5 Questions To Ask Before Outsourcing Your Help Desk To A Provider

For businesses who need Level 1 IT support for their employees, but don’t have the resources or desire to have an in-house helpdesk, outsourcing professional helpdesk services can be a great way to provide much-needed IT support at an affordable cost.

When looking for a potential helpdesk services provider, business owners should prepare a list of questions to help determine which helpdesk provider is the right choice for their business. Because the helpdesk is essentially an extension of the business, it’s important that the provider can meet all of the desired qualifications, such as level of experience, hours of operation, and more.

Below are some of the most important questions to ask when choosing a helpdesk provider.

Table of Contents

What is your level of experience?

Reliability and experience are of the utmost importance when looking for a helpdesk provider. After all, this is who your employees will be in touch with when they need immediate technical assistance. By assessing a provider’s helpdesk experience and level of employee training, you’ll get an idea of how well they can help your business.

What are your support hours?

A third-party helpdesk should be beneficial to your business’s specific needs. Be sure to determine what the provider’s service hours are and what their available service agreements are for modified hours. If your business needs 24/7 service 365 days a year, then you need to partner with a provider who can offer that. If you do not require around the clock support, discuss with the provider if they can offer a modified service agreement at a lower price.

What devices and systems do you support?

Before agreeing to work with a potential helpdesk provider, be sure they are able to support all of the various aspects of your business’s IT, such as:

Various operating systems – Microsoft, Apple, Linux
Third-party applications – Microsoft Office, Adobe, etc.
Mobile devices – tablets, smartphones
Desktop and laptop computers
Network and wi-fi
Printers and other office equipment
Email and browsers

In addition to ensuring that various applications and devices are covered, be sure to determine what security issues the provider can assist with, such as malware or viruses.

What is your escalation protocol?

The reality is that most businesses are likely to experience certain IT issues that go beyond Level 1 IT helpdesk support capabilities. Having said that, it’s very important that you discuss with potential helpdesk providers what their escalation protocol is for advanced issues. Do they have a Level 2 or Level 3 provider they partner with? Are they able to redirect calls to a higher level of tech support within your own organization? You want to ensure that the escalation protocol is simplified and easily accessible so that advanced issues can be resolved quickly and efficiently.

Do you offer remote “share screen” technology?

Often small, easy to fix issues can be made more complicated by a lack of communication or understanding between the helpdesk support person and the employee asking for assistance. Remote “share screen” technology can mitigate this issue by allowing the IT tech at the helpdesk to see and control the screen of the employee calling in. For businesses who often have desktop questions from employees, this technology can be very helpful.

IS&T Can Help

For over 20 years, IS&T has been serving the Greater Houston area with expert-quality IT management services and support, including helpdesk services. Our experienced and highly trained staff is US-based and offers on-demand helpdesk services around the clock. We support a variety of operating systems as well as third-party applications, hardware, software, browsers, email, desktops, laptops, mobile devices, printers, and much more. With IS&T, our clients can rest easy knowing their employees are supported 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The Ultimate Guide To Finding The Right Help Desk Support Provider For Your Business.