Deciding whether to keep your mobile help desk in-house versus guru-sourced? Here are some pros and cons for Guru vs. In-House Mobile Help Desk.
Americans check their phones 8 billion times a day. Yes, you read that right, 8 billion. Based on a Deloitte study, the statistic refers to the aggregate number of times all Americans throughout the country look at their mobile devices daily. Further, the study indicates that the average person in the United States, across all age groups, checks their phones 46 times per day. Americans depend on smartphones for many critical functions for work and personal use. How did we get this way?
The evolution of technology has become a lifestyle- from your iPhone alarm waking you up, to responding to business e-mails, texts, phone calls and checking apps while eating breakfast. This single piece of technology reveals an entire story- take a person’s phone who you don’t know, go through it, and you will find their business affairs, hobbies, interests, friends, agenda- down to their Pinterest board and favorite music artists. It keeps us connected to everything, everyone, anywhere, all the time.
Your Mobile Device Guru
While mobile devices offer a wide range of capabilities and applications, the convenience of having the device itself and operating smoothly is a primary function. However, there are times when devices don’t function properly, stop working, are lost, or stolen. When this happens in a corporate environment, it can be devastating and time consuming to fix. This is where a mobile help desk eases the headache and helps resolve technologies glitches in a timely manner with no drama. That being said, what is a mobile help desk?
Well, it’s just what it sounds like –people specializing in trouble-shooting mobile devices, tablets and IoT, issues: from lost phones, non-working devices, the requirement of a new device, and anything else technology related, the mobility help desk will step in and proactively, calmly resolve. The only question remains- should a mobile help desk be (as AMI says, “guru-sourced”) or kept in-house?
Flip a Coin?
Having someone help with your device in-person and in-house is convenient, yet expensive and certainly not core to your business. Sourcing it to a trusted firm to manage your devices remotely, who has the tools, systems, trained employees, core knowledge- and is usually less expensive. So, is one better than the other?
When it comes to guru-sourcing vs. in-house, it depends on the organization and important factors like budget, company size and the number of devices in-use. Deciding whether to gurusource or keep it in-house takes due-diligence and the right decision maker. Here’s a handy chart that will help you weigh the pros and cons.
| Pros of In-House | Cons of In-House | Pros of Guru Source | Cons of Guru Source |
| Works onsite and is “close” to the business. | Multi-tasked environment; time distributed based on other business needs. | Remote, flexible coverage defined by client needs; experts in mobile technology. | Remote support may lack “close” to business feel. |
| Trust: employees interact with corporate personnel. | Not core to the client business. | Guru-sourcing is core business and end-user trust is earned over time. | Perception the relationship may not be as strong; some risk of cultural differences. |
| Integrated into company culture. | Subject to cost fluctuations based on business needs. | Improved financial leverage via lower fixed costs and ROI. | Less flexibility to change without additional charges. |
Weighing the Options
Deciding whether to keep your mobile help desk in-house versus guru-sourced varies from organization to organization. Many companies opt for share sourcing to create an environment that is flexible and honors both firm’s strengths. Either way, the option to have a mobile help desk will provide technology solutions and improvements in a timely manner and will help keep up with the fast-paced changes.
About AMI Strategies
AMI Strategies provides businesses with solutions to streamline telecom expense management for wireline and wireless services, energy and utilities, and copiers and leases. Benefit from a scalable, customizable SaaS system delivering real-time, 360-degree visibility into expense related invoices. You’ll improve entire procure-to-pay invoice lifecycle.
You’ll reduce expenses, automate invoice management, gain transparency, and enhance reporting for improved decision making. With AMI, companies reduce average invoice charges by 10-35%, freeing up capital for other business-critical activities. Learn more https://amistrategies.com/
The AMI Strategies Difference:
- Certified Woman-Owned Business
- Customizable and easy to use cloud-based SaaS platform.
- The only telecom expense management provider offering organizations flexible, scalable solutions and services ranging from fully automated “procure to pay” services and license to temNOW™ platform, to “a la carte” invoice management.
- Serving a diverse global client base spanning automotive, healthcare, government, retail, finance, insurance, manufacturing, transportation.
- Robust reporting and Data Analytics suite offering “what if” analysis.
- Processes more than $200 million in bill payment annually.
- Proven, quantifiable benefits include helping companies achieve hard dollar savings of 10-35% in annual expense reduction.
Learn more https://amistrategies.com/
