What is a Help Desk?
The term help desk has many variations in its definition,
including: A source of technical support for hardware or
software. Help desks are generally staffed by people that
can either solve the problem directly or direct the problem
to a department that can help the inquirer.
Sometimes a help desk is a call center that handles
questions about products. Help desk questions can also be a
live chat service or an email based inquire and respond
system.
While most help desks are external, in that external callers
access the help desk to resolve their problems, some
companies are large enough to maintain their own internal
help desk functions.
A help desk is often characterized by single point of entry
for all user inquiries and problems about a particular
information system. Frequently a voice automated help desk
telephone system allows users to navigate themselves to
arrive at the correct department.
The most common users of a help desk are the technical
support centers for computer or electronic components and
software programs. Often help desks are oriented around
problem issues, such as, installation, trouble shooting,
technical support and the like.
Help Desk Software Applications?
Large Company Help Desk Applications: Often a large
organization will have a specified department within their company that responds to
company wide
technical questions. Most large software companies have help
desks to answer their user's questions.. Questions and answers can be
delivered by telephone, e-mail, web page URL, Company BBS or
even having someone walk down the hall to fix the problem. There is even
help desk software that allows the help desk personnel to quickly find answers to common
questions.
Succinctly, the helpdesk is a centralized service by which
problems are reported and resolved by having a common
knowledge base to resolve the situations. In a more
sophisticated setting a help desk is an integral component the service function, responsible for
coordinating multiple resources to address and solve company
wide issues Outsourcing Help Desk Functions: Due to
the specific nature and expertise required to operate and
maintain a help desk, many companies elect to outsource the
help desk services. Is
it a Bird, a Plane, A Call Center or a Help Desk? It used to be that a helpdesk was called a Call Center,
whereby users would call into a centralized number and have
their inquires resolved by an operator.
Before the internet, telephonic support was the primary tool
to offer support. Call centers were typically limited in
their hours of operation and could result in long waits
during peak inquiry periods. The internet has allowed the
posting of white papers, technical specifications and FAQ's
to answer help desk questions on a 24 hour a day basis. |
