Shared Services in Government Departments June 11, 2008
Posted by sunrisesoftware in Customer Service, IT, ITIL, Service Desk, Software.add a comment
Computer Weekly ran an article yesterday suggesting that shared services won’t benefit government departments at all. In my mind, this is completely ludicrous. Though costs aren’t easy to monitor there are savings to be made – the concept can’t be written off altogether.
Sharing IT support can make a huge difference and it is easy to do.
In the current move to centralise services, the support desk is the obvious candidate. Its location isn’t important as one IT department can serve many different sites, saving money and sharing expertise.
Surely the Government knows how much is spent in each department and it is possible to compare the current cost, and the post implementation spend. Why would it abandon a process that could save money in future – surely something the Government should strive for?
Tom Weston, CEO at Sunrise, writes… June 11, 2008
Posted by sunrisesoftware in Customer Service, IT, ITIL, Service Desk, Software.Tags: Add new tag
add a comment
One of the areas I’m most excited about at the moment is seeing service desk principles developed for IT support helping other areas of the business. We’re currently working the Apex Computers, which provides IT infrastructure to some of the UK’s most successful businesses, to enable them to use IT support as a revenue generator and value-add for their customers, ranging from HMV to Debenhams.
I read in the FT’s Digital Business supplement last week that the efficient help desk is something of a pipe dream for most organisations, with support staff living up to the IT Crowd parody of answering all queries with ‘turn if off and back on again.’
One of the key suggestions in the article for solving this was to outsource the service desk. However, in my opinion this strategy is one doomed from the start.
Regardless of the size of organisation, outsourcing your IT support desk is like expecting your car to work after you’ve taken the engine out. The initial total cost of ownership might seem lower, but CIOs should be taking a longer-term view, and keeping this business-critical function in-house.
Some years ago the IT helpdesk function provided basic support to users that could be outsourced more easily. However, the modern IT support desk does so much more – managing workflow and even creating revenue for the business. While there’s a place for outsourcing admin processes, there’s no place for moving such a complex, vital part of the business elsewhere.
We’ve all witnessed the effect on productivity when IT fails. As applications become more complex and users become more reliant on them, it’s a short-sighted CIO who believes outsourcing support is a viable option.
Exciting opportunites June 5, 2008
Posted by sunrisesoftware in Customer Service, IT, ITIL, Service Desk, Software, Uncategorized.add a comment
One of the areas I’m most excited about at the moment is seeing service desk principles developed for IT support helping other areas of the business. We’re currently working the Apex Computers, which provides IT infrastructure to some of the UK’s most successful businesses, to enable them to use IT support as a revenue generator and value-add for their customers, ranging from HMV to Debenhams.
Apex is using ITIL processes underpinned by Sostenuto to grow their business by offering top quality external customer support.
In addition, Sostenuto has gone beyond ‘just’ IT support in its work for Apex. Measuring subcontractors’ performance is crucial, and because Sostenuto is able to track third parties, Apex now has the tools to do just this. Similarly, the ability to accurately track assets and handle change management are helping to better manage customer implementations.
Sostenuto’s web portal, Self Service, allows the sales team to view the status of their customers’ problems from any location with an Internet connection. It also allows the customers themselves to see what’s going on. The combination of logging and tracking the progress of customers’ issues has reduced the volume of calls, and as a result has improved customer satisfaction. Since introducing Sostenuto, Apex is now well on the way to achieving the revenue goals set for the service division.
