To effectively match larger rivals, you need efficient service management and help desk tools and processes to reduce incident response time and costs — without incurring the expense and complexity of implementing a service desk solution yourself.
Choosing a SaaS service management and help desk solution can eliminate the headaches of buying and maintaining servers and software, allowing you to “manage services, not servers.”
However, not all SaaS service desk solutions are created equal. By selecting a solution based on the ITIL® (IT Infrastructure Library®) standard, you get field-proven best practices that speed problem resolution, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your staff, and document the value IT is delivering to the business.
Here are nine important criteria to look for in a SaaS service desk solution that will help increase user satisfaction, the morale of your IT staff, and the success of your business.
- User Request Portal; The least expensive help desk call is the one that’s never made because users can instantly see the status of their requests or problems online — or better still, solve them on their own. That’s why your solution should include a portal that allows users to easily enter and track requests.
- Problem Management; A problem management system helps IT analysts understand the root causes of incidents and prevent them in the future.
- IT Service Management Automation; IT service management automation reduces costs and cycle times, and helps assure quality through the standardization of common functions.
- Integrate d Change Management; Change can mean anything from upgrading a user’s PC to installing a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. Performing changes is one of the most common functions performed by an IT organization, and can cause the most problems if not done correctly.
- IT Asset Tracking and Management; Proper management is critical to making the most effective use of your most expensive assets —your hardware, your software, and the skilled staff to manage them. Not having a clear picture of your IT assets can lead to expensive purchases of hardware or software you already own but may not be aware of. It can also expose you to liability if you own the wrong type of licenses or fewer software licenses than you need.
- Team Communication and Collaboration; Especially for an overstretched IT team, collaboration is essential to increasing productivity, sharing knowledge, and reducing response times. Look for collaboration capabilities that reduce the wasted time and effort as staff trade phone calls or emails to find the status of projects, the delivery of parts, the answers to common questions, or information on any new problems that may have arisen since their arrival at a remote site.
- Information to Guide Management Decisions; To provide the best service at the lowest cost, you need to know what assets you have and how they are performing. You also need to know how many service requests you are handling, how quickly you are handling them, how many issues remain unresolved, and what systems and business units generate the most service requests.
- A Plat form for Growth; Because your requirements are changing constantly, you can’t afford to get locked into a SaaS service desk platform that is too small and limited for your needs. Look for a dynamic platform that can quickly and easily scale to the number of users and scope of capabilities you need.
- Security and Reliability; Look for security features, such as encryption, access control, and proper segregation of data, which protect your organization’s information in a multi-tenant environment. Insist on platforms that comply with rigorous security certifications, such as ISO 27001, SAS70 Type II, and SysTrust, as well as granular security and sharing rules to let customers decide which users see which information.
By: ITSM Guy