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4 Service Desk Trends To Know In 2024

The remote desktop software market is projected to grow substantially in the coming years, heavily driven by the increasing adoption of remote and flexible working models.

According to a report from Fortune Business Insights, the market size was valued at $2.83 billion in 2023. This is a significant number, but the numbers are only going to continue to rise.  For instance, the market is expected to reach $12.28 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 17.7% during the 2024-2032 forecast period.

Service desks have been on the frontline of support for businesses and organizations of all sizes, managing the constant inflow of requests, incidents, and questions from end users. As technology becomes more integrated into business operations, especially considering the rise and success of AI and Machine Learning tools, the role of the service desk will continue to expand.

Over time, several key trends will help shape the role of the service desk and the user experience.

AI and Automation

AI and automation stand to be key service desk trends in 2024 and in the years to come. Currently, 92% of companies use AI-driven customization to increase sales and growth. But, what exactly are AI and automation?

AI (Artificial Intelligence) refers to the ability of machines to think and act intelligently, including tasks like recognizing patterns, learning from experiences, drawing conclusions, and more. Concerning service desks,

AI refers to the use of machine learning and algorithms to analyze a customer database, identify patterns, and provide relevant support recommendations. Automation, on the other hand, refers to using software, robotics, AI, and other technologies to automate manual, repetitive tasks that previously could only be performed by humans.

Together, AI and automation have the potential to revolutionize service desk operations. AI can handle a significant portion of Level 1 support requests.

A few common AI and automation capabilities for service desks include natural language chatbots/virtual agents to handle basic questions, automated ticket resolution whenever possible using IT workflows, predictive modeling to forecast issues and needs, and robotic process automation (RPA) to automatically perform repetitive tasks like data entry.

The goals of adopting AI and automation are to improve the end-user experience through faster response times, better self-service capabilities, and more personalized support. It also aims to improve efficiency by reducing workload and freeing up staff for strategic roles. A few key benefits include

• Reduced ticket volumes
• Faster resolution times
• Higher customer satisfaction scores
• Higher staff productivity

As with any trend, there are bound to be challenges that will have to be addressed. When it comes to AI and automation in service desks, challenges can include change management and making sure tools are properly implemented and integrated.

As the technologies advance, more issues can be automated, leading to more strategic service desk operations over time—focused on preventing problems instead of responding to problems as they arise.

Proactively Solving Issues

Proactive problem resolution is bound to become a major area of focus for service desks as businesses look to move beyond only catching problems when something goes wrong. Traditionally, service desks have operated on a break/fix model. This means waiting for issues to be reported before taking action. However, with new technologies like AI and automation, service desks have an opportunity to flip the script and begin solving issues before users ever realize there is a problem.

Some aspects of this trend include:

• Utilizing AI, automation, and predictive analytics to detect potential issues before they impact anyone. This involves monitoring patterns in tickets, system logs, and other data.
• Taking preventative measures(i.e., automated testing, patching, and upgrades) when predictions indicate a high risk of problems.
• Using monitoring agents and tools that proactively detect technical problems(i.e., failed backups, low storage, memory leaks, unauthorized access attempts).
• Empowering end users to troubleshoot minor issues themselves through self-service tools, virtual agents, predictive alerts, and status communications.

By taking a proactive approach, service desks can utilize advanced tools and techniques to constantly monitor IT environments, detect even the smallest sign that there may be a problem, and quickly resolve potential issues in the background. This represents a significant change from traditional models.

The goal is to achieve a new level of stability and reliability by transforming service desks from operations that sit back and wait for problems into operations that take action to prevent problems from ever occurring.

Personalized Service

Using data and advanced analytics, service desks will provide personalized support tailored to individual users and their needs. Predictive analytics anticipate issues before they happen while profiling helps staff understand the user’s environment and history. Support will be efficient, proactive, and relevant.

Some aspects of this personalized approach include:

• Utilizing profiles that have details about someone’s role, common issues, locations, devices, and previous interactions to give agents helpful insights from the beginning of each new interaction.
• Applying machine learning algorithms to past support records to identify individual users’ pain points and automatically pull up the next steps or knowledge articles during new tickets.
• Alerting certain users, like remote or mobile workers, about potential connectivity or configuration problems based on predictive models analyzing their patterns and environments.
• Utilizing automated workflows that present users with the right solution based on their request and the user’s tracked success with different support methods.

By delivering personalized and predictive support, service desks can achieve higher levels of efficiency while also improving relationships through a personalized experience that actually works. This focus on the user will be a staple for future operations.

Focus on Security and Compliance

On average, businesses with high levels of security AI and automation reported annual savings of $1.76 million on the costs of responding to data breaches versus other companies.

As the threat landscape becomes more complex, service desks will be under pressure to strengthen their security defenses while managing growing workloads. Focusing on security and compliance will become a key trend for service desks to protect business assets and user information.

Some aspects of this trend include:

• Strengthening incident response plans, processes, and training to contain damages and ensure proper protocols are followed if breaches and other attacks do occur.
• Patching vulnerabilities to reduce the overall attack surface and block common exploitation techniques(i.e., breaches, phishing, zero-day vulnerabilities).
• Conducting vulnerability scans, penetration tests, and security audits consistently to monitor risk levels and compliance posture.
• Improving identity management and access management across systems through secure authentication, authorization, auditing, and role-based access controls.

As risk levels increase, forward-thinking service desks will see security and compliance as a priority to supporting the needs of the business through reliable threat protection and regulatory compliance. It will remain a key trend going forward.

Final Thoughts

As AI, automation, proactive support, and security continue to transform every aspect of our society, service desks have to keep up with changing user needs and advances in technology. By following these key trends, Vision Helpdesk is well-positioned to help businesses transition to the service desk of the future.

At Vision Helpdesk, we integrate the latest capabilities, automated workflows, remote access, and a fully integrated service platform to allow for proactive and personalized support. Our scalable, flexible system supports the unique and complex requirements of staying compliant while strengthening cybersecurity protections.

Click here to book a demo with us or give us a call at  +1 (408) 809-0004 to learn more about how we line up with the latest service desk trends and can future-proof your service desk.