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While most midsize organizations have implemented some kind of help desk technology to speed problem resolution, only a third of help desk managers surveyed earlier this year were completely satisfied with what they had deployed.
The survey, whose results will be released Sept. 10 by sponsor SupportSoft, found that while those polled had largely deployed some type of help desk system to increase problem resolution rates, many “werent fully successful,” according to Rajeev Shrivastava, senior director of product marketing at the technology problem resolution company in Redwood City, Calif.
“They saw some benefits, but there was room to get much more from what they deployed,” he said.
SupportSoft commissioned the June survey of 204 help desk managers at companies with between 1,000 to 40,000 employees to understand the requirements of IT help desks at midsize companies.
Read more here about other SupportSoft-sponsored surveys.
One potential cause for that dissatisfaction is the need for quick access to accurate diagnostic data. Some 60 percent of the respondents reported that they did not have information that was up to date from their IT asset management systems.
At the same time, 66 percent said having quick access to accurate diagnostic data would make it faster to diagnose and resolve problems, and 62 percent said that fast access to data would make it easier to diagnose and resolve problems.
In the absence of such data, help desk operators are required to collect that information from end users on a support call. Some 66 percent of respondents said it takes 6 minutes or more to collect diagnostic information about an end users computer when a help desk ticket is opened. “Some took more than 11 minutes to get that data,” said Shrivastava.
Even more disconcerting was the fact that almost all of the respondents said that if a call was escalated from a Level 1 to a Level 2 or Level 3 analyst, the technician was required to regather that diagnostic information.
SupportSoft, which has primarily served large enterprises with its knowledge management system, plans to pursue the growth opportunity presented by the Global 2000 with a more packaged offering that requires less customization.
The company plans to use the survey results to make a stronger business case for its offerings for the return on investment they promise, according to Shrivastava.
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