Three key insights into post-pandemic IT service management from the Edge 2020 conference
How service desk automation is a logical response to COVID-19 generated uncertainties and the demand for new customer experiences
The pandemic has brought to light service delivery vulnerabilities due to offshore technical challenges. For example, access to reliable high-speed internet infrastructure has been a particular challenge for call centre staff working from home during COVID-19 lockdowns in some locations.
Australian and New Zealand service providers are responding by reconsidering the mix of local and remote teams—which in turn is creating challenges around talent acquisition and retention on shore.
For service providers and their customers, automation is the only logical response to reduce costs and reliance on individual teams, and to provide scale without resource constraints.
1. End-user enterprises and service providers are trending back towards onshore support services.
The pandemic has brought to light service delivery vulnerabilities due to offshore technical challenges. For example, access to reliable high-speed internet infrastructure has been a particular challenge for call centre staff working from home during COVID-19 lockdowns in some locations.
Australian and New Zealand service providers are responding by reconsidering the mix of local and remote teams—which in turn is creating challenges around talent acquisition and retention on shore.
For service providers and their customers, automation is the only logical response to reduce costs and reliance on individual teams, and to provide scale without resource constraints.
2. Technology partners have to be future/innovation focused.
End-user enterprises and service providers want technology partners who will bring new ideas and value to the table. They want new service offerings and solutions, and new ways of delivering better value around existing services.
For example, they are looking for assistance around digital strategy and execution. The pandemic triggered change in customer and employee needs and demands over the last 9 months has led to a number of significant accelerated transformation stories among leading organisations. However, this is far from done, and in many cases has merely whet the appetite for the potential impact of coherent digital transformation.
Automation is a logical proposition here – both in improving service delivery models, and in offering smart automation as a service capability that end-user enterprises and service providers can exploit.
3. Now is not the time for Service Providers to stand still!
End-user enterprises and service providers cannot wait for their customers to ask for new experiences. Customers want service providers to adapt quickly. If they have to wait, they will switch – the barriers to change are low.
When service providers have finite resources, the only way to increase capacity to deliver new experiences is to significantly reduce, or eliminate, any issues they are having with their existing services (and importantly the underlying failures that trigger the issues).
Automation, smart tooling and insights are key to demonstrably reimagining the customer experience – to finding new ways to delight and engage customers.
Funnily enough, Aportio Technologies is able to help!
An award-winning Kiwi start-up with global ambitions, we use Artificial Intelligence to assist a growing number of IT and customer support service providers to improve accuracy and speed of delivery. We are reducing their reliance on people as the only means of scale, reducing cost to deliver, and increasing staff engagement. All of these are helping to create new customer experiences.
By Scott Green (Aportio CEO)