In order to run IT like a business, a technical service and support organization needs to have a clear picture of the services it provides and how these services create value for its customers. Many organizations find it difficult to define services from the customer’s perspective because...
Tag(s): business value, business alignment
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
TECO Energy’s vision for its enterprise resource planning (ERP) project was to consolidate its existing financial, materials management (supply chain management), and human resource management applications and systems onto a single integrated platform across TECO Energy’s businesses. This...
Tag(s): case study, business alignment, process management, support center
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
Without clear objectives, metrics are just a pile of numbers. The good is when we beat our targets, the bad is when we fail to hit those targets, and the ugly is when we fail to set challenging objectives. Remember, like baseball, the only thing that really matters in the end is whether or not...
Tag(s): metrics and measurements, performance management, service desk, service delivery
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
In the business world, we’re often required to decide between products or services we don’t know much about; this is especially true when it comes to new, cutting-edge technology and trends. We’re much more susceptible to hype when we’re in unfamiliar territory and have no prior experience. This...
Tag(s): business value, research
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
Some of the most effective techniques for doing more with less come from lean management. Using these techniques, I’ve been able to mobilize my teams while maintaining or improving morale and customer satisfaction. But where do you start? How do you identify the areas that will have the biggest...
Tag(s): continual service improvement, leadership, organizational change management, process-improvement, support center
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
Supporting Office 365 is no easy task, especially in a university setting with a diverse audience of end users. But the University of New Mexico Information Technologies (UNM IT) is doing just that—and achieving exceptionally high first contact resolution rates, as well as huge growth in the use...
Tag(s): case study, desktop support, first call resolution, infrastructure change management, knowledge management, KM, release management, service desk
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
Offshoring—moving jobs to other countries—is a topic that elicits strong reactions from people. Management is frequently in favor of it, for a variety of reasons; workers, on the other hand, can feel threatened, fearing that their jobs are in danger. There are political, economic, and ethical...
Tag(s): outsourcing, support center
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
How well do you know your customers? Do you understand their expectations around technology and its support? The fact is, these expectations change depending on age and exposure to technology. Consider the terminology you see in popular media concerning each successive generation: Baby Boomers,...
Tag(s): future of support, customer experience, supportworld
Date Published - Last Updated February 26, 2016
We define a Lean service desk operation as one in which volume, variety, and process variation are managed, and in which individual workflows are optimized for efficiency. That’s a very simple definition, and while it suggests a high bar for qualification, we believe that consistently applied...
Tag(s): service desk, support operations
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016
The IT world is in the midst of dramatic change. With each passing day, the traditional model for remote support becomes increasingly outdated. Today there are 10 billion mobile devices, 50 percent more applications, an infinite amount of unique configurations, and more distributed workers than...
Tag(s): monitoring, remote support tools, service desk, support center, tools
Date Published - Last Updated February 25, 2016