Peer Into the
Bright Future
ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Letter From the Editor: Service Desk Complexity
According to the Ponemon Institute, every minute of unplanned
data outage costs an average of $8,8511
. As service desks rally to face
mounting costs, they likewise face pressure from management to
achieve resolution faster.
With the quickening pace of change in technology, the modern
service desk faces an onslaught of information. Yet, it would be a
grave mistake to surmise that IT service woes are merely technical
in nature.
In the following slides, you’ll find insights from the top thinkers in IT
Service Management. We asked them how to overcome the challenges
we all face in ITSM.
Enjoy!
1 http://datacenterfrontier.com/white-paper/cost-data-center-outages/

John Custy
Service Desk Service
Management, ITIL
Stephen Mann
ITSM Industry Analyst,
ITSM.tools
Claire Agutter
Director,
ITSM Zone
Stuart Rance
Author, Trainer and
Consultant, Optimal
Service Management Lt
Nora Osman
Senior Director, IT Service
Managment, Montefiore
Information Technology
John J.C. Grooms
Knowledge Systems
Architect, Minnesota
State University
Josh Gilmore
Director Production
Support, Square Two
Financial, Reinventing
Service Desk
Holger Mueller
VP Principal Analyst,
Constellation Research
Top Thinkers in IT Service Management
Earl Begley
Compliance and Standards
Project Director,
San Francisco
International Airport
Paul Leenards
MITM, Principal
Consultant, Idwell

‘‘Many are saying ITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how exactly is the role
of the IT Service Desk changing within enterprise organizations?
Historically, we concentrated on core technology and the functionality of IT systems,
but technology has advanced and business objectives have changed. Wear the hat of an
analyst and listen to business need, then deliver a meaningful solution. You may discover
that the business doesn’t need or want “solution 1” at all, and instead, would love to have
solutions 2 and 3. The Service Desk must be nimble, delivering right now solutions that
meet business objectives.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON?
Josh Gilmore
Director Production Support, SquareTwo Financial,
Reinventing Service Desk

‘‘
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON
Josh Gilmore
Director Production Support, SquareTwo Financial,
Reinventing Service Desk
Service Desks are facing more complexity than ever. What are some of
the common Service Desk mistakes that readers should avoid?
Wiggle out of the traditional approach!
Often times we do things because a certain best practice says so, or because it’s
the way we’ve always done it. When viewing IT service delivery through a fresh lens, we
can uncover new and more efficient ways of delivering IT solutions that truly benefit our
business and our customer. Implement meaningful process and measure meaningful data,
then take meaningful action.

Earl Begley
Compliance and Standards Project Director,
San Francisco International Airport
‘‘What professional IT processes can enterprise organizations use to avert and
avoid crisis?
Let’s be honest, there are many good processes an organization can use to avert
crisis but even in the best scenarios, at some point, a crisis will happen. Clearly, an
enterprise organization needs good, well thought out and designed continuity plan.
Having a concise checklist of what to do is a good first step, but there is more.
A continuity plan should have a RACI diagram so everyone understands their
role(s) and responsibilities. This may include an org or command structure to
define who has overall responsibility for executing the continuity plan, who ensures
the organization has coverage on financial issues during the crisis, who plans work
schedules, who can procure material, goods, and other services needed, and who will
communicate status to interested parties.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Holger Mueller
VP Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
‘‘What ITSM best practices and technology should leaders focus on to ensure they
remain competitive?
Mapping out the right technology requires a deep understanding of employee behavior
change. Employees now want self-service options, prefer asynchronous help (anytime,
anywhere), and demand consumerized service experiences. With newfound behavior in
hand, ITSM must leverage new processes, embrace the evolution of tech, and be willing to
act immediately upon findings:
Here’s what these mean for how service desk employees must evolve:
• Service Desk workers have to become multi-modal
• More diagnosis and support must be baked into end user products
• Despite current political rumblings, outsourcing and offshoring will remain strong for
IT service desks
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

