InvGate Blog

The latest version of the ITIL IT service management (ITSM) best practice guidance – ITIL 4 – was released in 2019. Unlike ITIL v3/2011, this positioned the service desk as a practice – the replacement for process-based guidance – within the service management practices. For most organizations, the IT service desk remains the single point of contact for IT and the custodian of incidents and service requests. To help, the latest version of ITIL now offers more service desk guidance than ever – especially related to automation, customer experience (CX), and the required people skills.  Please keep reading to find out more as we offer up five key guidance points from the ITIL 4 service desk practice content. 

Topics: ITIL, ITIL 4

Have you ever stopped to think about the breadth or scope of IT asset management (ITAM)? You might already know that it’s an IT management and IT service management (ITSM) capability that helps your organization to maximize value, control costs, manage risks, support decision making, and meet regulatory requirements. But have you ever stopped to think about the range of IT assets that fall under the ITAM practices’ purview? 

Topics: software asset management, IT Asset Management

As most IT service desks help to bring some employees back into the office and facilitate continued working at home for others, there’s a need to take stock of the IT services and IT support practices to meet employee needs – wherever they might be working – in the “new normal.” Importantly, this review of the status quo versus what’s now needed needs to encompass not only the practices used to deliver and support IT services, plus the services themselves, it also needs to include the level of IT service desk staffing and the required skills. Put simply, there’s a need to apply workforce planning methods to your IT support capability in addition to addressing changes to processes, technologies, and service levels and priorities. 

Topics: Service Desk

The COVID-19 crisis changed the world on both a social and business level, with IT departments not immune to its impact. Many have seen an unprecedented number of requests for help, with them needing to manage an ever-increasing queue of tickets with reduced resources and trying to maintain service levels in a socially distanced environment. As we emerge from the crisis into what many are calling the “new normal,” we think it’s fair to say that we’ve all had to collectively up our IT support game. Not only to cope with the operational changes imposed on us but also to cater to the rising employee expectations. To help, this blog looks at how to improve your IT service desk’s employee experience in the new normal across eight key areas.

Topics: new normal

As we all try to return to some semblance of normality post-pandemic, your IT service desk will no doubt be looking to make changes that reflect the now-different business needs and priorities – with these in part influenced by the employees who are now likely working differently to versus pre-crisis. There’s much that might need to change and to undertake the required evolution of IT support well there’s a need to ensure that your portfolio of service desk metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) is fit-for-purpose. To help, this blog looks at some of the common performance management issues that could derail your improvement activities before offering some key tips for getting your metrics aligned with the needs of the ‘new normal’.

Topics: service desk solutions, IT support, new normal

While the worst part of the COVID-19 crisis might be behind us, “we’re not out of the woods yet.” Most organizations are trying to adapt to the “new normal” – even though the new normal has yet to fully materialize yet – and we’re still living and working in the shadow of a potential second wave. Even if localized rather than national. In many ways, your IT service desk is in a position of rebuilding for this new normal. Both rebuilding how it delivers service and support to the parent organization and supporting that organization as it rebuilds itself too. As part of this rebuilding effort, it’s important to understand what will need to change – with a big part of this influenced by the challenges that your IT service desk, and the wider organization, will come across through the rest of 2020 and perhaps into 2021 too. To help, this blog considers six of the key challenges that your IT support organization is likely to face.

Topics: Service Desk, COVID-19, new normal

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Whole countries were locked down. Millions lost their jobs. And now, as businesses try to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, many will need to make significant cost savings across all elements of business operations, including the IT service desk. To help your organization to deal with this need, this blog looks at how best to provide the necessary IT support for the new normal in the face of business-wide cost-saving initiatives and budget cuts.

Topics: IT Service Desk, Budget

Your IT department and IT service desk likely performed miracles during the early part of the COVID-19 crisis. Both setting up and then supporting a predominantly office-based workforce as homeworkers such that your business could continue to operate. Hopefully, you all received the business recognition you deserved too. However, your role in the pandemic is still far from over – as your business starts to bring employees back into the workplace there are many parts for IT to play.

Topics: IT support, COVID-19, Pandemic

Post-COVID-19 crisis, we – as a society – have a long way to go still but, despite the pain of the first half of 2020, there was a lot to celebrate and to learn from for corporate IT organizations. Hopefully, your IT organization and IT service management (ITSM) personnel have reflected upon what were probably miserable times on a day-to-day basis to see just how many challenges they responded to. It’s good to call out these successes. But it’s perhaps even more important to understand the learnings and to build on them as we all go forward into what will be the “new normal” for IT service delivery and support. To help, this blog calls out some of the key challenges faced by IT organizations, offering a key piece of learning for each.

Topics: ITSM, COVID-19