Think you don’t need desktop application support? Think again.

Myth: There is little or no demand for desktop application support (DAS).
Reality: Across industries, the true demand for desktop application support typically ranges between 5 percent and 15 percent of corporate help desk call volume. This includes all DAS issues that are supported underground by information workers across the enterprise. 

Myth: The help desk is the best choice for DAS.
Reality: The lack of dedicated DAS has driven demand underground (shadow support, tapping a co-worker). Accordingly, most corporate help desks field minimal DAS calls (less than 3 percent of help desk call volume) involving them in no more than 20 percent of DAS issues across the enterprise.

Myth: We already outsource the help desk and they are handling DAS as part of the arrangement.
Reality: Large outsourcing partners answer the phone with generalists, no different than most internal help desks. In fact, the very nature of such arrangements often invites sub-standard assistance, which reduces demand and drives support underground. DAS requires the kind of specialized application knowledge and familiarity that only comes from taking DAS calls all day long, not a mere “best-effort” attempt at the occasional call.

“Large outsourcing partners answer the phone with generalists, no different than most internal help desks.”

Myth: The incidence of underground support is impossible to quantify.
Reality: Underground support is both measurable and controllable. Typically, information workers invest three hours working to solve a DAS issue on their own or with an in-house help desk. The cost of underground support is staggering. Given the average time spent to solve a DAS issue, the cost equates to approximately $48 to $196 per issue, depending on the salary level of the information worker requiring assistance. And this does not even account for the additional cost of involving a peer or colleague, who is often – if not usually – recruited to help.

Myth: We send our corporate employees through training and so we don’t need DAS.
Reality: Training and DAS are related but separate.  Training is effective at addressing common and repeated needs, but it is highly ineffective and inefficient at meeting specialized needs at unpredictable times, which is the nature of DAS demand.  Often information workers complete training knowing that when the time comes to use a key feature or apply a technique, they may recognize the capability exists but will need assistance to properly execute.

FIND MORE INFO IN:  Desktop Application Support | BlackBerry + Mobile Support | PC Helps eTraining | Contact PC Helps

Jenny Sweeney ROI Help Desk, Outsourcing, ROI, software support, Worker Productivity