Technical Support Centers Outsourcing Less, More Focused on Customer Service

HDI, a membership association for IT service and support professionals, has released the findings of the 2007 HDI Practices and Salary Survey. The study highlights important trends in the help desk and IT service and support industry.

Some of the key findings in this year’s report include:

--Support centers appear to be outsourcing support less than in the past. In 2006, 57% of respondents reported contracting with outsourcers. This year, only 42% of respondents reported that they outsource some portion of the support function; 58% reported that they do not, nor do they plan to do so.

--74% produce and report performance metrics, and about half share their metrics with external stakeholders such as customers and support partners – an increase from previous years.

--Customer satisfaction ratings are high, with 76% reporting 4 to 5 ratings on a 1 to 5 scale. This finding aligns with the results in the HDI Customer Satisfaction Benchmarking Study.

--Telephone and email continue to be the most widely used channels for reporting incidents. More than 70% of centers participating in the survey have average speed-to-answer (ASA) times of 30 seconds or less (approximately 1 to 6 rings). The data also suggest that email processes may be improving slightly. About 93% of incidents reported via email are resolved in three exchanges or less, an increase from 88% in 2006.

--In terms of tool and technology usage: 81% of respondents are currently using remote monitoring/support tools; 68% of them have no plans to make changes to these tools; 88% of support centers are currently using incident management software, 30% of them are planning to replace/update it; 25% of support centers are planning to add self-help tools. And, the majority of respondents have purchased, but not fully implemented the capabilities of their service management tools

--With 32.4% adoption and 27% “planning to implement,” ITIL is the largest single framework impacting the IT support industry. However, 23% of survey respondents are not using Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements or Underpinning Contracts.

--Incident management is on the rise, with more incidents to manage and the majority of support centers’ time (75%) spent on incident management. The increase is attributed to changes in infrastructure and/or products – suggesting that support center managers must constantly prepare for change within their support centers.

--IT support professional salaries have risen only slightly since 2006. Plans for support centers next year include increased hiring for 45%, and layoffs for only 5%. It is a continued concern that there will be a lack of qualified workers to fill these positions.

More information on the service and support industry can be found at www.Supportindustry.com