Deploying user self service to automate software requests could collectively save organizations $8.6bn1 a year in IT help desk costs. Saving money is only part of the story. Two thirds of users in the United States and United Kingdom will wait up to a week or more for software they request through their IT help desk. Today, many users expect far higher levels of service from their IT departments than they have in the past. These users are tech-savvy and are used to getting the technology they need, when they need it. 1E is committed to helping its customers improve IT efficiency by identifying and reducing costs and waste. We commissioned Vanson Bourne to research IT help desk efficiency and user behavior in an effort to raise awareness of how help desk calls and costs could be dramatically reduced. This report highlights a number of challenges for many IT departments in organizations of all sizes. Over a third of users perceive little or no value from the money their IT department spends on them each year. Many users feel it would be quicker and easier if they were empowered to simply help themselves.

1. HELP DESK EFFICIENCY REPORT 2010
Software Delivery
United States and United Kingdom

2. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
EMPOWERED TO SAVE
Deploying user self service to automate software requests could collectively save
organizations $8.6bn1 a year in IT help desk costs.
Saving money is only part of the story. Two thirds of users in the United
States and United Kingdom will wait up to a week or more for software
they request through their IT help desk. Today, many users expect far
higher levels of service from their IT departments than they have in
the past. These users are tech-savvy and are used to getting the
technology they need, when they need it.
1E is committed to helping its customers improve IT efficiency by
identifying and reducing costs and waste. We commissioned Vanson
Bourne to research IT help desk efficiency and user behavior in an
effort to raise awareness of how help desk calls and costs could be
dramatically reduced.
This report highlights a number of challenges for many IT departments
in organizations of all sizes. Over a third of users perceive little or
no value from the money their IT department spends on them each
year. Many users feel it would be quicker and easier if they were
empowered to simply help themselves.
At 1E, we passionately believe in reducing waste. By deploying user self service tools, organizations can
reduce both the time users spend waiting for applications to be installed and the time IT spends manually
fulfilling those requests. And by not wasting time, organizations can also save money.
True user self service is now a reality. Users should be free to choose the
software they feel they need to best perform their jobs. When they need a
new application, they should be empowered to log on, find it and have it
installed, almost instantly, so they can get on with what you pay them for.
“ Automating
software requests
Every day that passes is a lost opportunity to save money and improve could collectively
user productivity. By automating the process of managing thousands of
requests for software every month, organizations can literally save millions save organizations
of dollars. $8.6bn a year in IT
help desk costs
”
Please talk to us to find out more about how we can help you to improve
the efficiency of your IT.
Sumir Karayi
CEO, 1E
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3. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
WHY ARE WE WAITING?
Two thirds of users will wait up to a week or more to get the software they request.
Over 50% of users have to chase every request they make at least once
to make sure they receive the software they ask for
Almost everyone has a computer at home and It is clear that in many organizations users waste
users entering the workforce today are more otherwise productive time waiting for the software
aware of technology than ever before. They are they need. This is because many organizations
already accustomed to evaluating, selecting, still follow a lengthy manual process when dealing
downloading and even managing the applications with software requests. The IT help desk will field
they need. Many of them are as tech-savvy as the a call, passing it on to an engineer. The engineer
people currently employed to manage IT – but will then check to see if licenses are available and
two thirds will have to wait more than a week to get appropriate authorization. Once received, the
get the software they need to do their jobs. engineer may even have to visit the user at their
desk to install the application.
Deadlines are getting shorter and everyone is
under pressure to deliver. This process is both costly and time consuming.
Case Study
Unum Insurance - 14,000 user requests handled by Shopping every year
“Unum manages 1,200 user initiated software downloads through Shopping. That’s 14,000 calls a year my
help desk isn’t getting any more. Better yet, we’ve reduced the average time it takes a user to download and
install new software from four to six hours to just ten minutes!”
Blake Pease, Assistant Vice President, Unum
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4. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY
Nearly three quarters (73%) of users are still raising tickets, either by phone or
email, with an IT help desk.
If you need new software to do your job, how If you need new software, can you download it
do you get it? yourself without help desk involvement?
On average, only 15% of users are able to download The larger the organization, the less likely users are
the software they need by themselves and the larger to be able to download software themselves. Only
the organization, the worse the problem becomes. 11% of users in organizations of more than 3,000
‘Other’ includes users visiting the IT department to users have the ability to download software they
ask for software. need on-demand.
Requests need to be managed through to completion. Gartner estimates every help desk analyst handles
471 user requests every month2, and many help desks still process these manually. In a 10,000 user
organization, that means nearly 1,500 requests are made every month for new software3. A lack of
automation is inefficient, both for IT staff and for users. Especially when we consider that these requests
could be fulfilled by the users themselves.
Most users are now accustomed to downloading music, movies and even software almost instantly.
