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IT Support Model: Everything You Need to Know

IT Support Model: Everything You Need to Know

Q: 1. How do you create a support model?

To create a support model, follow these simple steps: Decide on the team composition. Decide the channels of request support. Decide the timetable of the support team. Decide the method of hiring. If outsourcing, decide on the options.

Q: 2. What is the application support model?

Application support model where the internal customer uses certain applications or software within the organization, whereas the external customer uses the same outside the organization.

Q: 3. What is a production support model?

The concept organizes IT support into 3 different tiers, ranging from level 1 to 3; the service desk, technical management team, and development team.

Q: 4. What is a tiered support model?

Tiered support model is a customer service model that creates different levels ranging from 1 to 3 so that you can easily allocate the resources budget, create escalation ways and provide each customer with the right level of service.

By Manikandan Mohanakrishnan

Updated on Nov 14, 2022 | 14 min read | 15.0k views

Table of Contents

IT has become a major part of our daily life. The IT support model is a part of IT service management. It is also known as ITSM support management, and no company overlooks the importance of this model in today's time. IT support models define the various technologies and methods that are used by the IT departments and teams in a company for management purposes and the timely delivery of services to clients. This includes all the activities, techniques, and procedures used to design, create, develop and deliver IT support services to the organization and the respective clients.

ITIL support model is built on the prime belief that IT is an inseparable part of people and organizations because everything is driven by technology nowadays. If you want to become a professional in the IT support model field, then the ITIL Foundation Course by KnowledgeHut can help you to learn about IT models and their processes.

Thus, IT support models are provided to the clients as a service rather than a hypothetical concept. A very simple IT support model example can be an employee asking for a computer system to work on. The employee does that by filling up a request form in the company portal so that they can be provided with the necessary equipment. The company desk will see the request, and necessary support will be provided to the concerned person.

What is the IT Support Model?

IT Service Management is a need of the hour for IT departments. The ever-growing technology has caused companies to go out for updated, and better IT service models and the ITSM support model is one of the best models in recent times. IT support model refers to a collection of methods used by an organization's IT professionals for providing and managing end-to-end IT service and product delivery to the respective clients.

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This model includes all the activities, procedures, and processes used to create, design, and deliver various IT support products and services. It requires a proper team to decide on a particular service that has to be delivered to the client, and then the IT team takes the necessary measures to deliver the service to the client.

Tiered IT Support Models

The tiered or multi-level IT support model framework is the traditional one used by companies and professionals to provide IT services. With advancements in technology, technological services also intend to grow and upscale. As the user base expands, the demand for new technology exponentially grows. The traditional system is based on ITIL level 1 2 3 support definition but it is becoming obsolete today as businesses are facing challenges to improve the IT support models and capabilities. The need of the hour for the ITIL support model template asks for better, faster, more convenient, and more accurate IT support.

Each level of the tier model can be explained as follows:

Level 1: It includes a service desk and is considered a well-established IT function. The support agents are not essentially experts at this level. Self-service and automation can be used to connect support agents with support users. The common issues are resolved at this level, such as issues with updates, passwords, system reset, etc.
Level 2: It handles a relatively complex problem, and the support agents in this level are much more experienced and capable of handling complexities. The support agents are technical personnel such as designers, engineers, and programmers and possess deep knowledge for resolving issues that the end users face.
Level 3: It handles the most problematic issues, and the support agents at this level are experts in certain technical aspects. The support agents at this level are creators and are active participants in designing, architecting, expanding, and improving various IT services and products.

Any issues related to the technologies or services that are not within the spectrum of your organization can be transferred to external vendors, and they fall in the category of tier 4, completing the tier IT support model.

Why is the IT Support Model Important?

