The Risks Presented by Current IT Ticketing Systems
When government offices rely on manual IT ticketing systems, they leave themselves vulnerable to various risks such as service interruptions, limited communication, loss of paperwork, lack of access to important documents and files, and even data security.
Manual IT requests put unnecessary pressure on government IT departments, especially during times when they receive high volumes of requests. With this added workload, government IT support is likely to see an increased margin of error, data loss or corruption, and cybersecurity threats, all resulting in longer wait times to get government departments operating normally again.
Inefficiencies with Manual IT Support Tickets
The fast-paced, busy schedules of government departments means that manual IT ticketing systems can present many problems, especially if they threaten to delay government communications and services. As well as the previously identified risks, further inefficiencies include:
- Lengthy Response Times: When government IT support staff are inundated with high volumes of requests from across multiple departments, manual IT ticketing systems mean their only option is to sort IT requests one by one and prioritize them by urgency. This leaves most requests unattended and without responses for lengthy periods, and often they can get buried under new IT support tickets as they come in.
- Incomplete IT Support Tickets: Unless clear IT request forms are provided to prompt the right information, requestors might forget to mention essential information when making an IT request. Consequently, some IT support tickets may not supply important information such as how to replicate an error, meaning their IT request might not be solved completely and may result in further issues.
- Extensive Manual Efforts: Government IT support staff spend a lot of valuable time sorting IT support tickets, assigning staff to tasks, chasing additional information, and keeping requestors up to date on the progress of their IT support tickets. When there are a high number of requests, these tasks can distract from resolving IT requests.
- Incorrectly Delivered IT Requests: Sorting IT requests can be a very time-consuming process highly susceptible to human error. IT support tickets may end up going to the wrong member of staff or entirely the wrong department, which can result in them going unresolved for a long time during loss or redistribution. They may even be ignored and deleted by busy staff, meaning the ticket has to be resent.
With these challenges in mind, what alternatives do government IT support departments have?
Introducing SimplyCast’s IT Request Process Use Case
By harnessing an extensive suite of digital tools, SimplyCast’s IT Request Process use case provides governments with a scalable framework that opens the door to IT help desk automation:
- Automatically Sort IT Support Tickets: By configuring the framework’s criteria to sort incoming IT support tickets upon arrival, IT departments can rest assured that IT requests will be instantly sent to the correct department and personnel. No need to spend hours manually sorting through requests one by one; staff need only check their collection of IT support tickets and choose the next one to work on.
- Streamline Communication: Government IT support staff can template messages ahead of time regarding the status of IT support tickets. With the click of a button, they can distribute automatic alerts such as ‘More information needed’, ‘Task started’, ‘Task completed’, and any other helpful updates to keep requestors informed. By providing this level of transparency, IT personnel keep the support process calm and organized and offer requestors the peace of mind they need to focus on other tasks.
- Accelerate Response Times: SimplyCast’s IT Request Process use case helps government IT support personnel automate low-level, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks, which streamlines their workflow, makes better use of their skills and expertise, and eliminates the risk of human error.
Many basic tasks can be handled entirely by hyperautomation tools, and by incorporating these automated processes, government IT support personnel can find greater satisfaction and engagement in their work, all while boosting their response times and reducing frustration with the support process. This leads to happier, more productive offices that are better protected against cyber threats than ever before.
Three Simple Steps to IT Help Desk Automation
- Digital Form: When IT problems are identified, affected staff should fill out a digital IT request form to submit their IT request. This form should prompt staff to include crucial information such as steps to replicate the problem. Based on the answers provided, SimplyCast’s automation tools will determine which department or staff member the request should go to.
- Automatic Email: Once an IT request has been submitted via digital form, an email containing all essential information is automatically sent to the relevant staff member, who can begin work on the request right away.
- Frequent Notifications: As government IT personnel proceed through the troubleshooting process, they can send out templated updates regarding the status of the IT request. This gives requestors an accurate idea of how their issue is progressing and how soon it might be resolved.
Why Automated IT Support Tickets are the Future of Government IT Support
Despite the low-maintenance nature of this framework, SimplyCast’s IT Request Process use case helps government IT support staff provide exceptional service and support to requestors, thereby boosting trust in government IT departments.
By tracking how the progress of their IT support tickets, requestors can fully understand the extent of the technical issue and how soon they’ll be able to get back to work. Also, by bridging the gap between IT staff and other departments, our solution helps requestors feel confident in promptly bringing future technical problems to the attention of IT staff.
With government IT support staff to strengthen internal government workings and processes, governments can ensure their public service delivery is immaculate, and that personal information is always kept secure.
With SimplyCast, you never have to worry about data security. Our platform has achieved certification in ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, and TX-Ramp Level 2. Trusted by governments and industries worldwide, we take your privacy and protection seriously. By maintaining our own data centers in Canada and the US, we guarantee you total data sovereignty, so you never have to worry about sensitive data being mishandled.
Curious to try our platform for yourself? Reach out today for your free demo and let our experts answer your questions.
