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IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH,
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING
Executive Summary
The help desk that first arrived on the scene nearly 20 years ago has been redefined. No longer is its
role to simply record and respond to user issues that arise with technology. While that responsibil-
ity continues to persist, the help desk’s role has continuously expanded as it naturally has a place
in many IT management activities. Today, it serves as the “hub” for service management activities
that reach out to most Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) domains such as
asset management, configuration management systems, change management, knowledge manage-
ment, the service catalog and more. The help/service desk commonly serves as the most logical
starting place for corporate best practice initiatives.
The “modern service desk,” as the research is called, reaches far and wide in the IT organization.
One ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES® (EMA™) research participant recently
put it in these terms:
The service desk has a greater view/responsibility/control of the operations of an IT organization,
and more greatly … the company (business entity) as a whole. Help desks are predominately respon-
sible for responding to incident/problem management, and serve as a function of a service desk.
The research detailed in this report looks at the evolution of the help desk to the service desk.
EMA has had insight that the service desk is an area of investment. Even in this down economy,
companies are looking at the help/service desk as a place where investments can be made with
many different types of returns. This investment does not always take the form of product replace-
ments. Instead, monetary gains can be achieved through more effective use of staff, reduction in
the number of operations that are in place, more strategic approach to software deployments, etc.
User priorities and goals were assessed along with operational elements such as metrics that would
help IT to improve the quality and credibility of its operation.
Participants in this research were based in North America, Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA)
and Asia-Pacific (APAC) with a strong concentration in North America. The goal of the research
was to look at major initiatives that are taking place in corporate help/service desk operations.
Best practices, operational metrics, management priorities, integration needs, brand experiences,
and purchasing experiences were all shared. The result of the research confirmed that the service
desk is an area of investment for many organizations. Managers are being creative in recognizing
the strategic role that the service desk now plays within the corporate enterprise.
Some of the principle findings from the research include:
• Service Desk is Part of Overarching ITSM Strategy – Respondents strongly need to
make the help/service desk part of the company’s overarching ITSM solution. Sixty-two
percent of survey participants are either already doing so or are planning to move in this
direction.
• Help/ServiceDeskSolutionReplacements–Twenty-fivepercentof helpdeskrespondents
are planning to replace their solutions, citing high maintenance costs, upgradability issues
and inadequate ITSM capabilities. For those that define themselves as having a service desk
operation, even more are looking to replace their current product. Thirty-nine percent are
The Aging Help Desk: Migrating to a Modern Service Desk
©2009 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH,
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING
planning to discontinue use of current software replacing with a more robust solution. For
the service desk, lack of quality in the product as companies expand the footprint was a
dominant factor. Maintenance costs and upgradeability are also issues.
• Use of Multiple Help/Service Desk Tools – The majority of large enterprises are
managing multiple help desks or planning to do so (56%). This represents one of the key
areas for cost savings and efficiencies. Organizations arrived at this multiple operation
situation in a variety of ways. Many came from companies that had purchased or merged
with other related and un-related businesses.
• Consolidation of Help/Service Desk Operations – The vast majority of organizations
managing multiple help or service desks will consolidate their operations. Some (17%) will
take the approach of using a multi-tenant solution while others will look at consolidating
operations (48%). Thirty-four percent indicated they would continue to manage multiple
help or service desks independently. Consolidation is one approach to migrating service desk
while saving a significant amount of operational expense in staffing, software maintenance,
training costs and other overhead.
• Consolidating IT Service Desk with Corporate Customer Service – There is some
movement underway to integrate customer service operations with the IT service desk.
This makes sense as both groups require similar training, toolsets, process and automation
capabilities. No doubt, financial gains could be achieved through utilization of front-line
staff for these functions, toolsets and measurement systems. About one-third (30%) of the
survey population has been able to take advantage of this opportunity for savings. Many
others are not planning to do so. However, EMA would strongly encourage looking at
customer service and the IT service desk as a means for significantly cutting costs and
streamlining the operational function of customer care.
