LANDesk research reveals increased pressure on service desk managers to handle mobile devices

London – 20th September, 2011 – In an increasingly tech-savvy society, it is no surprise that users are becoming heavily reliant on mobile devices as business tools. New research* by LANDesk reveals 96 per cent of users view laptops, smartphones and tablets as not only beneficial but vital to productivity.

However, the role of the service desk in maintaining this influx of technology is overlooked, and consequently they are overloaded with calls to support mobile devices and under-equipped to deal with them. The survey found that a massive 76 per cent of service desks claim that the extra support required has had a negative impact. This is due to the fact that the uptake of new devices has necessitated a rapid accumulation of knowledge and expertise to support them.

The survey also revealed that even though 86 per cent of service desks have seen an increase in the number of mobile devices they are being asked to support, the majority of respondents were asked to support them before the service desk was ready, and only 57 per cent were consulted before the company procured mobile devices, causing a negative impact on the running of the service desk as a whole.

‘‘The inundation of service desks with these devices has resulted in undue strain. There is a belief that it is the duty of service desks to support mobile devices – yet they have little involvement in decisions that directly affect the service they can provide,’’ said Ian Aitchison, Director of Product Management, LANDesk. Moreover, the risks of data leaving the network as well as viruses and malware entering the network are also borne by the service desk, resulting in a dramatically increased workload.’’

The report indicates that the main issue is the lack of training provided to service desks, as mobile devices are difficult to support, mainly due to the sheer volume of different devices users are introducing, along with the growing trend of working remotely. 

‘‘The majority of service desks view mobile device usage as an inevitable and beneficial development within businesses– however it is clear that more support and consideration is due to service desks and their limitations,’’ Aitchison advises. ‘‘There must be specific policies, integrated solutions and training systems in place to keep up with the wealth of new technology in order for these devices to provide the greatest benefit to their users and the company.’’