Rescue for the Helpdesk

A Whitepaper on the effects on Win 95



A comprehensive study of the operations of F100 Helpdesks with
projections of the business benefits that will accrue when
the users migrate to Windows NT Workstation.

Prepared by
Technology Business Research Inc.
400 Lafayette Road
Hampton, N.H. USA 03842

Technology Business Research Inc. is an employee owned market research and consulting firm
which has acquired the assets of WorkGroup Technologies Inc.

Table of Contents

  • Executive Summary
    •
  • Background of the Study
    •
  • Site Selection
    •
  • Data collection process
  • The Research results
    •
  • Helpdesk Goals
    •
  • Typical Helpdesk Position in the Organization
    •
  • Helpdesk Functions and Responsibility
    •
  • Current Helpdesk Problems
  • Helpdesk Problem Mix
    •
  • Feedback from organizations who have adopted WindowsNT Workstation
    •
  • Benefits From Use of WindowsNT Workstation
    •
  • Projected Results and savings
    •
  • Other Corporate Business gains
    •
  • Summary
    •
  • Appendix 1: User Reaction to WindowsNT Workstation
  • Appendix 2: WindowsNT Workstation technology improvement
  • Appendix 3: Comments on site differences
  • Appendix 4: Helpdesk calculations template

    • Acknowledgments
    We would like to take a moment and recognize the Helpdesk managers and their staffs for working with us during the interview and for supplying the data that made much of this paper possible. We know we cannot mention you by name; however, you know to whom this applies. We thank you for helping us prepare this study.

    Trademarks
    Microsoft, MS-DOS and Windows are registered trademarks and Windows NT is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
    Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
    Netview is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
    Novell and Netware are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc.
    Kodak is a registered trademark of Eastman Kodak Company.
    0196 Part No. 098-63972

    Executive Summary

    During 1995, Technology Business Research undertook a comprehensive study of 14 Helpdesks in F100 firms having large numbers of installed PCs. After extensive research and evaluation of each Helpdesk's experiences with Windows 3.x and Windows for Workgroups 3.x, we have determined that Windows NT Workstation will provide substantial Helpdesk savings for high volume users who switch to Windows NT Workstation.

    Windows NT Workstation can be expected to reduce support costs by $483 per user per year and annual savings will continue for the life of the product.
    The research program consisted of in-depth discussions with 14 Helpdesk managers (9 of whom provided the call detail reports) in F100 companies representing over 120,000 PC users and more than 1.4 million Helpdesk calls per year. After analyzing more than forty-seven thousand individual Helpdesk call reports, having extensively evaluated and used Windows NT Workstation, and having surveyed Windows NT Workstation adopters, Technology Business Research is able to identify many areas where Windows NT Workstation will offer significant Helpdesk operations impact. Our analysis has shown that, in a steady state environment, users should see a reduction in volume of PC Helpdesk calls of between 15% and 29% annually due to Windows NT Workstation robustness security and ease of use. Using an example average site (based on this study), with 9602 PCs, the reader could anticipate an elimination of 1222 calls per month for a potential savings of $19,980 per month. Alternatively, existing Helpdesk resources would be able to handle more users with no increase in Helpdesk staff. Obviously, savings will vary based on site population as well as other variables.

    From our analysis, Technology Business Research projects this average size Helpdesk (serving 9602 PC users) will also see an average reduction of 67%, range 44% to 93%, from the previous number of onsite visits requiring technical staff. In this average sized site, Technology Business Research projects a further savings of $333,600 /month due to on-site visit avoidance of 1,112 visits per month. Technicians will be able to use Windows NT Workstation remote management services, other advanced features to fix the call via the network. The Windows NT Workstation characteristics of reliability and high security contribute to reductions in onsite technician visits. These savings, due to both call avoidance and onsite visit avoidance, will generate an estimated monthly savings of $386,580.

    We should point out this is for the steady state condition after the users have passed the learning curve of using Windows NT Workstation. The savings cited above are for larger computer sites; however, we feel the results can be extrapolated to different sized sites and your results should vary proportionately. It was readily apparent from our research that each organization's Helpdesk varies considerably in the types and range of problems encountered, as well as costs associated with resolving the problems. See the spreadsheet at the back of this document for use in auditing your own site-specific Helpdesk data and calculating estimates for your organization. In addition to the cost savings noted above, there are also business and productivity benefits that accrue through increased user satisfaction, less end user downtime and improved confidence in system reliability.

