Peer Into the Bright Future on the Service Desk Horizon

Peer Into the Bright Future on the Service Desk Horizon

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  Peer Into the Bright Future ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Letter From theEditor: Service Desk Complexity According to the Ponemon Institute, every minute of unplanned data outage costs an average of $8,8511 . As service desks rally to face mounting costs, they likewise face pressure from management to achieve resolution faster. With the quickening pace of change in technology, the modern service desk faces an onslaught of information. Yet, it would be a grave mistake to surmise that IT service woes are merely technical in nature. In the following slides, you’ll find insights from the top thinkers in IT Service Management. We asked them how to overcome the challenges we all face in ITSM. Enjoy! 1 http://datacenterfrontier.com/white-paper/cost-data-center-outages/
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  John Custy Service Desk Service Management, ITIL Stephen Mann ITSM Industry Analyst, ITSM.tools Claire Agutter Director, ITSM Zone Stuart Rance Author, Trainer and Consultant, Optimal Service Management Lt Nora Osman Senior Director, IT Service Managment, Montefiore Information Technology John J.C. Grooms Knowledge Systems Architect, Minnesota State University Josh Gilmore Director Production Support, Square Two Financial, Reinventing Service Desk Holger Mueller VP Principal Analyst, Constellation Research Top Thinkers in IT Service Management Earl Begley Compliance and Standards Project Director, San Francisco International Airport Paul Leenards MITM, Principal Consultant, Idwell
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  ‘‘Many are sayingITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how exactly is the role of the IT Service Desk changing within enterprise organizations? Historically, we concentrated on core technology and the functionality of IT systems, but technology has advanced and business objectives have changed. Wear the hat of an analyst and listen to business need, then deliver a meaningful solution. You may discover that the business doesn’t need or want “solution 1” at all, and instead, would love to have solutions 2 and 3. The Service Desk must be nimble, delivering right now solutions that meet business objectives. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON? Josh Gilmore Director Production Support, SquareTwo Financial, Reinventing Service Desk
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  ‘‘ Ask the Expert WHAT’SON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON Josh Gilmore Director Production Support, SquareTwo Financial, Reinventing Service Desk Service Desks are facing more complexity than ever. What are some of the common Service Desk mistakes that readers should avoid? Wiggle out of the traditional approach! Often times we do things because a certain best practice says so, or because it’s the way we’ve always done it. When viewing IT service delivery through a fresh lens, we can uncover new and more efficient ways of delivering IT solutions that truly benefit our business and our customer. Implement meaningful process and measure meaningful data, then take meaningful action.
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  Earl Begley Compliance andStandards Project Director, San Francisco International Airport ‘‘What professional IT processes can enterprise organizations use to avert and avoid crisis? Let’s be honest, there are many good processes an organization can use to avert crisis but even in the best scenarios, at some point, a crisis will happen. Clearly, an enterprise organization needs good, well thought out and designed continuity plan. Having a concise checklist of what to do is a good first step, but there is more. A continuity plan should have a RACI diagram so everyone understands their role(s) and responsibilities. This may include an org or command structure to define who has overall responsibility for executing the continuity plan, who ensures the organization has coverage on financial issues during the crisis, who plans work schedules, who can procure material, goods, and other services needed, and who will communicate status to interested parties. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Holger Mueller VP Principal Analyst, Constellation Research ‘‘What ITSM best practices and technology should leaders focus on to ensure they remain competitive? Mapping out the right technology requires a deep understanding of employee behavior change. Employees now want self-service options, prefer asynchronous help (anytime, anywhere), and demand consumerized service experiences. With newfound behavior in hand, ITSM must leverage new processes, embrace the evolution of tech, and be willing to act immediately upon findings: Here’s what these mean for how service desk employees must evolve: • Service Desk workers have to become multi-modal • More diagnosis and support must be baked into end user products • Despite current political rumblings, outsourcing and offshoring will remain strong for IT service desks Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  John J.C. Grooms KnowledgeSystems Architect, Minnesota State University ‘‘ Help desk is facing more complexity than ever. What are some common service desk mistakes that readers should avoid? One of the largest mistakes that a Service Desk should avoid, is the usage of ‘tribal knowledge’. It is becoming more and more important to get new hires trained as soon as possible and to allow everyone access to the knowledge that they need to succeed. It is necessary to get away from the “do what I do” mentality, and rather focus on the processes that are used and how/where to search for the information that is needed. Along with this comes documenting what the customer actually says, and having a standard format and language for responding to the customer. By incorporating Knowledge Management into Incident Management, and using standardized practices, many mistakes can be avoided. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Stuart Rance Author, Trainerand Consultant, Optimal Service Management Lt ‘‘What is the role of IT Service Management in the wider enterprise? Most IT organizations provide a portal so their customers can request standard services, and many are now expanding this to cover non-IT requests. Life is so much easier for everybody if they have just one place where they can request software for their PC, or a visitor pass for a guest, or a car parking space, or report a faulty light bulb, or a blocked sink, or request an update on their pension entitlement. This type of portal is a great example of how “Enterprise Service Management” can bring value to an organization, but you can go so much further. For example, the processes we have developed for managing IT incidents and problems can be used to manage facility incidents or even business incidents and problems. Your imagination is the only constraint on how you can improve. