Technical support department solutions

Technical support department overview
Technical support department or support center is a company's organizational unit that comprises of the team of technical experts and operators organized with the purpose to provide support, maintenance and help for customers and users of the products the company sells. Usually technical support can be provided through live chat, online ticket system, phone support and e-mail support. Also the technical experts can arrange remote support sessions based on the latest remote assistance technologies, and diagnose the user's computer problem. Technical support department is the necessary unit in such organizations as software development companies, manufacturing enterprises, engineering companies, IT companies and other.

Technical support department goals/tasks
Technical support department has main goal of providing services at appropriate level to help customers and users to resolve raised issues and problems. If a customer reports about an issue that has not been encountered before, it will be assigned to an appropriate support team member. Technical support department welcomes suggestions and recommendations for improvements and new features and encourages customers and users in sending enhancement request by e-mail. The purpose is to reveal product defects, bugs and malfunctions, document them and then transfer documentation to manufacturing department or developers. The technical support team has the following main tasks:

• Provide technical support and advice (webinars, remote sessions, e-mail, online chats, and phone support)
• Receive customer feedback and suggestions
• Log and document product enhancement requests
• Communicate with manufacturing divisions and developers
• Inform customers and users about updates, resolved issues and fixed bugs

Technical support department in company structure
To create and support a product, the company organizational units should be well-organized and actively communicate with each other. Technical support department communicates with development team, manufacturing department, and quality assurance department with purpose to maximize quality and value of products. The department is also involved in assistance with installation and pre-sales technical-related questions through communicating to customers and users. This is very important aspect for supporting sales, and many software development companies provide online installation guides and pre-sales presentations. In cooperation with sales department, the technical support team organizes online sessions with prospective customers to demonstrate benefits of the software product.

Technical support department software
To organize workflow and process in Technical support department in efficient manner, there should be introduced a task management system in the department. Such a system allows to create tasks of the support team members, manage their activities and control performance.

CentriQS can be used for these purposes. This efficient task management system allows to organize technical experts and operators into responsive support team and create flexible workflow. Managers can assign to-do lists and correctly prioritize support calls and requests which are the basis for priority support service and on-time problem resolution. Based on client/server technology, CentriQS allows users to work remotely telework users. This feature gives large companies more opportunities to build common work environment for the support team in different offices and create effective collaboration between the team members over the Internet.

• Technical support department staff
• Technical support department functions
• Providing technical support service and consultation
• Processing and transferring product enhancement requests
• Product pre-sales and demonstration