Service Desk From Frontline

8/12/2019 Service Desk From Frontline

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A View from the Frontline

The Thoughts and Opinions of

Todays Service Desk Professionals

Prepared by: Daniel Wood, Head of Research, Service Desk Institute




Introduction

Todays Service Desks face more pressure and challenges than ever before.Working within a climate of economic austerity, 2012 saw operating budgets

revised (often downwards) and freezes placed on recruitment and wage

increases. All the while, Service Desks were asked to support more end users,

products and services and thus required excellent tools and people for them to

operate effectively and efficiently.

So what does the Service Desk look like today? Have the economic realities and

increasing business demands had a negative impact on Service Desks outlook

and performance? Do Service Desks believe their ITSM solution is a hindrance

or an enabler? And what would they like to see improved in the solution they

currently use? How could their vendor raise their standards of customer service

support and innovation?

We found revealing answers to these questions and more through a survey sentout to more than 10,000 ITSM professionals during November and December

2012. Through these responses, we have attained a clear and concise picture of

what todays Service Desk truly looks like.

This report proves insightful for anyone engaged in the ITSM arena. Software

vendors will be particularly intrigued by the opinions of their customers,

and potential customers, with many respondents believing vendors need to

be doing much more to innovate and to make their tools user friendly and

customisable.

Key Findings

Increasing the Service Desks value to the business is the top Service Desk

priority for 2013.

During 2013, most people expect to provide more support for mobile devices

39% stated life on the Service Desk had improved during the last year.

During the last 12 months, 49% of Service Desks spent most of their time

fire-fighting.

Innovative technology features are a key requirement that most

respondents would like to see in an ITSM solution.

The top three reasons for choosing a new ITSM software solution are:

1) product features/functionality, 2) ability to easily customise and

configure, and 3) ease of use.

The top three areas that cause Service Desks the most pain are: 1) the ability

to easily produce metrics and reports, 2) lack of resources to help meet

business expectations, and 3) features for managing customer expectations

Lack of features was noted as respondents top frustration with their

current ITSM solution.

Lack of support was respondents top frustration with their current

ITSM vendor.

Increasing the Service Desks

value to the business is thetop Service Desk priority

for 2013.

Lack of features was noted as

respondents top frustration

with their current ITSM solution.




Survey Results

1. What are your top 5 frustrations with your current ITSM tool and/or vendor?

The above chart shows the categories that our respondents identified as

their top frustrations with their current ITSM tool. Examples of respondents

comments for each category are included below:

Features

Lacking knowledge management

Lack of integrated knowledge tools

Knowledge management least developed of modules

Poor classification system

Ability to manage alerts through email when time thresholds are breached

Request fulfilment not managed by the tool

Only able to use a single email address

Lack of a simple project management facility

No incident matching

Customisation

Not able to easily customise and configure ITSM tool

Cannot amend target dates

Limited possibilities to change things

Difficult to adapt to our processes even after eight years use

Not easily configured

Lack of flexibility of query views for tickets

Usability

Increases admin time, not decreases

Difficult to use

Repetition of data entry

Web interface not customer friendly

Solutions are difficult to access for later incidents

Analyst screen is not user friendly

Staff dont like it

Its cumbersome

Response %

Features 24

Customisation 14

Usability 13

Reporting 13

Speed 9

Process 7

Price 6

Integration 5

SaaS/Social 4

Reliability 3

Standardisation 2




Reporting

Not enough report details Not easy to customise reports

No built in reporting

Reporting is limited

Poor management reporting capability

Getting reports from it is difficult

Difficult to report from

Takes a lot of time to get statistical data

Reporting is not well integrated with the tool

Speed

Slow

Speed of the tool is not up to the mark

Slow response times when navigating

Poor performance

Process

Not integrated with ITIL processes

ITIL bias, not customer focus

Does not support workflow processes

Not ITIL v3 compliant

Too many ways to do things

Price

Customisations are too expensive

Expensive to implement new requests

Not enough/too expensive licenses

Vendor development costs

Additional ITSM services are too costly to add on

Vendor charges too much for simple changes

Integration

Inability to integrate with other apps

Lack of integration between key processes

Not fully integrated into other IT operations and processes

SaaS/Social

Stuck on a fat client install

Limited/lack of mobility options/capability

Unstable web client

Requires a client install rather than a fully-fledged SaaS offering

Reliability

Stability of web client is poor

Poor stability

Bugs

Incident screen refreshes while working on an incident, and the data is lost

Standardisation

Tool has a non-standard interface

Many tools from different vendors not fully integrated

Too many differences between the modules




The top five frustrations demonstrate that there is a prevalent opinion that

ITSM tools have areas that need improving. Lack of or poorly-implemented-features was the most chosen option with customers hungry for more modules

(especially surrounding knowledge management). Service Desk professionals

are looking for their ITSM tool to be reliable, fast, feature packed and all

provided at a reasonable price.

