What is IT help desk outsourcing?

When the term “IT help desk outsourcing is used,” it typically refers to only help desk support instead of the complete services that a managed service provider (MSP) can provide for a more comprehensive solution to support your in-house team.

In either case, the help desk tech service provides 24/7/365 support from an external vendor. The techs who take these calls (or chats or tickets) do their best to fix the immediate problem of the caller. The tech support for your team includes:

• Running diagnostics
• Escalating the issue to someone with a higher level of expertise
• Installing, repairing and/or making changes to computer hardware and software
• Followup with customers to ensure issues are resolved

When the help desk is part of an MSP, instead of a standalone, the help desk team becomes intimately knowledgeable about your business and IT infrastructure and in essence becomes a part of the team actively working to prevent issues. As a standalone IT help desk outsourcing provider, the tech team assisting you usually does not have that level of insight into your business or the ability to help prevent similar issues from coming up.