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Claire Agutter Director, ITSMZone ‘‘ Many are saying ITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how exactly is the role of IT service desk changing within enterprise organizations? Many enterprise organizations are moving away from the traditional ‘IT and the business’ perspective and instead looking at ‘convergence’; coordinating all aspects of the business towards meeting business goals. Effective service management delivers effective services that support strategic aims. Poor quality services inhibit the business and reduce its ability to innovate. Effective ITSM becomes, then, a strategic enabler. What is the role of the service desk in all this? It is still to be the front door to IT, and the place where we can get the most accurate view of how services are performing and how happy our users are. Whether support is provided via phone, chat, or self-service, the role of the service desk is still an essential one. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Stephen Mann ITSM IndustryAnalyst, ITSM.tools ‘‘ Many are saying ITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how exactly is the role of IT service desk changing within enterprise organizations? While many organizations look to spread ITSM thinking, practices and technology to other lines of business, such as HR, the impact on the IT service desk ultimately depends on corporate shared services strategies and capabilities. The spectrum of possibilities has the IT service desk untouched, evolves support capabilities into a single service desk (designed around the employee rather than discrete corporate service provider capabilities and services), or can be anywhere in between. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Stephen Mann ITSM IndustryAnalyst, ITSM.tools ‘‘ How can ITSM management custom fit the right technology for their organization? Where do they even begin? The key here is to focus on the phrase, “the right technology” over “custom fit.” But even then, organizations shouldn’t start with the available technology – they need to start with business needs or, better still, required business outcomes. So don’t just create a long list of functional points across more ITSM or ITIL processes than you’ll ever use. Start with a finite list of the things the technology needs to help achieve. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  John Custy Service ManagementEducation, Consulting, Training, JPC Group, Service Desk Service Management, ITIL ‘‘ Many are saying ITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how exactly is the role of IT service desk changing within enterprise organizations? Most businesses have changed drastically in even the past 3-5 years. This has greatly impacted ITSM, forcing service groups to re-align and become more valuable to the broader organization. IT service management is now about far more than just the service desk. There’s an IT, business and customer component. Data growth is exploding across HR, IT, facilities and line-of-business departments. The most successful ITSM operations are finding ways to develop insights and services across these groups. For example, with the data and device explosion, there’s more value in a face-to- face resolutions today. In response, we’re seeing more pop-up, store-like service desk operations. Employees now want to solve their own problems. In response, knowledge management and self-service software have become critical components for ITSM. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  John Custy Service ManagementEducation, Consulting, Training, JPC Group, Service Desk Service Management, ITIL ‘‘ This first challenge in many organizations is that the service desk is fundamentally not valued, or the people at the desk don’t fully perceive their value. The service desk needs to feel valued and understand they have a strategic mission. They must demonstrate how much actual work they are doing, and resolutions that are gained due to their activities. By having the right toolset, it’s easier to generate some of those statistics. But service desks also needs to track KPIs that align with core business functions, instead of just reporting on service activity. How quickly is the service desk getting people back to work? What about helping HR resolve issues? Or finance? Or enabling employees in self- service activities that increase productivity? Demonstrate the right metrics and your service desk shift will be well on its way. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Paul Leenards MITM, PrincipalConsultant, Idwell ‘‘ What role can knowledge centers play in a modern service desk operation? In the past, the main focus of the service desk was on offering technical expertise to solve technical problems. The technical aspects of modern IT solutions are disappearing under the hood and most technical skills are no longer needed in the day to day operations of many companies. At the same time service desks will have to support really complicated technical challenges that will have direct business impact. And when the need for day-to-day technical support disappears, the need for understanding the link between technology and business impact will become more important. Knowledge centers who understand how business challenges are supported by the underlying technical solutions will play an important part in this transformation. The point is, businesses are evolving, and ITSM must be an integral player in making employees more productive and happy as businesses change. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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  Nora Osman Senior Director,IT Service Managment, Montefiore Information Technology ‘‘ What are some ways service desk can simplify workflows amidst an increasing amount of data? Amidst a wave of ever-increasing complexity and information overload, the is challenged on a daily basis to keep information as “knowledge” that they can easily access and recycle. There is no way possible for agents to remember all the standard operating procedures, routing assignments, and technical solutions that they are required to. In this day and age, it’s become apparent that try as they may, it’s completely an exercise in futility for them to try to commit as much of this info to memory, hence the need for true knowledge-centered support. One of the very most critical best practices, if not the most critical, is knowledge- centered support (KCS). This is a shift to leveraging existing information, and placing it as knowledge at the fingertips of Service Desk specialists/analysts, and generating new knowledge in a raw but usable fashion in an on-going basis. Ask the Expert WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
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