The newly-popular concept of concentrating on core competencies among various industries is now being touted by external and internal help desks — long seen as costs in most organizations.

Organizations have begun to realize the value of using IT outsourcers. These outsourcershave a history of taking on costly, time-consuming, high volume support for shrink-wrapped software packages and first-tier calls. According to Bill Rose, executive director for the Software Support Professionals Association (SSPA), companies now entrust outsourcers with both second-level support and support for more complex packages, proprietary software and networking tools.

“Over the past few years, the IT outsourcing industry has been doing an exceptional job with high volume packaged support,” says Rose. “With this trust and rising competence, and with companies looking to improve service while cutting costs, I see increased demand for their services in the future.”

Some IT outsourcer functions, such as first-level support, may be replaced by Web self-service. Outsourcers now offer automated on-line and live text chat support, tapping into their core service and knowledge management competencies.

Many of them now provide field service dispatch, including maintaining parts inventories, integrated with their help desks. They also supply remote monitoring and diagnostics.

A recent study by International Data Corporation (IDC; Framingham, MA), 1999 Worldwide Software Support Services, predicts that telephone support revenues will climb to $18.5 billion in 2003 from $12.9 billion in 1998, but these revenues will have less market share (44% of a $42 billion overall market from almost 60% of a $22 billion market) due to increased on-line self-support.

“As more self-support tools become available over the Web, electronic tools will become a viable and preferred way to support the end user,” says IDC’s senior research analyst Barrett Coakley.

Ironically, the Internet is leading to more IT help desk demand as people who have on-line problems can only fix them by calling in. SSPA’s Rose adds that there will always be a large number of users who prefer live phone to Web support and e-mail, and for good reason. To solve the same problem by e-mail could take far longer than by phone.

“Telephone support is not going away,” states Rose. “There will always be people that want and need to pick up the phone and get answers right away.”

IT Outsourcing Field Attracts Large Firms

Driven by the customer relationship management revolution, some outsourcers can now cross- or up-sell callers to the help desk. If a customer has just received a satisfactory support resolution but spent a while on hold, for example, a rep may offer a discount on a new software. Or, sales reps can easily track a lead that comes in at the help desk for a customer who’s in the market for a new disk drive, for example.

Such integrated offerings are especially useful if your firm provides Internet services. Having everything under one roof, including sales, billing, collections, account management and data processing, cuts the overhead and simplifies customer handling.

One sign that IT help desk outsourcing is becoming very popular is that it is attracting the big IT services and telemarketing/customer service outsourcers. This could offer some useful and cost saving synergies if your company or department already partners with one of these firms. Experienced computer dealers and direct marketers are also offering IT help desk services.

Global data processing, applications development, systems integration and e-commerce giant EDS (Plano, TX) recently acquired internal IT outsourcer and consultancy Systemhouse from MCI. EDS already owns Centrobe , a high level customer care/database direct marketing outsourcer.

Systemhouse has been broken up into US and UK operations, both of which have been integrated within the EDS parent. Its Canadian services (Systemhouse started in Canada) has been combined with EDS Canada and re-named as EDS Systemhouse .

Systemhouse can put together an IT customer care/help desk for you including planning, requirements analysis, process design and automation, software selection and implementation, computer telephony and legacy mainframe integration and facilities assessment and design. It can also take care of rep training and workforce management.

Systemhouse’s IT Management Solutions helps you design, configure and maintain your computing infrastructure, including internal help desks. It will manage your application development and network. The outsourcer also has help desks in the US, Canada and the UK.

Coming from the customer care side, Sitel (Columbia, MD) answers internal and external IT help desk inquiries globally, through its more than 70 centers in 18 countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America as well as in the US and Canada. Its reps work in 25 languages.

If an on-site repair is necessary, Sitel can access an engineering scheduling database and set up a visit automatically or post or transmit instructions to the team nearest you by displaying this information on your Web site or by sending it to you by e-mail or fax. The firm’s training is thorough and highly flexible.

You can source Sitel separately for IT help desk or as part of an integrated customer care/telesales package. Sitel has specialized strategic business units, with highly developed expertise in a wide variety of industries.

Convergys (Cincinnati, OH) provides internal and external help desk services in the US, Canada and in Europe. It also handles parts ordering and field dispatch. The outsourcer’s help desk/customer care programs are growing — it is opening a new call center/help desk in Greenville, NC and a new center in Pocatello, ID.

With Convergys’ other expertise in inbound and outbound sales, including database marketing and lead management, plus billing and account management, you can contract out your entire firm’s customer contact needs, not just help desk. This simplifies your sources and cuts administrative costs. If you’re a new Internet services company that needs to maintain revenues from customers, you may appreciate Convergys’ billing experience; the outsourcer is owned by Cincinnati Bell.

When devising and reviewing your external help desk strategy, it’s important to determine how best to use your resources and retain the most valued customers. One of the techniques is to devise different support packages for customers according to their value. TeleTech (Denver, CO) can do that for you through its database segmentation expertise, wherever in the world your customers are located. TeleTech has a global call center network with reps available to speak in 11 languages. Each center is fed with solutions from customized knowledge bases.

