Tag Archives: HelpDesk

What Should Your Employees Do Before Contacting the IT Help Desk?

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Worried Man At Computer With System Failure Screen At The Workplace Before Contacting the IT Help Desk

Ever wonder what steps you could take before calling the helpdesk?

Your company’s employee-facing IT help desk was built so that team members can reach out for technical help whenever they need it. The IT support staff is there to help with networking errors, to make the company software work, and to make sure customers get the automated service they need through the company technology. They are there to make the computers and devices work correctly, to defend against active and passive hacker attacks, and to offer solutions to situations so complicated that your team hardly knows how to describe what’s gone wrong.

But there are also a few things that every computer-using professional can do before calling IT that can provide the solution so much faster than clocking and solving a ticket. IT help desk professionals are happy to help when their expertise is needed, but they often wind up reciting the basic troubleshooting steps instead of solving fun and challenging problems.

So today, we’re here to offer your team a few of those basic troubleshooting steps you can take before clocking a ticket. And if these techniques don’t produce a solution then, by all means, make that call or open that chat window to present your IT team with another interesting internal network challenge.

Reload the Software

Software glitches for a lot of different reasons. Full caches, computer resources, an over-logging error; these things can crash or slow down  your business software but they’re not necessarily things that IT can fix any easier than you can. What your IT help desk would say first is to reload the software. Hit refresh. Close the program and re-open it anew. Log out and back in again. And if that doesn’t solve the problem, feel free to get in touch with IT to see if there’s something else that can be done.

Reboot the Computer or Device

Is your entire computer moving slow, acting up, or glitching in a particularly annoying way? Again, there are too many reasons for hardware misbehavior to enumerate in a single paragraph or even a single dedicated whitepaper. But a lot of them can be solved with a simple reboot. Whether the issue was too much stacked software, background programs, or something that went wrong in the firmware that needs to be reset, rebooting pretty often provides the solution. But if the situation repeats itself within a few minutes of rebooting or seems to happen frequently, it’s time to reach out to your IT help desk for more in-depth answers.

Try Toggling the Relevant Settings

Check the settings. Whatever you’re having trouble with, check the user-accessible settings. Don’t worry about delving deep, but whatever settings you can reach, try toggling them back and forth to see if you can get a different or improved response. It might be that your software isn’t quite configured correctly or you just need to trigger another type of reset. Switch your Wifi off and back on again, switch sharing off and on, or switch your monitor from extended to duplicated to extended again. Yes, it really does work sometimes. Surprisingly often.

Check the Easily-Available Troubleshooting Guides

If your IT team has gone through the trouble of writing up troubleshooting guides for common problems, do them the favor of at least skimming the IT help section available to you. These guides are often written specifically because dozens to hundreds of tickets for the exact same problem have been submitted and IT has deemed that the troubleshooting process is easy enough for a non-IT professional to tackle on their own.

If you can’t find a guide or if your company doesn’t have internal IT help guides, then of course reach out to your IT team for personalized guidance instead.

Ask the IT Chatbot

Finally, if your IT help desk has cleverly set up a chatbot to answer frequently asked troubleshooting questions, take a moment to engage. Chatbots are getting pretty darn smart (and programmable) these days so if there’s an IT bot available, it might just have the answers. It’s not only worth your while to take this semi-automated DIY troubleshooting guide, it’s also an awesome story to tell to colleagues and friends that you got IT help from an actual virtual intelligence.

If and when all else fails, be sure to clock your troubles as a ticket and describe the steps you’ve already taken independently so your IT help desk team can jump right in to help you find the true cause and solution. For more interesting, useful, and actionable insights about IT help desks for your business, contact us today!

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Machine Learning

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Hands of robot and human touching on a virtual network connection interface. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and machine learning concept

Partnering with your managed service provider is key to setting your business up for success.

There are so many IT innovations and trends that are being introduced and followed, and many of them are catching the attention and imagination of Managed Service Providers(MSPs). One of the advances that is capturing the attention of Managed Service Providers is machine learning due to its ability to automate a variety of processes and operations at different levels.

When machine learning is used in business, it can significantly help businesses enhance their overall scalability and improve their overall business operations. Machine learning and other artificial intelligence tools have continued to grow in popularity in the business analytics industry. Machine learning has also seen a growth in popularity due to several factors, including the following:

  • easy access to data
  • faster computational processes
  • an increased volume of data
  • more access to affordable data storage

As a result of these factors and the popularity of machine learning, businesses can now use machine learning and implement it into their business strategy. Machine learning can help your business or organization extract vital information from a large set of raw data. If you are able to implement machine learning the right way, it will be an overall better solution to many of the challenges and problems your business may have, and you may also be able to predict some of the challenging behaviors your customers may have.