When they need a new application on their home PC they don’t call a help desk or send an email, they
find and install it themselves. Why, many ask, isn’t it the same at the office?
Case Study
Parker Hannifin – Deployed Shopping in an afternoon to drive down costs
“The feedback has been hugely positive. From management because of the cost savings, from the technicians
who now get to focus on more strategic tasks, and also from the users themselves.”
Michael Powlison, Parker Hannifin
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5. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
“ Many end users search the Internet for service and support of
their personal technologies, especially the younger workforce.
An IT organization that doesn’t offer self-service may be
perceived as antiquated and out of touch with end users.
A well-executed self-service site will offer additional channels
for the end user, and can make the IT organization seem
“
progressive and attentive to the end users and the business4.
David Coyle, Research VP at Gartner
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6. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
DO IT YOURSELF?
Nearly half of users (44%) believe that the process for requesting software in their
organization is inefficient and time consuming.
1E believes that users should feel empowered; IT
should be an enabler to an agile organization and
a productive workforce. Many large enterprises
agree, as the consumerization of IT and user self
service become an irreversible force. Google,
BP, Nestlé and Philips have all deployed industry
solutions for user self service in recent years, and
it’s a growing trend5.
“Interest in IT service desk tools, metrics and
best practices remains very high because IT
organizations are looking to IT service desk tools
to help them reduce service and support costs,
increase end-user productivity, align themselves
closer to the business, and deliver enhanced user
satisfaction6. ”David Coyle, Gartner, Inc
More than two-thirds (68%) of users feel it would be quicker
and easier to find and install software themselves, rather than
contacting their IT help desk
Case Study
Park Hill School District– User self service empowers the future of education
“Shopping has now handled nearly 6,500 user requests since installation and frequently manages one
hundred or more user requests in a matter of seconds, taking the burden off the IT team. Not only does
Shopping manage the installation of user applications on-demand, but, should sign-off be required, it also
dynamically manages the approval chain for software requests, keeping the user informed of progress every
step of the way.”
Brad Sandt, Director of Technology at Park Hill School District
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7. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
Over one third of users (34%)
perceive little or no value from the
money their IT department spends
on them every year
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8. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
WASTED SOFTWARE
Nearly three quarters of users believe that they have unused software on their PCs
Nearly three quarters of users believe that they
have unused software on their PCs. Almost
one in seven think that the number of unused
applications could be as high as 10 or more.
Software that is installed but never used equates
to waste, both in software licenses and PC
disk space.
Gartner estimates that 22% of all IT spending
is on software7. In many cases a single piece of
software can cost upwards of several hundred
dollars, indicating that a significant percentage of
IT software spending is currently being wasted.
Over a third of users believe that they have five or more
applications installed on their machine that they never use
If you had to guess, how many items of software on your machine do you think are unused?
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9. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
RENTAL VERSUS PURCHASE
Over 50% of users say they would be open to being given the software they need
on a temporary basis
Every organization has orphaned licenses Would you mind being allocated software on a
(licenses without users), software that has been temporary basis?
purchased and deployed to a particular user or
for a specific project that is no longer required.
Organizations typically allocate software ‘for life’
based on the job function of the user. As time
passes users change roles, but it is common
for software to remain on the users machine,
unused, but still incurring license, support and
maintenance costs. Whether an organization has
10,000 users or only 100, there will be orphaned
licenses somewhere in the network8.
Why buy one software license for every user in
the organization, when they may only use that
application for a few months at a time?
Think of rental as on-demand software
provisioning. Both desk-based and mobile
workers visit an internal web site that looks
more like Amazon or eBay; they find, request
and install the software they need and begin
working, renting it only for as long as they need
it. The entire process can take just minutes.
When they are finished, the application is
uninstalled and the license made available to
other users.
Case Study
Dell, Inc – Better license control and an improved user experience
“Shopping from 1E has helped Dell with its current Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
infrastructure. It has helped us offer better service for license controlled software and added approval work
flow to ease the installation process. The Web portal experience for our end-users has improved their ability to
acquire software.”
Angie Stahl, Dell Inc.
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10. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
THE FINANCIAL IMPERATIVE
User self service could save organizations in the US and UK over $8.6bn a year in
IT help desk costs1
There are 108 million employees in the United Are you aware of the cost to your
States and 17 million in the United Kingdom that organization of the software you request?
regularly use PCs to do their jobs9.
On average, these users raise a help desk ticket
1.2 times every month10. That’s 150 million
requests, calls and emails. Of these, around
12% will be for new software11.
If requests for new software installations
were handled by self service tools this would
enable organizations to save a combined total
of $8.64bn a year in IT help desk costs1.
According to Gartner, end user
contacts with the IT service
desk cost every organization
between $18 and $75,
depending on the nature of
the call and the seniority of
the analyst involved12.
