An White Paper

The Help Desk Decision

Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Help Desk Solution

Abstract: Higher education information technology departments are increasingly asked to do

more with less. To close the gap between student, faculty and staff perception of help desk
availability and actual coverage, IHETS offers an outsourced help desk solution. Outsourcing off-
hours and weekend help desk needs can save a small, private institution more than $71,000 per
year in direct labor costs alone. In addition to reducing costs, outsourcing can improve support
and increase flexibility. This paper outlines the direct benefits of outsourcing off-hours and
weekend help desk service and provides a guideline for making the help desk decision.

Situational Analysis

The shifting higher education environment has created an increased need for additional help desk
services and longer hours. Factors contributing to this change include a rise in distance education
and continuing education course offerings as well as an increased use of online courses. The
new paradigm in higher education focuses on delivering value for students, faculty and staff
without increasing tuition and fees. Information technology is one area where adding to this value
perception is entirely possible.

In a survey of more than 200 higher education institutions’ help desks, conducted by the
EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 30.5% reported operating solely under regular
business hours. Nearly 40% of respondents indicated the support expectations on campus are
not aligned with help desk resources. More than half of the survey respondents indicated less
than adequate funding to explain the lack of 24/7 coverage; however, the same survey revealed
that only 16% of respondents outsource any portion of their help desk operations[4] . With
nationwide cut backs in higher education budgets and the expectation for IT departments to grow
to meet current demands, the question becomes how can your IT department do more with less?

One answer is outsourcing off-hours and weekend help desk services. In a typical third-party
situation, help desk calls are rerouted to a call center where professionally trained IT personnel
handle inquiries and document calls with traceable tickets. Organizations can measure the

IHETS The Help Desk Decision Contact info@ihets.org

1630 N. Meridian Street, Suite 350 Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Call 1-888-319-0042
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Help Desk Solution www.ihet.org
 An White Paper

success of this service by tracking call times, call volume, documentation and customer
responses. Some third-party providers, such as IHETS, tailor their services to the specific needs
of each institution. This level of collaboration allows for adjustments to specified ticketing
procedures, security concerns and levels of service.

Overview: The Higher Education Environment

Higher education institutions that choose to outsource a portion of their information technology
often cite the need to achieve cost savings in order to keep up with budgetary cutbacks. Aside
from avoiding the obvious costs to employ additional support staff, outsourcing also presents a
scalable opportunity.

Outsourced help desk services provide students, faculty and staff with access to supplementary
IT professionals when needed, without paying for services when they are not needed. As a
specialized service provider, IHETS is able to offer highly customizable help desk services. Our
organization works alongside industry specialists to establish procedures, set-up secure network
connections and develop one-of-a-kind system integration projects for ideal connectivity.

Consider a typical, mid-sized, private institution where a large percentage of students are still in
the classroom between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. and adult learners, a growing portion of
campuses, as well as faculty typically work beyond traditional business hours.

In order to encompass the needs of Who's using help desks at

these individuals, the institution four-year colleges and
chooses to outsource a portion of
universities?
their help desk services. Students,
3% 1%
faculty and staff are then assisted in
matters such as account activation,
Faculty
e-mail systems, password retrieval,
34%
portal and learning management Staff
39%
system login assistance as well as Students

software purchasing, wireless Alumni

connectivity issues, video Misc.

23%
conferencing and media carts in
classrooms. *Data as of A-Y 2007-2008 provided by Campus Technology [1]

IHETS The Help Desk Decision Contact info@ihets.org

1630 N. Meridian Street, Suite 350 Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Call 1-888-319-0042
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Help Desk Solution www.ihet.org
 An White Paper

Rather than waiting until the next business day, the institution is able to provide their campus with
the necessary level of support required for learners today.

Efficient resolution of help desk calls is only the first of several benefits to outsourcing off-hours
and weekend help desk services. For the higher education market, help desk outsourcing can
reduce costs while improving support and increasing flexibility across an entire IT department.

Reduce Costs

In a typical situation, an institution’s Chief Information Officer is forced to make one of two
decisions to ensure proper help desk coverage. The options are to add undue strain to current
full-time staff or add a managerial position to oversee the addition of student help desk
employees. When choosing the second option, valuable time and resources become involved as
there is a recruiting and training process placing strain on the human resources department as
well as current IT staff. The cost of outsourcing pales in comparison to the average salary of a
higher education help desk manager, $83,428 [3] plus benefits. When coupled with the lean
tendencies of help desk staffing, adding additional payroll to an IT department can greatly detract
from already inadequate budgets.

Fortunately, a third option for IT departments exists, outsourcing off-hours help desk needs at a
fixed, annual rate. IHETS offers coverage beginning at $12,000 annually depending on hours
needed, institution size and scope of coverage. In the time it takes to recruit and train a help desk
manager, an institution could pay for a year’s worth of off-hours and weekend support.

Rather than institutions investing in additional personnel and operating costs, outsourcing
provides a centralized support staff available during off-hours and weekends. Institutions now
have an option that actually reduces the cost and complexity of expanding help desk hours.

Improve Support

Collaborating with a third-party help desk service provider offers a consistent model across
institutions. Help desk staff are professionally trained and familiar with ticketing procedures
across the spectrum of higher education. This creates an environment of efficient, high-quality
execution and allows institutions to benefit from a highly trained IT support staff.

IHETS The Help Desk Decision Contact info@ihets.org

1630 N. Meridian Street, Suite 350 Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Call 1-888-319-0042
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Help Desk Solution www.ihet.org
 An White Paper

The diverse range of technology, systems, identity-related services and hardware in use by
students and faculty creates a challenging environment for internal help desk staff. Third-party
providers assume the costs of extensive training in these areas.

