PerceptIS to Co-Present at SIGUCCS

PerceptIS will be co-presenting on "Collaborating Outsourcing of the IT Helpdesk" at the upcoming SIGUCCS conference in Tuscon, Arizona, April 4-6.

SIGUCCS (Special Interest Group on University and College Computing Services) is an "association of professionals who support and manage the diverse aspects of information technology services in higher education institutions." (Source)

Collaborating Outsourcing of the IT Helpdesk
Sunday, April 6
3:30PM
Presenters: Mary Aniuk (Arizona State University), Cindy Dooling (Pima Community College), Russ Seiter (PerceptIS), Ed Tola (PerceptIS)

Part I: Arizona State University

By partnering with PerceptIS earlier this year in August Arizona State University (ASU) has been able to answer every phone call coming into the help desk, create metrics on call volumes, build upon a knowledge management system, and streamline processes for a quick emergency transfer of other help desks. Outsourcing ASU’s central Help desk functions has also provided 24 x 7 support, cost savings, new perspectives for best business practices, and accountability of problems. The decision to partner with PerceptIS was based on customer interviews, on-site visits, and the general consensus that the resources needed to support ASU’s growing infrastructure would better be matched through an outside partnership. After only three months, recent metrics have shown the partnership to be a success by creating a metric driven management while increasing the amount of phone calls received and reducing on-hold times. And while the partnership is still young, ASU believes working with PerceptIS will continue to enhance the University’s relationship with its community.

Part II: Pima Community College

Pima Community College had a functional central help desk to meet the needs of its students, faculty and staff. However, as student expectations increased and enrollment in distance learning grew it became apparent that help desk services were needed beyond the traditional business hours. Staffing a help desk around the clock poses a number of issues including cost and staffing concerns. To overcome these challenges, Pima collaborated with PerceptIS, LLC. Pima continues to handle regular hours calls and PerceptIS assists them with after-hours coverage. This allows Pima to provide a premium service to their constituents while controlling costs and maintaining their existing help desk. Additionally, the burden of hiring and retaining staff for graveyards shifts is eliminated. During the process of implementing the collaborative help desk, both Pima and PerceptIS gained valuable insight on developing two-way service level expectations, communicating between organizations, building buy-in from existing staff, and a host of other topics.