As is the case with any purchase, there is no one size fits all, and features and

user experience can come at a hefty cost.

What is true is that ITSM tools have made great advances in recent years, and

they have strived to become more user-friendly. Clearly though, more needs to

be done around reporting and customisation. The customisation issue will not

be an easy one to address as typically this is where vendors have been able to

generate income. If the customisation of ITSM was put into their customers

hands, this would cut off a revenue stream but also pose interesting questionsabout whether vendors would be liable for support if user error occurred. In

times of austerity, it is natural that Service Desks attempt to make do and get

the very most they can from their existing tool.

In terms of reporting, users are looking to generate reports quickly and

intuitively. Users want to display information in ways that are clear and easy

to understand for the Service Desk, the IT department and the wider business.

Metrics play a fundamental role in todays Service Desks as they are tangible

measures of Service Desk performance. They allow Service Desks to reveal how

their performance has changed over time and what the underlying reasons

or mitigating factors might have been. Being able to display this information

graphically is a vital undertaking as it makes the information much more

accessible and digestible. To see frustrations with reporting feature so high on

the list, demonstrates that ITSM tools are lacking the functionality that Service

Desks require. When many Service Desks are strapped for time, metrics reports

might take a back seat to more immediate tasks.

Vendor Frustrations

Response %

Support 40

Innovation 21

Understanding 19

Implementation 15

Relationship 3

Lack of communication 2

Support

Lack of technical expertise within the support team

Not easy to access advice and technical support

Vendor is slow to respond

Support can be complicated

Vendor: no transparency with their T2, T3 and 3rd parties

No support from vendor especially around enhancement requests

Lack of or poorly-implemented

features was the most chosenoption when respondents were

asked to identify frustrations

with their current ITSM solution.


6/13

Innovation

Lack of product innovation Less user friendly since last update

Would like to see integration with social networking

GUI interface is dated

No social media functions

Understanding

Lack of knowledge of the tool they support

Vendor lacks ITIL knowledge

Vendor does not understand SMEs

Vendor does not understand our complex business environment

Implementation

Implementation gaps

Poor consultancy/training Not fully configured

Inefficient implementation of the ITSM tool by the vendor

No proper handover and knowledge transfer

Relationship

Lack of customer focus

Relationship lost several years ago

Vendor does not act as a partner

Lack of communication

Feels like we speak a different language

Vendor does not relate to what we need

The vendor frustrations reveal that many customers are unhappy with the

level of support they receive from their software vendor, with respondentshighlighting slow response times and a lack of understanding. As with the ITSM

solution frustrations above, respondents have pointed to a lack of innovation,

no doubt accelerated by interest in SaaS and social media. Customers expect

vendors to innovate and stay ahead of the curve, but as we have seen in the

tool frustrations, innovation often comes at a financial cost. One could possibly

argue that the lack of innovation is due to a prior heavy focus on becoming ITIL

aligned rather than diversifying and improving the tool.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the vendor frustrations revolves around

relationships and lack of understanding. When buying an ITSM solution,

customers are entering into a partnership. There is an expectation that the

solution will need to be configured and customised, and thus, there is a need to

form a partnership with a vendor based on mutual respect and understanding.

The results above indicate a high level of investment in front line sales, but its

unclear whether the same level of investment is made to existing customers.

Those who chose the understanding option highlighted a problem that vendors

face in regards to how ITIL aligned and focused their solution should be. Half

of respondents noted a too high and overbearing ITIL focus; the other half felt

more ITIL focus was needed. Somewhere in the middle lies a happy medium,

but these results demonstrate that one size does not fit all, and thus, a variety

of solutions are required.



The vendor frustrations reveal

that many customers areunhappy with the level of

support they receive from

their software vendor, with

respondents highlighting slow

response times and a lack of

understanding.




2. What would influence your selection of a new ITSM tool?

Please choose 3 from below.

