As technology continues to transform our world, companies are embracing multiple forms of technology, such as cashless payments and QR codes, to perform transactions, track production and monitor operations. Even small localized businesses, such as those found at farmer’s markets and craft fairs, are utilizing forms of ecommerce technology, allowing customers to pay by credit card with mobile-phone enabled scanners. Emerging technology continues to forge a new path for modern organizations. These advancements are changing how we do business—disrupting operations, systems and expectations. One area of technology, in particular, that is feeling the strain is tech support. Tier-one support roles have always functioned as the first stop in the troubleshooting journey, a filtering mechanism for technology issues, but as innovations make way for self-service portals and user-generated password resets, many businesses are re-evaluating the responsibilities of tech support. THE EVOLUTION OF TECH SUPPORT At the base of every team is tech support. Historically, these groups have functioned as intermediaries between tech departments and end users, the foundational level of interaction for user issues. In the past, these teams were fully proficient in Windows operating systems and spent a majority of their time roaming the building checking desktop connections. Tech support was expected to be physically present and often spent time meandering around the building in order to solve problems.
These roles traditionally operated as a hierarchy where tech issues could be escalated according to severity, risk level and the need for expert intervention:
Tier 1:
Tier 4:
Tier 2:
Tier 3:
Manages first communication with end users
Not all organizations utilize a tier four level of tech support, but this usually refers to an outsourced third party where a vendor or consultant is needed to provide a solution.
An escalation from tier one when problems cannot be solved. Tier two individuals often possess specialized knowledge of certain systems or applications.
An expert level of escalation where sophisticated subject knowledge is needed to solve a problem.
and assists with basic
troubleshooting such as password resets and connectivity issues.
2
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