ITSM support model helps standardize your organization's service and product delivery and skillfully manages the budget, resources, and materials used for allocation. The ITSM model provides a bunch of benefits that are enumerated as follows:

It helps to improve service delivery throughout the organization, especially the IT departments, with the help of various service management principles that can uplift the quality of your company's work.
IT support model diagrams tend to improve productivity and gain efficiency in organizational work.
It initiates the alignment of IT with business goals by incorporating a structured approach to IT Service Management.
The IT service support model streamlines the project management structure and bridges the gap between various development teams and IT departments.
It easily incorporates the collaboration of multiple departments to work together.
Continuous improvement and sharing of knowledge empower the IT personnel to perform better.
IT support pricing models provide efficient service delivery by improving request coordination in the organization.
It allows faster solutions to major IT-related issues and prevents the company from facing similar issues in the future.
The support model for IT applications is customer-centric as it combines self-service and aligned processes.
It encourages collaborative communication and improves the line of communication throughout the organization.

Pitfalls of Tiered IT Support Model

As a major transformation of technology has taken place in the 21st century, the IT-tiered support model is insufficient for providing desired results. It is felt in several ways, and organizations need a more advanced technology for IT support model. To know more about the pitfalls of the tiered IT support model and how you can resolve them as an IT support professional, register yourself for the IT Service Management Certification Online by KnowledgeHut and gain in-depth knowledge about this discipline so that you can become an expert in resolving IT support issues.

The major pitfalls of the tiered IT support model are explained as follows:

1	Long queues and delays	As service requests are unending and it consumes a lot of time to solve them, a small number of support staff and resources will result in the piling up of support requests that remain pending for a long time.
2	Depository knowledge distribution	Various issues occur whose solutions are already known by people in the organization and remain in the fold of the tiers. It is important that the knowledge should be shared between the tiers to solve the issue with the right amount of expertise and pocket of knowledge.
3	Single communication channel	To get access to the support requests, end users should follow a particular process and information that will lead them to the support requests. This is a hindrance for the support agents, especially the engineers in the higher tiers, who have to access and correlate information from several issues that are communicated through independent links only.
4	Bouncing tickets	The stockroom approach for solving issues bouncing support requests between the tiers. Until and unless a higher tier has provided sufficient information about an issue, it sits unresolved at a lower tier. Moreover, additional delays are also caused due to the presence of discrepancies.
5	Agent burnout and boredom	The support agents often receive repetitive requests for the same issues to which they have already provided a solution. It only gets escalated when not provided with any knowledge and information about the issue. Providing solutions to the same problem time and again can cause burnout and boredom for the support agents.

These pitfalls of the ITIL tier support model result in the major drawback of poor customer experience that damages your brand's Goodwill.

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ITIL Support Model Software and Tools

There are a lot of ITIL support model software and tools available in the market, but if you want to choose the best for your business, then these are some of the top-rated ITIL tools that you can resort to:

1. NinjaOne

It is a Cloud-based ITIL support model tool that is best for small to large-scale businesses. A free trial is available for this, and the pricing is based on quotes. It has the following features:

End-to-end management
RMM system
Patch management
IT Asset Management

2. Salesforce

It is a Cloud-based IT support model software that is best suited for small to large-scale companies. A 30-day free trial is available, and the pricing is based on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly basis. It provides the following features:

Self-center service
Chatbots for Artificial Intelligence
Workflow automation
Appointment assistance

3. Zendesk ITSM

It is a Cloud-based technology that is also available on-premises. You can avail of a free trial of this tool, and the pricing starts with a minimum of 5 dollars per agent. it is best suited for small to large-scale businesses and incorporates the following features:

High knowledge base
Proper ticketing system
Help desk software
Ample availability of security

4. Wrike

It is a support model tool that is based on a Cloud system. It is hosted by an open API and is suitable for small to large size businesses. You can avail of a free trial of this tool, and the pricing for enterprises starts on a quote basis. It has the following features:

Proper IT service Management templates
Interactive Gantt charts
Availability of custom workflow