• Best practices initiatives – Both ITIL v2 and ITIL v3 are continuing to be deployed
by organizations and are often at the center of cost and quality saving initiatives. Sixty-
three percent of all participating companies have deployed (41%) or are planning to deploy
(23%) ITIL v2. As the company size increased, the more likely the organization was to have
deployed ITIL v2. Implementation of ITIL v3 was also high with 64% of respondents
having it deployed (13%) or planning to do so (51%). As noted, ITIL v3 has some catching
up to do in the area of deployments. The larger the company, the more likely they are to have
deployed ITIL v2. In contrast, mid-size companies have the edge in ITIL v3 deployments.
• Growth areas for the help/service desk – This research uncovered three areas that are
important investment areas not only for this current year, but also for the next one to three
years. Some organizations have invested in all three; however, they are on the planned strategy
path for most. These functional areas include the service catalog, knowledge management
and self-service initiatives.
More than half (56%) of the participants in this research are planning to deploy a service
catalog with 20% already having done so. Knowledge management continues to be a top
priority for customer service managers. The number of respondents indicating they had
already implemented knowledge management (53%) or were planning to do so (41%)
approaches the same number as problem management at a total of 94%. Self-service overall
The Aging Help Desk: Migrating to a Modern Service Desk
©2009 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH,
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING
is also a strong area of investment for the service desk and password reset programs are high
among this category. Thirty-two percent of respondents in this study indicated that they had
implemented password reset technology while 41% are planning to do so.
• Help/Service Desk Performance – The percentage of calls closed after the first call is
used predominantly in help/service desk environments to measure the performance of
service delivered by the group. Surprisingly, the percentage expected is not always nearly as
high as one might expect. Many verticals are happy with first call close percentages in the
range of 60% - 80%. Other measures in use are average wait time for calls to be answered,
which is typically quite low with common wait times below 20 seconds (48%). Correct
assignments for problem resolution are quite high (75% - 90%) for most organizations.
The help/service desk has a lot on its plate as shown in these findings. Identifying areas of savings
in personnel and operational costs is a science. There are clear opportunities, as demonstrated
above, primarily gained through technology automation and self-service and through consolida-
tion in operations. Efforts to expand the footprint of the service desk will improve the customer
experience and also raise the credibility of the IT staff and leadership involved.
Research Profile
Methodology
The research was conducted using a Web-based survey along with detailed professional interviews.
There were 158 quantitative respondents, targeting individuals involved in the decision-making
process for the service/help desk including CIOs, IT directors and customer service managers.
To gain additional perspective, fourteen executives responsible for the service/help desk were
interviewed; six are included as summaries in the appendix. Web responses were collected during
January and early February 2009. Focal interviews were scheduled during February, March and
April 2009. Advanced analytical techniques were used to discover unusual areas of confluence.
Demographics
EMA was looking for participation from those both familiar with and actively involved in the
service/help desk market. Targeted lists were used to narrow participation and then each respon-
dent had to answer affirmatively to the questions that follow. Does your company actively use
a service desk or help desk product? Are you playing an active role either as manager, architect,
consultant, or stakeholder in the purchasing and/or deployment of your company’s Service Desk
or Help Desk Product?
The Aging Help Desk: Migrating to a Modern Service Desk
©2009 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH,
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING
Company Size
The goal of this research was to get the perspectives of a wide range of industries and company
sizes. No terminates were done by any of these requirements. Figure 1 shows the company size
mix that was included in this research. As shown in the pie chart, company sizes are quite evenly
distributed with a mix of both large and small companies by employee size. Even the smallest of
companies were well represented among the overall group.
How many employees are in your company worldwide?
(Q4)
25%
31%
999 or less
1,000 - 4,999
5,000 - 19,999
20,000 or more
24%
20%
Figure 1: Company Size – Number of Employees (Q4)
Revenues provide a different look at company size. Figure 2 illustrates again a relatively even
distribution across revenue groupings of less than $100M (27%), $100M to $1B (20%) and over
$1B (38%). Government organizations where revenue is not applicable represented 15% of the
survey respondent pool. The only group that had a very small representation occurred when we
further broke down these categories and looked at the smallest of organizational sizes. Companies
with less than $1M were only 1% of the overall survey group—a segment with much lower help/
service desk needs.