There are several ways machine learning can help your business, including the following:

Predictive Maintenance

Many businesses and organizations follow preventive maintenance strategies and practices, and these are often rather costly and ineffective. However, with the arrival of machine learning, companies and organizations in the manufacturing industry can use machine learning to locate relevant insight and connections in their factory data. This can help reduce any chance of risks that may be associated with unforeseen mistakes or failures. Machine Learning construction or planning can be created using the following:

  • historical data
  • visualization tools
  • analysis environment

Recognizing Spam/Malware

Did you know that machine learning can be used to detect spam? It has actually been used to detect spam for a significant amount of time now. In the past, email service providers have used various filters and tools to remove spam. Today, there are different rules and guidelines that need to be followed as far as spam filtering. Neutral networks are now being used to locate spam, malware, phishing, etc.

Enhancing Cyber Security

In addition to recognizing spam and malware, cyber security can also be used to increase security in a business or organization to a greater extent. Machine learning will allow providers to create better and newer technologies. These technologies can be used to detect hidden threats.

Picture Recognition

Face recognition or image recognition has the ability to produce various types of information from the images that have been captured and the data that has been captured. Image recognition involves a variety of things, including the following:

  • pattern recognition
  • data mining

Image recognition through machine learning is a vital asset and it has been used by companies and organizations across multiple industries.

Enhancing Customer Experience

Machine learning can play a huge role in enhancing the customer service experience by increasing the number of satisfied customers. Machine learning can be used to obtain previous email records, call records, etc. Machine learning can also be used to analyze the behaviors of customers. As a result, customers will be assigned to the customer service representative or executive that fits the customer’s needs. This can significantly reduce financial costs and the amount of time that it takes to effectively manage a relationship with customers.

Are you currently using machine learning in your business or organization? If you are planning to implement machine learning in the future, what do you hope to achieve through machine learning? Machine learning is growing at a fast pace and it is currently being driven by new technologies.

Managed Service Providers continue to look for bigger and better solutions to the problems that customers have. Not only are they looking for new resources and technologies, but they are also looking for services that can help them overcome the challenges and obstacles they are facing across various industries. There is a strong belief that MSPs can have greater success by adopting new security solutions that use machine learning and other capabilities.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us today for more information on machine learning and how it is being used by Managed Service Providers.

5 Reasons Your Employees Need an Internal IT Help Desk

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Internal IT help desk: IT engineer in the server room connecting cables

Whether your a small business or large enterprise, SystemsNet has the right plan for you

As your business grows, it’s important to start thinking not just about the needs of the customers, but also about the needs of your internal staff. A small business starts as a team, grows into a structure, and then finally becomes a microcosm community of professionals all working together toward a common goal. An office that grows large enough needs an office manager, then admin staff, then an entire HR department. And the IT needs of your office follow a very similar path. First, you need a tech to call when the computers break, then a team who can set up a network of workstations sporting the business software. And, eventually, your staff will need an IT help desk to keep your tech infrastructure up and running as the company continues to grow.

Today, we’re here to explore not just the use of an IT help desk, but why your employees need the help of on-call technicians to maintain efficiency, security, and workflow.

1) On-Demand Repairs for Software & Computers

When a workstation breaks or your company software malfunctions, work stops. No company likes to see a paid employee twiddling their thumbs at a broken workstation or losing hours trying to solve tech errors that won’t go away. Having an IT help desk on-call is the best thing you can do for employees who want to keep working but are stopped by malfunctioning technology.

An IT help desk knows all the right answers. Not only can they help employees fiddle with settings to get the best performance, but they also know when a reboot or even reinstalling the software would be faster and cleaner than trying to unsnarl a messy problem. Your IT team can even get held-up employees on a different workstation while the broken station goes in for repairs.

2) Make Full Use of New Company Software

Of course, IT isn’t just there to fix problems. An IT help desk used correctly can also guide employees to making the most use of their company software. Business software tends to be complex with a great many options available to streamline work and connect data. However, employees tend to learn only a few basic uses of the software at first then become more skilled with it over time.

