Tier 3 Help Desk: General Overview
Tier 3 help desk is the highest IT support level within a multi-tiered IT support system. L3 engineers resolve complex infrastructure-related requests and issues (e.g., server virtualization, planning network architecture and configuring network elements) and handle app issues on the code level.
The scope of the L3 help desk can cover user-facing software, desktops, mobile devices, operating systems, networks, databases, cloud services, back-end configurations, and more.
The team required: a team lead and L3 help desk engineers.
With deep technical expertise backed by 35 years of experience in IT, Mille Solutions helps companies resolve L3 issues, reduce help desk costs by up to 40%, and ensure a user satisfaction rate of over 96%.
Table of Contents
Tier 3 Help Desk Setup Plan
L3 help desk launch plan and time frames greatly depend on the maturity and complexity of your IT infrastructure and applications. Mille Solutions has summarized 17 years of experience in IT support and outlined a pathway to establishing efficient help desk processes.
Stage 1. L3 help desk planning and desig.
- Outline your budget for L3 help desk setup and maintenance.
- Create a list of IT infrastructure elements and apps that require L3 support.
- Determine what goals you want to achieve with the L3 help desk (e.g., introduce app code changes, implement improvements, migrate to the cloud).
- Define the size of your future L3 team, aligned with your budget and scope.
- Decide on communication channels (a service portal, email, etc.)
Stage 2. Choosing the sourcing model: in-house vs. outsourced L3 help desk
2.1. For an in-house help desk: hiring L3 help desk engineers and setting up ticket management software.
Duration: 1–3 months
- Outline the list of qualifications your potential help desk specialists need to possess.
- Interview the candidates and hire professionals with relevant skills (e.g., Salesforce engineers, Microsoft engineers, SharePoint engineers).
- Conduct onboarding training so that newcomers can more easily and quickly internalize the specifics of your company and industry.
2.2. For an outsourced help desk: selecting a third-party vendor.
Duration: ~1 month
If you decide to outsource the L3 help desk function, choose a service provider that:
- Has a transparent pricing system.
- Experienced in providing L1–L3 support services. Such a vendor will help establish efficient ticket escalation processes.
- Operates according to the SLA and predefined KPIs.
- Offers convenient time coverage (e.g., 12/5, 12/7, 24/7).
- Ready to scale the team upon request.
- Provides regular and comprehensive help desk documentation (e.g., performance reports, root cause analysis of incidents).
- Experienced in your industry and IT infrastructure components you use.
- Can ensure the security of your sensitive information.
- Adheres to ITIL principles in help desk service delivery.
Stage 3. Help desk deployment
- Designing L3 help desk processes.
- Establishing communication with L1/L2 help desk teams, development teams and users.
- Learning the specifics of IT components and applications subject to L3 support.
- Selecting, setting up and customizing ticket management software suitable for your organization.
- Launching the L3 help desk.
