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One of the trends that we have seen in support recently is that there is much less administrative development than there used to be. Previously, we saw a great number of admins making many development changes to service management systems. We would be constantly inundated by organisations calling upon us to fix problems, advising them on best practice and how to effectively use their systems. This resulted in a continuous stream of tweaks being made.

Today, we see a lot more organisations using out-of-the-box solutions, whether that’s using ITSM or pre-built applications. This results in being able to look at the configuration of customers’ systems rather than making changes to them, it’s less about customisation, therefore we are seeing a decrease in change request tickets coming through.

The support model has changed in the last five years. Previously there was demand for support engineers to have experience in coding, nowadays we are seeing a lot more emphasis on understanding the tools and out-of-the-box solutions, how they work and how they interact within the organisation’s IT environment. However, we are also seeing more and more support teams struggling due to staff shortages and demand. Organisations want a dedicated team to work on their specific IT systems, therefore there is a huge focus on finding staff with the right expertise and in-depth knowledge. So, with that said, how can businesses today ensure that the support they provide remains superior?

Engineers with experience – we work without the need for a script

Here at Fusion, we have the right people with the right skill sets to deal with our customers’ requests – that is a key differentiator for us.

The Fusion support team have all been working with BMC products for a number of years. We ensure that the request is dealt with from start to finish by the same person, therefore eliminating time and wasted of effort on both sides. Our customers know that the person they are dealing with will be able to offer them guidance and a resolution at the onset, without having to be passed on to various people before getting the request resolved.

Trained and certified Engineers

At Fusion, we invest in our support team, making sure they are continually trained and certified to meet the standards and expectations of our customers. We need to know that our staff are at the top of their game when it comes to support and are keeping up with the latest trends and technologies which we provide.

Communication with the Customer

Fusion has built a support team who give best practise advice and answer the how, do, and why questions to ensure that the customers get the best out of their tools, it’s more than just fixing an incident. We ensure that there is a dedicated support contact for each of our customers which is key to ensuring continuity and we have dedicated teams on customer’s sites as well as off-shore to ensure their IT requirements are handled quickly and efficiently.

In addition to listening to our customers, we ensure that they are aware of what we are doing at all times. We give them regular updates on their Incidents and Requests, even in cases where there may be nothing to report, we let them know this and also let them know when we expect to have the next update. We try to avoid silences during phone calls, again keeping the customer informed as to what we are checking and talking through the process of what we are doing on our screen that they may not be able to see.

Understanding our Customers’ needs and requirements

All of the above contribute to understanding what an issue means for a customer. Experience and communication help us understand that the impact of a specific issue may be different for different customers, or even for the same customer at different times. At Fusion, we understand that sometimes our customers have a business need that increases the urgency of an issue and we, in turn, will prioritise that issue.

Overall, superior support is all about building a team who have the right knowledge and can ensure that the organisation they are dealing with are dealt with quickly and effectively to get the job done. It’s not an easy task, but by building an ethos of dedication, best practice and by instilling personable attributes, your support network will go a long way, resulting in successful projects and satisfied customers.

Nii Addy
Director of Worldwide Support and Maintenance

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