CRM Improves the Bottom Line with Helpdesk

Customer relationship management (CRM) is crucial to maintaining and expanding business market share. A help desk is the life line between a business and their customers in developing quality CRM. Hiring a business analyst, will insure a successful implementation of your helpdesk. They can help sift through the plethora of help desk hardware requirements and software applications and negotiate with vendors for solutions which provide the biggest bang for the budget. A business analyst will also provide a long term strategic solution, in addition the a project plan for helpdesk implmentation.

The benefits of implementing a help desk system include:

* Improving the face of the organization through quality Customer Support
* Customer referrals are directly proportionaly to quality Customer Service
* Effecient Service order and Project Tracking
* Proatively address customer concerns, before problems arise
* Historical tracking of Customer issues
* Use helpdesk customer database as a marketing tool for business expansion

Click here to read some case studies by companies who implemented a helpdesk



Help desk applications can reduce call center business expenses by 20 percent or more.

* Primary cost savings are seen from help desk automation of company workflow.
* Active trouble tickets are easier to enter with the new help desk software. Tickets are automatically routed to the appropriate support agent.
* Assigned workflow frees up customer support agents and customer calls are answered more quickly.
* Today's help desk applications can resolve 80 percent of support or service calls in under one minute.

A reliable help desk solution is a fundamental core of successful customer relationship management. Selecting the right help desk and support tracking software is critical. The right solution will save a call center multi-thousands of dollars in customer support costs, function for years to come, and provide your business with cutting edge CRM software for obtaining and retaining customers.
What is a Help Desk?

A call center help desk system organizes reports on, and manages customer service and support issues. The help desk is an integral part of customer service since it brings all of a business's resources together to address a customer need. Help desk users may be internal or external. Therefore the software functions are critical for both internal management and superior customer support.

What are the Functions of a Help Desk Application?

* Advanced helpdesk technology allows support departments to record, track and resolve support requests in a controlled environment.
* Web based help desk solutions enhance the ecommerce and provide after sale support.
* The software records all actions in the sales and support process.
* A software knowledge base exists for past calls/ web contacts providing historical customer data for improved future CRM.
* Audit trails can be visibly documented on all issues and contacts.
* The system identifies support/ service issue trends and improves customer contact re. services and products.
* A logging system containing all support requests, enabling management to review employee help desks performance in managing customer care.


Help Desk software solutions can be deployed on either client networks, client/server systems or a remote web host. Thorough project documentation with customization needs will ensure a smooth launch of your new help desk system. Outline all customized functions such as the defining of user screen elements and call center agent workflow distribution.

Good Help is Hard to Find

When selecting a consulting company make sure you are comfortable with their business practices. Any consulting company that is in business to make money, usually falls very short on service. Thier focus is always going to be on billable time. Companies who focus on providing valuable services, which achieve client driven results, will always be more effective to your bottom line.

Identifying true problems that can be handed over to consultants for resolution, will provide the best results for your organization. Beware of consultants who are constantly inventing projects just to maintain a perceived value of their time.

Blackberry Handheld; Is it a PDA or PC?

Blackberrys are fast becoming the mobile productivity tool of choice. They have been embraced by major corporations as well as the U.S. Senate and Congress Members. If a notebook computer is being carried around to surf the Internet, check email, schedule appointments and keep track of contacts, then a Blackberry is an all-in-one powerful mobile device with cell phone features.

Read more . . .

Small Appliance BIG Protection

Worried about security threats to your computer network, but don't have the budget for enterprise-priced solutions or the staff to maintain them? Then we need to talk ASAP. SNAP VPN is a cost effective appliance which includes a firewall, anti-virus scanning using Trend Micro's scan engine, intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, content filtering, and remote and site-to-site VPN using SSL.

A Perfect Fit for Small to Medium Businesses
After the initial investment in the appliance the "total cost of ownership" is just a fractional yearly service fee which covers anti-virus and signature updates, content filtering updates, software and/or firmware updates, and support.



It costs nothing to take a look at a "single appliance" for proactive security and network managment solution. What will it cost you in lost busine$, if your computer network goes down due to a virus attack or security hack?"

Imagine a single device for:

• Antivirus / Anti-spam Filtering
• Firewall Protection
• Intrusion Detection & Prevention
• Content Filtering
• VPN (Site-to-Site & Remote Access)
• Network Management
• Device Monitoring
• Network Reporting
• Auto VPN Tunnel Provisioning
• Auto Updates

We are affiliated with , a SNAP VPN certified reseller.

A FREE consultation is just a phone call or email away.

Managing Technology Chaos

So now you have staff PCs attached to an internal network (intranet) that becomes more complicated everyday. Staff can surf the Internet, send email and instant message people to their little heart's content. You have an Internet presence with a web site. You're implementing various software applications for improving productivity, so clients are served more efficiently. Oh, and you have ancillary business partners using your network infrastructure to increase profitability for all organizations. To make things even more chaotic, your organization has several technology vendors providing services and products. Oops, you recently had a security breach on your network which potentially exposed sensitive information. Are you dizzy yet?

Relax. Take a deep breath. Say to yourself, "I love you and this too soon shall pass". This works better than counting to 10.

You are not alone. Many organizations are experiencing this same situation. Using technology to accomplish more with less staff and financial resources is the current mantra for all organizations, including the big boys and girls.

How are the big boys and girls managing technology chaos?
Outsourcing technology has been a proven cost effective solution. In 1994 JP Morgan (now called JPMChase) contracted with IBM to perform a business analysis. The analysis indicated that JP Morgan spent 25% of its operating budget on in-house technology implementation and support [staff]. In 1995 all eyes were on JP Morgan when it established a "pinnacle alliance" to outsource all technology to 5 major technology players. Computer Sciences Corporation was assigned as the lead organization for the other outsourcing partners. The 7 year "pinnacle alliance" experiment proved to be fabulous outsourcing success.

Outsourcing allows an organization to utilize technology to focus on its core mission, without the high expense of information technology staff. This usually requires multiple vendors providing different technology products and services. Learning from the JP Morgan experiment, one "lead" vendor should be tasked with managing all the other technology vendors. The lead vendor is then responsible for reigning in and managing all other entities assosciated with providing technology solutions. The lead vendor will develop procedures and methodologies for managing the entire technology infrastructure. This also creates an efficient single reporting entity to the organization, eliminating finger pointing between vendors, while establishing controls for managing technology chaos.

C.E. Reid
President & CEO