Network Computingwww.networkcomputing.com

Helpdesk Service Providers

A bullish market for IT workers is no day at the beach for the enterprise. It means labor is scarce and expensive, and turnover is likely to be high as lowly helpdesk jockeys get snapped up for bigger and better projects. For this reason, outsourcing the helpdesk is becoming a more attractive option than ever.

We sent an RFI (request for information) to potential service providers that could outfit a fictitious hospital helpdesk. Metro Help Desk has seen its costs and incidents rise because of staff shortages and looming Internet business initiatives. Respondents, including Electronic Data Systems Corp., Fused Solutions, InTek Solutions Corp., Mission Critical Technical Services Corp. and Seneca Corp., provided their outlines for a three-tier, 24x7 solution, ranging in cost from $362,000 per year to nearly $1.3 million.

We also heard from Web-based ASPs--911Helpline.com, PatchLink.com Corp. and SafeHarbor Technology Corp. These companies present a different model, letting users find answers to questions themselves, with little intervention. Help is provided via chat, e-mail or phone, as well as subscription-based portals to companies' knowledge bases. This model provides an effective way of cutting costs by letting users help themselves.

If you're in the majority and still run your own helpdesk, you may want to think about the knowledge bases you provide and the Resource Description Frameworks that can be used to make accessing those knowledge bases via a standard browser easier. Our look at knowledge bases can be found online, as well as our tutorial on RDFs.