News & Articles Library
Help Desk News
Enjoy the following help desk news and articles from industry-leading magazines, publications, and other help desk and IT resources.
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Keep Self-Help From Becoming a Hindrance (SmartBiz)
Abstract: IT Help Desks are often looking for ways to improve problem/resolution metrics and customer service. While self-help technologies are on the rise, they’re often not the "silver bullet," one-stop answer to improving the Help Desk. If implemented properly...
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Most Business Tech Pros Wary About Web 2.0 Tools In Business (InformationWeek)
Abstract: For all the mind-numbing buzz about Web. 2.0, most business collaboration and information sharing remains mired in endless e-mail strings and scheduled conference calls. More than half of business technology pros surveyed by InformationWeek are either...
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the full story
The help desk helps start IT careers (Computerworld)
Abstract: Quite frequently, rewarding IT careers start on the help desk. The support field is booming as companies continue to expand their operations and invest in technology to fuel this growth. In addition, the release of new systems and products rarely slows -- the new Windows Vista and accompanying Office updates are good examples -- meaning...
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the full story
New Technologies Attempt to Meet ITSM Demands of IT Operations Group (Gartner)
Abstract: New categories of tools have entered the market to help IT organizations deliver business-oriented IT service management. But different technologies share features in common, raising the likelihood that products will merge. To decide what to buy, IT departments must...
Read
this research brief
It's a CRM Bonanza (Call Center Magazine)
Abstract: After several years of retrenchment among CRM vendors, the tools on the market today are a far cry from those brave attempts ten years ago to amalgamate customer data. As often as not, you can get a CRM system that's...
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the story
Crazy questions that stump the help desk
(Computerworld)
Abstract: I was using a tool to remote control into one of my user's computers, which for security purposes requires the user to click a "Yes" pop-up button in order to allow me access onto their computer. So I told the user to "say yes when you see the prompt on the screen." However, after a minute, I still did not have access. It turns out that the prompt was still on the user's screen, because instead of clicking the "Yes" prompt, she had...
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the full story
It's Not About the Byte: Creating a Human Help Desk, Part 1 (Intranet Journal)
Abstract: A truly productive help desk focuses on guiding a user through
a problem in a human fashion, not acting as a vending machine dishing
out tech support procedures. To do this we must understand not only the
users and their problems, but also our own...
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the story
How to Reorganize the Help Desk (Datamation)
Abstract: One of the problems with the help desks of large companies is
that they've split into separate fiefdoms. Businesses acquire businesses,
or start new divisions, or open remote offices, and each entity has its
own self-managing help desk. At best, this scenario is inefficient. At
worst it’s a major money drain. These stand-alone help desks require...
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the story
What
users hate about IT pros (Network
World)
Abstract:
The relationship between network managers and users is often love-hate.
Users revealed a general sense of respect for and reliance on IT staff
- but were quick to come up with frustrations about their IT departments.
Despite technology becoming mainstream...
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the full story
Gas Prices Drive Call Center Agents Home (E-Commerce Times)
Abstract: About
36 percent of telecommuting customer service agents say gas prices have
driven their decision to work at home, according to a new survey of nearly
2,000 at-home call center agents by LiveOps, which contracts with call
center...
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the story
Turn Your Call Center Into a Profit Generator (DMNews)
Abstract: Do you evaluate your call center based on a productivity measure
such as cost/revenue? If so, you are probably underinvesting in your call
center. A better measure of performance is...
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the story
ITIL
adoption paves the way (Enterprise Networks & Servers)
Abstract: Forrester
research estimates that ITIL adoption among billion-dollar companies will
be increasing to 40 percent in 2006, and reaching 80 percent by 2008.
As companies rush to deploy ITIL ...
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the full story
Help Desk Fatigue (Bloor Research)
Abstract: If the Help Desk is relatively responsive then the figure will
be closer to 70%. If not, it will be worse. The 100% figure applies to
some groups of users using the Internet to access a company's applications
(potential customers for example). They almost never report faults or
poor service. Why should they? Staff are more likely to...
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the story
Never Again: Your IT Horror Stories (Redmondmag.com)
Abstract: Most IT folks have at least one tale of woe, of that time when
their career flashed before their eyes (those in the biz for a long time
often have more than one -- sometimes many more). It often starts when
the help desk phones start lighting up like a Vegas casino. Users can't
connect to the network or Internet. Servers aren't talking to each other
or to you. Then your mouth goes dry, as you realize you haven't...
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the story
Help
The Help Desk
(Processor.com)
Abstract: In
the chaotic world of IT, all roads eventually lead to the help desk. This
primary technology focal point is the first response center for problems,
and help desk efficiency is often the pivotal ingredient in IT performance
evaluation.
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the full story
Six Smart Strategies for Handling the Help Desk (CIO.com)
Abstract: WE RECENTLY POSED this riddle to the Best Practice Exchange:
Your help desk is staffed by productive workers. You expect your call
volume to increase because of a new system implementation that affects
a good chunk of your user base. But your budget doesn't allow for additional
headcount. What do you do?
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the story
Defining the Help Desk (Wikipedia)
Abstract: A
help desk is an information and assistance resource that troubleshoots
problems with computers and similar products. Corporations often provide
help desk support to their customers via a toll-free number, website and/or
e-mail. There are also in-house help desks geared toward providing the
same kind of help for employees only. A typical help desk has several...
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the full story