What is your organization's annual revenue? (Q7)
Less than $100 Million
$100 Million to under $1 Billion
$1 Billion or more
Not applicable, I work for a government
or non-profit agency
0%
27%
20%
38%
15%
20%
40%
Column %
Figure 2: Company Size – Corporate Revenue (Q7)
The Aging Help Desk: Migrating to a Modern Service Desk
©2009 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH,
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING
Industry
The goal with this research, as with other EMA studies, is to get a solid cross-section of vertical
market segments. The results for this research are widely distributed across industries. Finance,
banking and insurance were the top contributor with 17% of the survey population falling into
that segment. This is consistent with all EMA research in the area of service management. Finance
has been a leading vertical for all ITSM initiatives. That said, there were five strong verticals that
were highly represented including healthcare (12%), high technology (11%), government (11%)
and manufacturing (10%). Industry participation is reflected in Figure 3.
Which of the following best describes your company’s primary
industry? (Q3)
Finance/Banking/Insurance
Healthcare/Medical/Pharmaceutical
Government
Manufacturing – All Other (Not Computer or
Networking Related)
Other (Please specify)
Education
Telecommunications
Retail/Wholesale/Distribution
High Technology - Software
High Technology -
Application/Internet/Managed/Network Service…
Professional Services/Consulting - Computer or
Networking Related
Hospitality/Entertainment/Recreation/Travel
0%
17%
12%
11%
10%
8%
6%
6%
6%
4%
3%
3%
3%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Column %
Figure 3: Verticals Led by Finance, Healthcare, Government and Manufacturing (Q3)
Technology service providers, consulting and hospitality were the least represented verticals of all.
The Aging Help Desk: Migrating to a Modern Service Desk
©2009 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH,
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING
Roles and Regions
In this research, it was important to survey individuals that have direct and substantial involvement
in the service management efforts of their company. The survey instrument was designed to drill
into both decision-making questions around the help/service desk, and also to look at features
and functionality needs in many different areas. Only those individuals intimately familiar with
the company’s help/service desk strategy would be in a position to offer this insight. Participants
were asked to indicate all of the IT technological areas for which they had direct involvement
and working knowledge of. As shown in Figure 4, participants were very involved with all types
of service management initiatives including service desk/help desk (93%), broader ITSM (70%),
change and configuration management (65%), IT asset and financial management (56%) along
with many other management technologies for IT.
Which IT technologies or initiatives do you have direct involvement
in or a working knowledge of at your organization? (Q13)
Service Desk/Help Desk
IT Service Management
(ITSM)/SLM/BSM/Service Catalog
Change and Configuration Management
IT Asset Management/Financial Management
Systems Management
Configuration Management System (CMS)
Applications Management
Network Management
Security
Virtualization
IT Governance/Risk/Compliance Management
Storage
0%
20%
93%
70%
65%
56%
49%
46%
39%
37%
36%
34%
34%
30%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% Valid Cases (Mentions / Valid Cases)
Figure 4: IT Technology Involvement (Q13)
The Aging Help Desk: Migrating to a Modern Service Desk
©2009 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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IT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH,
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING
The roles were largely managerial roles within IT. C-level executives as well as other corporate
roles were less than 10% of the survey population. IT supervisors, managers, directors and vice
presidents made up 70% of the participation for this study as shown in Figure 5.
Which of the following best describes your role in the
organization? (Q5)
IT-related
Manager/Supervisor
IT-related Staff
IT-related Directors/ VPs
4%
5%
21%
49%
All Other
C-Level
21%
Figure 5: Organizational Role (Q5)
Geographies represented in this research were companies with operations all over the world.
Companies had operations in North America (87%), EMEA (50%), APAC (43%), Central and
South America (30%) and other worldwide locations (22%). The individuals involved, however,
were largely from North America (79%) with smaller contingencies in EMEA (16%) and APAC
(5%). The outcome of this distribution is a global, but North American-focused result.
In which regions does your company
operate? (Q12)
North America
In which region are you located? (Q11)
North America
87%
79%
Europe-Middle East-Africa
(EMEA)
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
Central & South America
(Latin America)
Rest of World
Europe-Middle East-Africa
(EMEA)
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
0%
16%
5%
20%
40%
60%
80% 100%
Column %
50%
43%
30%
22%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80% 100%
% Valid Cases…
Figure 6: Geographic Representation (Q11 & Q12)
Headquarters for the companies participating in this study were largely in North America, followed
by EMEA and APAC, just as it had been for the individual participant’s location.
The Aging Help Desk: Migrating to a Modern Service Desk
©2009 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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