Karen O’Connor, general manager, Datapac, outlines three ways that an outsourced managed help desk service can assist organisations resolve common IT business challenges hampering employee productivity.

A business is only ever able to operate as efficiently as its employees are able to complete their daily tasks. In times of business uncertainty and the age of remote and hybrid working models, when a company must closely monitor costs, it is essential that employees are equipped to carry out their work effectively.

A streamlined IT system is central to employee productivity. Outsourcing a company’s help desk support to a managed service provider can help to resolve IT issues for employees quickly, which can greatly enhance the efficiency of staff.

What is a managed helpdesk service?

Managed IT help desk services enable businesses to focus on their core operations, without the need to worry about day-to-day IT problems. From common desktop and printer issues to complex network and server issues, the volume of queries that an internal IT team receives can quickly become overwhelming and divert all of the team’s attention away from IT projects targeted at future growth.

By outsourcing the help desk function to an experienced managed service provider (MSP), businesses can free up their IT teams, with the added peace of mind that their staff has expert advice on hand whenever help is needed. A dedicated team from the MSP can handle and help to resolve all day-to-day IT calls, emails and queries from a company’s end users.

Three ways outsourced help desks can assist organisations manage IT challenges

1. Bridging the IT Skills gaps

The breadth of issues that an IT team may be called upon to resolve is far broader than many think; from ensuring server availability and network security to troubleshooting operational issues with apps and devices and more. It is increasingly difficult for a single organisation to provide high levels of support across all areas of IT. Finding and retaining in-house IT professionals to cover all required areas as well as accounting for leave, unexpected absences or staff attrition, is a huge challenge in today’s competitive market. The ongoing IT skills gap represents a challenge that all organisations, regardless of size, must face. Read our recent article covering computer literacy to learn more.  Outsourcing the help desk function relieves much of this burden for businesses.

2. Leverage economies of scale

Keeping help desk management entirely with an over-stretched internal team can have an organisation-wide impact on productivity. This can lead to significant opportunity costs for employers. Under this model, substantial investment is required to maintain service delivery and management platforms, as well as for hiring and training staff to keep them up to date with evolving technology. The shared service model of a managed helpdesk helps organisations of all sizes to leverage economies of scale that were previously only available to enterprise-level entities. By moving expenditure to a fixed and manageable basis companies can reduce their capital expenditure outlay.

3. Enhancing user experiencing

With so many IT services available on demand through cloud and subscription models, the bar for user expectations has been raised significantly. Users have come accustomed to utilising digital applications and services, both in their personal and work lives, which are always on, and more importantly, always work. In a competitive talent landscape it is important that employers provide their staff with an IT infrastructure that helps rather than hinders their professional endeavours.  A properly optimised and supported IT system free of frustrations greatly enhances the user experience and aids in providing a positive work experience. A seamless and consistent managed help desk service with high levels of support availability helps organisations to meet these rising user demands.

As many businesses recently trialled remote working for the first time on a large scale, those with a dedicated help desk support team on hand to quickly resolve teething issues were at a huge advantage in minimising the impact on productivity. Organisations with high levels of support in place for employees can benefit from a smoother overall operation of the business.

Datapac has seen a surge in demand for managed IT helpdesk services, which increased by more than 50% this year.

Datapac offers a fully customisable helpdesk solution to allow Irish businesses to outsource all or part of their IT helpdesk to us. We have invested in our service to provide hundreds of organisations across Ireland with the very best support platforms, knowledge and levels of availability.

If you would like to find out more about our outsourced help desk solution, contact us today on 01 426 3500.

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