IT Help Desk & Customer Service Cloud Computing

The project leader or champion is responsible for identifying all the pain of check signers. Yes, you may know your own pain; but you must identify the pain of check signers, if any actually exists. Often, this pain can be latent. Perhaps it has existed for so long that senior leaders no longer realize that they really have this pain. For example, a senior level leader may not be receiving the kinds of reports they desire. As a result, they may not be monitoring important KPIs/metrics and are thus making decisions without the benefit of very important information.

If you find that the project approval keeps on getting delayed, this is a good indicator that there is not enough pain in your organization, or the pain points have not been properly highlighted. The check signer may not be feeling significant pain. The project leader has not identified/highlighted significant check signer pain. Also, no compelling enough economic analysis has been made to justify the purchase. Any new purchase must be at a lower TCO and have more functionality than what the company is currently paying today.

Further, engage with the other key approvers/supporters above you and below the check signer and document their pain as well. You must build a business case and economic argument that supports going to a new solution that will save the company money, eliminate pain points, and at the same time improve functionality.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about how to determine if Check Signers have significant pain.

Cloud Computing for IT Help Desk & Customer Service/Support

Important License Agreement Terms

The #8 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is important license agreement terms.

The following are important questions to ask and some key contract terms to negotiate into your software license agreement:

• What happens if we have a disagreement? Will we have to litigate?
• Uptime service level agreements
• Support service level agreements to manage the relationship
• Post implementation customization/configuration
• Routine support vs. professional service fees
• Most overlooked critical details about software maintenance
• Termination clauses, contract lengths, discounts, hidden fees

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about important license agreement terms.

Cloud Computing for IT Help Desk & Customer Service/Support

Compare Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of All Vendors

The #7 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is to compare the total cost of ownership of all vendors.

It is generally very easy to determine the acquisition costs of purchasing a call tracking system. However, it is more difficult to determine the ongoing lifetime costs. For example, there are enormous amounts of labor required to generate reports with many tools. Also, your company may need one or two people for routine maintenance, report generation and ongoing configuration/customization.

Ask each vendor on your short list to prepare an estimated Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over four years, so you can study their assumptions. Ask them to consider all the acquisition and lifetime costs of ownership. This will help you better compare vendors "apples to apples" and understand the true lifetime TCO of a new call tacking system.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about how to compare the total cost of ownership of all vendors.

Cloud Computing for IT Help Desk & Customer Service/Support

Ask Vendors Tough Questions Early and Often

The #6 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is to ask vendors tough questions early and often.

Once you have documented your product requirements, share them with a small list of vendors. Share the most complex "must have" requirements first. This will help you eliminate vendors and save time. Saving time and narrowing your list is your top priority. Engaging with vendors is very time consuming; and the more vendors you engage with, the more your daily productivity will decrease. Put the "must haves," which are your "deal killers," on the table and carefully listen to vendor responses. If any vendor cannot meet your "must haves," quickly cross them off your list. It is important to be efficient and disciplined as this approach will keep morale high. Remember that engaging with vendors takes significant effort and is very time consuming. It takes your people away from their every-day responsibilities, which they are expected to perform.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about how to ask vendors tough questions early and often.

Cloud Computing for IT Help Desk & Customer Service/Support

Document Feature Needs & Requirements

The #5 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is to document your feature needs and requirements.

Documenting feature needs and requirements is the most important step in the process of purchasing a new call tracking system. It is also the most difficult step. It is important to solicit feedback on requirements from all the people that will be using the system. Using this approach, all the stakeholders will be part of the purchase process and feel ownership for the new system. They will be much more inclined to fully embrace and use the new system. There is often organizational inertia that has to be overcome with a new call tracking system. Getting people to do things differently is sometimes hard to change.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about how to document your feature needs and requirements.

Determine Problems With Current Call Tracking System

The #4 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is to determine the problems with your current call tracking system.

Before you begin documenting feature needs and requirements for a new call tracking system, it is important to thoroughly understand why the current system is not working well. We suggest that you play the role of an outside consultant with no agenda. Do not begin with the premise that all your problems will be solved with a new call tracking system. It is more important to understand exactly what is wrong with the current system and determine if it can be fixed.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about how to determine the problems with your current call tracking system.

Cloud Computing for IT Help Desk & Customer Service/Support

Learn Latest Help Desk & Customer Service Best Practices

The #3 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is to learn the latest help desk and customer service best practices.

Before engaging with software vendors, read up on help desk and customer service "best practices" as appropriate, so that that you can ask pointed and direct questions with confidence. For example, you want to be able to speak about First Call Resolution, Service Level Agreement Compliance, Root Cause Analysis and Customer Satisfaction Surveys with authority and competence to prod and poke at vendors. It is important to show vendors that you understand the latest best practices and industry trends, so you can make sure that they have evolved their products.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about help desk and customer service best practices.

Are Funds Approved and Set Aside?

The #2 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is encouraging people to quickly determine if funds are approved and set aside.

It is important before spending a lot of time on the project to meet with your CFO and ask a lot of questions about project funding approval. The only activity you should be doing before discussing funding approval is determining if check signers have any pain points.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about how to determine if funds are approved and set aside.

Cloud Computing for IT Help Desk & Customer Service/Support

The #1 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is to determine if check signers have significant pain.

Initially, your most important responsibility is to determine the pain level throughout your organization that is caused by not having an appropriate IT help desk or customer service call tracking application. Perhaps your company does not have an application, or the application you are using is not providing all the benefits that you desire.

It is critical to understand the pain points from the perspective of senior leaders such the CIO/ IT Director or VP/Director of Customer Service.

There are generally the four main sources of pain points for check signers:

• Lack of granular KPIs/metrics/reporting
• Check signers need to know, "Who Should I Reward, Warn or Terminate?"
• Labor intensiveness is painful
• Large annual support and maintenance fees are painful

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about how to determine if Check Signers have significant pain.