The newly-popular concept of concentrating on core competencies among various industries is now being touted by external and internal help desks — long seen as costs in most organizations.

Organizations have begun to realize the value of using IT outsourcers. These outsourcershave a history of taking on costly, time-consuming, high volume support for shrink-wrapped software packages and first-tier calls. According to Bill Rose, executive director for the Software Support Professionals Association (SSPA), companies now entrust outsourcers with both second-level support and support for more complex packages, proprietary software and networking tools.

“Over the past few years, the IT outsourcing industry has been doing an exceptional job with high volume packaged support,” says Rose. “With this trust and rising competence, and with companies looking to improve service while cutting costs, I see increased demand for their services in the future.”

Some IT outsourcer functions, such as first-level support, may be replaced by Web self-service. Outsourcers now offer automated on-line and live text chat support, tapping into their core service and knowledge management competencies.

Many of them now provide field service dispatch, including maintaining parts inventories, integrated with their help desks. They also supply remote monitoring and diagnostics.

A recent study by International Data Corporation (IDC; Framingham, MA), 1999 Worldwide Software Support Services, predicts that telephone support revenues will climb to $18.5 billion in 2003 from $12.9 billion in 1998, but these revenues will have less market share (44% of a $42 billion overall market from almost 60% of a $22 billion market) due to increased on-line self-support.

“As more self-support tools become available over the Web, electronic tools will become a viable and preferred way to support the end user,” says IDC’s senior research analyst Barrett Coakley.

Ironically, the Internet is leading to more IT help desk demand as people who have on-line problems can only fix them by calling in. SSPA’s Rose adds that there will always be a large number of users who prefer live phone to Web support and e-mail, and for good reason. To solve the same problem by e-mail could take far longer than by phone.

“Telephone support is not going away,” states Rose. “There will always be people that want and need to pick up the phone and get answers right away.”

IT Outsourcing Field Attracts Large Firms

Driven by the customer relationship management revolution, some outsourcers can now cross- or up-sell callers to the help desk. If a customer has just received a satisfactory support resolution but spent a while on hold, for example, a rep may offer a discount on a new software. Or, sales reps can easily track a lead that comes in at the help desk for a customer who’s in the market for a new disk drive, for example.

Such integrated offerings are especially useful if your firm provides Internet services. Having everything under one roof, including sales, billing, collections, account management and data processing, cuts the overhead and simplifies customer handling.

One sign that IT help desk outsourcing is becoming very popular is that it is attracting the big IT services and telemarketing/customer service outsourcers. This could offer some useful and cost saving synergies if your company or department already partners with one of these firms. Experienced computer dealers and direct marketers are also offering IT help desk services.

Global data processing, applications development, systems integration and e-commerce giant EDS (Plano, TX) recently acquired internal IT outsourcer and consultancy Systemhouse from MCI. EDS already owns Centrobe , a high level customer care/database direct marketing outsourcer.

Systemhouse has been broken up into US and UK operations, both of which have been integrated within the EDS parent. Its Canadian services (Systemhouse started in Canada) has been combined with EDS Canada and re-named as EDS Systemhouse .

Systemhouse can put together an IT customer care/help desk for you including planning, requirements analysis, process design and automation, software selection and implementation, computer telephony and legacy mainframe integration and facilities assessment and design. It can also take care of rep training and workforce management.

Systemhouse’s IT Management Solutions helps you design, configure and maintain your computing infrastructure, including internal help desks. It will manage your application development and network. The outsourcer also has help desks in the US, Canada and the UK.

Coming from the customer care side, Sitel (Columbia, MD) answers internal and external IT help desk inquiries globally, through its more than 70 centers in 18 countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America as well as in the US and Canada. Its reps work in 25 languages.

If an on-site repair is necessary, Sitel can access an engineering scheduling database and set up a visit automatically or post or transmit instructions to the team nearest you by displaying this information on your Web site or by sending it to you by e-mail or fax. The firm’s training is thorough and highly flexible.

You can source Sitel separately for IT help desk or as part of an integrated customer care/telesales package. Sitel has specialized strategic business units, with highly developed expertise in a wide variety of industries.

Convergys (Cincinnati, OH) provides internal and external help desk services in the US, Canada and in Europe. It also handles parts ordering and field dispatch. The outsourcer’s help desk/customer care programs are growing — it is opening a new call center/help desk in Greenville, NC and a new center in Pocatello, ID.

With Convergys’ other expertise in inbound and outbound sales, including database marketing and lead management, plus billing and account management, you can contract out your entire firm’s customer contact needs, not just help desk. This simplifies your sources and cuts administrative costs. If you’re a new Internet services company that needs to maintain revenues from customers, you may appreciate Convergys’ billing experience; the outsourcer is owned by Cincinnati Bell.

When devising and reviewing your external help desk strategy, it’s important to determine how best to use your resources and retain the most valued customers. One of the techniques is to devise different support packages for customers according to their value. TeleTech (Denver, CO) can do that for you through its database segmentation expertise, wherever in the world your customers are located. TeleTech has a global call center network with reps available to speak in 11 languages. Each center is fed with solutions from customized knowledge bases.