No matter how many employees use “bring your own device” cellphones for work, or how many field employees you equip with tables, your office-based employees are largely dependent on their desktop devices. Productivity depends on those devices working properly, and providing desktop support is critical.

There are several challenges businesses face when delivering desktop support:

1. There’s a wide variety of devices on desktops. Even if you have a standard configuration, the deployed devices drift from standard over time. Some employees have special needs, older devices are replaced by newer models. You likely have a mix of operating systems, with Windows, Linux, and maybe a Mac or two in your creative departments, and various versions of each operating system. This variety of equipment and software makes it difficult to maintain the expertise needed to support the entire organization.
2. Routine maintenance is challenging. Every device needs routine support and maintenance. With the variety of devices, it’s difficult to keep track of where they are located, which patches are required, and what’s been installed. Even if you provide remote access to your support team, some problems can only be solved on-site, so your team may need to move between multiple locations. You also need to schedule these routine tasks to not disrupt employees’ work, particularly if they’re working on a critical project.
3. Everybody has a desktop. Almost everybody in your business probably uses a computer, and they all need support. Fully staffing a desktop support team becomes expensive when it requires a lot of people.
4. It’s not just about the device. The desktop support team has to support both the hardware and software, so there are many different types of knowledge and skills required. In addition, desktop support isn’t just about fixing problems with devices and software; it’s about defining policies to ensure end users compute safely, with legal copies of licensed software, and minimize security risks.
5. Desktops are constantly changing. There’s very little stability in the world of desktop computing. While hardware may not be frequently refreshed, the applications users access change constantly. This means the demands they place on their devices change constantly, as well.
6. End users expect to control their devices. Businesses need to place limits on what users do with their desktop devices in order to meet compliance mandates. However, as users become used to BYOD computing on their own mobile devices, they expect the freedom to tailor desktops to their personal preferences as well. To ensure employee morale, desktop support needs to balance user desired with the corporate requirements.
7. Desktops are both physical and virtual. Due to the growth of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), providing desktop support means supporting both the physical device on the desktop and the virtual device. “Desktop” problems can be due to actual hardware problems, network problems, or the VDI on the server.

Desktop support from Prescient Solutions helps businesses in Chicago and Schaumburg effectively manage their desktop infrastructure. Contact us to learn more about how we can can solve your desktop support challenges.