1. Pesky printer problems

Printers, notorious for triggering frustration, are a common source of technical issues. In fact, they incite such strong emotions that The Washington Post dedicated an entire week to exploring consumers’ intense dislike for them! MSPs can ensure their technicians are well-prepared by equipping them with passwords, tips, tricks and documented quirks for each printing environment. This empowers technicians to swiftly resolve printing-related problems.

2. User management and onboarding

Smooth employee onboarding is essential for both the success of new team members and overall customer satisfaction. By utilizing the Ticket Type rule variable, technicians can automatically access the necessary procedures, passwords and flexible assets when working on “New Employee” ticket types. This ensures a smooth and seamless onboarding process.

3. Secure access to remote services

In the current hybrid work environment, secure access to company resources is paramount. Technicians need quick access to VPN and secure edge information, especially when employees are away from the corporate network. Secure Edge ensures that end users can access corporate networks with the same security standards. These standards are applied no matter where users are connecting from. By using the Ticket Title or Ticket Description field to identify keywords like “VPN” or “Remote Access,” technicians can efficiently retrieve VPN flexible assets, documents and passwords.

4. Install or access Microsoft 365 services

Troubleshooting Microsoft 365 services often begins with confirming user licenses. Thanks to IT Glue’s integration with the Microsoft platform to automatically track Flexible Assets, Autotask users can create a rule that identifies keywords like “Microsoft,” “Office,” “Power Bi” or “Azure” in Ticket Titles or Descriptions, automatically displaying the Microsoft 365 License flexible asset. Your technicians will never have to jump through hoops to see what license they’re assigned again. To explore this integration further, you can read our blog post “Announcing Azure AD and Intune Integrations,” which showcases how you can consolidate and automate documentation of various asset types in your Microsoft environment with IT Glue.

5. Line of business application access

Different industries rely on unique sets of applications. Technicians may not be as familiar with these specialized applications as they are with Microsoft, Zoom or Google Workplace. By identifying keywords in tickets related to specific applications such as “Amicus,” “DealerSocket,” “Dentrix,” “Mindbody” or “Sage,” technicians can easily access Application flexible assets and the appropriate passwords, leading to quicker ticket resolution.

The Autotask and IT Glue integration has revolutionized service desk operations by eliminating information hunts and streamlining the process. Technicians benefit from auto-suggested IT Glue Documents, Passwords, and Flexible Assets directly in Autotask tickets, saving time and improving service quality.

Schedule a demo of IT Glue to see how this powerful integration can transform your service desk.

The post Supercharging Service Desk Operations with IT Glue and Autotask Integration appeared first on IT Glue.

There are two solutions that every MSP needs to conduct their everyday business — their documentation tool and their PSA. That’s why bringing these two together creates a more seamless experience for everyone involved, resulting in more fulfilled colleagues and happier customers.  

The Autotask and IT Glue integration is the ultimate pairing. It enables you to improve technician workflows, decrease ticket resolution time and maximize efficiency by streamlining repeated tasks and easily accessing the critical information needed to support clients.  

Consistently provide top-level service and resolve tickets faster

With this integration, you can quickly and efficiently resolve issues and reduce ticket volume so that your technicians can provide the best possible service while maximizing their time. As a result, all your business operations become more seamless. 

By consolidating the information from your documentation tool and PSA, you can reduce the cost-of-service delivery because you no longer have to waste time looking for data across multiple systems and platforms. 

You also get a quick view of all your data because all your critical information is centrally available in one place, with two-way syncs for organizations, contacts and configurations. One-way syncs are available for locations and tickets between Autotask and IT Glue. 

IT Glue Passwords and Documents in Autotask Ticket

By putting IT Glue Passwords and Documents directly in an Autotask Ticket, you reduce the need for technicians to leave the Autotask Service Desk to find the knowledge they need to resolve the request. 

IT Glue information is dynamically shown on tickets based on configured auto-documentation rules to ensure technicians use the correct passwords, processes and procedures pertaining to the ticket they are working on. This helps even the newest team members crush their tickets quickly and accurately.  

