How to De-Risk your IT Service Desk Transition

Published 25/07/24 under:

We speak to a lot of clients who are unhappy with their IT service desk provision, and it’s usually clear that a change of supplier could net them huge benefits in terms of increased customer and employee satisfaction, improved productivity and even cost savings and efficiencies.

Changing supplier can seem like a no-brainer when you’re comparing your current situation to the potential finished product promised by a new supplier. However, it’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room – and that’s the process of getting from point A to point B.

We often find that the biggest barrier to switching IT service desk supplier is process of transition itself. That’s not an unfounded fear – there are lots of potential pitfalls, and if a transition isn’t managed correctly, there’s a risk of unhappy users, delayed projects and potentially serious damage to your company’s performance or reputation.

Work with a supplier who takes service desk transition as seriously as you do

At Kerv Transform we’re not going to downplay the importance of a carefully-managed service desk transition. It’s an important process to get right, and there are good reasons to be concerned. That being said, we don’t think that the potential pain of the transition process should be a reason to stay in a situation that’s not meeting your needs, whether that’s an underperforming incumbent supplier or an in-house solution that’s not able to keep up with recent growth.

We’ve managed hundreds of IT service desk transitions, and we know that with the right preparation, it’s possible to de-risk the process and have confidence that you’ll reap the benefits of moving to a new supplier with minimal disruption.

Be clear on your vision

A strong vision is key to any digital project. It’s the shared goal your team unites around, and it’s the thing that helps you prioritise and make the right decisions to keep your project on track.

Understanding exactly why you’re making the move to a new IT service desk provider is a vital first step to ensuring a smooth transition. This means taking the time to map out exactly why you’re taking the steps you’re taking, and the benefits this will have for stakeholders at all levels of your organisation.

Understand current systems and processes

Building a roadmap for transition means starting out with a really good view of your current situation. This means taking a deep dive into your current systems – from the methods by which your users currently submit support requests to the data structures you’re using.

This is also a good time to understand any idiosyncrasies in your current processes that your new supplier may need to allow for, or any critical processes that need to be treated with particular care.

Create a transition plan with your supplier

Once you’re clear on both your current status and the place you want to get to, it’s time to start planning in earnest. Your new IT service desk provider should be well-versed in transition planning and should be ready to support you with every detail, so close collaboration during this phase is absolutely key.

Prepare with readiness testing

Launch day is always a tense moment, and proper preparation is essential to de-risk the moment you make the switch between your old and new systems. The outcome shouldn’t be a complete surprise, however – in the period leading up to launch, your supplier should be taking you through a series of readiness tests to ensure that everything is working correctly and that there are no nasty surprises at go-live.

Ensure your team are on board

While the technical aspects of transition shouldn’t be underestimated, the human aspect is just as important. No matter how much of an improvement your new system is, your users will be frustrated if they’re faced with an unfamiliar system unexpectedly.

Planning exactly how and when you’ll communicate with your end users about the changes that are coming is the best way to ensure nobody is caught off-guard, and will give your new system the best chance of a warm reception.

Beat service desk blues with Kerv Transform

At Kerv Transform our expert team are passionate about planning seamless service desk transitions. We can take care of every aspect of the process, from designing a flexible service desk offering to fit your precise business needs, to support with building a strategic roadmap, right through to managing vendors.

To find out more about how we can help, get in touch today.