Response %

Product features; functionality 55

Ability to easily customise and configure 50

Ease of use and GUI 29

Integration capabilities 29

Ease of implementation and low on-going management overheads 26

Marketed as ITILcompliant 22

Solution automation capabilities 20

Mobility capabilities (i.e. Portal, browser, tablet, smart phone,

social media, etc.)

20

Peer references 16

Access to quality support when things go wrong 15

Consultant and/or analyst recommendation 7

Extended business platform capability 4

Had previously worked with product/vendor 2

Choice of deployment model 2

Vendor marketing 1

Vendor culture 1

None of the above/other 1

Market status of vendor 0

Perhaps unsurprisingly, features is the most popular reason for choosing an

ITSM solution. Away from reviews, references and marketing, it is features that

buyers focus on. Buyers are concerned with whether the solution can deliver

what it promises; whether it fits the organisation and what the Service Desk

is trying to accomplish; and whether it has the functionality to cope with

future requirements.

We see again that customisation features highly, predominantly because some

Service Desks will want to change, modify and adapt their solution without

assistance from their supplier. This could be for financial reasons or simply

because people on the Service Desk want to be involved and to flex their skills

and innovation abilities. This ties in with the third most popular option ease

of use and GUI as lots of changes to the off the shelf configuration will be motivated by making the tool easier to access and to add layers of functionality.

ITSM tools have made great advances in recent years to become more

streamlined and aesthetically pleasing. This is even more important if the

solution is made accessible to end users if the Service Desk wants to promote

and encourage the use of self-help and self-service, it needs to offer users a

clean, intuitive and accessible interface.

Buyers are concerned with

whether the solution can deliverwhat it promises; whether it

fits the organisation and what

the Service Desk is trying to

accomplish; and whether it has

the functionality to cope with

future requirements.


8/13

3. Choose 1 key innovation/improvement you would like to see in an ITSM

tool in the next 12 months.



Features topped the list of what respondents would like to see improved in the

next 12 months. This is a broad categorisation that attempted to capture and

categorise as many similar responses as possible. Some of the responses that

fell under the features category include:

Enhanced problem management capabilities

Incorporate quality management

Better workflows for the approval process

Links to or references from configuration management details

Voice recognition to complement manual call logging

Built in system monitoring and remote control capabilities

OLA by resolver group Searchable knowledge base

Integrating user contact information with asset information

CRM functions

Google like with predictive search results on the fly

Second on the list is the demand for a mobile offering. This demand has

arisen as a result of the proliferation of mobile devices in the workplace. With

employees having greater access to mobile devices, it makes sense for them to

be able to use the ITSM solution on their mobile to log calls, check the status

of calls theyve logged and access information and help. Some ITSM solutions

already offer this functionality, and others have dedicated apps available on

the Apple App store or Android Play store. In the future, we can expect this to

increase as Service Desks look to make it as easy and as flexible as possible for

customers to access the information and services they require.

The third choice on this list also resonates with current trends for engaging

with social media. Social media has exploded in the past couple of years,

and many Service Desks are interested in exploring how social media can be

used as another channel to engage with customers. Previous research we

have conducted shows that social media is a fledgling technology amongst

Service Desks, but those that are forward-thinking are already exploring ways

in which social media can offer new opportunities and channels for customers.

Response %

Features 23

Mobile offering 19

Social media component 14

Easily configurable 11

Reporting 10

Usability 9

Self service 7

Process integration 5

Price 2

Forward-thinking Service Desks

are already exploring ways inwhich social media can offer

new opportunities and channels

for customers.




Furthermore, for social media to be a viable proposition, it needs to be fully

integrated within an ITSM solution. Service Desks want social media integrationto be as effective and efficient as possible to avoid manual re-entry of data.

Rounding out the top four is a demand for ITSM solutions to be more

configurable. This is mentioned numerous times in this report, demonstrating its

significance and importance to the Service Desk.

4. In your daily Service Desk life, what causes you the most pain?

Please choose 3 from below.

The top response here also featured prominently when we asked our respondents

to comment on their frustrations with their Service Desk solution. The ability to

quickly and easily produce metrics reports is absolutely fundamental to Service

Desks. However, despite the importance of producing metrics information, too

many Service Desk solutions make this process laborious and labour intensive.

There is often the additional problem of those who produce the information

not being entirely convinced that the information is accurate or was collected

or collated properly. As mentioned, metrics and data can be used to drive

performance and efficiency and highlight areas of weakness.

