A service desk analyst is a technician who assists customers and employees with technical issues. He or she is almost always an information technology (IT) professional who specializes in troubleshooting and repairing all of a company’s computer and telecommunications systems. A service desk analyst can be either an in-house employee hired directly by a company or a member of an IT firm hired by a client company.
The organization of user complaints and concerns is one of the most important responsibilities of a service desk analyst. In general, an analyst may communicate with users over the phone or through a web-based interface. When a user calls in, an analyst may be in charge of entering information about the problem into a database. Help desk software can be used to streamline phone calls in some cases. A service desk analyst, for example, might use a computer-generated script to automatically record technology issues as he or she takes a call.
A web-based user interface is a software feature that allows users to send messages to a service desk analyst via the internet. If a user is having trouble with technology that he or she purchased, for example, he or she can go to a manufacturer’s or vendor’s website, access a service desk interface, and describe his or her problem. A service desk analyst may engage in online chat with a user, send an email to the user, or call the user in some cases.
A service desk analyst, in addition to documenting user issues, inspects equipment when problems are reported and, when possible, resolves them. An analyst can diagnose and solve basic problems by communicating with users over the phone or through a web interface in some cases. When standard troubleshooting methods fail to resolve a problem, an analyst has several options. If the user having problems is an employee at the same location, an analyst can inspect his or her software or hardware in person and either solve the problem or order a repair or replacement. An analyst can recommend service centers when assisting a user remotely.
A service desk analyst can spot problems with operations and customer satisfaction. As a result, he or she may be in charge of meeting with IT management to report recurring issues. As a result of this responsibility, an analyst can be an important part of any customer-driven model. An analyst can lead managers and designers to produce new technology that is free of the same flaws by accurately reporting areas where users have issues.