In today’s world of technology and mass information, almost all companies require some level of IT support, from international corporations to home-based businesses. Whether you need help setting up a new PC or synchronising Microsoft Office 365 across your business, IT support currently falls into one of three categories; time and material, the customer knows what he/she needs and pays for the time and materials needed; block hours, when the customer buys a certain amount of hours which they can use as and when they want, popular with small businesses; managed services, an ongoing contract that covers up to 24/7 IT support for a business.

So this is how IT support is currently provided but how will it develop in the coming years?

Consumerisation of IT

As consumer IT support becomes more adept through the introduction of services such as Microsoft Support and Apple’s Genius Bar, the expectations of business IT support will move towards a more personalised experience. This will make the way IT support businesses interact with the customer increasingly important. It will require companies to develop and find new innovative methods of communication, which is already discernible by the growth of remote access, video calls and in-app instant messengers.

Big Data

In modern-day business information is key, with a wealth of data being collected consisting of user data, system information, errors, logs, vendor fixes, etc. For IT companies the more data that is collected, the easier issues are to diagnose and fix, this is often aided by advanced analytics software. Aside from fixing problems, big data will also help us gain insights into user experiences and cater services on an individual basis.

Troubleshooting and Mobility

As user experience continues to becomes more and more important, we will see in-built troubleshooting becoming more accessible and interactive. This will change the role of IT support, with low-level support issues becoming less and less prevalent. This will be reinforced as younger generations who have grown up with technology come through and basic user understanding increases.

However, the reduction of basic IT support is not necessarily a bad thing for the industry, as low-level IT issues tend to be time-consuming and don’t add value to the customer’s business activities. Thus cutting these out will release time to tackle more advanced issues and development plans which will boost the client’s business and hopefully allow them to generate greater revenue.

If you are interested in outsourcing your IT support or have any questions about our services, please contact us on 0161 660 5154 or email us info@igcts.com