Lack of resource was the second most popular choice, and in the current

economic climate, it is not difficult to understand why this option featuredso high on the list. Coupled with the lack of resource, is the ever-increasing

expectations of the business despite restraints around expenditure and funding

IT is expected to perform and deliver, and our reliance on IT demands this

regardless of the circumstances.

Response %

Ability to easily produce metrics and reports 35

Lack of resources to help you meet business expectations 33

Managing customer expectations 33Budget constraints preventing service improvements 29

Increasing business demand for services 28

Lack of integrated knowledge tools 26

Outdated service desk tool 23

Lack of recognition/profile within the business 21

Ability to demonstrate your value to the business 20

Lack of appetite (business or customer) for self service 17

Lack of career progression 16

Job security (i.e. threat of outsourcing) 9

Poor vendor support 7

Other 4

The ability to quickly and easily

produce metrics reports isfundamental to Service Desks.

However, too many Service

Desk solutions make this

process laborious and labour

intensive.




Just like business expectations, customer expectations are also increasing.

Part of the reason for this is that so many companies now get customer serviceright. Companies such as Amazon have transformed the way consumers view

customer service with a speedy delivery, clear and concise information and

access to a plethora of reviews to inform purchasing decisions. It is only natural

that end users compare and contrast their experiences with other companies to

their own Service Desk, and often, the experiences do not match up.

There are many ways the expectations gap can be addressed, and a

fundamental piece of work is to create clear and open communication channels

and engage customers in meaningful and insightful ways. Truly understanding

what customers want and expect from the Service Desk is essential if Service

Desks hope to manage ever-increasing expectations

5. Do you think industry analysts/commentators truly understand the Service

Desk industry?

One of the complaints we often hear is that Service Desks feel they dont

have a voice in the industry and that analysts/commentators do not truly

reflect what life is really like. Slightly more respondents agree that analysts

and commentators do understand the industry, and thus we can infer that

Service Desks are properly represented. This is a positive development and

demonstrates that the opinions shared at industry events, webinars and

conferences provide real value and insights into the Service Desk industry.

6. During the past year, has life on your Service Desk

It is only natural that end

users compare and contracttheir experiences with other

companies to their own

Service Desk, and often, the

experiences do not match up.

Become more difficult

Stayed the same

Improved33%

28%

39%




Thus far, the results have shown that Service Desks are facing increased

pressure from the business and its customers, and given the current economicconstraints, we may have expected that life on the Service Desk has become

more difficult. Indeed, a third of respondents agreed and have noticed that

the Service Desk has become a more difficult and challenging place to work.

However, for the remaining two-thirds of respondents, life has stayed the same

or even improved. Whilst we might be slightly incredulous of this result given

the responses to the previous questions, what this shows is that the Service

Desk is maturing and positive changes are happening. This is a very encouraging

result. Although there is obvious room for improvement, the Service Desk

industry has not suffered in terms of how it feels as a place to work.

7. During the last 12 months, our Service Desk spent most of its time...

This was an interesting result. As shown, fire-fighting was the most popular

option chosen by almost half of respondents. Interestingly, this was the only

reactive option on the list. Fire-fighting means the Service Desk spent most of

its time on day-to-day activities, answering and resolving calls, and generally

keeping the lights on. Whilst one could argue that fire-fighting is what Service

Desks do after all, dont all Service Desks need a certain level of reactivity to

be able to effectively handle the quirks of day-to-day support? to see it

reported at this level means there is less time available for proactive approaches

and innovations.

For example, all of the other response options go some way into alleviating the

need for day-to-day fire-fighting. Creating and implementing processes permits

for a much more proactive and forward-thinking approach to ITSM; the same

can be said for training, implementing ITIL, building relationships and raising

business understanding and developing BYOD.

Proactive approaches to ITSM, if executed correctly, can help to remove the

doubt and uncertainty experienced by many Service Desks. Implementing

stringent problem and change management processes, for example, permit

a more forward-looking viewpoint. Proactive problem management should

identify potential issues and failures before they impact the user population.

The same is also true of the change management process, as involving the

Service Desk at an early stage and creating a forward-schedule of change

means the Service Desk should not encounter any unexpected surprises.

Response %Fire-fighting 49

Implementing new processes 26

Helping customers with their own devices (BYOD) 9

Other 6

Implementing ITIL best practice and associated training 5

Justifying its existence 5

Speaking with customers and building relationships 1

Although one-third of

respondents noted that theService Desk has become a

more difficult and challenging

place to work, two-thirds said

life has stayed the same or

even improved.




