Looking Back at 2013 and Forward to 2014

Trends in the Help Desk Industry:

As IT evolves, so does the help desk that supports it. Changes in technology came at a rapid fire pace in 2013 and that certainly won’t change in 2014.

Customers continue to grow increasingly tech-savvy and expectations are high all the way around.

There are changes coming -- and they will be here soon.

In the past, most companies had regular business hours for their help desk. In 2013, the number of companies that have moved to 24/7 support has climbed and will continue to do so in 2014.

24/7 Support

In a world where instant access is no longer novel, customers will simply not wait until 8:00 am to reach tech support.

Phone-Based Support Is Still Preferred

For some, the phone may seem a touch old fashioned, but don’t count it out just yet. Studies show, that phone-based support is what customers prefer.

The upside for support companies is that the costs associated with supplying phone support are going down and should continue to do so in 2014.

OutsourcingSomething else seen in help desk trends in 2013 that should continue into and past 2014 is outsourcing.

Help desk support, especially for hardware, is increasingly being outsourced to professionals who are not necessarily part of an IT company’s in-house operations, or who may be housed overseas.

Looking forward to 2014 help desk industry trends, companies will see cloud computing explode.

It wasn’t all that long ago that when people talked of clouds they simply meant the white, puffy things that meander through the sky - not so any longer.

“The Cloud” Dominates the 2014 Horizon

Cloud computing has seen major advances in infrastructure, scaling issues and uptime that were once its downfall.

Now, more and more companies see cloud computing as the best solution. What this means for the help desk is that they will find themselves needing to evolve as well and be prepared to deal with many different sets of applications.

Being able to provide the necessary service while maintaining a budget is difficult. New help desk software is the answer.

The bottom line is always a consideration in help desk operations.

New software applications for help desks are being developed that provide an easier user interface for both the help desk operator and their clients.

In the end, increased customer service is the overall trend in help desk trends.

2013 was the year of new technologies and 2014 will be the year of enhanced customer service.