There are three out-of-the-box auto-documentation rules available to you by default to help you get started: 

• New hire onboarding 
• Microsoft 365 
• Printer management 

Do you have a specific process that you need technicians to follow every single time or a simple fix that everyone forgets about? Add these as custom rules to make sure you don’t waste time.  

Although different organizations and teams have different needs, there are endless instances where auto-suggested documentation can be extremely helpful. We encourage you to create custom rules to personalize auto-suggestions for your specific needs and take your service desk efficiency to the next level.  

The rules can be based on various Autotask ticket attributes, such as title, description, tags, status, priority, queue, issue and sub-issue type. The first step is determining where you spend the most time and then building repeatable processes. 

Tip: Review the last 60 to 90 days of service requests in Autotask to identify patterns of requests. For the top issue types, make sure that:

1. You have all the necessary information documented in IT Glue for each customer to solve these requests.

2. You create related items between the assets so they can easily be found in IT Glue.

3. You create custom rules, so the documentation is automatically displayed on Autotask tickets that pertain to that request.

IT Glue Checklists in Autotask Accounts 

Through the Autotask integration, you can also easily view IT Glue Checklists directly inside Autotask Accounts, helping you standardize account activities and ensuring they are accurately performed each time.  

Standardize Autotask Account-level activities with IT Glue SOP-focused checklists, such as onsite visits or QBR presentations. 

All IT Glue checklists associated with the Autotask Account are automatically surfaced and can be viewed and managed directly in Autotask. 

Learn more about the Autotask integration in this Knowledge Base article.

Want to learn more about the Autotask integration? Get a demo to see it in action.

The post Supercharge Service Desk Operations With IT Glue appeared first on IT Glue.

Our integration with Continuum Help Desk means one knowledge source for both your in-house and Continuum technicians. With one knowledge source, both parties are bound to save time they would have otherwise spent searching for the information needed to get the job done.

About the integration

Taking advantage of the Continuum Help Desk integration allows both your team and Continuum Help Desk technicians to access the same device information and knowledge in IT Glue, to service your clients with round the clock confidence.

To get started, you simply use our GlueConnect feature to grant Continuum Help Desk access to your IT Glue data. Essentially, this access allows them to be as productive as your in-house team, increasing all around efficiency for your clients.

This integration offers granular security control over which organizations you want to share with Continuum Help Desk, ensuring you still have complete control over your information in IT Glue. You will also have full visibility into Help Desk technicians’ activities, with detailed activity logs.

With all your information in one place, and available for both parties, you can start enhancing your productivity today. As always, you can access our Knowledge Base article here.  Note: Due to technical constraints, this integration is unfortunately available only in the North American market.

Not an IT Glue partner yet? No problem! Sign up for a demo today to learn how our platform helps streamline your documentation and enhance your MSP’s overall efficiency.

Yes, sign me up for a demo!

Founded in 2013, IT Glue is the world leader in MSP documentation. Our integrations with leading PSA and RMM platforms, along with other communications tools, allows information to flow seamlessly throughout your organization, reducing the friction that creates wasted time for your techs. By eliminating this waste, IT Glue helps you improve your bottom line.

The post Introducing our Continuum Help Desk Integration appeared first on IT Glue.

This integration will allow Vorex users to automate much more of their documentation. Since many Vorex users also use Kaseya VSA for remote monitoring and management, this integration will bring more of their documentation into the IT Glue ecosystem, and allow them to improve their level of automation.

To find out more about setting up Vorex integration with IT Glue, please reference the IT Glue Knowledge Base.

If you’re a Vorex customer, and you want to learn more about how IT Glue’s documentation platform can make your IT service business more efficient, we recommend you take a look at the features IT Glue offers to help you leverage the power of documentation.

View Features

Founded in 2013, IT Glue is the world leader in MSP documentation. Our integrations with leading PSA and RMM platforms, along with other communications tools, allows information to flow seamlessly throughout your organization, reducing the friction that creates wasted time for your techs. By eliminating this waste, IT Glue helps you improve your bottom line.

The post Announcing Vorex Integration appeared first on IT Glue.

If you’re taking too long to find, hire and onboard the talent you need, you’re probably leaving money on the table on the growth side. But there are things you can do, not only to shorten the hiring cycle, but also get better results as well.

