The service desk is a focal point for much of a service provider’s operations. As a result, harnessing the information that gets collected in this platform can be a highly effective way to realize a host of improvements. The service desk can equip staff members and management with measures of an array of areas, helping identify operational bottlenecks, infrastructure issues, and other areas for improvement. Following are two key areas in which analytics can fuel improvements.
- Optimizing client environments and efficiency. Both for the MSP and for the customer, a key objective is always to reduce the amount and duration of system issues. The more stable systems are, the better the MSP’s margins will be and the happier the customer will be. Toward this end, it’s vital to have effective measures of infrastructure issues. In addition, just about any action that takes place within an MSP is a data point. MSPs need to institute the systems and technologies needed to ensure these data points are consistently captured. By doing so, MSPs can gather the insights and recommendations that clients can use to improve their operational efficiency.
- Enhancing MSP operations. An effective service desk platform can help MSP management more knowledgeably and effectively track, assess, and improve their organization’s operational performance. This can include tracking individual and team performance, identifying areas for improvement, measuring workloads in order to better manage staffing levels and hiring, establishing effective baselines of ongoing tasks in order to identify areas for improvement and track progress, and more.
[Editor’s note: This is the final post in our four-part series. In our last post, we looked at building process consistency and configurability in the service desk. These posts draw from a recent MSP Mentor webcast sponsored by Nimsoft. To learn more or access the webcast, which is now available on demand, check out the following link: “Building a Service Desk that Builds Business: 5 Tips to Success”. ]