With help from the IT help desk, employees can call for guidance on how to do certain tasks and IT can show them how to make much more diverse and efficient use of the software in the process. From there, your employees can teach each other and share tricks to increase the productivity and skills of the entire team.

3) Guidance Setting Up New Workstations

When a team grows (or a workstation breaks) new workstations are necessary to allow for that growth. Each new workstation will need to be installed with the write operating system and cybersecurity infrastructure. It will need to be connected to the company network, have the business software installed, and accept logins from company employees.

Setting all this up can be done by team members or on-site IT but it’s much easier to handle with a knowledgeable tech on the phone. An IT help desk tech can walk any employee through the process of booting up and setting up a new workstation. Especially if you already have a workstation ‘image’ that can be used for backup recovery or to create an identical workstation to those already in use.

4) Reporting Suspected Phishing or Malware Attacks

When employees receive a phishing email or suspect they have just witnessed a malware attack, they need someone to call. Cybersecurity is vital and employee vigilance plays a major part in keeping company data safe. Your IT help desk can serve as an employee’s next line of defense, the IT authority to call to help the company maintain cybersecurity integrity.

An IT helpdesk tech can tell employees what to do (and what not to do) in response to a malware attack or a phishing email and may be able to use that information to neutralize the threat.

5) Enacting Disaster Recovery Steps

Finally, who do your employees call when a computer crashes, eats a database, or seems to be infected with malware? When you need backup recovery enacted, you don’t necessarily need an IT professional on-site. A call to the IT help desk can assist the team in walking through the correct backup recover steps to restore lost files or wipe and fully restore an infected workstation

Having an IT help desk for your team serves many purposes and can solve a wide variety of problems that occur in most modern businesses. From making use of software to stopping a malware attack in its tracks, your IT help desk can ensure your team is using their workstations and software to the utmost benefit for the company. For more on how IT help desk services for your business, contact us today!

Getting The Most Out Of A Managed Service Provider (MSP)

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WE MAKE IT EASY! on laptop screen, Managed Service Provider (MSP) concept

A managed service company makes navigating the IT world effortless and painless

We know that managing your IT is not an easy task to accomplish. There are many challenges that come with the territory of being part of the IT industry, including the training difficulties and the expense of continuously educating your employees to ensure they stay ahead of the competition. It does not matter if you are completely outsourcing your IT tasks or if you have a different type of workforce, an MSP(Managed Service Provider) can come in to save the day because it can reduce the amount of time and money you spend on these services.

In order for you to get the most out of your Managed Service Provider(MSP), we encourage you to do the following:

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

We cannot stress the importance of communication enough. You should make sure you follow up with your managed services provider at all times. Your Managed Service Provider is available to give you the things you need when you need them. Do not hesitate to communicate your needs, your goals, and your ideas so they can understand them, execute them, and eventually implement those things into your business. A Managed Service Provider(MSP) does not have to be another outside source that you use to improve your business. Take advantage of the ability to communicate to use your skills and the skills of your MSP to improve your business and take it to greater heights.

Re-Analyze Regularly

It is also important that you make time to meet with your Managed Service Provider on a consistent basis. Having meetings with your MSP will give you the opportunity to review the current and future state of your business’s IT operations. When you are able to know where your IT operations currently stand, you will be able to prevent any small issues from turning into major issues. During these meetings, you will also be able to determine your overall efficiency. You will be able to address questions about ticket status, resolution time, and more. Your Managed Service Provider should not hesitate to work with you to make changes and improvements to your operations when they are needed.

Do Not Hesitate To Receive Help

A Managed Service Provider can provide more help than some businesses may realize. A Managed Service Provider has the ability to provide different advice and strategies that will be more valuable than you may realize.  The advice that an MSP can provide you with include information about how to properly evaluate your technology and your networks and how to create solutions that can answer current and future IT problems. Managed Service Providers can also create a Backup and Disaster Recovery plan that will be vital to your business. You can communicate your needs to the MSP so they will know what features and services you need to be included in your Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan.

Are you currently getting everything you need from your current Managed Services Provider? Are you being offered a variety of features and services that you can choose from to fit your business’s needs? If you have not been given an assessment of your IT network and you do not know the current state of your IT infrastructure, now is the time to find an MSP that will give you the insight you need into your networks.

If you are ready to get more out of your current resources and improve the current state of your business, please do not hesitate to contact us today for more information on the services we can provide. We are ready to provide you with the high-quality support you need for your business.