What is IT support? Support tiers, the IT support process and ticketing systems

In many companies with a few dozen employees, IT support has a single point of contact: “the person who knows about computers”. When the printer breaks, people go to them; when a password is forgotten, they message them; they set up the new hire’s computer. When this person goes on leave or leaves the company, most of the knowledge leaves with them. The problem is not the person, but the fact that the setup depends on one person. IT support is not really a person but a service; it defines in advance how a problem will be received, who will handle it and when it will move up a level.

IT support is the service that logs employees’ technical problems and requests, such as computer, software, printer, user account and network issues, resolves them and measures the resolution process. Inside a company this service is provided by an IT department; in small companies the work often rests on one or two people. In this article we explain in plain language what IT support covers, what support tiers are for and how the process and duties are organised.

What does an IT support service cover?

• Computers and peripherals: A computer that will not start, slowness, screens, keyboards, setup and replacement.
• Software: Program installation, errors, updates and pointing users to answers for usage questions.
• Printers and scanners: Connection, paper jams, toner and shared printer settings.
• User accounts: Creating new accounts, password resets, permission and access changes, closing the accounts of employees who leave.
• Network and internet: Dropped connections, Wi-Fi, access to shared folders.
• Guidance: Short notes that explain to employees how to solve common problems.

IT support tiers: tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3

The tier model makes sure every request reaches the most suitable person by the shortest route. A specialist resetting a password does not need to wait in the same queue as a specialist dealing with a server problem.

A fictional Monday morning shows how the tiers work. The first request comes from an employee who forgot their password; because the steps are written in the knowledge base, the employee solves the problem themselves and does not open a request. The second request is that the accounting printer has dropped off the network; the tier 1 specialist restores the connection and closes it. In the third request, a new piece of software keeps throwing errors on one particular computer; the specialist cannot solve it and hands the request to tier 2, and from there to the software company. The record stays the same throughout, and the employee can see who is dealing with it.

How do you set up support tiers in a small or mid-sized company?

In a one-person department the same person runs every tier; even so, writing the tiers down is useful. Deciding what can be solved in-house, what is handed to a vendor and which information is passed on during the handover keeps the service running even when the person changes. In a team of two or three, a simple split is enough: one person receives and classifies incoming requests and handles quick fixes, the other focuses on infrastructure and complex problems. An external vendor steps in as tier 3 when needed; however, IT remains the owner of the request, and the employee does not deal with the vendor directly.

The IT support process: the path of a request

1. Create the request: The employee opens the request through a single channel; the request gets a number and a date.
2. Classify: The request is tagged by category (computer, software, printer, account, network) and priority.
3. Assign to the expert team: The responsible person or team is chosen by category and priority; the target time (SLA) starts at this point.
4. Apply the fix: The specialist resolves the problem and writes what was done into the record; if needed, the request is escalated to a higher tier.
5. Close and measure: The request is closed, the resolution time and employee satisfaction are measured, and the solution is added to the knowledge base.

Duties of an in-house support team

A support team’s job is not only fixing faults. For the service to continue, the following duties also need to be someone’s responsibility:

• Receiving, classifying and assigning incoming requests.
• Applying fixes and recording what was done.
• Preparing accounts and equipment for new hires, closing the accounts of employees who leave and collecting their equipment.
• Keeping the device inventory and asset assignment records up to date.
• Adding solved problems to the knowledge base as short notes.
• Spotting recurring problems and proposing permanent fixes.
• Reporting resolution time and satisfaction indicators to management.
• Informing employees in advance about planned outages and maintenance.

When should you use external support?

Not every company needs to keep every skill in-house. For server and network infrastructure, maintenance of custom software or security work that is rarely needed, an external vendor is a reasonable option. The critical point is that external support is managed within the same process: the employee who opened the request does not correspond with the vendor directly, IT remains the owner of the request, and the response time expected from the vendor is written in the contract or SLA. Otherwise the request gets lost between the two sides and nobody owns it.

Knowledge base and satisfaction measurement: the quiet parts of the process

Two elements are neglected in most support departments, yet they are what raise service quality over time. The knowledge base stores the answer to a problem once it has been solved; when the same request comes in a second time, the specialist does not search for the fix from scratch, and employees can solve some problems on their own without opening a request. Satisfaction measurement shows where time alone is not enough: a request may have closed within the target time, but the employee may not have been happy with the fix. Read together, the two show whether the service really works.

Without a ticketing system: IT support over WhatsApp and email

In a small office, a messaging group or a shared email address is enough for a while; there are few requests and everyone knows each other. The difficulty starts when volume grows. Messages in the group scroll away, it is unclear whether a request was resolved, the history is lost when the specialist changes, and nothing shows how many times the same problem has occurred. Without a system it is also hard to show a manager how much work IT does, because the work lives in memory, not in a record. A support request system, commonly called a ticketing system, turns this work into records and measurements.

How does IT support work in KurumsalPortal?

The IT Support / Help Desk module of YazSis KurumsalPortal runs the five steps above: a request is created, classified by category and priority, assigned to the expert team, resolved, and when it is closed the resolution time and satisfaction are measured. Assignment, SLA and resolution time are tracked for every ticket; the knowledge base keeps known solutions on record and recurring problems become visible. The module is used by all employees, IT support teams and IT managers.

When the support team needs device information, the Asset & Assignment Management module of the same portal comes in: fixed assets are tracked by person and location, and assignment, return, transfer, fault and repair movements build up on each device’s card. This way, during support you can see who has a computer and which faults it has had before.

If you are starting to set up your own support flow, you can review the module’s steps on the IT Support / Help Desk page.