8. What are your top Service Desk priorities for 2013? Please check all that apply

In these times of economic austerity and uncertainty, IT can appear to be

particularly vulnerable. From a business viewpoint, it appears that IT spends

vast sums of money, and it is difficult for the business to appreciate or quantify

any real return on investment. Thus, when it comes to reviewing and trimming

budgets, IT often finds itself in the firing line.

What the results above demonstrate is that Service Desks are aware of this

issue and are taking steps to improve the way they market and communicate

their value to the business. One of the key ways to accomplish this is to

produce information that the business understands and can use in a productive

way. As mentioned, metrics offer valuable insight into your Service Desk

operation and demonstrate performance against a set of key criteria.1

Tied in to the theme of economic problems, we see that the second most

popular priority is to improve what Service Desks already have. Perhaps

aware that budgets are strained, it is becoming increasingly more important

for Service Desks to eke out every last drop of performance and efficiency

from their hardware, software and people. Again, this ties in with theme of

respondents looking for ITSM solutions that are easily configurable so they can

avoid the potentially expensive consultancy fees. How much can be achieved

without additional investment will vary across Service Desks, but there will

come a point where returns will not correspond to the level of effort required.

Rounding out the top three is improving first time fix rates. Improving first

time fix rates is important for two major reasons. The first is that the faster the

incident is fixed, the quicker workers can start being productive again, thussaving the organisation money and time. It has been shown that customer

satisfaction is related to the first time fix rate the quicker incidents are fixed

the happier customers are. The second is that fixing first time also saves the

Service Desk money within the constraints of their own budget. If the incident

can be fixed at first level and not escalated, it means that using second or third

line resource can be avoided. Second or third line will normally have higher

salaries, thus by not using their time, there are cost savings to be realised.

Response %

Increasing our value to the business 20

Improving what we have 17

Increasing first time fix rates 14

Managing changes within the business 13

Reducing inbound calls/emails 11

Supporting more devices (i.e. BYOD) 8

Cost reduction 6

Consolidating services 5

Investing in a new ITSM tool 5

Other 1

1For more information on metrics, see the Cherwell Software/SDI whitepaper Making Metrics Matter.

Service Desks are taking steps

to improve the way they marketand communicate their value to

the business.


13/13


9. During 2013, do you expect to see...

From the list above, it is shown that the majority of respondents believe that

BYOD will be the most significant change in 2013. This is to be expected astodays workforce is more mobile and flexible than ever, and there are now

a plethora of devices that are equally adept at business and social. Coupled

with this is the increasing customer expectation that they will be able to use

their devices at work, and furthermore, that these devices will be supported

by the Service Desk. In addition, as we have seen from the responses to other

questions in this report, there is a clear demand for BYOD support. Because of

this, we can expect to see ITSM solutions offering versions for mobile devices.

Conclusion

Through our survey questions, we have established valuable insight into todays

Service Desk. Whilst many focus on fire-fighting and dealing with day-to-day

life, others take a much more proactive and forward-thinking approach. We can

see this through our respondents interest in BYOD and social media offerings

they look for the next iteration of their ITSM solution to provide this

functionality, integration and performance so they can meet the demands of

their customers and the wider business. Additionally, there is a keen business

awareness running throughout this report with respondents cognisant of

the need to produce metrics and reports that provide real insight into their

operation. Set against a background of economic austerity, it is more important

than ever for Service Desks to demonstrate their value and to build strong

cases for additional investment.

Overall, the survey results paint a picture of an industry making strides,

looking to become more proactive and to play an ever greater business role.

Perhaps most encouraging of all is the 67 percent who noted that life on the

Service Desk had improved or stayed the same. When we look for signs that

the Service Desk industry is moving in the right direction, this result providesevidence that there is lots to be celebrated.

Response %

Provide support/more support for mobile devices (BYOD) 23

More use of self service 20

An increase in business services provision 17

Increased demand for business metrics and reporting 16

Service Desks using social media more 10

Use more self help 9

No big changes/things will stay the same 6

Copyright 2013 Cherwell Software, LLC.

All rights reserved.

Cherwell Service Management, the Cherwell

logo and other Cherwell products, brands

and trademarks are the property of

Cherwell Software, Inc. Other products,

brands and trademarks are property of their

respective companies.

The Service Desk industry is

making strides, looking tobecome more proactive and

to pay an ever greater

business role.

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