5. SuperOps.ai

It is an IT support model tool that is hosted by a Cloud system, and it is best suited for small to medium-sized IT teams and consultants. You can avail of a free trial of 21 days, and the pricing starts at 9 per month. The prime features of the school are as follows:

Streamlined billing and invoicing process
Proper service catalog to inventory
Modern applications have been developed for IOS and Android devices

6. ManageEngine

It is a support tool that is quite flexible and is compatible with Cloud, Linux, Mac, Windows, SaaS, and Web development. It is suitable for small to large companies, and you can avail of a free trial of this tool, whereas the pricing is based on a quote system. It has the following features:

Equipped with problem management
Used for project management
Includes service catalogs
Incorporates visual workflows
Based on advanced analytics

7. HaloITSM

It is a Cloud-based software that is also available on-premises, and it is suitable for small to large-scale businesses. A 30 days free trial is available, and the price starts at £59 per month. It includes the following features:

Equipped with incident management
Possesses a great knowledge base
Has a portal for self-service
Good in SLA management
Equipped with problem management
Incorporates change control

8. Freshservice

It is a Cloud-based IT support model tool that is suitable for small to medium-scale businesses. A 21 days free trial is available, and the pricing starts from $19 per month. It offers the following features:

Equipped with incident management
Possesses a great knowledge management
Has a service catalog
Good in SLA management
Equipped with automation
Incorporates team huddle

9. HubSpot

It is a great IT support model tool based on Cloud and suitable for small to large-scale companies. You can use the free tools that are available before subscribing for a $40 per month subscription in HubSpot. It has the following features:

Equipped with CRM
Great for marketing, sales, and service hub

10. SolarWinds Service Desk

It is an IT support model tool that is based on Cloud and is also available on-premises. It is suitable for small to large businesses and also gives you the option of availing of a 30-day free trial. It starts with minimum pricing of $19 per team. It has the following main features:

Good with incident management
Has a user-friendly service portal
Equipped with change management
Involves IT Asset Management
Has a good knowledge base
Effectively deals with problem management

What is the Solution for a Moving in IT Support Model?

The swarming IT support model could be a possible solution for building a more stable and effective IT support model. Digital swarming is a managed services IT support model that Cisco introduced in 2008. It has now become a popular framework for IT support services and has proven to be more effective than the tiered IT support model.

Mordern IT Support Model

A swarming IT support model allows the support agent and users to see the end-to-end issues and solve them more quickly without causing delays. It is a collaborative effort of both engineers and stakeholders of a company. The repetitive issues are also solved faster by shared knowledge across the support staff. The learning curve of the support agents is improved, and the issues are well documented so that the knowledge can be shared with the end users.

The swarming model husband developed as a means of coping with the shortcomings of the tiered model. It follows a process that is based on collaboration. The swarming IT support model has the following key principles:

The support levels are not based on tiers.
the groups do not incorporate any request escalations or repetitive requests of the same issues.
The issue request directly goes to the particular agent who is best suited for handling and solving the issue.
The assigned agent will deal with the issue till the problem is solved.

Benefits of Mordern IT Support Model

The swarming IT support model has the following benefits that make it a very effective support model in recent times:

Knowledge, resources, and tools are more easily accessible in this model.
It initiates collaborative communication that helps you to grow your knowledge base across the organization.
It automatically restores an information-rich environment that motivates people to work effectively.

The swarming IT support model is a combination of the characteristics of the social network that has it focuses on accessible knowledge and its flow between individuals. You must always be prepared to solve support requests faster and reduce delays as much as possible.

Conclusion

The IT production support model is integral to the modern-day IT support system in every organization. As the world is ever-inclined towards technological development, ITIL levels of support provide the necessary tools that the employees of the IT departments need to build effective communication and solve issues. This is possible with the help of ITSM, and if you are keen to learn about the IT services model, then KnowledgeHut's ITSM certificate course is the best pick for you to kickstart your career in this field.