This briefing paper explores some of the major challenges facing those who manage help desks. It looks at the impact of new ways of seeking and delivering the service, and assesses a number of emerging issues which will influence their management in the coming years. Its recommendations will equip managers with a clear agenda to consider the implications for their organizations.

Knowledge Management is a methodology for capturing, optimizing, delivering and maintaining a collection of information that provides guidance or action, and is of value to the organization. When a support professional has access to knowledge, they can quickly assist customers with problems and inquiries. As a result Knowledge Management has become an essential practice within today's support centers. Customer service and support software allow companies to manage the interactions with customers and employees. When combined with Knowledge Management, the support center is able to improve efficiencies, increase satisfaction, and reduce the cost of service.

Whether you are building a Help Desk from scratch, consolidating a group of existing Help Desks or seeking ways to improve your support operations, this chapter can help. We will provide guidelines for how to structure your Help Desk and determine the support architecture to build a best-in-class operation that will efficiently provide high-value service to your company by increasing customer productivity. Key considerations include the pros and cons of a central-point-of-contact, consolidated Help Desk; whether to consolidate physically, logically or implement a virtual Help Desk; keeping your support in-house, outsourcing, or implementing a combination of both.