“Transform or you will be transformed!” – Robert Stroud

Both end-users and customers evolved with their personal experience of IT being transformed. The real shift here is in customer power. This note highlights the opportunities that exist in service desk operations for both service providers and customers and thereby puts an emphasis on capability building in transforming to next-generation service desk 2.0.

The service desk has to elevate from “entry point” where the “Timed” user receives help and guidance on IT service issues, problems, and requests to “Mobile” user in the realm of Apple Genius Bar. While Social Mobile Analytics Cloud is changing the user experience in many ways, let us have a close look at the key focus areas for building next-generation service desk (SD 2.0) capabilities.

• SDaaS (Service Desk –as-a-Service): Mangers facing ongoing challenges to reduce operating costs are weighing dedicated vis-à-vis on-demand mode of service desk function. SD 2.0 should focus on building a shared service desk for multiple clients covering multiple languages offering efficient and effective service.
• Moving from Average Handling Time to instant and continuous-resolution: Customers are demanding a faster or spontaneous response to service calls. Equally important is meeting the expectation to be able to engage support through the channel of customer choice. This includes the move away from desktops/laptops to smart pads, meeting the expectation of NextGen where social media taught to IM and expecting instant and continuous feedback and analytics-led pattern analysis where exceeding customer expectation will be the norm of the support operation
• BYOD integration to the workplace: Forward thinning organizations are embracing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the workplace. The service desk has to prepare for the future to support a wide variety of devices offering the same levels of service.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled self-healing and self-awareness capabilities [AI in Ops]: The younger generation expects the convenience of an end-user facing searchable knowledge base. Adoption of AI platforms is taking momentum for self-service /Google/SocMed facilitating peer support before coming to the SD – filtering out all the simple, typical first-time fix interactions. This will lead to higher support automation and the next level of SD standardization.
• IoT facilitated SP2P (Smarter peer-to-peer) support: In view of the increasing impact of the Internet of Things, businesses are becoming more social in the way they work and interact, both externally and internally. Enabling IT users to help each other’s resolve IT issues leveraging social IT support as a channel. Hence service desk has to harness the latent IT knowledge its customers have and alleviate the complexities of endless varieties of support requests that BYOD users will generate for successfully enabling social IT support channels.

The industry is debating on a journey of the service desk into the future. The service desk has come a long way and has earned its name service desk as opposed to a helpdesk. Customer skills definitely continue to be in very high demand, but embracing the above technology-enabled capabilities is becoming absolutely crucial for SD 2.0 in delivering the standard of service that customers expect.

Recommended Reading

A Guide to Service Desk Concepts

This trusted contemporary guide introduces the latest developments, research, resources, and trends as they happen in computer user support. New case studies and case projects provide on-the-job practice, while updated chapters highlight the evolving role of the service desk to relationship managers and how technology trends, such as cloud computing, virtualization, mobile technology and consumerization, are impacting the service desk. New material also examines the current emphasis on self-help and the effects of self-healing capabilities within newer generation technologies. A GUIDE TO SERVICE DESK CONCEPTS, 4E provides the overview needed for success in computer user support today.