A service desk is a single point of contact designed to help connect end users with IT administrators, and ensure that incidents and service requests are handled appropriately and in a timely manner. A service desk can help restore disruptions in service quality or availability, assist with change/release management and migration projects, and provide technical support relating to a number of essential IT functions. There are many tools and best practices for setting up and operating a good service desk, but service desk operations are not without their own challenges. Here are 5 IT Help Desk Bottlenecks sucking the life out of your MSP business…

1. IT Help Desk
Bottlenecks
5 Reasons Your IT
Help Desk Just
Doesn’t Cut It!

2. Intro
A help desk is a single point of contact
designed to help connect end users with
IT administrators, and ensure that
incidents and service requests are
handled appropriately and in a timely
manner. A help desk can help restore
disruptions in service quality or
availability, assist with change/release
management and migration projects, and
provide technical support relating to a
number of essential IT functions.
There are many tools and best practices for setting up and operating a good help
desk, but help desk operations are not without their own challenges.
Here are 5 IT Help Desk Bottlenecks sucking the life out of your MSP business…
IT Help Desk Bottlenecks

3. IT Help Desk Bottlenecks
1. Staffing and Volume
• Staffing required for a 24/7
operation differs from 9-to-5
business day service.
• If your IT help help desk is
short-staffed…
– call/wait time increases
– request/response time
increases
– customer satisfaction
decreases

4. 2. Training
IT Help Desk Bottlenecks
• As with NOC staffing, MSPs need to hire
qualified personnel for their help desks and
provide regular training
• Need Training on
– latest updates
– technology trends
– technical request
issues
– resolution best
practices

5. 3. Knowledgebase
Maintenance
IT Help Desk Bottlenecks
• Technical Knowledgebases
(KBs) allow staff to search
for problems, resolutions,
and remediation steps.
• KB Shortcomings result in
– poor resolutions
– longer time-to-resolution
– increased burden on staff
and resources
– increased operating costs

6.
• Help desk reliability is everything.
• You need proper
– backup and redundancy
– power sources
– bandwidth
– security and accessibility
4. Insufficient Infrastructure
IT Help Desk Bottlenecks

7. IT Help Desk Bottlenecks
5. Cost
• MSPs struggling to set up
and fund help desks often
allocate certain NOC staff
and resources to help desk
functions to save money.
This solution
– rarely provides a
reasonable level of service
and support
– can not scale as business
grows

8. Building a Successful MSP Help Desk
Help desks are not reserved for large MSPs and service providers.
Even the smallest MSPs can benefit from the organization and
efficiency that comes with having a help desk take in, triage, and in
many cases, resolve client IT issues. A help desk gives MSPs a layer
that allows account managers and NOC staff to focus on their core
competencies and grow the totality of the business.
This Slideshare is an excerpt from our eBook,
Building a Successful MSP Help Desk.
To download the full eBook,
click here.