Even before the most recent wave of people logging on from outside the office network, remote work was on pace to increase 30% by 2030 globally. In the United States, the number of people who work from home tripled in the past 15 years, according to the Federal Reserve.
For IT support, that means that tickets are coming in at all hours of the day and night—ranging in scale from critical network issues that impact company infrastructure to someone’s troubles connecting to company resources from home wifi. Consequently, employing a proactive, flexible IT support team structure is more important than ever.
Habits change. The 9-5 work schedule has swiftly become a relic as smartphones and laptops connect people to work beyond traditional hours and companies expand across borders to serve international markets. A supply chain firm might have staff in twenty different countries on three continents who need to access a single cloud database to conduct operations. An accountant may work from an office between 9am-3pm, then take a five hour break to take care of children before logging back on from their living room to finish the day once the kids are asleep.
While the fundamental way most people work has changed overnight, the world of IT support persists as a necessary—and often mission critical—side of business. Companies need IT teams that can address submitted tickets or requests for service with diverse skill sets and working hours. They also need to take a step back now to consider whether or not organizations need to adapt IT operations to meet the evolved IT support demand from remote workforces, clients and customers—all while keeping their own systems running smoothly.
Whether or not companies decide to outsource IT support, here are a few positions and competencies they should confirm are present when enlisting an external IT managed services team:
Managers and Supervisors: Lead the overall operation, oversee the day-to-day tasks, conduct performance reviews, and coach analysts.
Service Delivery and Account Managers: Maintain the knowledge base by keeping all of its information updated and implement any new processes or changes that the customer needs.
Quality Assurance and Training Team: Review current systems and processes and make recommendations on where to improve. Train analysts and work with them on specific customer systems.
Analysts: Deliver onsite and account management support; high-level end user support; front-line support.
In order to carry out IT support in a deeply connected environment, companies need to build a team that can adapt to realities, like a shift toward completely remote workforces, and address diverse issues ranging from system failures to individual software upgrades. While not every IT problem needs an immediate response or all hands on deck approach, companies should have the team(s) and platform(s) in place to field tickets and find solutions regardless of the time they enter the system. It’s never been more important for companies to deliver always-on IT support and invest in the teams delivering it.
Through it all, a strong IT support infrastructure can serve as the backbone for business success in an increasingly digital work environment spanning industries, geographies and skill sets.
Interested in learning more about how Netrix Service Desk works with clients to improve IT response times and strengthen solution infrastructure? Check out our e-book.
2024 Netrix, LLC | All Rights Reserved.
