The IT help desk plays a critical role in improving user satisfaction and maintaining productivity throughout an organization. With proper management and investment in people, systems, and processes, the IT service desk can become the focal point for a smooth-running IT organization.

In this special publication, Computer Economics bundles four popular reports that deal with various aspects of help desk (service desk) management and metrics. These reports are designed to guide IT managers in making critical decisions on investment in help desk operations and strategies.

This special bundle, packed with 30 figures and tables and 82 pages of analysis and data, is offered with a 50% discount from the total cost of these reports if purchased separately.

Download the first eight pages of this report, free.

Purchase the full report now (click for pricing, which includes the 50% discount):
IT Help Desk Management Series: Special Report Bundle

The IT Help Desk Management Series includes the following four reports, which  provide a 360-degree view of service desk staffing, technology, outsourcing trends, and salaries.

The next report is the industry’s most definitive source of help-desk staffing benchmarks. It enables IT organizations to understand how they compare with like-organizations in the staffing of this important function.

Abstract: Demands on the help desk are changing with mobile technologies, expanded service desk responsibilities, and the desire to increase first-call resolution rates. This study provides metrics for benchmarking help desk staffing levels in the current environment. We look at the trend in help desk staffing over a four-year period and provide two benchmarks by organization size: help desk staff as a percent of the IT staff and users per help desk staff member. Because the end-user support function is organized in different ways, we also provide benchmarks for the combined help desk/desktop support staff. We conclude with recommendations on optimizing help desk staffing levels.

Fig. 1: Six-Year Trend in Help Desk Staff as Percentage of IT Staff
Fig. 2: Help Desk Staff as Percentage of IT Staff
Fig. 3: Help Desk Staff as Percentage of IT Staff, by Organization Size
Fig. 4: End-User Support Staff as Percentage of IT Staff, by Organization Size
Fig. 5: Users per Help Desk Staff Member, by Organization Size
Fig. 6: Users per End-User Support Staff Member, by Organization Size
Fig. 7: Users per Help Desk Staff and End-User Support Staff Member, by Sector
Fig. A-1: Key Demographics of Composite Sample

REPORT #2: IT HELP DESK OUTSOURCING TREND AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
We next cover the subject of help desk outsourcing. Here we show how frequently IT managers today are embracing outsourcing as way to reduce costs, lower risk, or improve service consistency and how successful they are at achieving those goals.

Abstract: Companies can dramatically reduce costs through outsourcing the help desk function, but caution is advised. Service received by IT users can decline as well. In this study, we measure help desk outsourcing activity in four ways: outsourcing frequency, outsourcing amount, outsourcing cost experience, and outsourcing service experience. The study also examines the rate at which organizations use offshore service providers and the amount of work typically offshored. Finally, the report examines the five-year trend in help desk outsourcing frequency and amount to determine whether the outsourcing of this function is growing or shrinking.

Fig. 1: Help Desk Outsourcing Profile
Fig. 2: Percentage of Organizations Outsourcing Help Desk Work: 2007-2011
Fig. 3: Average Percentage of Help Desk Work Outsourced: 2007-2011
Fig. 4: Percentage of Help Desk Work Outsourced
Fig. 5: Percentage Changing Amount of Help Desk Work Outsourced
Fig. 6: Percentage Finding Cost is Less, Same, or More
Fig. 7: Percentage Finding Service Level Better, Same, or Worse
Fig. 8: Frequency and Amount of Help Desk Outsourcing, by Organization Size
Fig. 9: Percentage Changing Amount of Work Outsourced, by Organization Size
Fig. 10: Percentage Finding Outsourcing Costs More, Same, or less, by Organization Size
Fig. 11: Percentage Finding Service Better, Same, or Worse, by Organization Size
Fig. 12: Percentage of Outsourcing Customers Offshoring Help Desk Work: 2009-2011
Fig. 13: Frequency and Amount of Help Desk Operations Outsourced Offshore
Fig. 14: Percentage Outsourcing Help Desk Work, by Sector

REPORT #3: ITIL ADOPTION AND BEST PRACTICES
Providing excellent IT service management to help a business achieve its strategic targets is a much debated but seldom achieved goal. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is perhaps the most widely accepted framework to accomplish this elusive goal. This study begins with a brief explanation of ITIL’s history and current framework for IT service management. We next study ITIL adoption and practice levels in North America, examining levels of adoption by organization size and sector. The study concludes with best-practice suggestions for successful ITIL implementations.

Fig. 1: ITIL Best Practice Profile 
Fig. 2: Percentage Fully or Partially Practicing ITIL: 2006-2011
Fig. 3: ITIL Adoption Trend
Fig. 4: ITIL Adoption and Practice Level, by Organization Size
Fig. 5: Percentage Fully or Partially Practicing ITIL, by Sector

REPORT #4: HELP DESK SALARIES
We round out this series with our latest data on help desk salaries. This report provides base salary ranges for help desk representative levels I, II, and III. The following tables are abstracted from the Computer Economics 2013 IT Salary Report, which provides projected salary ranges for 69 specific IT job titles in more than 400 U.S. metropolitan areas.

Table 1: Help Desk Representative I
Table 2: Help Desk Representative II
Table 3: Help Desk Representative III

Download the first seven pages of this report, free.

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IT Help Desk Management Series: Special Report Bundle