IHETS Help Desk Service Overview

 Professionally trained staff

 Off-hours and weekend coverage available
 Highly collaborative services
 Comprehensive services starting at only
 $12,000 per year with speciality packages
 available

An outsourced help desk provides greater consistency in IT service, allowing more focus on
continuous improvement in support services. Frequently, higher education institution IT
departments must constantly play catch-up, constantly training several incoming student
employees each semester. Providers are focused on continuous improvement and creating end
user satisfaction through efficient and reliable support. For the end users, this means a seamless
transition in support between the existing help desk staff and the outsourced help desk. For
institutions and their information technology departments, this means genuine improvements to
support as well as the establishment of collaborative improvement.

Overall, help desk support is also improved through expanded availability. Consider a student in
need of assistance with their e-mail account in order to send their professor a paper before
midnight. Submitting a help desk ticket at 10 p.m. on a Friday night and hearing back from a
support staff member the next business day does little to truly help that student. Technology plays
a vital communication role for students, faculty and staff and assistance should be readily
available 24/7 to support those communication and access needs.

Unfortunately, a large discrepancy exists between the needs of students, faculty and staff and the
amount of IT funding available for help desk operations and staffing. Outsourcing off-hours and
weekend help desk needs can help bridge this gap at an efficient price point.

IHETS The Help Desk Decision Contact info@ihets.org

1630 N. Meridian Street, Suite 350 Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Call 1-888-319-0042
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Help Desk Solution www.ihet.org
 An White Paper

Increase Flexibility

Outsourcing help desk services also allows for the ability to scale up and down depending on
need, call volume, campus size and level of support. This in turn provides the agility necessary to
manage cost and complexity as your campus’ needs change. Help desk is a highly customizable
service with flexibility in offerings, pricing and hours served. For students, faculty and staff this
means there is a better end-user experience with fewer problems and faster resolution. Late night
tickets can now be resolved immediately rather than backing up the next morning's queue.

Additionally, robust reporting capabilities provide visibility into performance. Outsourced help
desk services are highly traceable based on call volume, ticketing and reports from the multiple
platforms (phone, e-mail or Web services). Third party help desks, including IHETS, provide
visible ROI.

Making the Help Desk Decision

Saving money and improving support are great ideas in theory, but the question is "Does this
work for my institution?" The answer is likely yes, but outlined below are several useful
suggestions to consider when considering expanded help desk services.

 Develop a detailed analysis of your institution's help desk goals

and expectations

 Evaluate your current labor and operating costs to compare

side-by-side with the price of a provider

 Consider the long-term needs and expectations of your students,

faculty and staff

 Calculate the amount of physical assistance (hardware, etc.) your

help desk provides as well as the peak activity periods for this
service

 Consider if alternative assistance will allow customers to analyze

and fix certain problems during extended hours

IHETS The Help Desk Decision Contact info@ihets.org

1630 N. Meridian Street, Suite 350 Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Call 1-888-319-0042
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Help Desk Solution www.ihet.org
 An White Paper

Higher education IT departments must constantly look for ways to use technology to increase
automation and reduce costs. Evaluating these suggested points can assist in deciding whether
or not it is time to expand and outsource help desk services. The ideal option for many institutions
is more than likely a cost-savings balance of traditional on-site help desk hours as well as
outsourced availability for off-hours and weekends.

Conclusion

Partnering with a third-party provider is an intelligent solution to extending an institution's help

desk coverage. This solution allows the help desk to operate in a leaner fashion with fewer
employees. Restructuring existing employees without overburdening them with additional work
and overtime pressures lowers overall traditional labor costs and losses due to turnover,
recruitment and training.

The natural turnover existing in higher education IT departments, in part due to a high ratio of
student employees, is greatly reduced while still ensuring off-hours and weekend hours are
covered. This segues into the increased flexibility an institution can realize by outsourcing off-
hours and weekend help desk hours. The ability to scale up and down based on factors such as
student needs, expected call spikes and semester breaks allows an institution to provide the
amount of support necessary without assuming all of the correlating costs.

The veracity in collaborating with a third-party help desk provider is cost and quality are the
primary objectives. Tracking materials including call times and tickets allow institutions to
appraise the success of this solution while gauging satisfaction among students, faculty and staff.
The level of connectivity necessary on campuses and at a distance today demands an extension
in help desk hours and availability. Meeting these increased expectations, while facing budgetary
cutbacks and reduced fee allocations for information technology purposes, is one of the biggest
challenges facing higher education IT departments. Fortunately, IHETS stands ready to provide
institutions with customized help desk solutions.

IHETS The Help Desk Decision Contact info@ihets.org

1630 N. Meridian Street, Suite 350 Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Call 1-888-319-0042
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Help Desk Solution www.ihet.org
 An White Paper

References

The information contained in this paper represents the compilation of multiple resources, articles,
surveys and in-person interviews. Specific numbers and statistics provided can be referenced to
the following sources:

[1] "Help Desk 411 -- Campus Technology." Campus Enterprise Networking & Infrastructure. May
2010 <http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/02/01/trendspotter.aspx?sc_lang=en>.

[2] "IHETS Client Interview." Email interview. Mar. 2010.

[3] Jobs in Higher Education, Salary Tracker - HigherEdJobs.com. Web. Apr.-May 2010.
<http://www.higheredjobs.com>.

[4] Sheehan, Mark C. "Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education."
EDUCAUSE, Dec. 2007. Web. Apr. 2010.
<http://www.educause.edu/node/645/tid/17298?time=1274030696>.

IHETS The Help Desk Decision Contact info@ihets.org

1630 N. Meridian Street, Suite 350 Evaluating the Benefits to an Outsourced Call 1-888-319-0042
Indianapolis, IN 46202 Help Desk Solution www.ihet.org