How Much Help Desk Support Does My Business Need?

Every business uses technology, and people inevitably need help with that technology. You may have considered tech contracts for installing hardware, deploying software, managing your network and providing cloud resources, but most IT contracts separate help desk support from other services. This is the service that gives you on-demand help when things aren’t working correctly, and having sufficient help desk availability is essential to keeping any business in any industry on target. These ideas can help you determine just how much support you need.

Gauging Complexity

One of the key indicators for providing tech support is understanding the complexity of IT infrastructure for a business. A doctor’s office with only three computers, no central server and no high-end medical equipment is much less complex than a distribution center for a manufacturer that has Internet of Things systems and a massive data management or database structure. They have substantially different help desk needs.

Help desk complexity has been standardized by the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), and they break support into three levels.

Level one support is entry level. The tech support is still experienced and knowledgeable, but it usually only covers user-level systems. Level one support can handle password resets, personal device support, printers and minor software support. Level one can show you how to do something with software, but they can’t fix software at a deep level. Updates and reinstalls are standard practices. Level one techs can replace hardware, but they’re unlikely to repair individual components in a computer or other device.

Level two support gets substantially more complex. At this level, you get networking support, server support and deeper dives into software troubleshooting. Level two might write a script to work around a problem. They might get into finding database issues, and on the hardware side, micro-soldering isn’t off the table.

Level three is as high as it goes. These are the gurus who run data centers. They almost exclusively work in database and data management support and high-end networking. Most businesses that need this level of support have internal IT teams that can provide it or intimately understand what components need to be outsourced.

Predicting Demand

Once you understand how complicated your systems are, you have to guess how often you’ll need help with them. It’s not an easy thing to do, but help desk support is usually by incident or per hour. Many managed service providers (MSPs) offer help desk packages with a certain number of support hours or incidents per month. They’ll typically also offer emergency additions to your pre-billed package at a much higher rate. Getting demand right saves a lot of money.

Some statistics on help desk support across the U.S. can help you put your business in context. According to Zendesk (an IT research firm), businesses place an average of 492 help desk tickets per month. Understand that this includes Fortune 500 businesses as much as it includes local small businesses. It is also across all industries, so to use this number, try to compare how large your business is compared to the average size of a business.

Another stat that can help you is the average number of technicians. This varies by industry, but on average, there are 5.4 technicians per 1,000 seats in a business on the low end. On the high end, that average goes up to 21.0. This ratio of technicians to users results in an average wait time of 24 hours after initializing a ticket. So, if you have a thousand people on staff at a given moment and only 21 available support technicians, you’re looking at long wait times for resolution.

The final statistic to consider is that 69 percent of tickets are resolved in the first contact with support.

These averages can be pretty far away from any specific business, but they can help you put some hard numbers to your expectations as a starting point. A great way to supplement the statistics and improve your help desk estimations is to ask for recommendations when you shop around for help desk support.

Additional Needs

The last issue in planning for help desk support is understanding additional needs. Two examples can clarify the idea. The first is training. If you regularly roll out new software, or if you have high turnover in a position that uses specialized technology, you might need consistent training hours in your help desk support. It will add to the help desk bill, but a little bit of training can ultimately reduce help desk needs and prevent downtime.

The other example is seasonal shift. An accounting firm will need more support during tax season than the rest of the year. If your business has similarly predictable shifts in demand, plan that into your support contract. It can save a ton of money throughout the year, and it can help ensure that you’re running on all cylinders when your business is in its highest demand.

Ultimately, you need to be able to get help when you need it. Averages and general advice can help you estimate your needs, but don’t overlook peace of mind and ROI when you think about help desk support. They both matter, and they highlight why one-size-fits-all doesn’t work for this issue.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: CHANTEL SOUMIS

Chantel Soumis brings over a decade of knowledge in workflow enhancement through the use of technology. Chantel studied marketing communications and business administration at Franklin University and proceeded to work in a fast, ambitious environment, assuring client delight in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Passionate about project productivity and streamlining workflows through the use of technology, Chantel strives to inform organizations of Valicom’s advanced telecom expense management software and services by mastering communications and messaging while delivering helpful information and supporting resources.