Case Study
Syngenta – Saving over $1.7m every year through user self service
“Our teams were handling on average around 3,700 requests a month. We calculated that each request
was costing us between $30 and $50, so there were significant savings to be made by allowing our users
to search for, order and then receive the applications they needed by themselves. In fact, with an average
of $40 saved per request, we’re saving approximately $148,000 per month, which comes to about
$1,776,000 per year.”
Brooks Truitt, Global Service Delivery Manager, Syngenta
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11. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
This survey analyzed 1,000 business users (500 in the United States and 500 in the United Kingdom)
and was carried out during August 2010. Commissioned by 1E and conducted by Vanson Bourne,
a specialist research-based technology marketing consultancy, the research looked at IT help desk
efficiency, user behavior and user attitudes towards self service software provisioning.
How many employees are there in
your organization?
Source: Harris Interactive
Which of the following best describes the department you work in?
The survey gathered the opinions of users working in a broad range of departments including sales,
marketing, administration and senior management in medium and large organizations in the United States
and the United Kingdom.
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12. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
ABOUT 1E
About 1E
1E believes every one of our customers should expect more from their IT. Founded in 1997, 1E is
recognized as a leader in software and services that improve IT efficiency by identifying and reducing
costs and waste in hardware, software, energy and time.
1E pioneered advanced PC power management with the release of ground-breaking solutions like
NightWatchman® and WakeUp™. That innovative approach has continued with the development of
revolutionary concepts like Useful Work™, Drowsy Server®, Computer Health™ and Shopping™ as
part of a unique range of industry-leading solutions.
Headquartered in London and New York and with 14 million licenses deployed world-wide, over
1,100 organizations in 42 countries have trusted us to help them to work effectively, productively
and sustainably. To date, we have helped our customers save in excess of $530m in energy costs
alone, reducing their electricity consumption by 5.6 million megawatts and cutting CO2 emissions
by 4.3 million tons.
About Shopping
Shopping™ delivers immediate and significant
IT cost reductions. By providing a simple self
service enterprise software store users are
empowered to locate and automatically install
the software they need to do their jobs, without
help desk intervention. To further reduce costs,
Shopping can rent applications to users only for
the time they need them, reducing the number
of licenses deployed across the organization.
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13. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
ABOUT VANSON BOURNE
About Vanson Bourne
Vanson Bourne is a specialist independent research-based technology consultancy offering clients
analysis and advice based on incisive and rigorous research into their market environment.
Vanson Bourne combines big company capability with small company responsiveness. Their experience
encompasses researching both technology and business managers in all business sectors and
geographies from Europe to Africa and from AsiaPac to the USA. Vanson Bourne are equally
comfortable with using quantitative (online, telephone, postal) and qualitative (depth executive interviews,
focus groups) techniques.
Their core competences of designing, managing and interpreting technology research reside in
house, as does the online technology they increasingly use to gather and distribute market insight
to their customers. Vanson Bourne couple their specialist technology research expertise with years
of experience. The result is well-crafted, independent and robust content for B2B and B2C
marketing programmes.
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14. Help Desk Efficiency Report 2010
REFERENCES
1. 108m regular business PC users in the US + 17m regular business PC users in the UK = 125m users9
Each user contacts their help desk, on average, 1.2 times each month10
1.2 calls x 125m users = 150m contacts per month.
150m contacts per month x 12 months = 1.8bn contacts every.
If 12% of these contacts can be handled by self service11 then 216m could be automated.
If we assume the cost to an organization to handle a help desk contact is $4013. $40 x 216m calls = $8.64bn
2. Do You Have the Right IT Service Desk Staffing Ratio? August 2009 | Gartner ID: G00170174
3. 1.2 calls per month10 per user x 10,000 users = 12,000 calls. If 12%11 of these calls are for software = 1,440 calls
4. Driving the Adoption of IT Self-Service, Gartner, Feb 2010, ID: G00173790
5. I Am Not A Number - Why User Empowerment is Gaining Ground in Forward Thinking Organizations, 1E,
August 2010
6. Magic Quadrant for the IT Service Desk, Gartner, Oct 2009, ID: G00171195
7. Gartner IT Key Metrics Data 2010 Summary Report - Key Industry Measures: IT Spend & Staff summary report
8. Applications On Demand - Why Renting Software to Your Users is the Key to Reducing Costs, 1E, August 2010
9. Harris Interactive Survey for 1E, Sept 2008
10. IT Key Metrics Data 2010: Key Infrastructure Measures: IT Help Desk Analysis: Current Year ID: G00172643
11. End-user request for IT installs, moves, adds or changes is 5% - 18% of Help Desk contact volume. Gartner
12. End user contacts with the IT service desk cost every organization between $18 and $75. Gartner
13. Shopping from 1E helps Syngenta save over $1.7m every year by implementing on-demand user
self-service -customer estimate, average of $40 saved per request
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15. www.1e.com
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