John J.C. Grooms
Knowledge Systems Architect, Minnesota State University
‘‘
Help desk is facing more complexity than ever. What are some common
service desk mistakes that readers should avoid?
One of the largest mistakes that a Service Desk should avoid, is the usage of ‘tribal
knowledge’. It is becoming more and more important to get new hires trained as soon
as possible and to allow everyone access to the knowledge that they need to succeed.
It is necessary to get away from the “do what I do” mentality, and rather focus on the
processes that are used and how/where to search for the information that is needed.
Along with this comes documenting what the customer actually says, and having
a standard format and language for responding to the customer. By incorporating
Knowledge Management into Incident Management, and using standardized practices,
many mistakes can be avoided.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Stuart Rance
Author, Trainer and Consultant, Optimal Service Management Lt
‘‘What is the role of IT Service Management in the wider enterprise?
Most IT organizations provide a portal so their customers can request standard
services, and many are now expanding this to cover non-IT requests. Life is so much
easier for everybody if they have just one place where they can request software for
their PC, or a visitor pass for a guest, or a car parking space, or report a faulty light
bulb, or a blocked sink, or request an update on their pension entitlement. This type
of portal is a great example of how “Enterprise Service Management” can bring value
to an organization, but you can go so much further. For example, the processes we
have developed for managing IT incidents and problems can be used to manage
facility incidents or even business incidents and problems. Your imagination is the
only constraint on how you can improve.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Claire Agutter
Director, ITSM Zone
‘‘
Many are saying ITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how exactly is the
role of IT service desk changing within enterprise organizations?
Many enterprise organizations are moving away from the traditional ‘IT and the
business’ perspective and instead looking at ‘convergence’; coordinating all aspects of
the business towards meeting business goals. Effective service management delivers
effective services that support strategic aims. Poor quality services inhibit the business
and reduce its ability to innovate. Effective ITSM becomes, then, a strategic enabler.
What is the role of the service desk in all this? It is still to be the front door
to IT, and the place where we can get the most accurate view of how services
are performing and how happy our users are. Whether support is provided via
phone, chat, or self-service, the role of the service desk is still an essential one.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Stephen Mann
ITSM Industry Analyst, ITSM.tools
‘‘
Many are saying ITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how
exactly is the role of IT service desk changing within enterprise
organizations?
While many organizations look to spread ITSM thinking, practices and
technology to other lines of business, such as HR, the impact on the IT
service desk ultimately depends on corporate shared services strategies and
capabilities. The spectrum of possibilities has the IT service desk untouched,
evolves support capabilities into a single service desk (designed around the
employee rather than discrete corporate service provider capabilities and
services), or can be anywhere in between.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Stephen Mann
ITSM Industry Analyst, ITSM.tools
‘‘
How can ITSM management custom fit the right technology for their
organization? Where do they even begin?
The key here is to focus on the phrase, “the right technology” over “custom
fit.” But even then, organizations shouldn’t start with the available technology
– they need to start with business needs or, better still, required business
outcomes. So don’t just create a long list of functional points across more
ITSM or ITIL processes than you’ll ever use. Start with a finite list of the things
the technology needs to help achieve.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

John Custy
Service Management Education, Consulting, Training, JPC Group,
Service Desk Service Management, ITIL
‘‘
Many are saying ITSM is no longer just about IT. So, how exactly is the
role of IT service desk changing within enterprise organizations?
Most businesses have changed drastically in even the past 3-5 years. This has greatly
impacted ITSM, forcing service groups to re-align and become more valuable to the
broader organization. IT service management is now about far more than just the service
desk. There’s an IT, business and customer component. Data growth is exploding across
HR, IT, facilities and line-of-business departments. The most successful ITSM operations
are finding ways to develop insights and services across these groups.
For example, with the data and device explosion, there’s more value in a face-to-
face resolutions today. In response, we’re seeing more pop-up, store-like service desk
operations. Employees now want to solve their own problems. In response, knowledge
management and self-service software have become critical components for ITSM.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

John Custy
Service Management Education, Consulting, Training, JPC Group,
Service Desk Service Management, ITIL
‘‘
This first challenge in many organizations is that the service desk is fundamentally
not valued, or the people at the desk don’t fully perceive their value.
The service desk needs to feel valued and understand they have a strategic mission.
They must demonstrate how much actual work they are doing, and resolutions that are gained
due to their activities. By having the right toolset, it’s easier to generate some of those statistics.
But service desks also needs to track KPIs that align with core business functions, instead
of just reporting on service activity. How quickly is the service desk getting people back to
work? What about helping HR resolve issues? Or finance? Or enabling employees in self-
service activities that increase productivity? Demonstrate the right metrics and your service
desk shift will be well on its way.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Paul Leenards
MITM, Principal Consultant, Idwell
‘‘
What role can knowledge centers play in a modern service
desk operation?
In the past, the main focus of the service desk was on offering technical expertise to
solve technical problems. The technical aspects of modern IT solutions are disappearing
under the hood and most technical skills are no longer needed in the day to day
operations of many companies. At the same time service desks will have to support
really complicated technical challenges that will have direct business impact. And when
the need for day-to-day technical support disappears, the need for understanding the
link between technology and business impact will become more important. Knowledge
centers who understand how business challenges are supported by the underlying
technical solutions will play an important part in this transformation. The point is,
businesses are evolving, and ITSM must be an integral player in making employees more
productive and happy as businesses change.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

Nora Osman
Senior Director, IT Service Managment, Montefiore
Information Technology
‘‘
What are some ways service desk can simplify workflows amidst an
increasing amount of data?
Amidst a wave of ever-increasing complexity and information overload, the is
challenged on a daily basis to keep information as “knowledge” that they can easily
access and recycle. There is no way possible for agents to remember all the standard
operating procedures, routing assignments, and technical solutions that they are
required to. In this day and age, it’s become apparent that try as they may, it’s
completely an exercise in futility for them to try to commit as much of this info to
memory, hence the need for true knowledge-centered support.
One of the very most critical best practices, if not the most critical, is knowledge-
centered support (KCS). This is a shift to leveraging existing information, and
placing it as knowledge at the fingertips of Service Desk specialists/analysts, and
generating new knowledge in a raw but usable fashion in an on-going basis.
Ask the Expert
WHAT’S ON THE SERVICE DESK HORIZON

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Keeping IT Service Alive: Integration and Automation
The pace of consumerization and employee behavior shifts doesn’t appear to be
slowing. In fact, the technology changes are heating up.
In the face of constant enterprise behavior changes, your mission should be to keep
IT service alive. In order to make this reality, you’ll need to integrate systems, and
automate the right aspects of service.
Do you want to ensure a bright future is on your IT service desk horizon?
Download the full eBook to learn unlock greater insights.