Let’s talk about cloud-based IT service desk software. Over the past decade, cloud-based technology has exploded in popularity, evolving from niche use in tech-savvy industries to widespread utilization. Individuals have begun employing it to store personal photos, videos, and documents, while businesses have increasingly leveraged it to host entire systems or networks.
IT service desks and broader IT service management (ITSM) needs offer a prime example of a platform that has experienced the benefits of cloud technology, empowering organizations with reduced upfront costs, expanded end-user engagement, and enhanced automation capabilities.
This article examines what a cloud-based IT service desk encompasses, the advantages it can offer your company, and how it’s superior to on-premises systems.
This article by @FreshworksInc examines what a cloud-based IT service desk encompasses, the advantages it can offer your company, and how it’s superior to on-premises systems. #servicedesk #cloud #ITSM Share on XWhat is a cloud-based IT service desk?
A cloud-based IT service desk is a centralized platform hosted on cloud infrastructure that provides businesses with a streamlined approach to managing tech-related issues. It provides a virtual hub where end-users can report issues, make service requests, and seek technical assistance. Unlike traditional IT service desks, cloud-based IT service desk solutions offer enhanced scalability and accessibility, enabling individuals to access the service desk anytime, anywhere, as long as they have an internet connection.
At its core, a cloud-based IT service desk typically features ticketing systems that automate the logging, tracking, and prioritizing of IT requests. When an end-user submits a ticket outlining an issue, the system assigns a unique identifier and routes it to the appropriate IT agent/team. In most cases, these platforms offer self-service portals equipped with knowledge articles, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides, enabling end-users to resolve routine issues (L0 and sometimes L1 tickets) in a DIY manner.
Benefits of cloud-delivered IT service desk software
Cloud-based IT service desks eliminate the need for traditional hardware and infrastructure, as the service is hosted entirely on servers maintained by the software provider. This removes the upfront costs associated with purchasing physical servers and expenses related to infrastructure upgrades.
Moreover, cloud-based systems can improve operational productivity, saving more costs. By automating repetitive tasks – for example, ticket routing, prioritization, and resolution – these platforms reduce the need for manual intervention while optimizing IT workflows. This frees IT staff to focus on higher-value responsibilities like resolving critical issues, ultimately increasing efficiency.
Subscription-based pricing models and self-service options can further reduce overhead by allowing companies to pay only for the services they plan on using while allowing end-users to find answers to their requests independently.
Unlike on-premises solutions, which may be limited to office hours, cloud-based IT service desks provide uninterrupted access to IT resources. This ensures that end-users can request assistance anytime, even outside regular business hours. This is particularly beneficial for organizations operating online across different time zones or those with remote teams.
Providers also typically implement data replication, automatic failover, and backup systems that help ensure high availability and data integrity. In system failures, the cloud-based IT service desk can seamlessly switch to reserve assets, minimizing downtime and providing continuous service delivery. Additionally, cloud environments generally offer scalable resources, allowing providers to dynamically adjust capacity to meet demand spikes while maintaining consistent performance levels.
From cost savings to increased availability, to personalization to customer, this article via @FreshworksInc dives into the benefits of cloud-delivered IT service desks. #servicedesk #cloud Share on XPersonalization to business/customer needs
By leveraging cloud-based infrastructure, IT service desk providers can easily customize the software to align with specific business processes. This personalization allows configuring the cloud-based IT service desk according to unique requirements, ensuring it reflects an organization’s branding, terminology, and operational preferences. Depending on the provider, these solutions can also provide extensive integration capabilities, enabling more robust integration with existing IT systems.
Furthermore, cloud-based software can enhance end-user customization by offering tailored support experiences. Through user-friendly portals, companies can provide personalized self-service experiences that cater to their customers’ needs. These systems can also leverage data analytics and machine learning algorithms to examine end-user behavior. This allows businesses to deliver proactive and personalized support services.
Studies show that 76% of end-users get frustrated by non-personalized customer experiences. Customizing your interactions with each unique business user helps ensure high levels of customer satisfaction.
Through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and other integration protocols, a cloud-based IT service desk can connect with a wide range of IT tools. This cohesiveness allows organizations to leverage their existing technical infrastructure while extending the functionality of their IT service desk operations. For example, integration with network monitoring tools enables automatic ticket generation for detected issues, streamlining incident management processes to ensure timely resolutions.
Cloud-based software also often supports pre-built connectors and plugins for popular third-party applications. These integrations facilitate interoperability between the cloud-based IT service desk and other IT systems, enabling uninterrupted information flow and collaboration. This promotes data synchronization in real-time, verifying that information is always up-to-date and accurate across all platforms.
Cloud-based IT service desk best practices
Build and maintain a knowledge base
Select a cloud-based knowledge management platform that integrates with your IT service desk software. This promotes smooth collaboration between your team and the knowledge base, facilitating efficient access to relevant information. Once you’ve shortlisted software, identify the main needs of your end-users, including FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and best practices.
Next, create an initial set of articles that address common customer issues. Organize this content logically within the base, creating categories, subcategories, and tags for easy navigation. Be sure to encourage collaboration among your support team to contribute new articles and update existing ones based on their expertise and customer feedback.
Promote self-service by encouraging end-users to use the base to find answers to their queries independently. When employees and consumers can utilize this information to work out issues, the time spent on support can be significantly reduced by providing multiple paths to resolution.
Pro tip: Leverage your IT service desk’s problem management module to reference the list of all known problems and their resolutions and include them in your knowledge base. This will save time and effort for both your IT service desk agents and end-users.
81% of customers attempt to resolve issues before contacting live support agents; if even a fraction of these attempts are successful, support expenses can be significantly reduced.
Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect the objectives of your cloud-based IT service desk, such as ticket resolution time, first-call resolution rate, and response time. Regularly track these metrics using reporting tools provided by your IT service desk software or by integrating with third-party applications. Analyzing these KPIs provides insights into your IT service desk’s overall performance and helps identify areas for improvement.
Implement ongoing performance evaluations for your IT support team. Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with team members to discuss individual performance, identify challenges, and provide feedback. Utilize relevant data from your cloud-based IT service desk platform to identify trends, recognize top performers, and address training needs.
Also, it’s vital to embrace a culture of continual improvement – a foundational principle common to all versions of ITIL – within your IT operations. Encourage innovation and collaboration among your team to identify fresh opportunities, implement helpful automation, or introduce new technologies that may enhance productivity. Review standard operating procedures, knowledge base articles, and training materials to reflect evolving best practices.
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots can be deployed to provide immediate assistance to end-users by answering common queries, guiding them through troubleshooting steps, and resolving simple issues independently. Most of these chatbots can be easily integrated into your cloud-based IT service desk, providing a 24/7 virtual support agent to handle a wide range of queries, freeing human agents to focus on more critical tasks.
Automated analytics and machine learning algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data your cloud-based IT service desk generates. These insights can help optimize operations, prevent potential issues before they occur, and allocate resources more effectively. For example, predictive analytics can forecast ticket volumes and prioritize workload distribution. Meanwhile, sentiment analysis can gauge satisfaction levels and identify areas for improvement.
Check out this list of cloud-based service desk best practices, via @FreshworksInc. #servicedesk #cloud Share on XPerhaps the most well-known ability of AI is that it can reduce manual workload in a wide range of repetitive and time-consuming tasks. Routine processes such as ticket triaging, routing, and resolution can be automated using workflow orchestration tools, limiting the need for human intervention and accelerating resolution times. Moreover, self-service portals allow end-users to troubleshoot common issues independently, access knowledge-base articles, and request assistance without manual support.
It’s estimated that current generative AI capabilities have the potential to automate activities that require between 60% and 70% of employees’ time today.
Meet your customers where they are
By leveraging cloud technology, IT service desks can be accessed from any internet-enabled device, allowing end-users to reach out for IT support from their preferred environment. This accessibility helps ensure that end-users can engage with IT support conveniently without being constrained by traditional office hours or physical locations.
Cloud-based systems can connect seamlessly with various communication channels, including email, social media, and mobile apps. This omni-channel approach enables end-users to interact with businesses using their preferred channels. On average, companies with strong omnichannel strategies retain 89% of their customers, whereas organizations with weak blueprints only keep 33%.
Additionally, cloud-based IT service desk oftware can often support multiple languages across different timezones, catering to the needs of global users and providing assistance in their preferred dialect. For organizations with a broad geographical or multi-cultural customer base, this capability can promote loyalty and customer satisfaction and elevate the overall customer/employee experience.
Why choose a cloud over on-premises?
Cloud-based IT service desk solutions eliminate the need for initial investments in physical infrastructure such as servers, networking equipment, and storage devices. With cloud-based IT service desks, organizations simply utilize the infrastructure provided by the service provider, paying only for the resources they use on a subscription basis. This shift from capital expenditures (CapEx) to operational expenditures (OpEx) allows companies to allocate financial resources more efficiently, avoiding significant upfront costs and enjoying predictable monthly expenses.
Cloud-based software also doesn’t require much ongoing maintenance, reducing recurring costs beyond the initial investment. Vendors typically handle tasks such as software updates, security patches, and system maintenance, ensuring that the cloud-based IT service desk platform remains up-to-date and secure. This eliminates the need for businesses to allocate internal resources to manage the infrastructure, freeing up IT team members to focus on more strategic IT initiatives.
Additionally, a cloud-based IT service desk can result in substantial savings over time through their robust automation capabilities. The average cost to manually handle a support ticket in North America is $15.56; automating these service requests costs nothing outside of the initial investment and maintenance of the technology (platform subscription fees).
With cloud-based solutions, employees can connect to the IT service desk from any internet-enabled device. This flexibility enables remote workers to access support services from the comfort of their homes, while traveling, or from satellite offices, ensuring uninterrupted productivity regardless of physical location.
Furthermore, a cloud-based IT service desk facilitates efficient collaboration among remote teams. Employees can easily reach out to support agents, collaborate on tickets, and escalate issues as needed through communication channels such as email, chat, and video conferencing. These tools and document-sharing platforms can also be integrated with the IT service desk, enabling geo-diverse teams to collaborate on projects, share knowledge, and access relevant information in real-time.
Instituting a remote work environment can increase employee productivity and satisfaction while simultaneously providing numerous benefits for businesses; it’s estimated that employers save $11,000 per worker per year when permitting teleworking.
Cloud-based software employs natural language processing (NLP) technology to understand human language, enabling more intuitive interactions with individuals. NLP-powered chatbots can comprehend end-user inquiries, extract relevant information, and provide accurate real-time responses. This allows the cloud-based IT service desk to effectively communicate with end-users in their preferred language and tone.
Additionally, through machine learning, your cloud-based IT service desk will continue to improve as its AI technology learns to better understand operational procedures and specific preferences. For example, suppose a chatbot is initially deployed with a basic set of predefined responses to common queries. As end-users continue interacting with the chatbot, machine learning algorithms analyze the conversations, identify patterns, and learn from feedback to refine communication. Over time, the bot becomes smart enough to understand complex queries, provide more accurate answers, and resolve issues faster.
This article was sponsored by Freshworks.
Read more from Freshworks: Compare the best cloud-based IT service desks in the market today.
Further Reading
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