In the first two parts of our service desk series, we looked at the ways the service desk contributes to profit and how to handle after-hours support. In this post, we will examine the process of hiring and onboarding top talent for your service desk.

Focus on fit

Finding great people is the most difficult issue, and every labor market is different. But there are some universal things to keep in mind. Fit with the culture is commonly cited as being one of the most important hiring criteria, and with good reason. You need everybody on the entire team pulling in one direction.

It is more important to get the right person with the wrong skills than to get the wrong person with the right skills. By why is that? The fact is, training people and getting them to pro level is a lot easier than it used to be.

Make internal knowledge transfer powerful

The reason that onboarding is easier than it used to be is that the mechanisms for internal knowledge transfer are much more robust than before. Where even just a few years ago, a new tech would have to learn from other techs, now that knowledge can be stored in a platform where it is readily accessible. The easier it is to transfer internal knowledge, the easier it is to bring new techs on board. And when you’ve really got your onboarding dialled in, your Tier 1 techs can be as productive as Tier 3s.

Here’s how much the onboarding process for new techs has been transformed in the past couple of years. Doing things the old way meant that a tech would have to learn information, basically by rote. A lot of information. And that took time, memorizing key information about each client, and where all of that information is stored.

Learn process, not information

Now, a new tech doesn’t need to learn information to the same degree — they learn processes, in particular the process of how to find the information that they need. But once they know how to find information, they can do it themselves, which is much more efficient than running around the office tapping shoulders and guessing where the key information is.

That’s the secret sauce to onboarding — teach your techs how to teach themselves. If you’ve got all your clients’ information documented, you’re well on your way to that goal. If you have your training manuals documented so that new techs can learn on their own how to find key information, then you’ll save even more time.

New techs working at 80% just a couple of weeks in? That’s what a great service desk looks like today.

To find out more about how IT Glue’s documentation platform helps shorten your onboarding process for new techs, sign up to watch a demo below.

[fusion_button link=”/demo” text_transform=”” title=”” target=”_blank” link_attributes=”” alignment=”” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” color=”scheme-0″ button_gradient_top_color=”” button_gradient_bottom_color=”” button_gradient_top_color_hover=”” button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” type=”flat” bevel_color=”” size=”” stretch=”default” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]Yes, sign me up for a demo![/fusion_button]

IT Glue is a documentation platform that helps you to streamline your processes, record and organize information, and reduce the amount of time your techs waste looking for information. IT Glue’s partners report efficiency gains almost immediately after launching the platform. Watch the demo to find out more.

The post Service Desk: Tips for Hiring and Onboarding New Techs appeared first on IT Glue.

In the previous installment of the service desk series, we looked at how your service desk contributes to profit, and part of that is having a desk with few weaknesses. But what about overnight and weekend service? Let’s take a look at the issue of handling after hours support.

Do you need 24/7 Support?

It seems logical that you do, because you really don’t know when your clients are working. This is especially true when your clients are small businesses, and the owners are engaged at all hours in their work. And there’s a lot of businesses that never sleep — healthcare and entertainment to name a couple — not to mention RMMs that can send you an alert at any time of day or night.

There is certainly a case to be made that 24/7 is not a requirement, especially for a Help Desk. Most calls come in during business hours, and the majority in the morning. To an extent, this reflects that businesses are acculturated to simply dealing with their Help Desk issues during normal business hours, so if that’s what SMBs want, then it begs the question as to if the incremental costs associated with 24/7 Help Desk coverage are worth the incremental gains?

What about NOC?

The network operations center (NOC) is a true 24/7 business. This level of coverage is more mission-critical than basic Help Desk coverage. If you’re big enough, you can build your own, but this is by no means an economically viable option for every MSP.

Partnership with another company is a great option for MSPs to offer after hours service to their clients. GlueConnect is an effective way of making such arrangements work, as it allows IT Glue partners to share information with each other as needed, or with one of our two certified GlueConnect partners, GMS and InBay.

