How To Help The Helpdesk: 21st Century Support For IT Professionals

By C.J. Rayhill, Senior Vice President of Product Management and Technology, Safari Books Online

Whether your company calls them Technical Support Technicians, Help Desk Representatives, or Strategic Support Analysts, in-house help desk professionals are an integral part of any business. Increasing productivity and satisfaction ratings while reducing costs and resources are the hallmarks of an effective IT help desk. Finding fast, accurate answers to end-user questions and problems are critical so that employees can continue working and meet deadlines. These savvy gurus are dedicated individuals that contribute much to the bottom line of any successful business, but sometimes even the experts don't know all the answers. Did you ever wonder where they go when they need help?

As the old saying goes, "Time is money." Today's help desk analysts don't have time to prowl the Internet for answers. Using such outdated methods as entering a Boolean phrase or term into a search engine and then hoping for an accurate result isn't realistic anymore. While blogs, developer forums, and social networking sites are often used, it's often hard to distinguish trusted answers from inaccurate or misleading information. Here are several strategies that modern help desks employ in today's IT environment.