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LANDesk

17 Mar 2010

LANDesk and the Service Desk Institute Highlight Different Views of the IT Department and Business Leaders over the Value of IT Operations

LONDON – 17th March, 2010 – Whilst IT support operations are increasingly sophisticated, new research sponsored by LANDesk Software and conducted by the Service Desk Institute (SDI) shows that many IT departments are struggling to demonstrate the value they add to a business. The survey was conducted with 4,000 members of the SDI and shows that many of the metrics used to evaluate the IT department are focused on tactical delivery rather than business value. For example, 87% are measured on the volume of incidents logged and fixed per month rather than the productivity gains offered by efficient IT. Less than a quarter (23%) of service desks feel they have the tools or information to quantify the value their function offers to their company.

“Technology is integral to modern business but frequently it is viewed as a cost centre with a lot of money being spent on keeping the systems running,” comments Peter Durrant, UK sales director, LANDesk Software. “The ability to deliver efficient IT services and to ensure staff are as productive as possible directly affects how nimble and responsive an organisation can be. It is important for businesses to recognise that a secure, reliable and smoothly managed infrastructure delivers tangible, quantifiable business value.”

“Our latest survey shows that there are steps IT professionals can take to help demonstrate their value to the business,” continues Howard Kendall, founder and chairman, Service Desk Institute. “For example, the technology is available to analyse and quantify the cost of fixing incidents so that the IT department can demonstrate regular improvements in efficiency, cost and service delivery. We also found that 12 percent of respondents do not currently measure customer satisfaction for their service and of those that do, 9 percent don’t act on the findings, which is surprising when you consider how important this would be for, say, the sales or marketing departments in the same company.”

New Approaches

The Service Desk Institute Survey also highlights a number of trends and new approaches for improving IT service delivery. For example, increased automation of simple break-fix incidents, basic change and configuration functions, systems updates and password resets mean that an increasing percentage (43 percent) of support staff are based in second and third line positions – essentially staff have been able to free up their time to focus on more complex, sophisticated IT operations rather than basic administration.

“Reassuringly, 82 percent of respondents also expected the number of IT service management staff in their organisation to remain the same or even increase during 2010,” explains Kendall. “This suggests that automation and new software is improving efficiency and allowing IT professionals to concentrate on more strategic, rewarding tasks rather than leading to a reduction in staffing.”

Advanced analytics and knowledge management features are also increasingly available to service desk professionals however a surprisingly high proportion of respondents (37 percent) are using less than half of these functions. These additional functions enable IT professionals to spot trends and share best practice. By doing so, they create knowledge for future use in improving the efficiency of operations and enabling cost savings for the business.

“We are encouraging customers to talk to their suppliers to ensure they are getting the best possible value out of their IT operations,” concludes Durrant. “Service desks are a hidden area of cost efficiency for businesses and utilising the latest tools can make life easier for IT professionals. Clear assessment of the size and shape of the desired outcome in such projects leads to more effective use of technology and higher returns on investment.”

To download the full version of the latest SDI Benchmarking Report visit http://www.sdi-europe.com/sdi-research/benchmarking-survey/

-ENDS-

About LANDesk Software
LANDesk Software, is a leading provider of systems, security, IT service, and process management solutions for desktops, servers and mobile devices across the enterprise. LANDesk enables thousands of organizations to easily deploy and use end-to-end management solutions. LANDesk is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with offices located in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, and can be found at www.landesk.com.
About The Service Desk Institute (SDI)
Founded in 1988 by Howard Kendall, the Service Desk Institute (SDI), is the leading authority on service desk and IT support related issues, providing specialist information and research about the technologies, tools and trends of the industry. It is Europe’s only support network for IT service desk professionals, providing service management consulting, customized training courses and qualifications.

Acting as an independent adviser, SDI captures and disseminates creative and innovative ideas for tomorrow's service desk and support operation. SDI sets the standards for the IT support industry and is the conduit for delivering knowledge and career enhancing skills to the professional community.
It also offers the opportunity for international recognition of the support centre operation through its Service Desk Certification audit programme. Its members span numerous industries and include AOL Broadband, Bank of England, Camelot Group plc, Cambridgeshire County Council, E.onIS UK, Lloyd's of London, Lloyds Banking Group, Mitsubishi Securities International plc, O2, Premier Foods (UK) Ltd, Sussex HIS, T K Maxx, Total Fina Elf, UKN Group Ltd, Virgin Media TV and Yorkshire Water Services. Further information about SDI can be found at www.sdi-europe.com.

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Andrew Scales

Porter Novelli for LANDesk
Global Public Relations Tel: +44 207 853 2208
Email:andrew.scales@porternovelli.co.uk