    Study Background

    Helpdesks are moving from an expense center to an integral part of the technology implement-ation matrix.
    Technology Business Research was retained to quantify potential support and Helpdesk benefits that might be derived through the major operational enhancements that will be delivered as part of Windows NT Workstation. Examples of these enhancements include: protection of operating system from user programs, improved security and multitasking, Remote Control, Systems Management Services, the same simple and intuitive user interface as used in Windows 95, support for long file names and User Configuration information centralized in a registry, etc.

    If your Helpdesk is like most support organizations today, it is probably being asked to do more with less. Demand for support has risen sharply, but staff levels have either remained flat or dropped. For this reason, the future of successful support rests in a user's ability to interface with a Helpdesk possessing complementary support tools that take advantage of broad open-system standards which facilitate the required technology interfaces.

    Increased desktop complexity and networking have driven call growth volume geometrically.
    Client server system implementations have brought an unexpected dark side-the cost of technical support. Many times the customer bought the vision of re-engineered, open, flexible client server systems as the way to reduce cost and increase service to all users. Frequently, what users have experienced has been increasing complexity, sometimes unmanageable application development, soaring support costs and less-than-effective implementations.
    Many times users inadvertently brought down their systems by deleting files or altering settings.
    As more advanced networked applications have been deployed over the past five years, the cost of the Helpdesk and technical support has grown geometrically. The desktop user effectively became a desktop (and larger) systems manager. Many times users inadvertently brought down their systems by deleting files or altering settings that ultimately required a technician's visit to complete a repair. Microsoft has addressed a significant number of these operational issues with Windows NT Workstation. The result will be a reduction in the number of user calls to the Helpdesk due to improved reliability and security, as well as functional improvements, making systems more crashworthy and controllable.
    Windows NT Workstation prevents and assists in the resolution of a wide range of user problems.
    This paper reviews the Helpdesk operations of a number of large existing Windows 3.x users, identifies the types of problems they are currently experiencing and then isolates those problems that Windows NT Workstation will either prevent or assist in resolving more efficiently. It is the objective of this white paper to provide reasonable quantitative estimates of how the inclusion of Windows NT Workstation functional enhancements deliver productivity improvements to users, while lowering customers' internal and external support costs. The paper will also supply a method and worksheet that can be used by the reader to estimate their own savings using their data.

    Primary white paper objectives are to:

    Site Selection and Qualification

     To achieve the objective of this study, Technology Business Research recruited large user sites from a variety of industries among both large Microsoft Windows 3.x installed users and the F500. Nine sites were chosen, representing a wide range of industries. The study was limited to sites in the USA; however, we expect similar results where local language versions of Windows NT Workstation are used. Users were screened to determine if they met certain criterion. In order for sites to qualify, they had to: The study participants included firms engaged in the following types of business:

    Aerospace Manufacturer Food & Beverage Manufacturer
    Full Service Bank Stock Brokerage Firm
    Major Consulting Firm Life Insurance Company
    Chemical Company Automotive Company
    Financial Services Company

    Data collection process

    During our research, we analyzed, in detail, more than 47,000 individual PC call reports.
    After qualifying and selecting the sites, Technology Business Research provided a briefing package of documents that outlined the research program's objectives and the type of information we were seeking. We then conducted telephone interviews to determine the structure of their Helpdesk operation and to acquire demographics on users, desktop device base, business problems and general information about their Helpdesk. We requested call report summary information and up to 6 months of call report detail for our analysis. During the call report analysis phase, we evaluated, in detail, more than 47,000 individual PC-related calls. We identified common trouble call clusters and then coded the call reports along a common schema so we could develop a comparative matrix. Specific call types were then analyzed to determine if Windows NT Workstation would either eliminate the call or contribute materially to a faster, more efficient resolution. The results of this detailed analysis provided the call counts used to generate the improvement figures cited throughout this report.