Put it in Writing

When it comes to after hours coverage, it cannot be stressed enough that you need to specify in your SLAs what clients can expect from you. If you promise 24/7, you need to say that. If you only do normal business hours, then you need to specify that, too. If there are added costs to 24/7, make sure you build that into the price.

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are required as well, to ensure that your team is fully aware of how different situations after hours are to be handled. There should not be any confusion or ambiguity about how to service an after hours call — the SOP should specify responsible personnel and tasks.

Staffing

For smaller companies, there are a few different approaches that people use. The owner/senior tech is usually designated as the person on call. In some cases, a company with excellent documentation can have a more junior person rotate into the on-call schedule.

In fact, having great documentation in IT Glue that allows you to resolve issues more quickly will reduce the amount of time spent on after hours calls, and increase the number of techs you trust to handle them. It’s important to have some redundancy built into the system in case your main go-to isn’t available for whatever reason, or if two clients have issues at the same time (rare, but it happens).

After hours problems don’t come up that often, but if they are part of what your clients are paying for, then you need to make sure that they are handled as smoothly as possible. Definitely build the cost of after hours service into your pricing, and ensure that the SLA is clear with respect to what you offer and if there are added costs associated with that. But having clear SOPs, great documentation, and maybe even a partner on the other side of the world to help will help make after hours support easier for you, while ensuring that you are also delivering great service to your customers.

To find out more about GlueConnect and other great features offered by IT Glue, view features below.

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IT Glue is the leading documentation platform for MSPs, designed to eliminate waste, improve productivity and help you hit your SLAs better. We are committed to continuous improvement, and this means we are constantly rolling out new features. Check our blog or our release notes regularly to learn about the latest features.

The post Service Desk:  How to Handle After Hours Support appeared first on IT Glue.

We talk about time waste a lot, but it’s not just that. In the first of our four-part series on the service desk, we explore quite a few different ways that your service desk contributes to your bottom line.

Lower costs

The service desk is one of the biggest sources of cost for your MSP. You pay your techs good money,  and that represents the cost of goods sold for the business. So maximizing the output of your techs is one important way for the service desk to drive profit. We’re biased, but we think that there’s a lot of savings to be had with effective documentation, as this will allow you to reduce the amount of time your techs are spending looking for information. The less time they spend looking for information, the more time they spend solving your customers’ problems.

Reduce churn

What happens when customers’ problems are being solved quickly and efficiently? Well, for one thing, your customers are happy. When you’re on a monthly recurring revenue (MRR) model, ensuring that your customers are happy is an important element in reducing customer churn. Remember that churn is evil. It costs you money to find new customers, and the more old customers you lose the more new ones you have to find. It’s a double whammy on your profit when you lose a customer. But happy customers are a lot less likely to leave.

Create evangelists

Furthermore, think about the sales funnel. The sales funnel does not end with “customer”; it ends with “evangelist.” In simple terms, an evangelist is a customer so happy with your service that they tell others about you. Evangelists lower the cost of new customer acquisition, and they often find new customers for you that you would not have otherwise found. A customer is a net gain; an evangelist can be an exponential gain.

Name your price

When your desk is optimized, it has lower costs and delivers superior service. Superior service allows you to charge premium prices. People are willing to pay when you can deliver on quality. Premium prices combined with lower costs gives you dramatically higher margins. Superior service equals higher levels of customer satisfaction, which means lower churn and more word-of-mouth marketing. All of these things represent an improvement to your bottom line, one way or another. Put together, it’s the difference between an MSP that is struggling to get by each month and one that hums along like a well-oiled machine, turning regular profits and impressing customers at the same time.

And it all starts with the service desk. A desk optimized because your techs aren’t wasting time looking for information; they know exactly where to find it, every time, because it’s in IT Glue.

To learn more about how IT Glue can optimize your MSP service desk, sign up for a free demo.

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IT Glue is a software platform that allows for efficient storage and retrieval of all the documentation you need to help your MSP run better. By integrating PSA and RMM data, we can help increase your efficiency upwards of 20%, and reduce onboarding times by even more. By eliminating wasted time from your business, IT Glue gives you more time to focus on what matters – growing your business.

The post 4 Ways the Service Desk Contributes to Profit appeared first on IT Glue.