most effective service desks find ways to make organisations more efficient, reduce operational costs and improve how staff work and the way companies support their customers. A great service desk is a strategic resource as much as it is an operational necessity.

What do service desk analysts do? 

First and foremost, a service desk team is the single point of contact for technical issues that need to be fixed. With organisations more reliant on technology than ever, downtime is something that we all want to avoid. IT service desk analysts work hard to resolve problems within an agreed timescale (SLA), minimising downtime to ensure that staff can get on with their work.

Alongside reactive support, service desk analysts implement changes organisations need, keep third-party software updated and working effectively, and can play an active role in improving operational efficiency.

The IT support team also provide tools and systems that make it easier for users to resolve some simple problems themselves. As technology has evolved, self-serve has become a useful option that automates some service desk functions. Staff can fix problems themselves and get on with work quicker, which means IT teams can focus on more complex challenges.

A great service desk, whether in-house, a hybrid solution or managed by an outsource provider, can also be a strategic resource. If your organisation wants to scale or enter markets, the service desk is an important factor in many successful business plans. Ensuring that the business has capacity, that staff working from different sites can access systems and data, and that all of your company’s IT assets are secure, is essential.

Organisational benefits of outsourcing your IT service desk 

• Save costs, stay scalable. With the right level of IT support, companies can scale service desk requirements as workloads require. When organisations outsource some or all of this function to a trusted partner, you’ve got more control of costs and outcomes. Taking a hybrid approach – working with an internal and external team – can make an organisation more agile and drive forward innovation.
• Improve efficiency. With the right systems and software, staff can work more efficiently. Organisations can do more with less. Collaborative and remote work is easier to manage safely, and operational risks reduce when you’ve got IT security measures in place to protect against threats to the business such as disruption and downtime, cyber attacks and human error. 
• Stay aware of staff sentiment. Support tickets don’t just highlight problems with technology. IT service desks also get an impression for how staff are feeling about work. If your systems or processes are causing difficulties, making it harder for staff to work, then a responsive service desk can recommend and implement ways to improve those processes with new software and solutions.

Service desks play important roles in many organisations. IT systems function better when specialists keep everything working. Companies are also more effective and efficient when they have IT support that understands their goals and objectives, then finds solutions that help them achieve those. 

If you have any questions about outsourcing your IT support requirements, please get in touch. For a quote, click on the link below.