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Service Desk - Ready to get strategic?

Release Date: 12/11/2009

Now, most of you are saying: What? Service desk ... strategic? We visit with thousands of banks and credit unions across the United States, and there has been one very consistent message from every banking executive: "We just need to stick to our roots."  Just after that comment (which refers mainly to getting back to the business of banking and growing deposits), we hear this: "And we have to reduce non-interest expense" (NIE).

Wikipedia definition: A service desk is a primary capability called for in IT service management (ITSM) as defined by the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). It is intended to provide a single point of contact to meet the communications needs of both users and it and to satisfy both customer and it provider objectives.

At HEIT, we couldn't agree more with the financial industry executives. But how does this relate back to Service Desk?  A CNET study showed that 67% of all IT leaders are under pressure to do more with reduced budgets. In that same study, 49% said savings would come from reducing staff levels and 72% believe cloud computing will play a key role in gaining efficiencies and reducing costs. An operationally efficient, outsourced Service Desk addresses both of those NIE reduction strategies.

Most strategic IT leaders want to focus on revenue-generating banking applications and enhancing processes to improve efficiency. Because they must focus on these complex differentiating systems, the remaining commodity services must be addressed as efficiently as possible. Because technology has changed dramatically in the last couple of years in terms of managing end users, the need for physical people to help and go from branch to branch and support end users isn't necessary for most companies.  This can be consolidated into a single point of contact - the Service Desk.

The bonus? Many institutions are taking advantage of the Service Desk processes, reporting, and communication for other internal services outside of IT. The three most popular have been HR, accounting, and facilities. Such consolidation drives efficiency and improved measurements for better decisions across the enterprise.

Whether you use a trusted outsourced provider with ITIL processes or enhance your internal systems and process, all of us need to consider what is strategic to our business. By "sticking to roots," financial institutions can come out of these economic conditions stronger by being a smart bankers, reducing NIE and focusing on IT's strategic functions.

To learn more about outsourcing your Service Desk, email info@goheit.com. 

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